My Mother...

[*SA-XD4ME*]

wants a handgun. She is 63 years old Tuesday. She lives alone in Memphis, TN. The last time she was in Little Rock visiting from Memphis, TN she wanted to shoot my 32 H&R Magnum stubby revolver.

A little background of our relationship - We get along, but we do not work well together.

I was so affraid that I was going to blow this opertunity to help my Mom. I was scared that she would think I was bulling her, and that I was going to intimidate her into not learning to shoot.

Being that she is older, and that the H&R stubby might pack a little to much bite for her I took S&W Longs. She was very excited, and really getting into the process of loading, etc. Well when she stated shooting she could not hit the side of a barn. At 10 yards she did not even hit the paper. Let me back up. I did help her. I showed her some basics. Range safety, how to grip the gun, load the gun, etc. I let her go a little on her own until she asked. "Now, Son, I know that I am pointing at the (blank) paper.

Now back to shooting. I was in a coaching position. I was on the back right observing. Trying to figure out what she was doing. I finally caught it. My mother is right handed. She was closing her right eye and aiming with her left eye while shooting in a right handed position. DOH!!!

I worked with her more, and by the last 18 rounds all were on the silouette, and most were in the black. She was so excited!

She took her target home, and showed all her friends. But most of all she told me that she was glad to see that I had the patience with her to help her get the bullets on the target.

She has not bought a gun. She wants to shoot more before she gets a gun, but she is most likely moving to LR, so that we can take care of her in her retirement. She can use my guns.

Anyway. I thought I'd share.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[artz]

alright ! congratulations !
It always good to spend quality time with the ones you love....

[aus71383]

Great story!

Something steel in or 9mm might be a good choice. The trigger will make a huge difference.

Austin

[TN_Mike]

I am an Assistant Instructor at RangeUSA on Whitten Road here in Memphis. Tell her to come buy and use the range. There are many of us who can help her if she needs a little instruction and we teach a handgun beginners course that will really benefit her.

Congrats on your Mom wanting to be able to protect herself. Memphis is a tough town and it never hurts to be able to protect yourself, especially if you live here.

[*SA-XD4ME*]

I am an Assistant Instructor at RangeUSA on Whitten Road here in Memphis. Tell her to come buy and use the range. There are many of us who can help her if she needs a little instruction and we teach a handgun beginners course that will really benefit her.

Congrats on your Mom wanting to be able to protect herself. Memphis is a tough town and it never hurts to be able to protect yourself, especially if you live here.

I grew up there, and have shot at RangeUSA many times.

30 years..

[*SA-XD4ME*]

Great story!

Something steel in or 9mm might be a good choice. The trigger will make a huge difference.

Austin

Yeah. Double action trigger on a revolver was really hard on her. So I just had her do single action. I was thinking something like a .410 shotgun to be honest, but she liked the handgun idea.

Here is the thing about an auto. I know they are mostly reliable, but we are talking about a woman who has dealt blackjack for the last 15 years, and can barely hold a deck of card. The slide and trouble shooting if something was to fail would be way, way to much. I would not want to put my mother in harms way with a gun that I thought she could not handle.

I was thinking maybe a 4" .38 with a trigger job. Solid steel with the bite of a banna pepper for recoil compared to the snappy recoil of a 9mm. :::EDIT::: although a nice 9mm revolver with some hydra-shocks would be a really good choice. Hmm.. Possible? Browning Hi-Power? <-- then again, not into the auto's for momma...

That way we could possible put some shotshell in a couple chambers, and have some good hollow points. I am still leaning towards a double barrel .410 with reloads on the stock, and a pistol grip.

[aus71383]

Glocks might not be easy to pull the slide back on, but they are reliiable and stand up well to limp wristing. Just a thought.

Austin

[MR D]

4inch revolver with a good trigger job (get a good one by a good name gunsmith) will make a great piece for your Mom

and there are some great .38 special rounds which will do a great job for her too!!

[*SA-XD4ME*]

4inch revolver with a good trigger job (get a good one by a good name gunsmith) will make a great piece for your Mom

and there are some great .38 special rounds which will do a great job for her too!!

[BigEFan]

I was just talking about my S&W Model 10 on another thread. A 4 inch version of the model 10 with Federal Low Recoil Self Defense rounds would be perfect for her. I have the old PS 5 inch version but the 4inch is widely available on the used market and trigger jobs (although not real necessary on this model) are pretty easily done by a good gunsmith.

Good Luck. Nothing like some range time to bond with the mom.

[Creature]

That is a story that brings a tear to my eye...so heart warming. I'm not kidding. I lost my mom a few short months ago.

I hope this goes a long way towards bringing you two closer together.