Shooting while pregnant?

[redneck]

Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
You could get her a daisy powerline rifle (880 is good) or crosman pumpmaster for less than $50, scope it for another $20 and she could shoot bb's all she wants. Those guns are surprisingly accurate to about 50ft, sometimes farther. Only hitch to that is if the only place you have to shoot is the local range, which exposes her to noise and lead regardless of what she's shooting.

If she gets one of those homicidal cravings I suppose you could get her a good respirator by 3M, and load .22 mags for her all afternoon

 

[mtnbkr]

I too like the idea of Airsoft. Not only are they quiet and safe, they can be quite accurate as well. The springcocked Glock version I had would do "minute of papercup" from across the room. I'm sure the nicer ones are more accurate. As a plus, when the kid is old enough, you can use it to teach gunhandling and shooting skills.


Chris

 

[Mike Irwin]

TONS of information on the web on children and lead exposure...

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/digest/lead_april.html

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2000/108p527-531han/abstract.html

http://www.baby-parenting.com/pregnancy/pregnancy_lead.html

http://www.lead-poisoning-news.com/html/dangers.html

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/leadbone.htm

Essentially, when it comes to a fetus or a young child, any lead is too much lead.

 

[Pendragon]

There is enough stuff to worry about with kids without adding to the mix.

I have a 17 month old son and as any parent can tell you, the love defies description.

You and your wife will be glad when your child is born that you went the extra mile to ensure that you minimized as many risks as you have control over.

There is nothing more helpless and precious than a baby, even though "the jury is still out", one thing is certain - there is no benefit to your baby by going shooting. The very best you can hope for is that it will do no harm.

Is that the standard of behavior you want to adhere to as a parent? My wife and I are the opposite of over protective - we let our son play hard and do things for himself so this is not comming from a mindset of an over protective ninny.

I just get tired of seeing people putting the best interests of their children behind what is easy and convenient and fun for the parent. Not saying this is you - just saying that it bugs me.

I just found out - a friend of mine has a son who is 4 and his daycare person KNEW that her 13 year old son was sexually violating him for MONTHS (they are both headed to serious prison time)- it is infuriating and thats why I feel compelled to write more here. Protect your kid, at any cost, in every way you can.

 

[Dave R]

Wow, Pendragon, that is so sad. Condolences.

On topic....

Folks, the noise is an issue, too. Fluid transmits sound better than air. All kinds of studies show that fetuses (feti?) can hear very well in the womb. Therefore, any sound that is a danger to Mom's ears is a danger to baby's ears, too. Ain't no way to use hearing protection for the fetus, so DON'T SHOOT PREGNANT.

 

[VaughnT]

I don't have kids. I've never been a parent. Never even been married.

However, what Pendragon related strikes a chord and I have to ask: Is any woman ready to be a mother if she can't give up something she enjoys to spare her unborn child the possibility of harm?

I cannot imagine what I would have done if I was the father in the above story, but I can imagine that it wouldn't have been pretty or legal. Protect that child, now and in the future; I firmly believe that there is a special place in Hell reserved for negligent/abusive parents.

 

[Mastrogiacomo]

Bad decision. If I were pregnant or looking to become pregnant, the last place I'd go is the firing range. I love to shoot as well but if she's concerned for the well being of her child, she wouldn't expose him/her to lead floating in the air (especially indoors). Another thing to remember is loud noise is harmful. Think they don't hear -- why are so many ladies playing Mozart to their belly? To be safe, keep away from gun ranges, loud noises and cleaning solutions for the firearms. All bad. Just this woman's two cents...

 

[Bowlcut]

As all have said....just dont shoot. And dont go cleaning your guns in any place than a locked and ventalted place not in your house. If you dont have a place to clean your firearms and keep the fumes and lead out of the house....you shouldnt be doing it around a pregnant wife. IMHO....


so sounds like a perfect time to pick up something like a pair of airsoft plastic pelet guns. Get you like a rifle and a pistol. Spring or electronic, no gas ones. Something you two can have fun with and keep up on your skills. Then you can pass them on to someone else or such later on.

 

[redneck]

I think I'd go for a pneumatic BB gun over the airsoft, you can adjust the power by the number of pumps, so its good for anything from long hallway or basement with a newspaper backstop, to shooting outside at longer ranges.
Noise isn't a problem, and all steel bb's don't pose any harm.

 

[Holiday]

Don't do it. When my wife was six months along with our daughter, I had my wife out doing a little practice. When I cut loose with my .357, she said she felt the baby jump. We stopped there. My daughter is now ten, we haven't noticed any problems, except for a decided lack of fear of loud noise, but why risk it?

 

[Idaho]

I chose, perhaps, poor phrasing in the original post in order to make it more colorful. My intent was not to say that there was no way she would give up shooting, nor that we would do anything known to endanger the child - I merely intended to show her enthusiasm for shooting, and ask a question about a topic which, prior to this point, I had never given any thought. (Heck, there are lots of things about kids that before now I hadn't considered, from schools to safety plugs in the outlets. Doesn't mean I won't think about it or do the right thing - but we aren't married let alone pregnant at this point, and I am just doing the research.)

I appreciate everyone's advice. I think we will find alternate recreation, and I have been telling her she needs to do more dry-practice. Airsoft or bb's also sound good, though I don't know that I would be able to find an airsoft P7 (her handgun of choice.)

 

[MrAcheson]

They make P7 airsoft guns. The spring cocker doesn't work quite right though since its actually just a grip safety on the airsoft. I think they may be green gas guns though. Do a google search and see if you can find anything.