Mom will always be a sheep

[bigjim]

Came to vist my MoM in Florida today. She has expressed interest in learning to shoot and haveing a gun in the home.

I asked on this board for suggestions about a range take her to and we went to Big Als indoor range in Hollywood Fl.

Nice range, nice guys not to gun store commandoish.

Went through the safety rules with her. Practiced loading and unloading.
Dry fired several times.

Then I loaded ONE round and shot it for her so she could she what to expect. It reduced her to jello, shaking crying, she back peddled all the way across the range and pressed her back against the wall. This was with her not even touching the gun.....

Sad....... She will never shoot again.

Some people just are not able.....

 

[Wedge]

What did you start her out on, 50 BMG? Was she wearing hearing protection?

That is too bad. She wanted to try shooting and it shook her up that bad! That is pretty crazy. Unfortunately it sounds like you could never convert her...but you should still try

 

[foghornl]

Know exactly what you are saying, BigJim.

Mrs. Foggy doesn't want to learn to shoot.

About 2 years back, I just about had her ready to pick up the Vaquero .357. Had it loaded with the easiest shooting .38 Wadcutters I could find. (Buddy had loaded up some with "just a pinch" of Bullseye powder. Muzzle velocity was probably less than a BB from a Daisy Red Ryder).

I had Mrs. Foggy at the line, when some clown 3 lanes down opened up with what had to be the biggest monster butt-stomper rounds ever from a handgun. The flash was sort of like looking directly into an arc-weld, and the blast lifted the ceiling tiles (indoor range). She dropped my Vaquero on the shelf, and ran oustide the building. Haven't gotten her back in the range since.

We both had 'double-up' ear protection, foam plugs & 30db muffs, but it still hurt your ears.

 

[Rockrivr1]

On Sunday my girlfriend and I spent the day with my parents. My Dad and I always go to the range together, but my Mom is definitely against having anything to do with guns.

I had ordered a set of nice factory S&W combat grips for my S&W 686 that I had delivered to thier house and they had come in so I brought my handgun with me. While Mom was making dinner I took the gun out of my range bag and started swapping out the grips.

I could tell right away that she was not happy with the handgun being out and about while we are eating deviled eggs and getting ready for the holiday dinner. She didn't say anthing until I handed the newly gripped 686 to my Dad. At that point she had had enough and started to yell at my Dad about not pointing it at anyone and that he should give it back to me and to put it away for the rest of the day.

My Dad and I always follow the rules when it comes to our guns, so obviously her ill mannor was with the gun itself and not us. I guess she'd had enough as she'd never like guns but never really said anything before. I guess having them out during the holiday was to much for her.

After dinner my Dad and I went to the cellar to install the new 1907 sling on my M1A that had also come in. She was fine with that as her and my girlfriend had several glasses of wine by that point and they were talking about me. Hummmmm, maybe going into the basement wasn't such a good idea.

 

[cracked butt]

Interesting.
My wife doesn't much care for guns, but everytime I coax her into going to the range to learn how to shoot the 9mm, she has a blast. Its very hard to get her to go shooting, and she's a bit afraid of the gun, but once she fires it, she won't take a break from it until the ammo has run out. I took her to a range a month ago, which was the first time she went shooting in 3 years, and she burned through 150 rounds about as fast as I could reload the mags.

I don't have to worry about my mom at all. She used to drop me off at the grandparents house for the weekend so she and my dad could go deer hunting.
I was at my parents house a few years ago and overheard a conversation between my mom and my wife- went something like this:

Wife: why does he need so many guns?

Mom: different tools for different jobs- need a shotgun for trap, another for skeet, another for pheasants, and maybe another for geese. Need at least a deer rifle, a .22 for squirrels, and maybe a few more guns just to shoot for fun. When you have a son that is old enough, you need two of each.

Wife:

Nothing like having Mom in your corner working for you.

 

[Nazirite]

My sister seems to be pretty brave, she likes her husbands Kimber and she shoots it too. I went to the range with my father, sister, and brother in law back in December. She shot with us but was a little scared of my 357 and didn’t want to try it.

 

[No Trespassing]

Man, I must be one lucky guy.

My wife loves to shoot when ever I take her out to Jawbone.

She's proficient with her .357 and the Defender for HD which is what I care about. I even get to buy new guns without consultation.

 

[Kinsman]

My bride was raised in Chicago and never been around guns until she met me.

She was not really anti, but was very uncomfortable around firearms and didn't want to handle them ("it might 'go off'..."). I nonetheless insisted that she know the basic rules of firearm safety and how to handle all of the weapons in the house.


Since I am lucky enough to be able to shoot at my home......wait, not
at my home but on my property, I shoot a lot. She slowly gets more and more interested, though still thinks it's kind of silly to carry.

Now she is enrolled in a Defensive Handgun course for women and after the first part of the course, where they will get to fire a bunch of different handguns, she is supposed to go out and buy a gun for herself! O Joy!

I hope she lets me come to the gun store with her......

 

[Mostly Harmless]

My fiancee is former USMC.

I'm not allowed any guns. They're all her's.

 

[Arcli9ht]

Guess that's why you're Mostly Harmless, huh?

My mother doesnt really approve of my interest, but we have it worked out so that I dont bring up the topic of my guns, she doesnt bring up the topic of her horse.

Works out pretty well. Also, I think she believes I still only have 1 rifle (really, I just swap out the stocks and accessories to change a SL8 to a .357 lever gun to a 12 gauge turkey shotgun, and have different cases depending on how I'm feeling that morning I want to go to the range )

The few chicks I've taken to the range have either loved it or hated it (well, on the behalf of the one who hated it, her dog had just died and it was raining and horrible that morning... at an outdoor range... in November?)

/Arcli9ht

 

[cameroneod]

when some clown 3 lanes down opened up with what had to be the biggest monster butt-stomper rounds ever from a handgun. The flash was sort of like looking directly into an arc-weld, and the blast lifted the ceiling tiles (indoor range).

Made me spit water on my keyboard. Who should I send the bill to?

 

[MoNsTeR]

You didn't start off with a .22, are you mental?

 

[Majic]

The number one reason people suggest starting shooters off with a .22lr. Low noise, low recoil, and you have reduced the intimidation factor. Some new shooters are literally scared to death. You should try to make it as easy and pleasant as possible. Remember they don't have the experience you have. Save the centerfires till they have become comfortable just shooting a firearm.

 

[David4516]

I guess I'm lucky. My Mom isn't much of a shooter, but she doesn't have any problems with me owning/carrying a firearm.

She'll go out to the range with my Dad and I about once every couple of years, fire about 25 rounds of .22LR, and call it a day...

My grandparents are also very supportive of my hobby. My grandmother even gave me a Winchester model 94 (pre-64 even) when I was about 12 years old... probably the coolest gift anyone has ever given me...

The only one in the family I have to worry about is my sister. While she's not exactly an "anti", she thinks that shooting is "silly" and "a waste of time"...

 

[4v50 Gary]

22s are nice and easy going. BB guns are good too for starters.

 

[Moparmike]

Monster, some people dont have .22's. That said, I would never ever hand someone my 10mm that hadnt at least shot a .357 mag or a .45acp. I think it has some brutal recoil, till I tried a .45 out of a Llama Mini-max.

I still cant shoot more than 50 rds without my wrist being stiff and hurting the next day. Even with the 20lb recoil spring.

 

[Standing Wolf]

My ex-wife was scared silly of guns—until I took her shooting. She never got quite as far as cleaning guns, but did like to shoot in cans. Last seen—quite a few years ago—she had her own .357 magnum and a permit to pack it.

 

[ny32182]

My mother is pretty much the same way. She has always been pretty anti-gun, but has also become liberal on just about every other issue with age.

Anyhow, I think my dad got her to the range one time shortly after they were married about 25 years ago, and that was it. She won't let him keep a loaded gun in the house, so his primary HD is a softball bat.

 

[DMK]

With most of my family growing up in NY and Mass., I'm really surprised I don't have any antis in my immediate family. The only one who can't stand guns is my aunt and really it seems only fairly recently. Of course, she lives in East NJ and gunphobia seems to have become all the rage there in the last 10 years or so.

 

[BHPshooter]

That's pretty sad.

Thankfully, other than being way too PC and Sheeply in her thinking, my Mom is fairly pro gun. She does have her own handgun, a .22 Revolver that she shoots now and again.

Hopefully you can keep working on your mom.

Wes

 

[Black92LX]

i am assuming this was no .22. get her out there with a .22 some folks you just have to work slowly with.

my moms first shot was a .38 special she watched me first and was pretty nervous. so i had her load one and give it a go herself. she hit the box we were shooting at and then gave me a very odd look. Then promptly said "Wow that was wicked! I kinda like it"

luckily for me my mom was fine with it. but others you must work very slowly. cans can be very scary things.

 

[Baba Louie]

bigjim,
I'm sorry to read that about your Mom. Too bad she didn't have time to watch a couple of other women shoot first and maybe talk to them or get to fire a .22 short round or two from a rifle. Coulda, shoulda, woulda... whodathunkit?

Handguns are loud, I will say that about them. Add anxiety to the mixture... too bad.

Well, at least she learned how to dry-fire one, unload/load and learn the safety rules... all good points to her favor.
Maybe next time, you can bring a G/F or two with you and Mom and let Mom watch as you and G/F's have some fun shooting at the range, the go out for some pizza and beer or something. Keep her in the fold, even if she's at arms reach.

 

[wasrjoe]

It sounds like a genuine phobia to me. I mean this in no disrespectful way whatsoever and I am completely serious: Perhaps she could seek some kind of therapy for this? It is, after all, a completely irrational fear. Some people react the same way to spiders.

 

[labgrade]

Whole point of communication is to relate, with acuity, to those you wish to receive the message.

You screwed up by not receiving properly the message sent/received & how to properly implant the desired comminique.

It was your job to provide the neccessary stimulus/imput/desired result.

You failed.

Better luck next time - if there is on.

Sorry, but that's the gig.

Neat thing is there may be an after-action-thing.

You may want to try with zero-bang-stuff = a BB-gun with nothing "offensive."

May bring her right back ..., or not.

 

[cracked butt]

First time I took my wife shooting I brought a .22 pistol and a 9mm pistol. She asked me what they were and which one was bigger, I told her the 9mm and showed her the sizes of the cartridges for comparison. I told her that I will be starting her on the .22- She pointed at the 9mm and said no, she wants to shoot that one first. Guess it turned out OK, the 9mm is big enough to feel intoxicatingly powerful, but the pistol was also heavy enough to make the recoil very gentle.

I'm glad It was pistols that day and not my .22 rifle and the 03 springfield, though on the other hand she is still afraid to shoot a rifle larger than a .22. Guess when I start casting lead bullets we'll revisit the whole rifle thing.