I'll start with the TLDR: A tale of two range trips. One which will cost me more ammo, and one which will cost a friend money.
Range Trip #1: Mrs. McGee and I have been together for almost 30 years, but we've only gone to the range together maybe, maybe, 10 times. In all fairness, for many of those years, neither one of us was going to the range. That said, she likes target shooting. Always has. She doesn't want to hunt, and she doesn't want to practice with my EDC pistols. She does enjoy trying to put as many holes as close together as possible. She does not like centerfire calibers. The bang is too big, plain and simple. Given the small amount of time that she's spent shooting, she's still a New Shooter, and I'm still The Host at the range, He Who Clears Jams and Loads Magazines. Well, a couple of years ago, I decided to get her her own .22 pistol (and I've told this story before). I went to the gun show, and I hustled and I horse-traded my way into a couple of Mk IV 22/45s. One Target model for Mrs. McGee, and a Lite for myself. Mind you, I like both models very much, but even from the first outing, there was no question as to who had the more accurate pistol. It weren't me.
Anyway, Sunday before last, Mrs. McGee and I decided to hit the range. I have a buddy who'd wanted to go to the range, so I invited him and his wife to come along. They couldn't make it, but Mrs. McGee and I went, anyway. I know that .22LR ammo is hard to come by right now, but it's worth it to get to spend some time with my wife at the range, right? I certainly think so. I made sure we had some reactive (Shoot-N-C) targets, put a box of Federal Auto Match in the bag, and off we went. The first round went pretty well, for a lady who hadn't shot in about 2 years. The second round went even better, and by the end, her shooting was markedly better than the first round. She also put a few mags through my suppressed Lite. She liked it OK, but not as much as her target gun. She really likes hers. We finally decided to call it a day, and as we gathered up our gear, she said, "You know, this was fun. I could do this every Sunday morning. We could make it a weekly date." She also commented on the way home that she now understands why I come back from the range all zenned out and stress-free. That's gonna cost me more ammo, but I'm good with it.
Range Trip #2: As I mentioned, I have a buddy who has been wanting to go to the range. He has recently been bitten by The Gun Bug, and I would also call him a New Shooter. He comes to me with a fair number of gun questions, and I'm (of course) happy to answer them. He recently told me he wants to get into some longer-distance shooting, and that he thought a .22 would be a good way to start. (We all know I love .22s, so how could I disagree with him?) Anyway, he also asked, "Do you know anything about 10/22s?" I'm no engineer, we all know this, but I've owned a 10/22 longer than he's been alive. So, yeah, I told him I know a little bit about them. It was also gun show weekend, and he was dying to get out and buy one. I told him to wait until we could get to the range, so that he could shoot a couple of my .22s, and see what he really liked.
Now, all of that happened before Range Trip #1, so we have to fast forward over Range Trip #1 to yesterday. It did not look like things were going to line up for us at all, but Mrs. McGee and I were headed to the range, and it was a beautiful morning. I packed up all of the usual supplies, pistols for myself and Mrs. McGee, and just in case he made it, these two:
After many texts and several events that led me to believe he was bailing on us, he finally showed up. First up: He shoots my suppressed 22/45 Lite. I don't think he'd ever shot a .22 before, but he seemed to like it OK. Then I handed him an older Ruger .22 (pre-Mark-name), and he liked that OK, too. But he was really there for the rifles. I ask him which he'd like to shoot first, and he tells me, "I don't know. I've never shot a rifle. I'm here to learn." Bolt action it is. So I get him set up, tell him what he needs to do as far as sight picture. (We were on the pistol range at <10 yards, and my scopes are zeroed at either 25 or 50.) He knocks the center out of the bullseye with his first shot, and (of course) lights up like a kid at Christmas. And he does his level best to destroy the bullseye over the next couple of mags. Then we switch him to the 10/22. And he basically does the same thing to a second target I had up for him. At the end, he was torn. He liked the wood stock of the 10/22, but could tell that the RAR, with its significantly longer barrel, was more accurate. The 10/22 was fun for him, but the RAR forced him to take a little time between shots, and he liked that, too.
I will also add that Mrs. McGee cleared her own jams the second time around, and loaded many of her own mags while I worked with New Shooter #2. She had a few failures to feed, but I hadn't cleaned her pistol in about 500 rounds, so it was likely just crud causing problems. A quick spritz of Hornady One Shot got her back up and running. I guess it's time for me to be He Who Cleans the Pistols next.
Then I might have played a little dirty. I moved the Dead Air Mask over from my 22/45 Lite to the Ruger American Rimfire, and loaded a couple of magazines with CCI Quiet ammo. I told him, "Just for fun, listen to this." After my third shot, the spent casing hit him in the arm and it was only then that the realized I'd already started shooting.... The shock on his face was priceless. And then I let him put a couple of mags through it.
I told him that he's going to wind up with a bolt gun and a semi-auto eventually, that he just has to decide which he wants first. So I guess I'll be helping him look for good prices on his next gun for a bit.
I probably owe his wife and his bank account an apology.
Range Trip #1: Mrs. McGee and I have been together for almost 30 years, but we've only gone to the range together maybe, maybe, 10 times. In all fairness, for many of those years, neither one of us was going to the range. That said, she likes target shooting. Always has. She doesn't want to hunt, and she doesn't want to practice with my EDC pistols. She does enjoy trying to put as many holes as close together as possible. She does not like centerfire calibers. The bang is too big, plain and simple. Given the small amount of time that she's spent shooting, she's still a New Shooter, and I'm still The Host at the range, He Who Clears Jams and Loads Magazines. Well, a couple of years ago, I decided to get her her own .22 pistol (and I've told this story before). I went to the gun show, and I hustled and I horse-traded my way into a couple of Mk IV 22/45s. One Target model for Mrs. McGee, and a Lite for myself. Mind you, I like both models very much, but even from the first outing, there was no question as to who had the more accurate pistol. It weren't me.
Anyway, Sunday before last, Mrs. McGee and I decided to hit the range. I have a buddy who'd wanted to go to the range, so I invited him and his wife to come along. They couldn't make it, but Mrs. McGee and I went, anyway. I know that .22LR ammo is hard to come by right now, but it's worth it to get to spend some time with my wife at the range, right? I certainly think so. I made sure we had some reactive (Shoot-N-C) targets, put a box of Federal Auto Match in the bag, and off we went. The first round went pretty well, for a lady who hadn't shot in about 2 years. The second round went even better, and by the end, her shooting was markedly better than the first round. She also put a few mags through my suppressed Lite. She liked it OK, but not as much as her target gun. She really likes hers. We finally decided to call it a day, and as we gathered up our gear, she said, "You know, this was fun. I could do this every Sunday morning. We could make it a weekly date." She also commented on the way home that she now understands why I come back from the range all zenned out and stress-free. That's gonna cost me more ammo, but I'm good with it.
Range Trip #2: As I mentioned, I have a buddy who has been wanting to go to the range. He has recently been bitten by The Gun Bug, and I would also call him a New Shooter. He comes to me with a fair number of gun questions, and I'm (of course) happy to answer them. He recently told me he wants to get into some longer-distance shooting, and that he thought a .22 would be a good way to start. (We all know I love .22s, so how could I disagree with him?) Anyway, he also asked, "Do you know anything about 10/22s?" I'm no engineer, we all know this, but I've owned a 10/22 longer than he's been alive. So, yeah, I told him I know a little bit about them. It was also gun show weekend, and he was dying to get out and buy one. I told him to wait until we could get to the range, so that he could shoot a couple of my .22s, and see what he really liked.
Now, all of that happened before Range Trip #1, so we have to fast forward over Range Trip #1 to yesterday. It did not look like things were going to line up for us at all, but Mrs. McGee and I were headed to the range, and it was a beautiful morning. I packed up all of the usual supplies, pistols for myself and Mrs. McGee, and just in case he made it, these two:
After many texts and several events that led me to believe he was bailing on us, he finally showed up. First up: He shoots my suppressed 22/45 Lite. I don't think he'd ever shot a .22 before, but he seemed to like it OK. Then I handed him an older Ruger .22 (pre-Mark-name), and he liked that OK, too. But he was really there for the rifles. I ask him which he'd like to shoot first, and he tells me, "I don't know. I've never shot a rifle. I'm here to learn." Bolt action it is. So I get him set up, tell him what he needs to do as far as sight picture. (We were on the pistol range at <10 yards, and my scopes are zeroed at either 25 or 50.) He knocks the center out of the bullseye with his first shot, and (of course) lights up like a kid at Christmas. And he does his level best to destroy the bullseye over the next couple of mags. Then we switch him to the 10/22. And he basically does the same thing to a second target I had up for him. At the end, he was torn. He liked the wood stock of the 10/22, but could tell that the RAR, with its significantly longer barrel, was more accurate. The 10/22 was fun for him, but the RAR forced him to take a little time between shots, and he liked that, too.
I will also add that Mrs. McGee cleared her own jams the second time around, and loaded many of her own mags while I worked with New Shooter #2. She had a few failures to feed, but I hadn't cleaned her pistol in about 500 rounds, so it was likely just crud causing problems. A quick spritz of Hornady One Shot got her back up and running. I guess it's time for me to be He Who Cleans the Pistols next.
Then I might have played a little dirty. I moved the Dead Air Mask over from my 22/45 Lite to the Ruger American Rimfire, and loaded a couple of magazines with CCI Quiet ammo. I told him, "Just for fun, listen to this." After my third shot, the spent casing hit him in the arm and it was only then that the realized I'd already started shooting.... The shock on his face was priceless. And then I let him put a couple of mags through it.
I told him that he's going to wind up with a bolt gun and a semi-auto eventually, that he just has to decide which he wants first. So I guess I'll be helping him look for good prices on his next gun for a bit.
I probably owe his wife and his bank account an apology.
In my OP, I said:
