Proud of my Family

ExMP · July 3, 2011, 03:38 PM

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I took my family (Wife, 23 yr old daughter, 12 yr old son) to the range for the first time on Saturday, 7/2. To preface, fun was had by all, and they learned several valuable lessons.

The night before we left, my wife told me that she's going to go, because it'd drive her nuts to know I had the kids in such a dangerous place without her being there, and she'd be bored for a couple of hours. When we left, she was disappointed, because we were done. She said that, "If I knew shooting was that fun and exhilarating, I'd have gone with your for years."

I took my S&W Model 65-2 .357, H&R Sportsman .22, Savage Model 93 .17 and my old "Squirrel Master" .22 S/A. I walked each of the through safety (always first), aiming, loading, then applying what they had just been taught, firing.

I figured that getting the anticipation/fear out of the way first, I started them with the .357. I ran the target out to 15', told my son to draw back the hammer, get a good sight picture and pull the trigger. He hit the 9 ring (man target) just to the left. (At this point, he got that "grin" of coolness that instantly replaced the look of fear he had right before the shot) He shot his next 5, 2 in the 10, 2 more in the 9 and one in the 7. On his next trip up (alternated family members) I ran the target out to 25'. He shot 4 7's, a 6 and a 9. It was his first time EVER firing a handgun, and I couldn't have been more proud.

I repeated the same process with my daughter and wife. Daughter has a tendency to shoot high right. She's pulling the trigger too hard and anticipating the shot. I figure that will go away with practice. My wife, heh, she found her new talent. Having never fired a handgun, she shot almost an entire box of ammo through the southwest quadrant of the 8-9-10, with the target at 15 and 25'.

They all got to then shoot the .22 pistol, rifle and the .17 (after I adjusted the scope, it was brand new). Here is where my daughter picked things up. I ran the target out to 50', using a 5 spot target printed on an 8.5x11" piece of paper. She put them all squarely in the circles. Then, with the .17, at the max (80'), she shot a 1" group of 5 rounds.

I plan on taking them back on a monthly basis, moving the targets out a little farther each time, and giving them specific spots to shoot. Anything to change it up a bit. If anyone has any ideas here, I'd much welcome them.

I was so proud of them, I wanted to come on and tell my little story. It was incredibly fun teaching them, and then watching them do well with what they had learned.

Thanks for reading, and maybe, if you have a spouse or significant other who's skittish about shooting, this story will help convince them to go.

EDIT: After much beating and berating, my wife produced her 25' target. She said, and I quote, "Are you blind? I DID NOT get an 8!" I guess I'll have to take a pic and post it now.

EDIT EDIT: Ha! I win. She did get one 8 on the 15' target =).

10-96 · July 3, 2011, 04:55 PM

Man, that's awesome! You've every right in the world to be proud.

Are you of the old 95B MP, or the new 31Something breed of ex-MP? I was 95B, B Co 787th MP Bn and C Co 795th (after injury) at Ft. McClellan 1987.

ExMP · July 3, 2011, 06:58 PM

95B breed, 1985 Grad from Ft. McC.

977th MP's on Ft. Riley, then moved to the USACA (United States Army Correctional Activity - this is now closed).

10-96 · July 4, 2011, 06:00 AM

LIfe was good then and looking back- things seemed normal. I went on to Schofield Bks, HI, Ft. Shafter, HI, and Ft. Knox.

TheNatureBoy · July 4, 2011, 06:33 AM

Hitting the "like" button : )

jreXD9 · July 4, 2011, 08:02 PM

it DOES make you proud, doesn't it?
Last week I took my 16 yr old daughter to shoot for the 2nd time. I went thru the safety REQUIREMENTS that she MUST follow if she's going to shoot with me.....or anyone else, for that matter.
She was shooting pretty well, so I wanted to see how focused she could become. At 22 ft. I shot a 1/2 dollar sized hole (coin, not the bill) with my Kimber .45 and told her to take the XDm9 Compact 3.8 and try to shoot THROUGH that hole. Her next two shots proceeded to nick the edges of that hole and her 3rd shot went......THROUGH the hole.
She's usually pretty calm, but I could see some genuine excitement in her dancing eyes. She knew that she had done very well.
She liked the XDm but wasn't too fond of the Kimber Compact Stainless II .45.

jimbob86 · July 4, 2011, 08:54 PM

....... but it needs to be said:

Quote:

because it'd drive her nuts to know I had the kids in such a dangerous place without her being there,

Ranges are dangerous? Compared to what?

Compared to sports like football, basketball, soccer, volleyball..... and activites like cheerleading, the organized shooting sports/ hunting are very safe, both for hospitalizations and fatalities........ the Anti-gun crowd likes to skew statistics by including victims and perpetrators of crime into their numbers, but if you are counting accidental injuries, your kids are much safer at the range or in the field than on a gym floor (basketball and competetive cheerleading are the kings of catastrophic injuries for boys and girls, respectively).

The Four Rules, followed religiously, will preclude accidents. Good on you to take your family to the range and teach them.

It is much better that they know a bit about guns, as knoledge trumps ignorance...... Not teaching kids about guns (mine take 4-H Shooting Sports at 8) in a world full of guns is as negligent as not teaching them to swim in a world full of lakes, ponds and swimming pools.

ExMP · July 5, 2011, 05:29 AM

Jimbob86,

That was exactly the issue. My wife was brought up in an anti-gun household. She became used to the idea that I wasn't going to give up my firearms, but had never shot anything but a .22, and at the time she found it frightening.

Alas, "phobia" dispelled, and she's much more comfortable around firearms.

EdInk · July 5, 2011, 10:17 AM

Good deal! I think it's cool that they enjoyed it. Your daughter is 23. How old is your son? I'm assuming younger since he's never been either?

July 3, 2011, 03:38 PM	#1
ExMP Member Join Date: June 21, 2011 Posts: 34	Proud of my Family Good Afternoon Everyone, I took my family (Wife, 23 yr old daughter, 12 yr old son) to the range for the first time on Saturday, 7/2. To preface, fun was had by all, and they learned several valuable lessons. The night before we left, my wife told me that she's going to go, because it'd drive her nuts to know I had the kids in such a dangerous place without her being there, and she'd be bored for a couple of hours. When we left, she was disappointed, because we were done. She said that, "If I knew shooting was that fun and exhilarating, I'd have gone with your for years." I took my S&W Model 65-2 .357, H&R Sportsman .22, Savage Model 93 .17 and my old "Squirrel Master" .22 S/A. I walked each of the through safety (always first), aiming, loading, then applying what they had just been taught, firing. I figured that getting the anticipation/fear out of the way first, I started them with the .357. I ran the target out to 15', told my son to draw back the hammer, get a good sight picture and pull the trigger. He hit the 9 ring (man target) just to the left. (At this point, he got that "grin" of coolness that instantly replaced the look of fear he had right before the shot) He shot his next 5, 2 in the 10, 2 more in the 9 and one in the 7. On his next trip up (alternated family members) I ran the target out to 25'. He shot 4 7's, a 6 and a 9. It was his first time EVER firing a handgun, and I couldn't have been more proud. I repeated the same process with my daughter and wife. Daughter has a tendency to shoot high right. She's pulling the trigger too hard and anticipating the shot. I figure that will go away with practice. My wife, heh, she found her new talent. Having never fired a handgun, she shot almost an entire box of ammo through the southwest quadrant of the 8-9-10, with the target at 15 and 25'. They all got to then shoot the .22 pistol, rifle and the .17 (after I adjusted the scope, it was brand new). Here is where my daughter picked things up. I ran the target out to 50', using a 5 spot target printed on an 8.5x11" piece of paper. She put them all squarely in the circles. Then, with the .17, at the max (80'), she shot a 1" group of 5 rounds. I plan on taking them back on a monthly basis, moving the targets out a little farther each time, and giving them specific spots to shoot. Anything to change it up a bit. If anyone has any ideas here, I'd much welcome them. I was so proud of them, I wanted to come on and tell my little story. It was incredibly fun teaching them, and then watching them do well with what they had learned. Thanks for reading, and maybe, if you have a spouse or significant other who's skittish about shooting, this story will help convince them to go. EDIT: After much beating and berating, my wife produced her 25' target. She said, and I quote, "Are you blind? I DID NOT get an 8!" I guess I'll have to take a pic and post it now. EDIT EDIT: Ha! I win. She did get one 8 on the 15' target =). Last edited by ExMP; July 3, 2011 at 06:59 PM.

July 3, 2011, 04:55 PM	#2
10-96 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2005 Location: Tx Panhandle Territory Posts: 4,159	Man, that's awesome! You've every right in the world to be proud. Are you of the old 95B MP, or the new 31Something breed of ex-MP? I was 95B, B Co 787th MP Bn and C Co 795th (after injury) at Ft. McClellan 1987. __________________ Rednecks... Keeping the woods critter-free since March 2, 1836. (TX Independence Day) I suspect a thing or two... because I've seen a thing or two.

July 4, 2011, 06:00 AM	#4
10-96 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2005 Location: Tx Panhandle Territory Posts: 4,159	LIfe was good then and looking back- things seemed normal. I went on to Schofield Bks, HI, Ft. Shafter, HI, and Ft. Knox. __________________ Rednecks... Keeping the woods critter-free since March 2, 1836. (TX Independence Day) I suspect a thing or two... because I've seen a thing or two.

July 4, 2011, 08:02 PM	#6
jreXD9 Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2009 Posts: 404	it DOES make you proud, doesn't it? Last week I took my 16 yr old daughter to shoot for the 2nd time. I went thru the safety REQUIREMENTS that she MUST follow if she's going to shoot with me.....or anyone else, for that matter. She was shooting pretty well, so I wanted to see how focused she could become. At 22 ft. I shot a 1/2 dollar sized hole (coin, not the bill) with my Kimber .45 and told her to take the XDm9 Compact 3.8 and try to shoot THROUGH that hole. Her next two shots proceeded to nick the edges of that hole and her 3rd shot went......THROUGH the hole. She's usually pretty calm, but I could see some genuine excitement in her dancing eyes. She knew that she had done very well. She liked the XDm but wasn't too fond of the Kimber Compact Stainless II .45. __________________ Don't go ninjin' nobody don't need ninjin'.

July 5, 2011, 10:17 AM	#9
EdInk Senior Member Join Date: May 27, 2009 Posts: 3,968	Good deal! I think it's cool that they enjoyed it. Your daughter is 23. How old is your son? I'm assuming younger since he's never been either? __________________ Sic Semper Tyrannis

July 3, 2011, 06:58 PM	#3
ExMP Member Join Date: June 21, 2011 Posts: 34	95B breed, 1985 Grad from Ft. McC. 977th MP's on Ft. Riley, then moved to the USACA (United States Army Correctional Activity - this is now closed).

July 4, 2011, 06:33 AM	#5
TheNatureBoy Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2007 Posts: 1,204	Hitting the "like" button : )

July 5, 2011, 05:29 AM	#8
ExMP Member Join Date: June 21, 2011 Posts: 34	Jimbob86, That was exactly the issue. My wife was brought up in an anti-gun household. She became used to the idea that I wasn't going to give up my firearms, but had never shot anything but a .22, and at the time she found it frightening. Alas, "phobia" dispelled, and she's much more comfortable around firearms.