tamworth

you might remember an earlier post of mine where I was seeking advice on how to talk to an uber-liberal anti-gunner, my mom. Every conversation, as much as I'd stay calm, would just go down in flames.

Well my wife and kids and I just got back from meeting her out for dinner. The bill came and we started arguing over who pays. She was so adamant about paying, so I saw the moment... she'd just snatched the bill, and I say "I'll let you pay if you let us take you shooting!" I was expecting her to get into one of her "Why would I want to do that?" spells, but she just kinda blew it off. Later on as we were saying goodbye we were talking about seeing each other more often, asking which nights would be good to meet. I mentioned we go pin shooting Tuesdays and just shoot at the range Wednesdays, but Monday Thursday Friday and Saturdays would be OK. She says "Well maybe I'll have to go pin shooting with you next Tuesday!" ...and she was serious! I was blown away! Obviously we'll have to take her to the range first for the ubiquitous safe operations introduction, but wow!!! This is surely an answered prayer! One step closer to knocking the sheep out of her!

rdoggsilva

Great have a good safe time and you may really get her interested in it. Just go easy with her. She may even out shot you.

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ppkheat

Agreed. Do what you can to make the experience a good one for her. Don't forget she may be sensitive to recoil, muzzle blast, smoke etc....stuff that you've grown used to. Don't forget the hearing protection.

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Reborn

Mom and guns..........way cool.......

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Kerbouchard

+1

Double hearing protection and a low/no recoil weapon will have your Mom begging you to take her back to the range.

Have fun!

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Who is John Galt?

dukalmighty

Start her out on a 22 it may not knock pins over like other guns but once she gets the basics down and wants to shoot something bigger then hand her the S&W 500,just kidding go to a 9mm,before you know it she will be dragging you out shopping except it will be for her own gun

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luvmyglock

Congrats man! I wish my mom would come around..

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tamworth

I wouldn't be surprised if she hasn't ever seen a gun except for on TV. We're talking sheep of the sheep. I'll certainly make things as comfortable for her as possible. I feel like I'm balancing an egg in a very small spoon... got to take it sloooooooow! What I want to do is invite her to my home and show her an unloaded gun (with ammo in separate room), how the bits and pieces work, get her comfortable with the sight of a gun, and get her comfortable holding a gun. We can start with the .22 pistol. Then, if she's comfortable there, we'll drive to the range and shoot some .22, and maybe that's all we'll shoot that time. She said she's interested in pin-shooting though, which as pointed out earlier, requires a little more than a .22. So we'll meet at my place again and I'll show her how the 9mm works, let her practice handling it. Then if she's comfortable there, we'll make another trip to the range for her to shoot some 9mm. This is where we go from 'plinking' to 'shooting.' Knowing her, this will also be where the proverbial egg will start to wobble.

I can see a few futures possible here. 1, She loves it and catches the fever. She goes and buys an arsenal and comes shooting with us every week. She gets a CCW and starts taking life and death seriously, she's ONE OF US!!! 2, She remains indifferent about it, wondering why 'us guys' get jollies just by shooting stuff (my wife's femaleness should help with this, because my wife loves to shoot!), then will only rarely 'agree' to come shooting with us every once in a while. 3, she feels nothing but violence every time the gun goes BANG, refuses to shoot again, and is now not just living in blissful sheephood, but is also afraid of guns.

But you know what they say, can't have gain without risk... I just wish the 3rd outcome wouldn't be so scary. Has anyone here had experience 'converting' someone who was very anti-gun? What issues should I expect? I don't expect her to be sarcastic the whole time, but I also don't expect her to be overwhelmed with interest. Any teachers out there? Are there any resources online I could use for visual aids? Thanks everyone.

Kerbouchard

One of the things I have noticed about 'converting' people is that they are a lot happier when they hit what they aim at. Probably for a couple reasons. 1) They like to know that they have a 'new' skill. 2)Most importantly, it gives them a feeling of control. If they don't know where the bullet is going, it makes them fear the gun even more.

For that reason, I like to start people out with a .22 bolt-action rifle. Holes appear on target. After they shoot, they don't have a loaded gun. Its meticulous, so it doesn't feel like they are being pressured, because they can take their time. Muzzle discipline is much easier to enforce with a rifle than a pistol.

All that said, many people learn on a .22 pistol. You just have to make sure safety is discussed, and it may be a good idea to only load one round at a time for a while. You never really know what somebody is going to do the first time they fire a gun.

Make it easy enough for her to get shots on target. Be encouraging without being condescending, and don't pressure her into anything she is not comfortable with. Going over how the gun works and dry-firing before going to the range helps a lot. That way she is not trying to learn with the distraction of gun-fire plus a new environment.

Remember that even though you are comfortable at the range, it will be the first time your Mom has ever been around gun-fire. Put hearing protection on early, and make sure your Mom understands the safety rules at the range. For other people safety, and to reassure her that everybody follows strict rules to help ensure her safety.

Other than that, I would skip the silhouettes and just use bullseye targets. Silhouettes reinforces the 'shooting at people' aspect of guns.

Shoot at a distance she is comfortable with, and if you have any control over it, try to go to the range during an 'off-time' so it will not be crowded.

Good luck and have fun!

__________________
Money can be lost or stolen, health and strength may fail, but what you have committed to your mind is yours forever.

http://miscmusings.townhall.com/

Who is John Galt?

David in FL

Well now, that is cool!

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