Took a newbie to the range!!

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MedGrl

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I took a friend of mine to the range today. She has never realy ahd any interest in guns one way or another as far as I can tell but after I mentioned having 2 shotguns she started asking me questions about guns and why I own one. She was fascinated that me a "normal person" (meaning I am not some redneck hick or member of the tinfoil hat brigade) would own guns. She's been asking me for about a month now about guns and such. Well today we both happened to get done with some finals at the same time so I offered to take her to the range and teach her. On the way to the range I went over the 4 rules, the parts of my shotguns, range saftey rules and answered her questions as she came up with them.

When we got to the range we pulled my Remington 870 and mossberg 500 (both 20 guage) out of my trunk along with the ammo I had left over from my last range trip. I showed her the guns and explained how they worked. She held them and played with the pumps and safteys just getting a feel for them. Then I showed her how to mount the gun and correced her stance a bit.

I shot at a cardboard box we scavenged as a target then gave her a chance. She shot a couple rounds of 7/8 oz Remington Gun club #8 shot through each of the guns. She realy enjoyed it though she missed the box on her first shot but hit it the other 3 times. We then took some empty soada bottles she had brought with us and filled them from a nearby creek.

I think this picture can show more eloquently than anything else how much fun she had after she hit the 2 liter the first time.

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here she is before her first shot

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and here she is after

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She says she would love to come with me some other time when I go to the range and would like to learn hand guns after I get one of my own. Though she doesn't think she is going to buy a gun any time soon...But she said she would concider it after she graduates.

well folks...that is one who is quite firmly left of the middle who is on her way to becoming a gunny.
 
Good job. Leave the browbeating sermonizing to the other side. Letting people's cognitive dissonance to the work for you does so much better (normal person + guns).
Glad you had a good time and that she kept safe. Sometimes there is information overload (plus nervousness short circuits thinking) and fun is lost.
A few more times and that shotgun will look even better to her.

Are you MedGrl because of parametic training, or medical school?
 
That'd be me, yeah...

Danged if MedGrl hasn't started up and arming the liberals!
Actually, I've always been fascinated by guns...in the anime, book, movie and other cultural sense. The idea of actually being responsible for, i.e., holding a large bang-stick that can kill another human...well...given my track record with baseball bats, string, pieces of paper, duct tape, baking pans, a bowling ball, cake and a fairly memorable incident involving a box of soda...guns just didn't seem like a very wise idea.
Meaning: I am a more or less total klutz. MedGrl has tales of That Time I Fell Down just about every hill on our campus.
But hey...the rifle range seemed pretty safe. Long as I stay behind the firing line, pay attention, and don't do anything crazy, I should be safe. The responsibility is great, this holding and use of the Sticks Which Go Bang, but I figure, if I can handle a car...
And no, MedGrl, this is not the time to mention That Time With The Guardrail.
Oh, and that lime-cola had it coming. Cherry is much better.
 
I do have an odd question...is it normal to find unused bullets at a range? I found some on the ground, little 22s.
If and when I own a gun, I think I'd like a 22. Neat little holes in paper targets agree with my sensibilities. I wouldn't really need a gun for hunting, as I buy meat from grocery stores and really like animals too much; and I wouldn't really need it for self-defense because I like to live in very safe areas...or surrounded by other people with guns and badges who protect me in exchange for occasional chocolate-mint brownies. My feeling on guns was always kind of 'well, yes, they're nice, but so dangerous...and what'd be the point?' Since my evening with MedGrl at the range I have discovered the point:
RECYCLABLES MUST DIE!!!
 
I do have an odd question...is it normal to find unused bullets at a range? I found some on the ground, little 22s.

WE found about a dozen or so .22 rimfire's un fired. It looks like someone may have dumped a box and not picked them all up.
 
I do have an odd question...is it normal to find unused bullets at a range? I found some on the ground, little 22s.

it is normal at almost every outdoor range i have ever used to find unfired or dud .22lr laying on the ground.

kinda irks me to find it like that b/c it IS live ammo and should have been disposed of in a safe manner not left laying in the dirt/grass/ whatever for the lawnmower to beat beatup or set off. but essentially if you weren't the one to drop it, it' not a good idea to try and fire it, and many ranges reasonably frown on the disposal of live ammo in the trash or "Brass" bins since it poses a danger in teh course of any later "processing" that the contents of the barrels might go through.
 
Great job Medgirl. Sometimes it doesn't take much to interest someone about guns. Good luck with finals.
 
I confess I left ~40 .22s out of a box of 50 on the table after I left this weekend.
I guess I brought too many, otherwise I would have been counting everyone!! Must have been having too good of a time when I went to the longer range and forgot in all the excitement.

cavman
 
Whatta hoot! I'm glad you guys had so much fun.

You know Jan, the one gun that I always take to the range is my Ruger Single-Six .22. Recyclables die slowly, gradually being ventilated with tiny holes......:evil:

Thanks for sharing,
Jeff
 
jan- good job in giving it a try. sure hope you get a chance to try again.

med- kudos!
...and get a 22 for introducing new shooters, for the love of pete! nothing like taking somebody out w/ a gun that will knock the snot right out of 'em for their intro... trial by fire and all that... seriously, though - good job.
 
Jan - sometimes .22LR ammo has hard primers and it doesn't go 'bang'. That's what we get for buying cheap ammo. But that is the nature of the beast with .22 LR, you want cheap for the most part.
Personally, I keep my firearm pointed downrange when it doesn't go 'bang' and wait about 30 seconds in case it was a hangfire. Then I recock and reload that round to dispose of it. The most stubborn one took three tries (total).

As for the good neighborhood thing, well once I was living in one of the best neighborhoods of a city and the house I was in was broken into. Things happen, but that is a discussion for another time.

I do have to point out that Cain slew Able with a rock and kitchen knives are the most common instruments of assault in this country. We have all handled things that will help us kill, it that is our intent. So a gun is just something you have to be more careful of. But you've had that talk.

I'm glad you had a good time. Best way to learn and be relaxed.
Those bottles are even better filled with a colored liquid - water and food coloring. If a friend works at a food store, sometimes (bad) melons can be had when they toss stuff. It biodegrades, so its all good.
Then there is the joy of reactive targets.
 
I forgot to say (yes, with all those words there are still more) that one advantage of handguns is the availability of ranges. I have mostly lived in urban areas, so nice outdoors ranges and rifle ranges are not always easy to get to. But everybody lets you use a handgun. They come in .22LR also, so no worries for you there.
 
Wow, it seems like just yesterday you were posting your first post about your interest in firearms, and here you are passing it on! Well done, Medgrl!:)

Jan- Here's to your gaining an understanding and appreciation for firearms- and hey, I am often accused of klutziness myself; but somehow handling a gun lifts the veil of klutziness, and responsibility creates a sense of self-confidence. I see that same self-confidence showing in your 'after' picture...:) Keep hitting the range with Medgrl, and good luck!
 
Hi Jan, glad to hear that you enjoyed yourself. Remember to follow safety rules. Be aware that the vast majority of firearm owners are great people, involved in a variety of shooting sports. Some are just self-defense types, but alot of us enjoy different things. Some of us have killed hundreds or thousands of evil parasitic clay pigeons. No mater how many I have destroyed of this flying scourge, more just appear. They are so common and deserving of being blasted out of the sky, not even PETA complains:)
Have fun, be safe. And don't let the creepy bad apple gun nut (and they are out there) put you off of the 99.99% of the good.

Kudos to you too, Medgrl!
 
Now this is the kind of post I like to see. Medgrl, good job introducing your friend to the rewarding realm of firearms and shooting things that splish and splash.

Jan, you looked like you were having a ball there, don't forget that and go to the range with Medgrl as often as you can. Shotgun ammo isn't terribly expensive and I'd wager that it's cheaper than a movie in your neck of the woods (and often more fun to boot).

If ya'll make your way up into Eastern or Central Pennsylvania gimme a holler; I have an overabundance of plastic aliens in my neck of the woods, sure could use a couple of nice folks that are handy with a shotgun. :D
 
Same goes for me if you ever plan on going up to Greater Pittsburgh Gun Club. My friend (Fallenangel) and I have an abundance of pistols ranging from .22 to 44mag, steel to plastic, that we regularly share with beginners.
Rifles too, but thats a whole different thread :)
 
*sniff sniff*

You never invited me to the gun club. :(

I'm always the last to get picked, ever since kickball in the 4th grade. :banghead:



:D
 
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