Reacher
Member
I took my 47yr old wife and my 7yr old daughter to the range today. It was the first time that either of them ever fired a gun! I went over safety and gun mechanics with both of them and then had them shoot. My 7yr old was intimidated at first but after watching Mommy do it, she wanted to give it a try.
I rented a Buckmark and we started with that. About 20 rounds into shooting, the firing pin on the buckmark broke and I exchanged it for a Mark II. I had them both shoot at about 5yrds. I let my wife shoot on her own and gently held my hand on her shooting wrist when she shot the larger calibur guns to make sure she didn't hit herself in the face due to recoil. (she never even came close. I was very proud of her)
I let my daughter shoot the Mark II and my hands never left hers while she was holding it. I made very sure that she stayed pointing down-range and also made sure she didn't drop it when she first felt the recoil. We didn't concentrate on aiming as much as just pointing it in the right direction and pulling the trigger.
I let my wife shoot both .22s and then let her shoot my Astra .357 with some .38 special wad cutters and some .38 +p ammo. Then I let her shoot my STI .40. She did great with all of them.
Here are the pics!
My Daughter
Her groups (with me holding her hands while she shot)
My wife's groups with the .22s (I am so proud, she only had 5 shots that weren't in the red and NEVER had a shot off the paper)
My wife's groups with the .357 and the .40. (.357 top and .40 bottom)
She really liked my STI .40 alot! I already told her that she can't have it.
I may end up getting her a Trojan 9mm or something similar. She isn't really interested in carrying right now, but after some practice and confidence building, she might change her mind.
Overall, this was a GREAT first trip to the range!
I rented a Buckmark and we started with that. About 20 rounds into shooting, the firing pin on the buckmark broke and I exchanged it for a Mark II. I had them both shoot at about 5yrds. I let my wife shoot on her own and gently held my hand on her shooting wrist when she shot the larger calibur guns to make sure she didn't hit herself in the face due to recoil. (she never even came close. I was very proud of her)
I let my daughter shoot the Mark II and my hands never left hers while she was holding it. I made very sure that she stayed pointing down-range and also made sure she didn't drop it when she first felt the recoil. We didn't concentrate on aiming as much as just pointing it in the right direction and pulling the trigger.
I let my wife shoot both .22s and then let her shoot my Astra .357 with some .38 special wad cutters and some .38 +p ammo. Then I let her shoot my STI .40. She did great with all of them.
Here are the pics!
My Daughter
Her groups (with me holding her hands while she shot)
My wife's groups with the .22s (I am so proud, she only had 5 shots that weren't in the red and NEVER had a shot off the paper)
My wife's groups with the .357 and the .40. (.357 top and .40 bottom)
She really liked my STI .40 alot! I already told her that she can't have it.
I may end up getting her a Trojan 9mm or something similar. She isn't really interested in carrying right now, but after some practice and confidence building, she might change her mind.
Overall, this was a GREAT first trip to the range!