The Lady in your Life

Just to follow up on the warning about giving beginners a powerful gun for a laugh or to teach a young one to 'harden' up. A few years ago near Bastrop, TX - a young boy was given a 454 Casull to shoot. It recoiled back such that it hit him in the head and killed him.

Starting light is the way to go, then work up. Yes, young people of either sex can do it but one needs a reasonable training plan.
 
My wife, God bless her, doesn't really care for shooting with me. She finds it boring. She would go with me when we were younger, and I can tell you she is a natural born shooter with almost zero practice. She has shot guns before I met her, but very infrequently. One of our range sessions with a pistol she would make head shots on a B27 target with my .357 Security Six at 10 yards. First with .38+p loads, then with mid .357 loads. Still have a picture with her standing next to the target. She is not recoil sensitive at all.

My eldest daughter has been shooting 9mm since she was 10. She is going to hunt with a 12 gauge this year at 13 years old. She doesn't like .357, but she can control it. I guess it is "different strokes," but don't always assume the lady friend needs a dainty caliber. .22lr is great for an introduction if you're with someone who has never fired a gun before, but don't be afraid to introduce heavier calibers (even early on) if they seem comfortable. Of course, work your way up. Don't jump from .22 to heavy .357 loads in a light revolver.
 
Reloading has really helped my better half. She wanted to shoot my 1911 so I started her out on powder puff loads-enough to reliably cycle the action. As she gained experience I stepped up on the power to where she can handle factory and plus P loads on occasion. In addition to carrying a Government Model as her EDC, she also reloads ammo.
 
Where I grew up girls shot as much as boys, Ever month we had a school shooting, as long as Ms. Goodale was not shooting anybody could win. I did start my children with .22 cal. then moved them up to center fire.
 
A year ago my wife never shot a gun. Today she owns her own, a XD Mod2 4.0 9mm in 2 tone.

She was at 1st reluctant and a bit afraid. Her first experience also did not go well because we were at an outdoor range that was packed and over crowded. To be honest even I felt a bit uncomfortable with the conditions.

Second trip was to an indoor range and we found a time when it wasn't busy which helped and she did much better.

This summer we went to a meet'n greet with another forum group to an outdoor range and she had no trouble shootin up her share of ammo. I was teasing her about her happy trigger finger. She had a great time even though she was the only female there.
 
I’ve provided my wife opportunities to shoot a wide variety of revolvers and semiautomatics ranging in caliber from .22 to 9mm. In the end, she always goes back to the 2 inch Rossi Plinker in .22. She likes the sights, and understands and is comfortable with revolvers. She uses it as a nightstand gun. 8 Stingers, accurately placed will dissuade most interlopers. Of course, more often then not, I’ll be there with a Glock 19 as well. ??????
 
Good job! I do the exact same thing. .22 is a great way to introduce people to firearms. Back in college, I had a few female friends who grew up in an anti-gun family and had a fear of guns thanks to it. I took them out and had them shoot my 10/22 and they loved it. They no longer feared guns, and one even went out and bought a 10/22 of her own! It was a pink, but that was her personality.
 
The way I see it, women have the same innate desire to remain animate. Therefore, I'd acclimate them to a progression of handguns until they can fire a 1911-A1.

I've seen petite women shooting large caliber handguns.

Watch a woman at a gun shop counter. Salesmen will invariably guide them to a .380 Auto. Screw that. Were it a woman whom I cared about, she'd be shooting a .40 S&W or .45 ACP.
 
Were it a woman you REALLY cared about, you would provide her with information and let her make her own decision. :D

Seriously, just because a person isn't a super-gunny, doesn't mean they're not an adult. Give them the appropriate information, help them try a variety guns & calibers and then let them make a decision based on the information and on what fits them best.
 
Something nobody mentions, but is very real, is that many people don't have time or access to a shooting range, that will allow them to confidently use a .45, .40 or even a 9mm. For those folks, a .22 that they can use well, even with limited range time, is a better choice, in my humble opinion. We do a disservice to many new shooters by telling them it's 9mm or higher, or you might as well have a sharp stick.
 
We are not doing another run of Internet baloney on how 22s are useless. I've deleted such cliche driven BS.

The principles have been discussed endlessly on the interaction of what folks can shoot vs. stopping power vs. deterrence. There are other places to spout cliches.
 
Thinking or this because of another topic here on SD which made me realize in the case of a home invasion I would feel very comfortable with my wife as my backup!
 
That's why my wife shoots 9mm and I shoot .45 acp. I just need to find her a lighter weight carbine. She doesn't like shooting my AR or AK because of the weight, especially on her support hand.
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Kel-Tec has one for around $400
The wife shoots competition with me shooting 9mm and 38 short colt but for a fun day she will grab her Buckmark with a dot on it.
 
My wife is a blessing and I love her dearly... but I would never ever, trust her with a gun :-)

She is a clumsy person (part of her cuteness IMHO)... I would like to get her a j frame... but yes, I would never trust her with a gun...:confused:
 
Started my wife shooting 22lr out of a H&R Sportsman and she enjoyed it. After a while I wanted her to try an semi auto and picked her up a SR22 and she really liked that. Then one day she saw my Ruger 22/45 and it's been her "go to" range gun ever since....

Though she is interested in getting one of the new "Tiffany Blue" 380s she seen online.....
 
I was at my range yesterday and in the booth next to me was a young couple in their early 20's. I had all my guns plus my wife's SR22. I noticed that no matter how hard this young woman tried, she could not handle her boyfriend's 9mm & she was getting frusttraded.
I pulled the young man over & told him that his girlfriend could shoot my wife's SR22. I explained that if he wanted her to enjoy going with him and shooting to let her try out the 22. Once she got the hang on it , he could get her to try something bigger but to take small steps. Well she shot the SR22 & immediately had a great big smile & her BF was ecstatic. I let her shoot another full mag and her response was the same. My point is that some of our lady friends are not as strong as we are and if it's important to you & she to be part of your shooting that this might be one way to get there. My wife will be 68 tomorrow & now she actually likes coming with me but prefers the outdoor ranges because there's less noise and less cordite smell in the air.
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Great post Doc....works well with youngin's too. Rod
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When I got my wife into shooting I did a few things that seemed dumb. I let her shoot all my rifles and she double checks the zeros for me from 22 to 30-06. She's 4 foot 11 and maybe 115 pounds. She takes that like a champ but really my guns are to long for her. I bought here a rossi 22/410 as a start rifle/shotgun. The 22 was inaccurate and the 410 kicks worse than a 12 gauge at around 3 pounds. That 410 barrel will probably never go back on the gun but the 22 is a laser as soon as I put a scope on it.

When it came to her wanting to shoot a shotgun I managed to find her a Mossberg 500 20 gauge super bantam that fits her perfectly so she shoots a few boxes of shells each season with me.

But as soon as it came to pistols I was out of my element. I let her fondle everything and many different stores over weeks and everytime she came back to the SR22. So I bought it. She liked shooting it but couldn't hit anything. Eventually she bought a laser and I installed it and it lined up perfectly with the front sight at 7-10 yards. Then she started shooting it and realized as she says she was an idiot and not viewing the sights correctly.

Now she buys all her own 22 ammo and way more than I use along with asking when we're going to the range next. Many of our car vacations involve taking guns along if we can find and outdoor range.
 
I love teaching girls/women to shoot, it is SOOOOO much easier than teaching dudes

new shooters know little to nothing but men won't admit that

especially if they are 40+ years old, they were (according to themselves) call expert marksmen back when they did their conscription, but that was 20 odd years ago

hardest with females is teaching shotgun thou, they are so differently shaped (a very much appriacted shape but I digress) regular shotguns just ill-suits them

that is when my mums semi beretta 20 gauge is so useful, shorter stock with alotta drop and an adjustable comb

and it is hella hilarious seeing everything from teenage girls to soccermums outshooting the boys in no time
 
My wife is a blessing and I love her dearly... but I would never ever, trust her with a gun
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I would depend on my wife to have my back in a fire-fight.

But, since we believe in "nasty hunting accidents" rather than divorce, I would not go hunting with her is we were having serious marital problems. I'm a better shot than my wife, but she's more skilled at moving in the woods and she's far more clever than I am.
 
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