Deltaten
March 06, 2005, 09:06
Doesn't really fit in either firearms discussion forums, and it WAS outdoors, so......
My 21+ y/o daughter and I spent a few hours at the range yesterday. A good, late winter session. She's been raggin' on me to take her to the range to shoot/learn, so I couldn't put it off till better [summer] weather. "Strike while the iron's hot", so to speak. Fine, sunny weather, about 40 degrees, with remnants of the last snow on the ground. No wind to speak of, but our feet got wet from the soggy ground and wet snow.
I loaded up a representative sample of (just about the entire armory!) each wep. and matching ammo and we hit the trail. Range is only a couple of miles away, so not much time for chatting. Reminded her of the few rules in shooting and safety.
She sez she wants a pistol, and claims to prefer a full sized Colt GM; particularly coveting my DE! .She hadn't shot anything since she was 4 y/o, so I started w/the BHP in 9mmas a warm-up. Coached her a bit in stance, grip and sight picture. "Ducks to water" comes to mind. Moved up to the Commander length ODI.45. She did well enough that I felt she could handle the 10mm and suited her up w/that. I used the Fed FBI load (thanks Dan!), and she didn't flinch much, and did manage to hit the paper @ 25-30 yd MOST of the time. To round out her familiarization, I then instructed her in the diff's between the auto and the wheelie, loaded up the '66 and got her to the line. 12 rd of DA 125 gr lite .357's went downrange w/o a hitch. Need to work on D/A trigger "feel" w/her, but successful, nonetheless.
After a short course in the finer points of shoulder fired vs pistol, we moved on to the long guns. Just to illustrate the recoil diffs, I sent her to the line w/the 870 riot first. Five rd of trap loads simply to warm her up to the sights and recoil. She wasn't thrilled w/the thump on the shoulder, but did manage to deal w/it. I did this on purpose, to illustrate the felt recoil of the following rifles in comparison.
Broke "Shorty" out, and she grinned like a Cheshire cat! I ran a short mag of Port, just to check function and warm it up. Showed her the load/unload sequence, safety and operation of the wep; handed her a mag and the gun and stood by while she went thru the familiar [for us!] routine. 10 rd downrange, and she decides to switch to the LH shouder! She's prolly left eye dominant, and wanted to try it. Result: back to RH and deal w/it. Another mag from the hip..."where did it all go??", over too soon! Familiar sensation?? ;)
The only sample of 7.62X39 that I currently have operational is the AMD pistol recently finished. Same routine; I warmed it up to display function, safety and operation. She handled it with aplomb and style, grinning broadly all the while. " I LIKE it!" :biggrin:
She tried the AK-74 that I just finished, while I was breaking it in. Really liked the reduced recoil, but commented that it was a "weenie" rd compared to the FAL. That's my girl! :D O'course, I took this opening to illustrate the major diff between cals by dancing the bowling pins around with Shorty. "Yup...bigger IS better" she sez!
Break-time, and she loads up some mags for the .45. Look like we have a winner, folks! Now I gotta find a full size GM for her, too!
I did some work on the ODI's f.s and made a few adj for windage; fired for group, and pronounced it done. She spent several mags, switched back and forth LH to RH and settled on RH as preferred.
I needed to sight in the L1A1. Installed Indian RS ( thanx GPG!) while she warmed up a bit. Used the process to explain trajectory and sight movement. Lesson absorbed and catalogued. Greatfully, she has my ability to learn "manually", and took it all in stride
"Now let's red up a bit and we'll try something different"
Sent her back to the truck to retrieve the last gun bag... the Hakim! She has seen this particular piece in the rack and hefted it before, but never shot anything THAT big. I explained the diff in caliber and between cover/concealment, and illustrated it by popping up a bowling pin from it's hiding place in a truck tire part of the backstop. The Hakim functioned well for the 5 rd she shot. Result: she likes a heavy weapon, and knows well now that she CAN fire a "manly" gun.
On the way to the targets, I explained that a 60 y/o gun can be just as, or more devastating than some new, whiz-bang system. With 10 rd in a silver dollar (or less!) size hole; the lesson was well accepted.
Atzabout it, so we packed the Ranger and headed home. Explained that if ya shoot, ya un-pack and clean. No problem. She helped/watched while I stripped the DE. 'Nuff for now,. She can learn the routine for the rest later..don't wanna overload on the first trip;)
A little longer than I thought it would be, but it's not often a Dad has a chance to brag ona daughter's first range trip.
Regards,
Paul
My 21+ y/o daughter and I spent a few hours at the range yesterday. A good, late winter session. She's been raggin' on me to take her to the range to shoot/learn, so I couldn't put it off till better [summer] weather. "Strike while the iron's hot", so to speak. Fine, sunny weather, about 40 degrees, with remnants of the last snow on the ground. No wind to speak of, but our feet got wet from the soggy ground and wet snow.
I loaded up a representative sample of (just about the entire armory!) each wep. and matching ammo and we hit the trail. Range is only a couple of miles away, so not much time for chatting. Reminded her of the few rules in shooting and safety.
She sez she wants a pistol, and claims to prefer a full sized Colt GM; particularly coveting my DE! .She hadn't shot anything since she was 4 y/o, so I started w/the BHP in 9mmas a warm-up. Coached her a bit in stance, grip and sight picture. "Ducks to water" comes to mind. Moved up to the Commander length ODI.45. She did well enough that I felt she could handle the 10mm and suited her up w/that. I used the Fed FBI load (thanks Dan!), and she didn't flinch much, and did manage to hit the paper @ 25-30 yd MOST of the time. To round out her familiarization, I then instructed her in the diff's between the auto and the wheelie, loaded up the '66 and got her to the line. 12 rd of DA 125 gr lite .357's went downrange w/o a hitch. Need to work on D/A trigger "feel" w/her, but successful, nonetheless.
After a short course in the finer points of shoulder fired vs pistol, we moved on to the long guns. Just to illustrate the recoil diffs, I sent her to the line w/the 870 riot first. Five rd of trap loads simply to warm her up to the sights and recoil. She wasn't thrilled w/the thump on the shoulder, but did manage to deal w/it. I did this on purpose, to illustrate the felt recoil of the following rifles in comparison.
Broke "Shorty" out, and she grinned like a Cheshire cat! I ran a short mag of Port, just to check function and warm it up. Showed her the load/unload sequence, safety and operation of the wep; handed her a mag and the gun and stood by while she went thru the familiar [for us!] routine. 10 rd downrange, and she decides to switch to the LH shouder! She's prolly left eye dominant, and wanted to try it. Result: back to RH and deal w/it. Another mag from the hip..."where did it all go??", over too soon! Familiar sensation?? ;)
The only sample of 7.62X39 that I currently have operational is the AMD pistol recently finished. Same routine; I warmed it up to display function, safety and operation. She handled it with aplomb and style, grinning broadly all the while. " I LIKE it!" :biggrin:
She tried the AK-74 that I just finished, while I was breaking it in. Really liked the reduced recoil, but commented that it was a "weenie" rd compared to the FAL. That's my girl! :D O'course, I took this opening to illustrate the major diff between cals by dancing the bowling pins around with Shorty. "Yup...bigger IS better" she sez!
Break-time, and she loads up some mags for the .45. Look like we have a winner, folks! Now I gotta find a full size GM for her, too!
I did some work on the ODI's f.s and made a few adj for windage; fired for group, and pronounced it done. She spent several mags, switched back and forth LH to RH and settled on RH as preferred.
I needed to sight in the L1A1. Installed Indian RS ( thanx GPG!) while she warmed up a bit. Used the process to explain trajectory and sight movement. Lesson absorbed and catalogued. Greatfully, she has my ability to learn "manually", and took it all in stride
"Now let's red up a bit and we'll try something different"
Sent her back to the truck to retrieve the last gun bag... the Hakim! She has seen this particular piece in the rack and hefted it before, but never shot anything THAT big. I explained the diff in caliber and between cover/concealment, and illustrated it by popping up a bowling pin from it's hiding place in a truck tire part of the backstop. The Hakim functioned well for the 5 rd she shot. Result: she likes a heavy weapon, and knows well now that she CAN fire a "manly" gun.
On the way to the targets, I explained that a 60 y/o gun can be just as, or more devastating than some new, whiz-bang system. With 10 rd in a silver dollar (or less!) size hole; the lesson was well accepted.
Atzabout it, so we packed the Ranger and headed home. Explained that if ya shoot, ya un-pack and clean. No problem. She helped/watched while I stripped the DE. 'Nuff for now,. She can learn the routine for the rest later..don't wanna overload on the first trip;)
A little longer than I thought it would be, but it's not often a Dad has a chance to brag ona daughter's first range trip.
Regards,
Paul