OEF_VET
Member
This past Monday, my wife and I joined one of my friends and his wife at a local range. My wife has been shooting for almost 17 years, but hasn't had the chance to go in the past year or so. Gary has only recently been bitten by the shooting bug. In the past two months he has bought a K/T Sub2000 and a Glock 19. His wife, Dawn, had never fired a gun of any kind prior to Monday.
I brought several handguns, my P/O 14/45LDA, ParaCompanion C7/45LDA, P/O Colonel, my Ruger MkII, my wifes' Taurus 85 and Beretta 3032. When we first got to the gunshop / range, Gary bought himself a Bersa Thunder .380, after comparing it to a Sig232 and deciding he liked the Bersa more. I also picked up some free firearms safety literature for Dawn to read and gave her a quick class about the four rules.
So, we go downstairs to the firing range. For those who know the area, we went to Guns and Leather. For those unfamiliar, G&L has a state-of-art, computerized range that is far better than any I've ever seen elsewhere. Unfortunately, one of the smaller local PD's was using that side to qualify. The range we were using is almost quite as nice, but without the computerized courses of fire.
At first, Dawn had an awful flinch whenever a gun was discharged. So, she just sat back and watched as I gave her some basic instructions. I offered to let her shoot my MkII, and she was just about ready to when she got cold feet and decided she wasn't ready. I told that was fine, I wasn't about to rush her or push her into doing something she wasn't comfortable doing. She sat back down and talked with my wife for awhile and watched as my wife fired a few strings herself. Eventually, after most of the other range occupants left, Dawn got up the nerve to try it.
I set the target at about 10 feet, and walked her thru the loading, sighting, and firing processes. Wen she was ready, she started sending lead downrange. Her first round was about an inch below center of the target. Eight of the next 9 were within an inch of the first, with the other round being about an inch and a quarter from the center of the group. Not bad indeed. I was quite impressed with her shooting. I took her target down, gave it to her as a souvenier and complimented her on her performance. Soon after, Gary went upstairs to buy some more .380 and Dawn followed him. She took her target with her, clutching it like it was gold. While upstairs, she was showing it off to the guy behind the counter, with unabashed pride.
After we were all done shooting, we packed up and headed upstairs to leave. Before we left, however, Dawn bought a used Ruger 22/45 for $200. She is quite anxious to go shooting again, and according to Gary she kept talking about it the whole way home. Angie and I went back to their house and had dinner (Gary is the Executive Chef of a local restaurant) nad visited for several hours. A large part of the conversation was about guns, shooting, self-defense, and the law.
All in all, it was a highly successful day. I was able to take a young lady from the point of having never handled a gun to becoming a gun owner, shooting enthusiast, and future CCW holder in a matter of less than 3 hours at the range.
I also made a decision for myself that day. I've decided that I'mgoing to take the required classes to become an NRA certified instructor.
I brought several handguns, my P/O 14/45LDA, ParaCompanion C7/45LDA, P/O Colonel, my Ruger MkII, my wifes' Taurus 85 and Beretta 3032. When we first got to the gunshop / range, Gary bought himself a Bersa Thunder .380, after comparing it to a Sig232 and deciding he liked the Bersa more. I also picked up some free firearms safety literature for Dawn to read and gave her a quick class about the four rules.
So, we go downstairs to the firing range. For those who know the area, we went to Guns and Leather. For those unfamiliar, G&L has a state-of-art, computerized range that is far better than any I've ever seen elsewhere. Unfortunately, one of the smaller local PD's was using that side to qualify. The range we were using is almost quite as nice, but without the computerized courses of fire.
At first, Dawn had an awful flinch whenever a gun was discharged. So, she just sat back and watched as I gave her some basic instructions. I offered to let her shoot my MkII, and she was just about ready to when she got cold feet and decided she wasn't ready. I told that was fine, I wasn't about to rush her or push her into doing something she wasn't comfortable doing. She sat back down and talked with my wife for awhile and watched as my wife fired a few strings herself. Eventually, after most of the other range occupants left, Dawn got up the nerve to try it.
I set the target at about 10 feet, and walked her thru the loading, sighting, and firing processes. Wen she was ready, she started sending lead downrange. Her first round was about an inch below center of the target. Eight of the next 9 were within an inch of the first, with the other round being about an inch and a quarter from the center of the group. Not bad indeed. I was quite impressed with her shooting. I took her target down, gave it to her as a souvenier and complimented her on her performance. Soon after, Gary went upstairs to buy some more .380 and Dawn followed him. She took her target with her, clutching it like it was gold. While upstairs, she was showing it off to the guy behind the counter, with unabashed pride.
After we were all done shooting, we packed up and headed upstairs to leave. Before we left, however, Dawn bought a used Ruger 22/45 for $200. She is quite anxious to go shooting again, and according to Gary she kept talking about it the whole way home. Angie and I went back to their house and had dinner (Gary is the Executive Chef of a local restaurant) nad visited for several hours. A large part of the conversation was about guns, shooting, self-defense, and the law.
All in all, it was a highly successful day. I was able to take a young lady from the point of having never handled a gun to becoming a gun owner, shooting enthusiast, and future CCW holder in a matter of less than 3 hours at the range.
I also made a decision for myself that day. I've decided that I'mgoing to take the required classes to become an NRA certified instructor.
Good work, and good luck with the instructor route.
