Taurus44
Member
I spent quite a bit of time at the range today, and even though I didn't shoot (at all), it was probably the best time I've ever had at a range.
My sister-in-law and her husband recently divorced. It was an ugly ordeal due to the fact that my (ex) brother-in-law was/is an alcoholic and mentally/verbally abusive. It was especially hard on my nephew (16) and neices (12 and 8) and since the divorce they don't get to spend much (any) time with their Dad (which is actually a good thing
).
So anyway... My nephew has been bugging me to take him to the range with me for quite a while. While I didn't figure that his mother, the tree-hugging liberal would EVER let him, I decided to call over there before I went shooting this morning. I either caught her on a good day, or my nephew is very persuasive, but she agreed to let him go with me.
I loaded-up the truck with my Ruger 22/45, my XD-9 Tactical, my STI Spartan, an AR15, a Remington 870HD and all of the required ammo and headed over to pick him up.
For the whole 20 minute drive to the range, I hammered the three big rules into his brain. I made him repeat them to me over and over the entire ride. I figured that a 16-year-old kid would think the three rules were common sense and that I was silly for beating the dead-horse, but he was very attentive and I could tell he was really excited. He's a good kid, so I didn't really forsee having any problems, but I wanted to start things off right.
So anyway... To make a long story short... I went over all of the rules of the range and introduced him to each gun (one at a time) and explained how they all functioned. I worked with him on stance, grip and trigger control and then I let him start shooting with me right behind him, watching like a hawk.
He put 100 rounds of .22LR through the 22/45 and I moved him up to the XD-9.
After about 75 rounds through the XD-9, he was ready for the Spartan.
After about 50 rounds of .45 through the Spartan, he was eating the center out of the target (7 yards) and smiling from ear-to-ear.
Then, when he was ready, we broke out the AR and he fired about 40 rounds through it. 50 yards, off-hand and from a bench. And he was shooting well!
Finally, HE ASKED ME if he could shoot the shottie (I'm a HUGE shotgun nut!). I had a few boxes of 00 buck, a few boxes of slugs and a box of heavy game loads... I would've started him with some light target loads, but I didn't have any and neither did the range... So he ran 25 rounds of high-brass 7.5s through the 870, then 15 rounds of 00 buck, then 10 slugs. He was seriously digging the shotgun!
On the ride home, he and I both had perma-grin going on. He kept telling me that he would go back to the range with me ANY time and how much fun it was. I asked him which gun he liked best, and his answer was "The shotgun!" I was just smiling because it is the best feeling in the world to get another generation interested in our sport. And to top it all off, he shot VERY well! I think he might've even handled the Spartan a little better than I do... But I have a few old, bad habits I'm trying to break.
But I think the title of the thread says it all. That was the single best day that I've ever had at the range... And I didn't even shoot!
My sister-in-law and her husband recently divorced. It was an ugly ordeal due to the fact that my (ex) brother-in-law was/is an alcoholic and mentally/verbally abusive. It was especially hard on my nephew (16) and neices (12 and 8) and since the divorce they don't get to spend much (any) time with their Dad (which is actually a good thing
).So anyway... My nephew has been bugging me to take him to the range with me for quite a while. While I didn't figure that his mother, the tree-hugging liberal would EVER let him, I decided to call over there before I went shooting this morning. I either caught her on a good day, or my nephew is very persuasive, but she agreed to let him go with me.
I loaded-up the truck with my Ruger 22/45, my XD-9 Tactical, my STI Spartan, an AR15, a Remington 870HD and all of the required ammo and headed over to pick him up.
For the whole 20 minute drive to the range, I hammered the three big rules into his brain. I made him repeat them to me over and over the entire ride. I figured that a 16-year-old kid would think the three rules were common sense and that I was silly for beating the dead-horse, but he was very attentive and I could tell he was really excited. He's a good kid, so I didn't really forsee having any problems, but I wanted to start things off right.
So anyway... To make a long story short... I went over all of the rules of the range and introduced him to each gun (one at a time) and explained how they all functioned. I worked with him on stance, grip and trigger control and then I let him start shooting with me right behind him, watching like a hawk.
He put 100 rounds of .22LR through the 22/45 and I moved him up to the XD-9.
After about 75 rounds through the XD-9, he was ready for the Spartan.
After about 50 rounds of .45 through the Spartan, he was eating the center out of the target (7 yards) and smiling from ear-to-ear.
Then, when he was ready, we broke out the AR and he fired about 40 rounds through it. 50 yards, off-hand and from a bench. And he was shooting well!
Finally, HE ASKED ME if he could shoot the shottie (I'm a HUGE shotgun nut!). I had a few boxes of 00 buck, a few boxes of slugs and a box of heavy game loads... I would've started him with some light target loads, but I didn't have any and neither did the range... So he ran 25 rounds of high-brass 7.5s through the 870, then 15 rounds of 00 buck, then 10 slugs. He was seriously digging the shotgun!
On the ride home, he and I both had perma-grin going on. He kept telling me that he would go back to the range with me ANY time and how much fun it was. I asked him which gun he liked best, and his answer was "The shotgun!" I was just smiling because it is the best feeling in the world to get another generation interested in our sport. And to top it all off, he shot VERY well! I think he might've even handled the Spartan a little better than I do... But I have a few old, bad habits I'm trying to break.
But I think the title of the thread says it all. That was the single best day that I've ever had at the range... And I didn't even shoot!
