MedWheeler
Member
I mentioned at Christmas time that my wife had agreed to be introduced to handguns and this hobby (okay, passion!) of mine, and today was the day. She is Russian, in her mid-thirties (14-ish at the breakup of the USSR), and has lived in the USA since 2000. Except for a couple of shots from an AK-47 loaded with what sounds like primer-powered wax bullets at a "survival" class during Soviet times, she has had no experience with firearms at all.
Prior to leaving the house, I reviewed the safety rules again and showed her the guns that would be coming along. There were three rimfire pistols and one rimfire revolver. There was also a .38 snub revolver and a mid-size .380ACP pistol. When she saw them, she asked "why are they all so small? I want to shoot something big!" I told her that that was to be my next question; should I be bringing some bigger stuff. I returned to the safe and fetched a .357 Magnum service revolver and a service pistol in 9mm Luger (I did not bring any Magnum ammo for the revolver.)
She started with a few rounds from the Phoenix HP22A, shooting maybe fifteen rounds (loaded with five each time.) No pressure to hit the red from me; I'd even offered to turn the target around, but she insisted. The shots grouped reasonably well, but about seven inches high. No worries, though; this was introductory-only, not competition.
We switched then to the Heritage Rough Rider revolver, a gun she found heavy and cumbersome to hold comfortably. Shot six rounds from it, then was done with it (she has tiny wrists, and short, even for her size, fingers.)
Moved on to the Taurus PT22 (1998 vintage.) She really took a liking, or at least, less of a dislike, to this one. Fired two magazines from it. The long trigger pull was both assuring, and hard to control the first few rounds. She would come back to that gun a little later.
Next up was the Charter Arms Undercover (vintage 1987.) I put two rounds in it and fired one, my first shot of the session. I had her fire the other, using the DA trigger pull. It didn't impress her much enough for her to want to shoot any more from it.
The Bersa Thunder 380 came out next. I fired one of three rounds in it, then had her fire the other two, lowering the hammer before handing it to her so she would experience both trigger actions. While she found the gun easier and more comfortable to manage in this limited-experience than the little .38, she still was finding she just didn't care for anything "big" as much as she thought she might have just yet.
Back to the Taurus she went, despite my offers of letting her call it a day if she wanted. Probably two more magazines from that, and she was indeed done for today. She suggested I shoot some, so I fired out the fifteen rounds from the Ruger P95 on my hip, and two magazines from my FEG AP-22, a gun I'd forgotten to let her try. The Ruger Police Service Six never came out of the bag.
All in all, I think she was happy to have finally tried it out. Bitten by the bug? No, not by a long shot (pun noticed, but not intended!) But she came away from it with appreciation for the potential enjoyment of such an activity. She said she'd rather learn to master "the little one" before wanting to even try to learn any others. I told her one of my friends' wives carries and rocks a PT-22, and I'd never disparage anyone, especially a slightly-built female, for doing so.
My wife took notice of the man at the post next to us shooting with his two daughters, ages approximately nine and thirteen. She thought it was "so sweet", and also noted how well one of them did. It was obviously not the girls' first time.
Okay, enough here. Sorry for the length; I'm just excited to have, after all these years, been able to expose her open mind to this, and be able to join the ranks of all of you who have wives that have not completely shunned this activity. Happy New Year, all!
Prior to leaving the house, I reviewed the safety rules again and showed her the guns that would be coming along. There were three rimfire pistols and one rimfire revolver. There was also a .38 snub revolver and a mid-size .380ACP pistol. When she saw them, she asked "why are they all so small? I want to shoot something big!" I told her that that was to be my next question; should I be bringing some bigger stuff. I returned to the safe and fetched a .357 Magnum service revolver and a service pistol in 9mm Luger (I did not bring any Magnum ammo for the revolver.)
She started with a few rounds from the Phoenix HP22A, shooting maybe fifteen rounds (loaded with five each time.) No pressure to hit the red from me; I'd even offered to turn the target around, but she insisted. The shots grouped reasonably well, but about seven inches high. No worries, though; this was introductory-only, not competition.
We switched then to the Heritage Rough Rider revolver, a gun she found heavy and cumbersome to hold comfortably. Shot six rounds from it, then was done with it (she has tiny wrists, and short, even for her size, fingers.)
Moved on to the Taurus PT22 (1998 vintage.) She really took a liking, or at least, less of a dislike, to this one. Fired two magazines from it. The long trigger pull was both assuring, and hard to control the first few rounds. She would come back to that gun a little later.
Next up was the Charter Arms Undercover (vintage 1987.) I put two rounds in it and fired one, my first shot of the session. I had her fire the other, using the DA trigger pull. It didn't impress her much enough for her to want to shoot any more from it.
The Bersa Thunder 380 came out next. I fired one of three rounds in it, then had her fire the other two, lowering the hammer before handing it to her so she would experience both trigger actions. While she found the gun easier and more comfortable to manage in this limited-experience than the little .38, she still was finding she just didn't care for anything "big" as much as she thought she might have just yet.
Back to the Taurus she went, despite my offers of letting her call it a day if she wanted. Probably two more magazines from that, and she was indeed done for today. She suggested I shoot some, so I fired out the fifteen rounds from the Ruger P95 on my hip, and two magazines from my FEG AP-22, a gun I'd forgotten to let her try. The Ruger Police Service Six never came out of the bag.
All in all, I think she was happy to have finally tried it out. Bitten by the bug? No, not by a long shot (pun noticed, but not intended!) But she came away from it with appreciation for the potential enjoyment of such an activity. She said she'd rather learn to master "the little one" before wanting to even try to learn any others. I told her one of my friends' wives carries and rocks a PT-22, and I'd never disparage anyone, especially a slightly-built female, for doing so.
My wife took notice of the man at the post next to us shooting with his two daughters, ages approximately nine and thirteen. She thought it was "so sweet", and also noted how well one of them did. It was obviously not the girls' first time.
Okay, enough here. Sorry for the length; I'm just excited to have, after all these years, been able to expose her open mind to this, and be able to join the ranks of all of you who have wives that have not completely shunned this activity. Happy New Year, all!
