Double Maduro
Member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2002
- Messages
- 1,125
I took my 17 year old grand daughter shooting yesterday. This was the second time she has ever been shooting. The first time we went to an indoor range and I only brought along my Ruger 22/45. She shot like a champ and kept almost all shots in the black and a great many in the 10 ring.
This time we went out to a spot in the country. We started off with the 22/45 and though I seemed to be able to hit whatever I shot at she was having a hard time. After a couple hundred rounds of .22 she asked if she could shoot something else.
Next up was the Makarov, I thought this would be her favorite of the centerfires. Not so! She thought it was scary. I think the slide cycles at a rate that she actually sees it heading for her face and this is what scares her.
Then we shot my 2†EAA Windicator in .38 spcl, She thought it was OK but couldn’t quite manage a double action trigger pull. She shot a couple cylinders of .38. She was amazed at how accurate she was from the short barrel.
Then we fired a Single action .22 revolver that was my dads. It is made by H Schmidt in Germany and imported by Florida Firearms and is at least 25 years old. I taught her how to load a single action and how to make sure there is an empty chamber under the hammer. Even though this one has the transfer bar I think it is a good practice. This turned out to be her favorite handgun of the day. I think the deliberateness of loading every chamber, cocking the hammer for every shot and then ejecting each round manually made her slow down and think about what she was doing. Her shooting got better after this.
Then I got my Ruger P90 out of my IWB. The P90 is my ccw. She took a look at it and said it looked scary. I said that it shot pretty nice and showed her by running a mag through it. She said she’d like to try. Ran several mags through it and liked it a lot.
She had never shot a long gun. So I got out an Iver Johnson single shot .410. When she saw the size of the shells she got a little nervous. Then I explained that it was actually smaller that the .45 she had just fired. Showed her how to load, aim cock and hold the little shotgun and she really got into it. Thought it was going to knock her down and was surprised by the gentle push.
As we were getting ready to leave I was loading the Windicator with some .357 when she noticed that they looked different than the .38’s we had fired earlier. I explained the difference and asked if she would like to shoot it. She said I should shoot it first. When I was finished she said “what the heck, We’re here I might as well.†She only fired one round from it, not from fear or pain but because she really didn’t like the gun very much.
Results:
Loves the single action .22
Loves the 22/45
Likes the P90
Likes the .38 spcl
Is ok with the .357
Hates the Makarov
Loves the .410
Wants to go again. We both had a great day. Next time she wants to bring one of her friends along who has never shot before. I told her that would be fine, I have met this girl and both of them are quite mature for 17. It just means that I will have to be a little more vigilant.
I firmly believe that grand daughters are Gods way of making old men feel important again.
Thanks,
DM
This time we went out to a spot in the country. We started off with the 22/45 and though I seemed to be able to hit whatever I shot at she was having a hard time. After a couple hundred rounds of .22 she asked if she could shoot something else.
Next up was the Makarov, I thought this would be her favorite of the centerfires. Not so! She thought it was scary. I think the slide cycles at a rate that she actually sees it heading for her face and this is what scares her.
Then we shot my 2†EAA Windicator in .38 spcl, She thought it was OK but couldn’t quite manage a double action trigger pull. She shot a couple cylinders of .38. She was amazed at how accurate she was from the short barrel.
Then we fired a Single action .22 revolver that was my dads. It is made by H Schmidt in Germany and imported by Florida Firearms and is at least 25 years old. I taught her how to load a single action and how to make sure there is an empty chamber under the hammer. Even though this one has the transfer bar I think it is a good practice. This turned out to be her favorite handgun of the day. I think the deliberateness of loading every chamber, cocking the hammer for every shot and then ejecting each round manually made her slow down and think about what she was doing. Her shooting got better after this.
Then I got my Ruger P90 out of my IWB. The P90 is my ccw. She took a look at it and said it looked scary. I said that it shot pretty nice and showed her by running a mag through it. She said she’d like to try. Ran several mags through it and liked it a lot.
She had never shot a long gun. So I got out an Iver Johnson single shot .410. When she saw the size of the shells she got a little nervous. Then I explained that it was actually smaller that the .45 she had just fired. Showed her how to load, aim cock and hold the little shotgun and she really got into it. Thought it was going to knock her down and was surprised by the gentle push.
As we were getting ready to leave I was loading the Windicator with some .357 when she noticed that they looked different than the .38’s we had fired earlier. I explained the difference and asked if she would like to shoot it. She said I should shoot it first. When I was finished she said “what the heck, We’re here I might as well.†She only fired one round from it, not from fear or pain but because she really didn’t like the gun very much.
Results:
Loves the single action .22
Loves the 22/45
Likes the P90
Likes the .38 spcl
Is ok with the .357
Hates the Makarov
Loves the .410
Wants to go again. We both had a great day. Next time she wants to bring one of her friends along who has never shot before. I told her that would be fine, I have met this girl and both of them are quite mature for 17. It just means that I will have to be a little more vigilant.
I firmly believe that grand daughters are Gods way of making old men feel important again.
Thanks,
DM
