Proud day for this Papa!

2wheelwander · May 12, 2020, 07:41 PM

My 18 year old daughter will graduate high school this year and is only a few weeks short of being a CNA. She'd have had it by now if classes had not been cancelled. Wants to move out and be independent. She has an outstanding head on her shoulders and I don't have to worry about her.

A few weeks ago she asked about concealed carry and told her in Indiana she can conceal carry at 18, but can't buy a new gun until she is 21. She took it upon herself to apply for CCW and get her fingerprints done. I took the day off and went with her with plans of just having a Daddy Daughter date day. After fingerprints she wanted to go look a guns.

Took her to one of my favorite LGS and spent 2 hours in there (ZX Guns, Fort Wayne). Had an outstanding salesman who showed me guns I'd not even thought of. I knew she'd want to eventually carry a single stack 9mm striker fired polymer after talking and letting her handle a wide variety of handguns that would easily be carried in a purse. Without firing a shot she shy'd away from all snub noses and DA/SA compacts. Just didn't like the feel. She attached to my Dads LPC . The gun salesman showed her every single stack 9mm striker fired he had. From Beretta to the Sig 365 SAS (I Loved that gun and its sights). Time and again she kept going to the Glock 43X. So, thats what I bought for her to train on.

We got home and she started on my Smith 22A, on to my CZ-85, PCR, she wanted to skip my RAMI and got onto the 43 as she became comfortable. She did extremely well and was upset she couldn't fire as fast or accurate as I could. Tried to tell her I had 40 years of shooting behind me - didn't matter to her. I bet she fired 500 rounds between .22 and 9mm. She shot until the web of her hand was red and sore. Targets were fun, hitting gongs and making them ring really added to the fun for her - just making the gong ring. Smiles all around.

Cleaning - she learned to field strip my new Glock, cleaned the barrel and learned how to lube it, reassemble. Returning that to the safe she, for the first time, stuck her head in with genuine interest in what Dad had and wanted to shoot EVERYTHING. Put .38's in my 6" GP100 then .357. She loved shooting it. Thought my NAA mini .22 mag was 'cute' and wanted to shoot it. Put her behind my Marlin 39A to get some rifle time.

Throughout the entire time, every time she handled a firearm she practiced trigger and muzzle discipline. Was safer and more instinctive than I've seen virgin shooters at LE ranges. She kept her respect, but lost her intimidation of firearms. I was so impressed by how she carried herself and awareness at the range, I gave her that Glock 43. She was beside herself.

My big takeaway training my daughter to shoot. Things I/we take for granted, or even appreciate, as seasoned shooters are irrelevant to a new person - or even annoying. People who ask me what to buy I tell them to find what fits their hand best and go from there. Typically I recommend an hammerless snub or a Glock 19 for a quick answer. My daughter hated the DA/SA CZ's. Having 2 different trigger pulls was stupid to her. Even on the hammerless snub, she just didn't like that long trigger pull. Didn't matter the Glock trigger sucked compared to a CZ, consistency and simplicity is what she went for. Take up, creep, reset - irrelevant. She found what fit her hand the most comfortably and gained confidence from it.

When it was all over she said she already wanted a second gun! Must be in the genes.

Dean C · May 12, 2020, 09:02 PM

Great story. I really felt good reading it. You have a great daughter, and you are a great father.
Dean

**44 AMP** · May 12, 2020, 09:29 PM

My daughter is one of those people who can make competence seem effortless. Some times, its scary.

she had a boyfriend, he wanted to go shooting, so we did, Shooting my model 28 with .38s, at an old fence post about 30yds. He hits it a couple times, misses close on the rest. Has her try it, she does the same.

He asks to shoot some magnums, so, ok. Same results, he hits a couple times, misses close the rest. Daughter is laying out picnic lunch, he says "you've got to try this! Its great!"

she kind of sighs, comes over, and shoots the magnum. Bang..slight pause, BANGBANGBANG BANG BANG. EVERY shot a hit, blowing nice chunks off the old post. Hands gun back, says, "anything else? or can we have lunch now?"
goes back to the blanket and fixing lunch...

Boyfriend picks jaw up off the ground and just stares at her, dumbfounded.

I tell him, "if I were you, I wouldn't get her mad....

"

I also have her on video at Air Force Basic, doing a mag swap on an M16 in a training class. Click, snap, done. The rest of the class was more than a bit behind her...(yes, proud Pappa here!!)

I never trained her, other than basic safety, and didn't force her to shoot or learn anything she didn't ask about. Natural ability or just learning through osmosis growing up in my home, don't know which, doesn't matter.

She's a crack shot and doesn't seem to try. Her brother is almost as good, and HE worked at it!

Mike38 · May 13, 2020, 12:43 AM

I have found out something very interesting over the 45+ years I've been involved in the shooting sports. Women can be and usually are very good shots. I think it has a lot to do with a lack of something. Women do not have that "Macho Man" imagine that men do. Men automatically think, heck yea, I have my man card in my wallet, and I can out shoot anyone here. Quite often, the beginner female will out shoot a beginner male. Also, women tend to listen and understand better than men. That "Macho" imagine gets in the way of learning. Anyhow, may not mean much, I may be wrong, but my experience leads me to believe this.

I have recently started taking my 11 year old grandson to the range with me. The kid is actually pretty good. Our last two trips to the range, I didn't even fire a shot, I have been teaching him, and I'm having just as much fun as he is.

KEYBEAR · May 13, 2020, 09:32 AM

2wheelwander The 43 is a very nice carry gun and will do the job .

reteach · May 13, 2020, 10:29 AM

Thank you, 2wheelwander, for that. You've done a great job.

My wife and daughter have almost zero interest in shooting. Their only interest comes from the fact that I'm interested. They will go to the range with me once in a great while. And when they do, they are safe, competent, and outshoot many of the guys there. I agree with Mike38 - they don't have any image they need to live up to, they are aware that they don't know everything, and they pay attention to instructions. I don't think all women fit that description, but many do.

jwamplerusa · May 14, 2020, 04:28 PM

2wheelwander, take a look at the shield arms mag for the 43X.

CommandoX · May 14, 2020, 07:56 PM

That was a good read and must give you a good feeling. Thanks for sharing that with us.

For the record, the easiest people I have ever introduced to firearms and seen immediate success are women. They listen, they have little preconceived expectation and they want to do well.

**Spats McGee** · May 15, 2020, 04:45 AM

That's a good story to read. Congratulations.

Kudos to you 2wheelwander. First, for raising a young lady who sounds remarkable. Second, for following the advice we see in every "what gun to get my [mother/wife/gf/sister/SO/female cousin/etc.]" thread. That piece of advice is "let her pick it out." Men have a long history of making awful choices when picking guns for the women in our lives.

armoredman · May 16, 2020, 06:06 AM

Outstanding, sir well done.

ms6852 · May 16, 2020, 06:34 PM

Beautiful story Papa, congratulations to you and your daughter.

OneFreeTexan · May 16, 2020, 08:25 PM

A. Few years ago granddaughter an grandson visited. Let them shoot one of my 22 rifles. Granddaughter first...ten shots on target. then it’s grandson’s turn,,,,he looks at me..and goes. “No way!”

Daughter shot on the Air Force marksmen time for a few years.

Wag · May 17, 2020, 07:39 AM

My late wife could always outshoot me unless I was up to par on my range time. It got embarrassing at times.

Whenever I've had the good fortune of teaching a woman or younger girl how to shoot, they always outshoot the men and boys. If they put in the range time, they can be completely unbeatable.

You're a lucky man, 2wheelwander!

--Wag--

2wheelwander · May 17, 2020, 09:14 AM

I appreciate the props gentlemen. Couldn't be more proud of her. Reading many of the posts gives me a great comprehension of the mumblings of women being easier to teach and can quickly becoming better marksman than men. I've witnessed, and been, the pride of assuming better than we were and self imposed peer pressure. The first time I had to qualify in LE in front of men it took me 3 tries to qualify trying to impress others I was better than I actually was. A hugely embarrassing day and a hit to my pride sacrificing accuracy to impress with speed. Nobody was impressed.

My daughter thankfully hasn't inherited her fathers testosterone driven pride and just wants to learn and do better for herself. An attitude that took me too long to learn.

She's working 12 hour night shifts at an assisted living home and conquering on all the responsibilities that go with it. Isn't easy at times, but she drives on.

@ jwamplerusa I looked into the magazines from Shield Arms. Sold out!! I'l grab one or two for her when those come back. We'll keep at it for proper trigger control and sight picture she still struggles with then add in proper reloading and work our way into tactical reloads and reloading injured in the distant future. I won't let her carry with a piece or paper and a gun. She's going to understand and realize the responsibility that goes with it and laws as best I can teach her.

Future range reports to follow!

TailGator · May 19, 2020, 04:49 PM

That was a heartwarming story, 2wheelwander. She's a great kid. Great kids come from parents who care about parenting.

And 44AMP, my youngest daughter is like yours. Instinctively does a lot of things right, and accepts coaching well to correct the things she needs to improve. There are a lot of people who condescend to her at ranges, and she just shuts up and shoots the middle out of targets. Leaves some folks with big eyes and slightly open mouths.

May 12, 2020, 07:41 PM	#1
2wheelwander Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2018 Posts: 539	Proud day for this Papa! My 18 year old daughter will graduate high school this year and is only a few weeks short of being a CNA. She'd have had it by now if classes had not been cancelled. Wants to move out and be independent. She has an outstanding head on her shoulders and I don't have to worry about her. A few weeks ago she asked about concealed carry and told her in Indiana she can conceal carry at 18, but can't buy a new gun until she is 21. She took it upon herself to apply for CCW and get her fingerprints done. I took the day off and went with her with plans of just having a Daddy Daughter date day. After fingerprints she wanted to go look a guns. Took her to one of my favorite LGS and spent 2 hours in there (ZX Guns, Fort Wayne). Had an outstanding salesman who showed me guns I'd not even thought of. I knew she'd want to eventually carry a single stack 9mm striker fired polymer after talking and letting her handle a wide variety of handguns that would easily be carried in a purse. Without firing a shot she shy'd away from all snub noses and DA/SA compacts. Just didn't like the feel. She attached to my Dads LPC . The gun salesman showed her every single stack 9mm striker fired he had. From Beretta to the Sig 365 SAS (I Loved that gun and its sights). Time and again she kept going to the Glock 43X. So, thats what I bought for her to train on. We got home and she started on my Smith 22A, on to my CZ-85, PCR, she wanted to skip my RAMI and got onto the 43 as she became comfortable. She did extremely well and was upset she couldn't fire as fast or accurate as I could. Tried to tell her I had 40 years of shooting behind me - didn't matter to her. I bet she fired 500 rounds between .22 and 9mm. She shot until the web of her hand was red and sore. Targets were fun, hitting gongs and making them ring really added to the fun for her - just making the gong ring. Smiles all around. Cleaning - she learned to field strip my new Glock, cleaned the barrel and learned how to lube it, reassemble. Returning that to the safe she, for the first time, stuck her head in with genuine interest in what Dad had and wanted to shoot EVERYTHING. Put .38's in my 6" GP100 then .357. She loved shooting it. Thought my NAA mini .22 mag was 'cute' and wanted to shoot it. Put her behind my Marlin 39A to get some rifle time. Throughout the entire time, every time she handled a firearm she practiced trigger and muzzle discipline. Was safer and more instinctive than I've seen virgin shooters at LE ranges. She kept her respect, but lost her intimidation of firearms. I was so impressed by how she carried herself and awareness at the range, I gave her that Glock 43. She was beside herself. My big takeaway training my daughter to shoot. Things I/we take for granted, or even appreciate, as seasoned shooters are irrelevant to a new person - or even annoying. People who ask me what to buy I tell them to find what fits their hand best and go from there. Typically I recommend an hammerless snub or a Glock 19 for a quick answer. My daughter hated the DA/SA CZ's. Having 2 different trigger pulls was stupid to her. Even on the hammerless snub, she just didn't like that long trigger pull. Didn't matter the Glock trigger sucked compared to a CZ, consistency and simplicity is what she went for. Take up, creep, reset - irrelevant. She found what fit her hand the most comfortably and gained confidence from it. When it was all over she said she already wanted a second gun! Must be in the genes.

May 12, 2020, 09:02 PM	#2
Dean C Senior Member Join Date: June 13, 2004 Location: Mill Creek (Just north east of Seattle) Posts: 343	Great story. I really felt good reading it. You have a great daughter, and you are a great father. Dean __________________ Viet Nam Vet American Legion Member Former NRA Member (Still thinking about that) Pro 2A Washington (Charter Member)

May 12, 2020, 09:29 PM	#3
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,832	My daughter is one of those people who can make competence seem effortless. Some times, its scary. she had a boyfriend, he wanted to go shooting, so we did, Shooting my model 28 with .38s, at an old fence post about 30yds. He hits it a couple times, misses close on the rest. Has her try it, she does the same. He asks to shoot some magnums, so, ok. Same results, he hits a couple times, misses close the rest. Daughter is laying out picnic lunch, he says "you've got to try this! Its great!" she kind of sighs, comes over, and shoots the magnum. Bang..slight pause, BANGBANGBANG BANG BANG. EVERY shot a hit, blowing nice chunks off the old post. Hands gun back, says, "anything else? or can we have lunch now?" goes back to the blanket and fixing lunch... Boyfriend picks jaw up off the ground and just stares at her, dumbfounded. I tell him, "if I were you, I wouldn't get her mad...." I also have her on video at Air Force Basic, doing a mag swap on an M16 in a training class. Click, snap, done. The rest of the class was more than a bit behind her...(yes, proud Pappa here!!) I never trained her, other than basic safety, and didn't force her to shoot or learn anything she didn't ask about. Natural ability or just learning through osmosis growing up in my home, don't know which, doesn't matter. She's a crack shot and doesn't seem to try. Her brother is almost as good, and HE worked at it! __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

May 14, 2020, 07:56 PM	#8
CommandoX Member Join Date: February 2, 2011 Location: The Land of Cheese n' Beer Posts: 95	That was a good read and must give you a good feeling. Thanks for sharing that with us. For the record, the easiest people I have ever introduced to firearms and seen immediate success are women. They listen, they have little preconceived expectation and they want to do well. __________________ When in doubt, empty the mag.

May 15, 2020, 04:45 AM	#9
Spats McGee Staff Join Date: July 28, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 8,821	That's a good story to read. Congratulations. Kudos to you 2wheelwander. First, for raising a young lady who sounds remarkable. Second, for following the advice we see in every "what gun to get my [mother/wife/gf/sister/SO/female cousin/etc.]" thread. That piece of advice is "let her pick it out." Men have a long history of making awful choices when picking guns for the women in our lives. __________________ I'm a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer. If you need some honest-to-goodness legal advice, go buy some.

May 13, 2020, 12:43 AM	#4
Mike38 Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2009 Location: North Central Illinois Posts: 2,710	I have found out something very interesting over the 45+ years I've been involved in the shooting sports. Women can be and usually are very good shots. I think it has a lot to do with a lack of something. Women do not have that "Macho Man" imagine that men do. Men automatically think, heck yea, I have my man card in my wallet, and I can out shoot anyone here. Quite often, the beginner female will out shoot a beginner male. Also, women tend to listen and understand better than men. That "Macho" imagine gets in the way of learning. Anyhow, may not mean much, I may be wrong, but my experience leads me to believe this. I have recently started taking my 11 year old grandson to the range with me. The kid is actually pretty good. Our last two trips to the range, I didn't even fire a shot, I have been teaching him, and I'm having just as much fun as he is.

May 13, 2020, 09:32 AM	#5
KEYBEAR Senior Member Join Date: January 11, 2012 Location: Indiana Posts: 1,059	2wheelwander The 43 is a very nice carry gun and will do the job .

May 13, 2020, 10:29 AM	#6
reteach Senior Member Join Date: August 31, 2016 Location: Texas Posts: 379	Thank you, 2wheelwander, for that. You've done a great job. My wife and daughter have almost zero interest in shooting. Their only interest comes from the fact that I'm interested. They will go to the range with me once in a great while. And when they do, they are safe, competent, and outshoot many of the guys there. I agree with Mike38 - they don't have any image they need to live up to, they are aware that they don't know everything, and they pay attention to instructions. I don't think all women fit that description, but many do.

May 14, 2020, 04:28 PM	#7
jwamplerusa Member Join Date: January 8, 2017 Location: Central Indiana Posts: 34	2wheelwander, take a look at the shield arms mag for the 43X.

May 16, 2020, 06:06 AM	#10
armoredman Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 5,299	Outstanding, sir well done.

May 16, 2020, 06:34 PM	#11
ms6852 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 1,394	Beautiful story Papa, congratulations to you and your daughter. __________________ ONLY TWO DEFINING FORCES HAVE GIVEN UP THEIR LIVES FOR YOU. ONE IS JESUS CHRIST FOR YOUR SOUL AND THE OTHER IS THE AMERICAN SOLDIER FOR YOUR FREEDOM.

May 16, 2020, 08:25 PM	#12
OneFreeTexan Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2002 Location: West, Texas Posts: 280	A. Few years ago granddaughter an grandson visited. Let them shoot one of my 22 rifles. Granddaughter first...ten shots on target. then it’s grandson’s turn,,,,he looks at me..and goes. “No way!” Daughter shot on the Air Force marksmen time for a few years.

May 17, 2020, 07:39 AM	#13
Wag Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 2010 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 988	My late wife could always outshoot me unless I was up to par on my range time. It got embarrassing at times. Whenever I've had the good fortune of teaching a woman or younger girl how to shoot, they always outshoot the men and boys. If they put in the range time, they can be completely unbeatable. You're a lucky man, 2wheelwander! --Wag-- __________________ "Great genius will always encounter fierce opposition from mediocre minds." --Albert Einstein.

May 17, 2020, 09:14 AM	#14
2wheelwander Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2018 Posts: 539	I appreciate the props gentlemen. Couldn't be more proud of her. Reading many of the posts gives me a great comprehension of the mumblings of women being easier to teach and can quickly becoming better marksman than men. I've witnessed, and been, the pride of assuming better than we were and self imposed peer pressure. The first time I had to qualify in LE in front of men it took me 3 tries to qualify trying to impress others I was better than I actually was. A hugely embarrassing day and a hit to my pride sacrificing accuracy to impress with speed. Nobody was impressed. My daughter thankfully hasn't inherited her fathers testosterone driven pride and just wants to learn and do better for herself. An attitude that took me too long to learn. She's working 12 hour night shifts at an assisted living home and conquering on all the responsibilities that go with it. Isn't easy at times, but she drives on. @ jwamplerusa I looked into the magazines from Shield Arms. Sold out!! I'l grab one or two for her when those come back. We'll keep at it for proper trigger control and sight picture she still struggles with then add in proper reloading and work our way into tactical reloads and reloading injured in the distant future. I won't let her carry with a piece or paper and a gun. She's going to understand and realize the responsibility that goes with it and laws as best I can teach her. Future range reports to follow!

May 19, 2020, 04:49 PM	#15
TailGator Senior Member Join Date: May 8, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,787	That was a heartwarming story, 2wheelwander. She's a great kid. Great kids come from parents who care about parenting. And 44AMP, my youngest daughter is like yours. Instinctively does a lot of things right, and accepts coaching well to correct the things she needs to improve. There are a lot of people who condescend to her at ranges, and she just shuts up and shoots the middle out of targets. Leaves some folks with big eyes and slightly open mouths.