aarondhgraham
New member
Sarah is a 22 year old college student majoring in Industrial Engineering,,,
She is also a lovely young lady who schleps beer to me at my favorite watering hole.
She told me she had never fired a handgun before,,,
But was very interested in learning to shoot a handgun,,,
She eventually wants to take the class and obtain a carry permit.
First I started her with a basic safety lesson,,,
I use Col. Coopers 4 rules with one more added,,,
The fifth (and most important) rule is "Do Not Shoot Aarond."
We were shooting from 7 yards,,,
It seemed like a good distance to start with.
First we shot Lucille,,,
A Colt Frontier Scout in .22 LR,,,
I wanted her to experience single-action shooting,,,
She did just fine putting about 24 rounds on a 8.5" x 11" target.
Then I switched her to a 4" S&W Model 34 in .22 LR,,,
Shooting in single action she did just as well as with the Colt,,,
When she tried double-action she didn't hit the paper for 4 cylinders of ammo.
We kept at it as I was coaching her stance, grip, and trigger pull,,,
She eventually started putting a few rounds on the paper,,,
Her shots weren't all over the place though,,,
She was actually grouping about 10",,,
Just shooting very consistently low.
I also had taken my 2" snubnose Model 34,,,
I was playing with this gun and she said "let me try it",,,
Surprisingly enough she did a bit better with the snubbie than the 4".
Then I loaded up the Model 36 snubbie in .38 Special,,,
She only shot 10 rounds out of it but did very well,,,
I did want her to experience the centerfire recoil.
She then fired several cylinders of .22 from my K-frame Model 18,,,
Even though she is a very petite young lady with small hands,,,
She liked the feel of the K-frame more than the J-frame,,,
So I loaded up some .38's into my S&W Model 15,,,
Slow fire single-action she put all 6 in the paper.
Then we had a snack and hydrated a bit,,,
Talked a bit about the differences in the guns,,,
And decided it was time to move to the semi-automatics.
The only semi I brought that day was my Bersa Thunder 22 and Thunder 380,,,
I selected these guns because they were DA/SA with a Safety De-Cocker.
It only took one time showing her the manual of arms for the T-22,,,
She paid attention and after 3 mags was handling it like a pro,,,
She liked shooting the revolvers but this was "her gun".
We had gone through over 200 rounds using the revolvers,,,
She went through 150 rounds of rimfire and 4 magazines of .380,,,
At first she couldn't hit the ground with the T-22 but quickly found the target.
She wants to try some different .22 pistols,,,
But did say she wasn't interested in single-action target pistols.
We were at the range for about 3 hours total,,,
She is no longer fearful about handguns and wants to try some more,,,
I have a friend who just bought a Ruger SR-22 so I think I'll borrow it from him.
Before we left the firing line I hauled out Jezebel,,,
My 6" S&W Model 629 in .44 Magnum,,,
I wanted to shoot a few cylinders.
She watched and said she wanted to fire it once,,,
She did just fine, didn't drop the gun or hit her forehead,,,
And exploded a 20 ounce water bottle filled with cheap kitty litter.
We are going to go shooting many more times,,,
She really enjoyed herself and did a fine job learning.
We will certainly look at other guns for her to try,,,
But I wouldn't be surprised if she bought a pair of Bersa Thunders.
Another fine Sunday morning at the range,,,
Good weather, fine handguns, and very pleasant company.
Aarond
.
She is also a lovely young lady who schleps beer to me at my favorite watering hole.
She told me she had never fired a handgun before,,,
But was very interested in learning to shoot a handgun,,,
She eventually wants to take the class and obtain a carry permit.
First I started her with a basic safety lesson,,,
I use Col. Coopers 4 rules with one more added,,,
The fifth (and most important) rule is "Do Not Shoot Aarond."
We were shooting from 7 yards,,,
It seemed like a good distance to start with.
First we shot Lucille,,,
A Colt Frontier Scout in .22 LR,,,
I wanted her to experience single-action shooting,,,
She did just fine putting about 24 rounds on a 8.5" x 11" target.
Then I switched her to a 4" S&W Model 34 in .22 LR,,,
Shooting in single action she did just as well as with the Colt,,,
When she tried double-action she didn't hit the paper for 4 cylinders of ammo.
We kept at it as I was coaching her stance, grip, and trigger pull,,,
She eventually started putting a few rounds on the paper,,,
Her shots weren't all over the place though,,,
She was actually grouping about 10",,,
Just shooting very consistently low.
I also had taken my 2" snubnose Model 34,,,
I was playing with this gun and she said "let me try it",,,
Surprisingly enough she did a bit better with the snubbie than the 4".
Then I loaded up the Model 36 snubbie in .38 Special,,,
She only shot 10 rounds out of it but did very well,,,
I did want her to experience the centerfire recoil.
She then fired several cylinders of .22 from my K-frame Model 18,,,
Even though she is a very petite young lady with small hands,,,
She liked the feel of the K-frame more than the J-frame,,,
So I loaded up some .38's into my S&W Model 15,,,
Slow fire single-action she put all 6 in the paper.
Then we had a snack and hydrated a bit,,,
Talked a bit about the differences in the guns,,,
And decided it was time to move to the semi-automatics.
The only semi I brought that day was my Bersa Thunder 22 and Thunder 380,,,
I selected these guns because they were DA/SA with a Safety De-Cocker.
It only took one time showing her the manual of arms for the T-22,,,
She paid attention and after 3 mags was handling it like a pro,,,
She liked shooting the revolvers but this was "her gun".
We had gone through over 200 rounds using the revolvers,,,
She went through 150 rounds of rimfire and 4 magazines of .380,,,
At first she couldn't hit the ground with the T-22 but quickly found the target.
She wants to try some different .22 pistols,,,
But did say she wasn't interested in single-action target pistols.
We were at the range for about 3 hours total,,,
She is no longer fearful about handguns and wants to try some more,,,
I have a friend who just bought a Ruger SR-22 so I think I'll borrow it from him.
Before we left the firing line I hauled out Jezebel,,,
My 6" S&W Model 629 in .44 Magnum,,,
I wanted to shoot a few cylinders.
She watched and said she wanted to fire it once,,,
She did just fine, didn't drop the gun or hit her forehead,,,
And exploded a 20 ounce water bottle filled with cheap kitty litter.
We are going to go shooting many more times,,,
She really enjoyed herself and did a fine job learning.
We will certainly look at other guns for her to try,,,
But I wouldn't be surprised if she bought a pair of Bersa Thunders.
Another fine Sunday morning at the range,,,
Good weather, fine handguns, and very pleasant company.
Aarond
.
