Good Afternoon Everyone,
I took my family (Wife, 23 yr old daughter, 12 yr old son) to the range for the first time on Saturday, 7/2. To preface, fun was had by all, and they learned several valuable lessons.
The night before we left, my wife told me that she's going to go, because it'd drive her nuts to know I had the kids in such a dangerous place without her being there, and she'd be bored for a couple of hours. When we left, she was disappointed, because we were done. She said that, "If I knew shooting was that fun and exhilarating, I'd have gone with your for years."
I took my S&W Model 65-2 .357, H&R Sportsman .22, Savage Model 93 .17 and my old "Squirrel Master" .22 S/A. I walked each of the through safety (always first), aiming, loading, then applying what they had just been taught, firing.
I figured that getting the anticipation/fear out of the way first, I started them with the .357. I ran the target out to 15', told my son to draw back the hammer, get a good sight picture and pull the trigger. He hit the 9 ring (man target) just to the left. (At this point, he got that "grin" of coolness that instantly replaced the look of fear he had right before the shot) He shot his next 5, 2 in the 10, 2 more in the 9 and one in the 7. On his next trip up (alternated family members) I ran the target out to 25'. He shot 4 7's, a 6 and a 9. It was his first time EVER firing a handgun, and I couldn't have been more proud.
I repeated the same process with my daughter and wife. Daughter has a tendency to shoot high right. She's pulling the trigger too hard and anticipating the shot. I figure that will go away with practice. My wife, heh, she found her new talent. Having never fired a handgun, she shot almost an entire box of ammo through the southwest quadrant of the 8-9-10, with the target at 15 and 25'.
They all got to then shoot the .22 pistol, rifle and the .17 (after I adjusted the scope, it was brand new). Here is where my daughter picked things up. I ran the target out to 50', using a 5 spot target printed on an 8.5x11" piece of paper. She put them all squarely in the circles. Then, with the .17, at the max (80'), she shot a 1" group of 5 rounds.
I plan on taking them back on a monthly basis, moving the targets out a little farther each time, and giving them specific spots to shoot. Anything to change it up a bit. If anyone has any ideas here, I'd much welcome them.
I was so proud of them, I wanted to come on and tell my little story. It was incredibly fun teaching them, and then watching them do well with what they had learned.
Thanks for reading, and maybe, if you have a spouse or significant other who's skittish about shooting, this story will help convince them to go.
EDIT: After much beating and berating, my wife produced her 25' target. She said, and I quote, "Are you blind? I DID NOT get an 8!" I guess I'll have to take a pic and post it now.
EDIT EDIT: Ha! I win. She did get one 8 on the 15' target =).
I took my family (Wife, 23 yr old daughter, 12 yr old son) to the range for the first time on Saturday, 7/2. To preface, fun was had by all, and they learned several valuable lessons.
The night before we left, my wife told me that she's going to go, because it'd drive her nuts to know I had the kids in such a dangerous place without her being there, and she'd be bored for a couple of hours. When we left, she was disappointed, because we were done. She said that, "If I knew shooting was that fun and exhilarating, I'd have gone with your for years."
I took my S&W Model 65-2 .357, H&R Sportsman .22, Savage Model 93 .17 and my old "Squirrel Master" .22 S/A. I walked each of the through safety (always first), aiming, loading, then applying what they had just been taught, firing.
I figured that getting the anticipation/fear out of the way first, I started them with the .357. I ran the target out to 15', told my son to draw back the hammer, get a good sight picture and pull the trigger. He hit the 9 ring (man target) just to the left. (At this point, he got that "grin" of coolness that instantly replaced the look of fear he had right before the shot) He shot his next 5, 2 in the 10, 2 more in the 9 and one in the 7. On his next trip up (alternated family members) I ran the target out to 25'. He shot 4 7's, a 6 and a 9. It was his first time EVER firing a handgun, and I couldn't have been more proud.
I repeated the same process with my daughter and wife. Daughter has a tendency to shoot high right. She's pulling the trigger too hard and anticipating the shot. I figure that will go away with practice. My wife, heh, she found her new talent. Having never fired a handgun, she shot almost an entire box of ammo through the southwest quadrant of the 8-9-10, with the target at 15 and 25'.
They all got to then shoot the .22 pistol, rifle and the .17 (after I adjusted the scope, it was brand new). Here is where my daughter picked things up. I ran the target out to 50', using a 5 spot target printed on an 8.5x11" piece of paper. She put them all squarely in the circles. Then, with the .17, at the max (80'), she shot a 1" group of 5 rounds.
I plan on taking them back on a monthly basis, moving the targets out a little farther each time, and giving them specific spots to shoot. Anything to change it up a bit. If anyone has any ideas here, I'd much welcome them.
I was so proud of them, I wanted to come on and tell my little story. It was incredibly fun teaching them, and then watching them do well with what they had learned.
Thanks for reading, and maybe, if you have a spouse or significant other who's skittish about shooting, this story will help convince them to go.
EDIT: After much beating and berating, my wife produced her 25' target. She said, and I quote, "Are you blind? I DID NOT get an 8!" I guess I'll have to take a pic and post it now.
EDIT EDIT: Ha! I win. She did get one 8 on the 15' target =).
Last edited: