“People sometimes arrive tense. Especially if they have some bad experience or imagine that instructors only shout. They just don’t know what to expect. But they leave relaxed and satisfied,” smiles the 15min interlocutor.
Read more The court examined the updated Šarūnas Čėsna’s receipts case, verdict – in June
Also heard some biting remarks
Dalius opened the shooting range a year ago. The idea, as he says, was not an old childhood dream. The man simply owned land in the Molėtai district and eventually realized that he didn’t want to keep animals or engage in extensive gardening there. However, shooting had already become a serious hobby.
“This is probably a common case. You start shooting, and then you realize that if you want something that would at least make you happy, if you want to prove something to yourself, you need to train. So I decided to create such a place for myself,” he says.
It soon became clear that such an idea was not an easy one. For two years, Dalius had to study legal acts, coordinate requirements, and talk to the police, the municipality, and the National Land Service. According to the man, at that time he had to hear biting remarks from more than one person.
“You walk around with that idea, and others say – go away, you fool, don’t be silly,” the interlocutor laughs. Fortunately, Dalius did not give up and bravely implemented his idea. And when excavators started buzzing around the plot, the interlocutor realized that he would actually like a larger shooting range.
“I thought I could also welcome others, not just shoot for myself. That’s how people started coming to me. The funniest thing, as they say, is that I became a shoemaker without shoes. When you have your own shooting range, you usually run out of time to go there and shoot. And then, also the desire,” reveals the resident of the Molėtai region.
It’s immediately clear how much experience one has
Very different people now come to the Molėtai shooting range: from hunters or individuals working in the national defense system to those holding a weapon for the first time in their lives. As Dalius says, you can quickly understand how much experience a person has.
“The first thing is – you give them a weapon and you see how the person takes it. If the finger immediately rests on the trigger, it means there’s still a lack of understanding. The finger must be kept extended until you aim. No matter what kind of weapon,” he explains.
Another rule is – never point a weapon at other people. According to the interlocutor, safety is the most important thing at the shooting range, so everything happens calmly and controllably. There is no mass shooting or large noisy groups here.
“We shoot one by one. It’s not like I hand out weapons and everyone starts shooting. I always supervise, tell them what to do and what not to do,” the man says. For this reason, he avoids large groups. Usually, four to six people come to the shooting range, and visits are arranged in advance by phone.
“I don’t want this to be a factory where people are stepping on each other’s necks. A person comes and knows that they can be calm, no one will disturb them. People appreciate that. When you go to an indoor shooting range in Vilnius, you shoot and then have to wait for strangers next to you to finish, you can’t even go to your target to check. I don’t want that,” the man emphasizes.
Read more Russia launched 236 drones into Ukraine
They arrive having watched too many movies
Although shooting still seems to many to be associated with aggression or a desire to show off, Dalius looks at such stereotypes with a smile. According to him, sometimes people come to the shooting range with cinematic expectations.
“Sometimes people have watched too many movies – Lara Croft shoots really cool with two pistols at once, John Wick also looks impressive. But reality is different. When a person picks up a weapon themselves, they realize it’s not that simple,” he says.
This is especially felt by those who immediately look for the ‘most powerful’ option. “Sometimes they ask: what’s the strongest thing you have here? Well, you know, when a man lacks something, then he wants the most powerful jeep, the most powerful weapon,” the interlocutor laughs.
Dalius himself says that the true charm of shooting lies not in the power of the weapon at all. According to him, after the first attempts, most people understand that the most important thing here is not strength, but concentration and technique.
“Standing up and shooting at a stationary target is not difficult. But then other things begin – moving targets, different disciplines, time control. Then adrenaline, reaction, thinking emerge,” he explains.
You need to know how to prepare a weapon
The interlocutor calls himself more of an athlete than a ‘weapon person’. According to him, shooting in many ways resembles other sports – constant training is necessary to achieve results. And people who buy a weapon just ‘in case’ often overestimate themselves.
“The worst is when a person buys a weapon for self-defense, puts it in a drawer, and thinks that if they ever need it, they’ll know everything. You won’t carry a weapon already prepared. You need to know how to draw it, load it, and manage stress,” says Dalius.
According to him, in real situations, everything is much more complicated than in movies. That’s why at the shooting range, he pays a lot of attention not only to the shooting itself but also to human behavior. For first-time visitors, just a few shots are usually enough to understand how much concentration all of this requires.
“If a person has never shot before, they rarely need more than ten rounds. You shoot, go to see how it went, and that’s enough,” he says.
And although shooting still seems like a niche or even intimidating activity to many, Dalius is convinced that a large part of these fears simply stem from ignorance.
Read more Why is it so hard to take our eyes off our phones? Scientists named three reasons
“This matter is heavily overgrown with stereotypes,” the man asserts.
