Taught a New Shooter to Shoot Yesterday

Skunkabilly · April 22, 2002, 10:53 AM

Freshman, never shot before, but showed an interest in shooting. She admitted she was a little nervous before going to the range, but I told her that it's not a contact sport like football and hockey, so it's actually quite safe.
Most of my friends just want to go to the range and blow a few rounds, but she had an interest in eventually competing, so I brought her over and showed her all the safety rules and explained the basic mechanics of the firearm. Most new shooters, I bring to the range, tell them to keep the damn thing pointed that-away and start pulling the trigger.

Nina shot more easily than she thought. She heard from buddies that shot that their hands were tired afterwards. Maybe their families hunt and they shot real hot rifle loads or they started off with 1911s or somethin'. Anyway, Nina, needing to lose a little weight (stainless steel guiderod, not to mention 92 Brigs being heavy as hell to begin with) combined with the diminutive 9mms weren't too much for her to handle for the first time.

I'm a little hesitant to buy a .22 training gun (like a Neos or conversion kit) when my LTT 9mm is such a gentle shooter.

By the end of the session, she was putting 90% of the rounds through the 9 and 10 ring in a Skunkabilly-sized torso, with a few going low, but that's to be expected with the new shooters, anticipating the recoil and all.

The best part was she said she couldn't wait to turn 21 to get a handgun. She said she'll probably get one like mine (Nina!) because it's pretty. She looked at a rack of 1911s at Turner's and said, "I don't like those, those aren't pretty," which I thought was pretty damn funny

Still, I demonstrated that even the best shooting target-shooting optimized combat gun (fat-ass Nina) is a poor substitute to a shotgun if she can get to one. She had just learned how much effort it was to put all her shots in the 9 and 10-ring from 21 feet, but was a little intimidated by the size of Bambi, my Benelli. I popped in 5 rounds of #4 buck, and took 3 snapshots at the torso and two to the head. She said, "Cool, I wanna shoot that next time!!!" when she saw how the bunny pellets absolutely obliterated the target from 7 yards.

Bogie · April 22, 2002, 12:24 PM

That's what I love - Take 'em shooting, and before you know it, they're in "hey, that done blowed up REAL good" mode!

C.R.Sam · April 22, 2002, 12:47 PM

Goodonya sir.

Sam

**4V50 Gary** · April 22, 2002, 01:24 PM

Good for you Skunkabilly! Converting neutral parties to pro Second Amendment, even one at a time, definitely works in our favor.

Futo Inu · April 22, 2002, 02:47 PM

thanks!

joeislove · April 22, 2002, 02:55 PM

I made it 3/4 of the way through your post before I realized that "fat ass Nina" was your gun and not your friend! I was starting to hope, for your sake, that your friend never made it here to read your post. LOL

Good work. That's another one for the good guys.

CZ Gunner · April 22, 2002, 03:14 PM

Laughing out loud, Joe, I thought the same thing.

By the way, I took a new shooter to the range yesterday too .... two down, the free world to go!

coonan357 · April 22, 2002, 04:21 PM

well that makes three of us , skunk change the name of your guns ... I had to read that 3 X to see *** you were calling a fata** ,

Skunkabilly · April 22, 2002, 04:58 PM

Berettas are fat-@$$, but second only to the Glock 21 and 30.

I pointed her to Tamara's post and Oleg's site, both of which she liked.

KSFreeman · April 22, 2002, 05:27 PM

Winning back the PRK, one person at a time. Way to go, Skunk.

BTW, you name your weapons???

Skunkabilly · April 22, 2002, 05:30 PM

Yeah, why am I the only one? I name my instruments, too.

KSFreeman · April 22, 2002, 05:46 PM

Skunk, just hit your website.

That's great; you can train with me anytime. Gunsite this fall? I can't get MPFreeman to go anywhere. He just sits around and mumbles to himself anymore.

BTW, I can bring the ammo and 2 Seagull guitars. They do not have names. (Do you tell females that you give inert possessions names? And does it work?)

ronin308 · April 22, 2002, 06:10 PM

KSFreeman- I didn't know you had 2 Seagulls! I have a Taylor acoustic, Yamaha Handmade series classical, Paul Reed Smith custom 22 electric, Marshall 100W half stack amp, and some other cool stuff. We should jam together!

Skunkabilly- I'm not too good at bluegrass but if you're ever in IN, bring yer banjo!

coonan357 · April 22, 2002, 09:17 PM

hey Ks, how do you play a seagull???

and for you skunk , better watch out teaching those ladies you might windup having to invite all 14,000 to a special event

but I would have to say that would be one heck of a salute !

Skunkabilly · April 22, 2002, 09:43 PM

It still really depends on personality, but I think freshmen are the easiet to teach. By the time they become fully indoc...er...educated, the ones that leaned to the right are usually centrist at best, and the ones that were center are now lefties. Both the center-left teachings of the Church (most of my friends are active in campus Christian groups) and their 'education', but most trust the religious leaders more than their professors.

I respect both my religious leaders and my professors, but I don't give anyone respect that doesn't deserve it. I have been publicly schooled for 18 years now, and my dad jokes with his friends (all Republican, mostly elder Rotary Club types) that I think he's a liberal.

While I don't like being manipulative (the Church and the schooling system does this enough), I do like to present the FULL side of the story. I don't like going in saying that the 2nd Amendment is there to defend you against the tyrants (even if it is).

I like to start off easy, a handgun or two and have them plink lightly. Then show them all the fun toys (Benelli, M1A, etc). Then show them all the fun toys that they CAN'T have. Then let them know why they can't have them, and why they can't do certain things with them. I let them know that there is a law in the works that will bring a brick of .22LR ammo up from $15 for 500 to $40. Even if they are innocent target shooters, I show them how the CA legislators put them in the same category as common criminals (even if they are young innocent freshman churchgoers straight out of high school), then let them decide which side of the fence they want to sit on.

I am not there to persuade my friends to join any 2A-type movement, but bringing them out shooting is a good way to introduce them to our side of the argument because it is suppressed in modern culture.

Whew.

CMichael · April 23, 2002, 10:27 AM

She said she'll probably get one like mine (Nina!) because it's pretty<<

It sounds like my wife. It doesn't matter what it does as long as it's pretty.

Michael

CZ Gunner · April 26, 2002, 03:51 PM

Sounds like a good start to a "family" of them ... good luck with the collection!

Dave R · April 26, 2002, 04:56 PM

Skunkabilly, thank you for your service to our sport.

gorlitsa · April 26, 2002, 05:12 PM

Skunk, introduce her to revolvers. Find some of Tamera's photos of all her S&Ws. Revolvers are even prettier than autos!

Quote:

It sounds like my wife. It doesn't matter what it does as long as it's pretty.

What's wrong with that? All you have to do is make sure she gets things that are both pretty AND functional.

Skunkabilly · April 27, 2002, 10:45 AM

Quote:

What's wrong with that? All you have to do is make sure she gets things that are both pretty AND functional.

Yeah she likes my 9mm Beretta a lot. Too bad she won't be able to legally get high caps clipz. I doubt she grabbed a few before the ban.

I like guns that are pretty, too. It's as hobby as much as anything else, so I might as well. I wouldn't sacrifice function for looks, but if a two-tone gun works as well as a black gun, why the heck not.

April 22, 2002, 10:53 AM	#1
Skunkabilly Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2001 Location: Land of stinky cabbage and potable rubbing alcohol Posts: 2,136	Taught a New Shooter to Shoot Yesterday Freshman, never shot before, but showed an interest in shooting. She admitted she was a little nervous before going to the range, but I told her that it's not a contact sport like football and hockey, so it's actually quite safe. Most of my friends just want to go to the range and blow a few rounds, but she had an interest in eventually competing, so I brought her over and showed her all the safety rules and explained the basic mechanics of the firearm. Most new shooters, I bring to the range, tell them to keep the damn thing pointed that-away and start pulling the trigger. Nina shot more easily than she thought. She heard from buddies that shot that their hands were tired afterwards. Maybe their families hunt and they shot real hot rifle loads or they started off with 1911s or somethin'. Anyway, Nina, needing to lose a little weight (stainless steel guiderod, not to mention 92 Brigs being heavy as hell to begin with) combined with the diminutive 9mms weren't too much for her to handle for the first time. I'm a little hesitant to buy a .22 training gun (like a Neos or conversion kit) when my LTT 9mm is such a gentle shooter. By the end of the session, she was putting 90% of the rounds through the 9 and 10 ring in a Skunkabilly-sized torso, with a few going low, but that's to be expected with the new shooters, anticipating the recoil and all. The best part was she said she couldn't wait to turn 21 to get a handgun. She said she'll probably get one like mine (Nina!) because it's pretty. She looked at a rack of 1911s at Turner's and said, "I don't like those, those aren't pretty," which I thought was pretty damn funny Still, I demonstrated that even the best shooting target-shooting optimized combat gun (fat-ass Nina) is a poor substitute to a shotgun if she can get to one. She had just learned how much effort it was to put all her shots in the 9 and 10-ring from 21 feet, but was a little intimidated by the size of Bambi, my Benelli. I popped in 5 rounds of #4 buck, and took 3 snapshots at the torso and two to the head. She said, "Cool, I wanna shoot that next time!!!" when she saw how the bunny pellets absolutely obliterated the target from 7 yards. __________________ Skunky's World of Mud and Guts and Barbecue Sauce: www.skunkabilly.com "Stupid American! There's no bloody sales tax for tea in Hong Kong. Didn't you start a war over a tea tax?" -- Hong Kong tea merchant

April 22, 2002, 12:24 PM	#2
Bogie Senior Member Join Date: June 5, 2000 Location: St. Louis, Misery Posts: 3,763	That's what I love - Take 'em shooting, and before you know it, they're in "hey, that done blowed up REAL good" mode! __________________ Resume available upon request www.stickertramp.com

April 22, 2002, 02:47 PM	#5
Futo Inu Senior Member Join Date: February 12, 1999 Location: Oklahoma City, OK, USA Posts: 3,629	Fine Job thanks!

April 22, 2002, 02:55 PM	#6
joeislove Senior Member Join Date: November 21, 2001 Location: Ar Ramadi, Iraq Posts: 332	LOL I made it 3/4 of the way through your post before I realized that "fat ass Nina" was your gun and not your friend! I was starting to hope, for your sake, that your friend never made it here to read your post. LOL Good work. That's another one for the good guys. __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin

April 22, 2002, 03:14 PM	#7
CZ Gunner Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2002 Location: Louisiana Posts: 800	Laughing out loud, Joe, I thought the same thing. By the way, I took a new shooter to the range yesterday too .... two down, the free world to go! __________________ Gunner "Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum." -- Vegitius, c. 375 AD

April 22, 2002, 12:47 PM	#3
C.R.Sam Senior Member Join Date: October 29, 1999 Location: Dewey, AZ Posts: 12,876	Goodonya sir. Sam

April 22, 2002, 01:24 PM	#4
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: California Posts: 13,263	Good for you Skunkabilly! Converting neutral parties to pro Second Amendment, even one at a time, definitely works in our favor. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

April 22, 2002, 04:21 PM	#8
coonan357 Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2002 Location: in a state of confusion and disbelief ! Posts: 726	well that makes three of us , skunk change the name of your guns ... I had to read that 3 X to see * you were calling a fata , __________________ N.R.A. Lifer and proud of it ! You can't argue with a .357 Mag. Well, you can try, but you'll end up bleeding an aweful lot. -GEORGE HILL 4-08-2002 My Coonan is Not For Sale please do not ask!

April 22, 2002, 04:58 PM	#9
Skunkabilly Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2001 Location: Land of stinky cabbage and potable rubbing alcohol Posts: 2,136	Berettas are fat-@$$, but second only to the Glock 21 and 30. I pointed her to Tamara's post and Oleg's site, both of which she liked. __________________ Skunky's World of Mud and Guts and Barbecue Sauce: www.skunkabilly.com "Stupid American! There's no bloody sales tax for tea in Hong Kong. Didn't you start a war over a tea tax?" -- Hong Kong tea merchant

April 22, 2002, 05:27 PM	#10
KSFreeman Senior Member Join Date: June 9, 2001 Location: Lafayette, Indiana--American-occupied America Posts: 5,404	Winning back the PRK, one person at a time. Way to go, Skunk. BTW, you name your weapons??? __________________ "Arguments of policy must give way to a constitutional command." Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 602 (1980).

April 22, 2002, 05:30 PM	#11
Skunkabilly Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2001 Location: Land of stinky cabbage and potable rubbing alcohol Posts: 2,136	Yeah, why am I the only one? I name my instruments, too. __________________ Skunky's World of Mud and Guts and Barbecue Sauce: www.skunkabilly.com "Stupid American! There's no bloody sales tax for tea in Hong Kong. Didn't you start a war over a tea tax?" -- Hong Kong tea merchant

April 22, 2002, 05:46 PM	#12
KSFreeman Senior Member Join Date: June 9, 2001 Location: Lafayette, Indiana--American-occupied America Posts: 5,404	Skunk, just hit your website. That's great; you can train with me anytime. Gunsite this fall? I can't get MPFreeman to go anywhere. He just sits around and mumbles to himself anymore. BTW, I can bring the ammo and 2 Seagull guitars. They do not have names. (Do you tell females that you give inert possessions names? And does it work?) __________________ "Arguments of policy must give way to a constitutional command." Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 602 (1980).

April 22, 2002, 06:10 PM	#13
ronin308 Senior Member Join Date: April 9, 2001 Location: Purdue University Posts: 1,980	KSFreeman- I didn't know you had 2 Seagulls! I have a Taylor acoustic, Yamaha Handmade series classical, Paul Reed Smith custom 22 electric, Marshall 100W half stack amp, and some other cool stuff. We should jam together! Skunkabilly- I'm not too good at bluegrass but if you're ever in IN, bring yer banjo! __________________ If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara desert in five years there’d be a shortage of sand. -Milton Friedman

April 22, 2002, 09:17 PM	#14
coonan357 Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2002 Location: in a state of confusion and disbelief ! Posts: 726	hey Ks, how do you play a seagull??? and for you skunk , better watch out teaching those ladies you might windup having to invite all 14,000 to a special event but I would have to say that would be one heck of a salute ! __________________ N.R.A. Lifer and proud of it ! You can't argue with a .357 Mag. Well, you can try, but you'll end up bleeding an aweful lot. -GEORGE HILL 4-08-2002 My Coonan is Not For Sale please do not ask!

April 22, 2002, 09:43 PM	#15
Skunkabilly Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2001 Location: Land of stinky cabbage and potable rubbing alcohol Posts: 2,136	It still really depends on personality, but I think freshmen are the easiet to teach. By the time they become fully indoc...er...educated, the ones that leaned to the right are usually centrist at best, and the ones that were center are now lefties. Both the center-left teachings of the Church (most of my friends are active in campus Christian groups) and their 'education', but most trust the religious leaders more than their professors. I respect both my religious leaders and my professors, but I don't give anyone respect that doesn't deserve it. I have been publicly schooled for 18 years now, and my dad jokes with his friends (all Republican, mostly elder Rotary Club types) that I think he's a liberal. While I don't like being manipulative (the Church and the schooling system does this enough), I do like to present the FULL side of the story. I don't like going in saying that the 2nd Amendment is there to defend you against the tyrants (even if it is). I like to start off easy, a handgun or two and have them plink lightly. Then show them all the fun toys (Benelli, M1A, etc). Then show them all the fun toys that they CAN'T have. Then let them know why they can't have them, and why they can't do certain things with them. I let them know that there is a law in the works that will bring a brick of .22LR ammo up from $15 for 500 to $40. Even if they are innocent target shooters, I show them how the CA legislators put them in the same category as common criminals (even if they are young innocent freshman churchgoers straight out of high school), then let them decide which side of the fence they want to sit on. I am not there to persuade my friends to join any 2A-type movement, but bringing them out shooting is a good way to introduce them to our side of the argument because it is suppressed in modern culture. Whew. __________________ Skunky's World of Mud and Guts and Barbecue Sauce: www.skunkabilly.com "Stupid American! There's no bloody sales tax for tea in Hong Kong. Didn't you start a war over a tea tax?" -- Hong Kong tea merchant

April 23, 2002, 10:27 AM	#16
CMichael Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2001 Location: MI Posts: 1,097	She said she'll probably get one like mine (Nina!) because it's pretty<< It sounds like my wife. It doesn't matter what it does as long as it's pretty. Michael

April 26, 2002, 03:51 PM	#17
CZ Gunner Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2002 Location: Louisiana Posts: 800	Sounds like a good start to a "family" of them ... good luck with the collection! __________________ Gunner "Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum." -- Vegitius, c. 375 AD

April 26, 2002, 04:56 PM	#18
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2000 Location: Idaho Posts: 5,405	Skunkabilly, thank you for your service to our sport. __________________ I am Pro-Rights (on gun issues).