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Taking a Noob (My Mom) To the Range

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By Cranky

My mom has been a lifelong liberal, opposed to hunting, guns and violence in general.  Over the years this has posed quite a challenge as I seem to have been born with a deeply ingrained conservative point of view. I blame it on the library card she helped me get as soon as I was old enough to read.  She, on the over hand, always blamed it on defective genetics. In recent years she has gradually been inching over to a more conservative point of view and even expressed an interest in shooting so last weekend I took her out to the range . . .

I brought a pair older .22s and my AR-15. I assumed we’d spend most of the day with the .22s but thought she might get a kick out of trying the “scary black rifle” after she got comfortable.  She loves antiques and the old wooden stocks and aged bluing of these vintage rifles had always caught her attention. I also hoped the quieter report and low recoil of the .22 LR would decrease her anxiety levels and help her feel more confident more quickly.

One of the rifles, a Stevens 87A, I inherited from my grandfather (her dad) had an issue feeding that couldn’t be cleared at the range. We were both disappointed because this rifle has been in the family for longer than I have and we were looking forward to shooting it together. Disappointed as we were, I hadn’t really expected to shoot it much and was planning on using a Marlin 989 M2 carbine for most of our shooting.

Surprisingly though, she struggled with it. She wasn’t fazed by the recoil and was doing well with safety rules, but looked very uncomfortable handling the gun. She was also having a lot of trouble hitting the target and I could tell she was getting more and more frustrated. After watching her struggle for a while, I finally realized the problem. The rifle didn’t fit. This is a small .22. I taught my son to shoot with this same rifle when he was little bitty. That was one of the reasons I brought it along but I could plainly see that she had a problem with the length of the stock.

Taking a chance, I pulled out the AR-15, collapsed the stock all the way, and gave her a quick review of how to work the rifle and how to use a red dot sight. She was on the paper in one shot and hitting reliably from there on out. The increased recoil didn’t affect her in the least. The increased report took a few rounds for her to get used to, but her frustration was gone and she was now excited with her own progress. After I retrieved the target and she saw the number of rounds that hit the paper she was even happier — she was in love with the AR.

It was my turn to shoot and as I happily plinked away with both the old Marlin and my AR-15, she wandered off. I didn’t think too much about it, but at the next cease fire she was still MIA. A little worried, I went looking for her, first along the firing line and then in the showroom. And that’s where I found her, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

She was in the process of purchasing her first firearm.

It seems the little M&P 15-22, in Pink Platinum, “spoke to her” from behind the counter and she decided she had to have it. She spent the next hour punching holes in paper with her very own AR.

On the way out to the car she asked if her rifle would be affected by any of the proposed legislation from Washington.  I replied that, yes, it probably would as would my AR. She paused for a bit and then said, “well that’s just stupid.”

She is now a member of the NRA.

Cranky posts at Notes From a Cranky Buddha.

0 thoughts on “Taking a Noob (My Mom) To the Range”

  1. Problem with this claimed “statistic”=

    All gun shops and sellers have been cleared out now in repeated ‘runs’ on any sort of HiCap capable firearms, in anticipation of future scarcity or bans..

    Those doing this buying in the majority of cases are people who were either non-gun owners, or had previously only owned antique or niche firearms of a non-“tactical” variety.
    Those who were already gun owners like me, did not buy any guns after the ban-attempts started recently, we actually SOLD them, since I could get more for now scarce ammo and firearms than I paid for them and I did not need the items I was parting out..

    The second part of why the statistic is bad – Who is considered a “American Household”?
    That is a fairly loaded term, that could be used to mean a variety of things.. Someone who is a Illegal Alien or Recent Legal Immigrant, who are larger pct of the population that even in US history, are not in many cases “US Households”, they are foreign nationals who happen to be in the USA.

    Is a renter / casual roommate in a shared apt a “US Household” and can they within the study criteria answer for the “houshold” or would each roommate be considered a separate household. Would 6 illegal aliens from mexico in a shared apt be considered a US Household in the study, and what about the households who dont wish to tell a unknown caller who at very best is paid by a anti-gun group conducting a alleged “Poll” whether they own guns or have guns in their home..

    The day is long past that most people who are gun owners are going to randomly tell people they do not know who are calling them “Yuppers… got my valuable collection of firearms right here in this here house you are for some reason allegedly calling at random- lots of ammo too!”

    There is no decrease in ownership of american households, if anything there is a marked and undeniable increase, or you would be able to find common firearms in stock right now, which in reality you cannot.. What is diminishing is the # of people who will tell a anonymous caller about their gun possession/ownership, along with a large population of illegal aliens or gray-market aliens who came in on a VISA and have overstayed, who cannot legally obtain a firearm and are very numerous for the first time in MOST american population centers, although they are not actually American CITIZENS..

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  2. This is how we got the blunt instruments known as mandatory minimum sentences. Some uber-liberal judges were stuck on stupid, and so the legislators had to set them straight. A very imperfect solution to a real problem.

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  3. I think this subject is over analyzed to the point of being silly.

    If you jump a home invader does it really matter whether the light is weapon-mounted or held out to the side? How far out can you actually hold a light in a hallway? Also, I thought the main argument for using a handgun for home defense over a long gun is that with a handgun you have a free hand to dial 911, open doors, corral kids, turn on lights etc. If holding the light off to the side is so great maybe someone should make a 24″ picatinny flashlight extension to slap on the side of your AR’s quad rail.

    To me assuming that light position would make a difference is assuming a jumped home invader is a practiced enough shot that he’ll put a bullseye double-tap straight at the light wherever it may be. Jumped criminals can’t shoot for shit and it’s a roll of the dice whether you get hit or not no matter where your light is.

    If you want one, get one. If you don’t want one, don’t get one. Pick what you like then practice, practice, practice. Practice enough to have enough muscle memory you don’t even think about it.

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  4. Very cool. I too got to help my parents buy their first guns. They got a pair of S&W model 60 revolvers. They had their first lesson a short time later and reported that they were ready to practice monthly. They also got a chance to develop a home protection plan with their instructor (He did a 3 hour home defense class in their house with them).

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  5. Police tired of being outgunned? I suppose those police don’t have automatic ARs or MP5s, truly high powered sniper rifles, flack jackets, gas masks, clubs, stun guns, pepper spray and now as a gift from DHS, they have been given tanks, armored personnel carriers and other high power TRULY military weapons, not military “style”. They also have the authority, as given by the government (a minority, not the majority…. of citizens) to use all of their arsenals against American citizens. Outgunned? That’s the most ridiculous statement I’ve heard in a long time but comes as no surprise. This gun control stuff is an obvious precursor to tyranny. Just think about all the “little” things Obama has done in plain sight. Patriot Act renewal, NDAA, drones patrolling our skies, limiting free speech, etc. All in the name of a a nebulous terror threat. A little bit of over reaction compared to the amount of actual terrorist acts we’ve seen on our soil. These are all precursors to tyranny as well. The final step is disarming the population. Obama either wants to start a civil war or doesn’t realize he will start a civil war if he tries to take guns from Americans. In order for his plan to work he must pit citizen against citizen. Have we seen anything more divisive than this whole gun control issue? Mission accomplished.

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  6. I see the danger in implementing a universal background check system but question whether it would really have no effect in reducing overall firearm fatalities. Yes, it would still be possible for those barred from purchasing firearms to do so, but it does bring significant impediments to their acquisition that could have a cumulative effect. It is conceivable that a system could be designed that would limit the potential for increased confiscation risks. For instance, setting up a non-governmental entity to exist as the record keeper with veto power over governmental access to records. This entity could be staffed by members of relevant stakeholders, e.g., give gun rights advocates a seat at the table. It could also be under the purview of a new autonomous office of the Justice department. If a firearm is captured following a crime, that gun can be traced by going through legal procedures, otherwise, other branches of the government would have no access to the database.

    Additionally, it should be noted that at the very least, individuals who are making private sales should be able to opt in to a background check. As somebody who has sold my firearms to strangers at gun shows, I would have liked the option to perform a background check. I used my personal discretion in deciding who I would sell to, but the information I had to make this decision was obviously very limited.

    Honestly guys (and ladies…), we should try to seek some solutions to reduce firearm fatalities. In the long run, it could pay dividends for us. Beyond the fact that as gun advocates, we do bear some responsibility in seeking to limit the harms that firearms cause, and the fact that you can buy a modern sporting rifle without a background check is a powerful tool to motivator those who are uninformed to support gun control measures. Finding a way to eliminate this weapon in a way that does not harm out cause is a good thing.

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  7. Awesome Cranky!!! Thank you and congrats to your mom for seeing the light of just one of the many reasons we own guns.

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  8. The headline is misleading, I feel. Morse doesn’t say to ignore the opinions of his constituents — he acknowledges them in this clip.

    The awful part is Morse (wrongly) thinks his constituents have faulty thinking and are wrong in their conclusion that second amendment rights are being ‘abridged’…basically “They don’t know what they are talking about and I’m tired of reading the same faulty logic garbage over and over”. He reads “Don’t take away my constitutional rights” and thinks “Well, I’m not! Delete!”.

    “We get the point that some of these folks think their second amendment rights are being abridged, and, even though we know darn well that’s not true, it’s not worth getting into that argument with them”

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  9. Are you SERIOUS? Looks like I am picking someplace else to live. Tired of watching these idiots ruin things for free people in their state.

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  10. He’ll hear all of you load and clear when you vote this idiot out of office. They are there to represent us, and not what they want, but what we want. Any politician with an attitide like that needs to go.

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  11. Weapon mounted lights, regardless if its a pistol, shotgun, rifle or tactical salami, are a good idea.

    It’s very important to identify your target at night. Just think if there’s a power outage, you won’t be able to turn on the lights to your living room if you hear a bump in the night.

    As for those who say “you’re just giving away your position”…
    1) Unless you have REALLY good flooring, the robber will know you’re coming if they hear the creeks in the floor boards.

    2) Have you ever been in a dark room and had a very VERY bright light shined in your face? I have. Instinctively you’ll want to move your head away or close your eyes. Don’t believe me? Go into a dark room, wait for your eyes to adjust for the night. Then have a friend blast you in the eyes with a Streamlight TLR-1. You’ll wish you hadn’t. I also guarantee that you’ll see splotches where you got shined upon.

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  12. This was posted on Armslist. I don’t know who the author is or the group sponsoring it.

    For Sale: Organized Civil Disobedience; July 02, 2013
    Listed On: Monday, March 11, 2013
    Listed In: Magazines
    Location: Denver, Denver, Colorado – Map

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

    On July 2, 2013, over 500 Colorado citizens will engage in an act of mass civil disobedience to demonstrate the foolish, arbitrary, capricious and unconstitutional nature of the HB 13-1224 which will have gone into effect on the day before.

    These Colorado citizens will gather in a public park in Aurora, Colorado. Each of these citizens will bring a single unloaded regular capacity magazine of the type that has been in common use in Colorado and nation wide since the 1980s, and which each of them owned and possessed prior to the effective date of the statute. The United States Supreme Court has made CLEAR that law abiding citizens have a constitutional right to keep and bear arms that are in common use. There are millions of such magazines in Colorado, and they have been lawfully owned and used by Colorado citizens for defense, sport, target shooting, competition, and other lawful use for decades. Yet this property will have been transformed overnight into a form of contraband.

    At exactly 12:00 noon, these citizens will begin to pass their magazines to each other, one to the other, again and again, in contravention of Colorado’s new prohibition against transfer of existing regular capacity magazines.

    The number of magazines will not change.

    The nature of the people will not change, nor will their non-violent nature.

    The fact these people are your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and fellow citizens will not change.

    The “lethality” of the crowd will not change.

    The danger “on the streets” will not change.

    The number of magazines in circulation will not change.

    The fact that the magazines have not been utilized to project violence or do any evil will not change.

    At any given moment, each person will be holding one magazine that existed on the day the law came into effect, just as they did when they arrived.

    But during the course of this organized civil disobedience, the crowd will be committing over 30,000 misdemeanors per minute. They will do so in direct and defiant challenge of a blatantly unconstitutional law, and will be prepared for arrest. In the event of arrests, each person will refuse to plea bargain and will insist on trial by jury. In conjunction, the gun rights organizations listed below will be assisting these individuals’ legal defense, and bringing a constitutional challenge of the law both facially and as applied.

    This protest will occur contemporaneously with similar protests in other states where politicians have determined to run roughshod over Constitutional rights in an attempt to make a showing of “doing something” about violence, but who lack the courage and political will to take a close look at the mental health system and the systemic failures that resulted from phasing out institutional care while greatly increasing the dispensing of dangerous psychotropic drugs.

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  13. Get a bunch of model airplane enthusiasts with a fleet of scale-model WWII bombers filled with PMAGS and para-drop them all over Colorado along with literature on the “Liberator” pistol.

    BANG.

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  14. As if this news didn’t pissed me off enough…18-17?! You’ve GOT to be kidding!

    We were THAT close to saving the Constitution from a golden shower!

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  15. Well I hope to GOD that those remarks anger DEMOCRATS as well as Republicans alike! He’s saying “Now that you’ve elected me, I’m going to work for what I want, NOT the people I’m supposed to represent.”! Is it REALLY any wonder that Democrats get ridiculed the way that they do? Just listen to the GARBAGE that comes out of their mouths!!!

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  16. You know what this story really means? It means Taurus screwed up somehow.

    OK. This gun is a Pietta SAA near-clone with a transfer-bar safety. Until now, only one other company had a license to distribute this gun: Heritage.

    Taurus bought Heritage recently. I assumed part of what they wanted was this deal with Pietta because it would have given them a gun to compete with the Ruger New Vaquero with that wasn’t the old Taurus Gaucho which was a collosal steaming turd made of fail.

    So…Taurus should have cut a deal with Pietta to continue that exclusive contract under either the Heritage or Pietta brand names.

    And then this thing came out, which indicates something went wrong or that Taurus didn’t even realize what Heritage had going on…

    Reply

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