Took my neighbor to the indoor range today.

[GWbiker]

She's mid 30's, single, two children and never fired a gun before. She also has a married to someone else boyfriend who sometimes visits her place and slaps her around a bit. Really treats her like crap!

So.....I packed up a RIA 1911 with rimfire conversion kit, a Beretta 70S .380 and a J frame Smith, some ammo and the little lady and we headed for the range.

I picked a large silhouette target, on which she wrote BF's name on the face, posted it and I taught her basic gun safety and how to shoot three handguns.

From a little over three yard distance she did quite well for a first time shooter. All shots went into the chest area.

She took the target home with her to show her daughters, who got a real kick out of it.

Her BF is coming over late tonight. She plans to show him the target, with his name written on it.

I wish I could record his reaction!

 

[tranks]

Her BF is coming over late tonight. She plans to show him the target, with his name written on it.

ummm, this sounds like a horrible idea. if he already beats her and shes going to show him a shot up target with his name on it.

might as well call the cops now. there no way thats going to end well.

 

[HKFan9]

+1 to above

 

[CortJestir]

Not to mention what would happen if jealous BF asks her who took her shooting... Nice enough for you to introduce someone to shooting though, but I hope it doesn't bring about some unintended consequences for you or your neighbor.

 

[B.N.Real]

You'll see his reaction.

In her broken nose and blackened eyes.

And if he gets really mad,he might just kill her.

If you get yourself into the middle of this situation,it could cause you to be blamed for anything bad that comes out of it.

She needed to swear out a restraining order on this guy and arm herself legally to protect herself and her kids.

You cannot do that for her.

If she refuses to stop letting this guy into her house and her life then she is simply letting thios guy beat the crud out of her and is'nt going to stop him.

I can't believe you let her do this.

Guys who beat up women live for this kind of reason to really beat the stink out of a woman.

"Gone to the range with another guy eh?"

"Going to shoot me,eh?"

"Oh,you're a real badxxx" and then the beating starts and does'nt stop until the guy gets tired.

I'd call the police if I really cared about the young lady and fill them in on what she told you and let them get involved.

At least if he kills her or she kills him,the facts were already on the books.

 

[ElectricHellfire]

Sounds like one of those situations where she ends up getting back in good with him and you end up looking like a tool. Your intentions are good but probaby mis-guided. Stay away IMO.

 

[Don Lu]

Dude, very bad move. Not well thought out at all. If your story is true, she will be in for a world of hurt and there could be some trouble for you too. What did/do you think his reaction will be when she shows him the target with his name, what do you think will happen when he finds out or assumes she was with another man while shooting the imaginary "him" and what do you think his reaction will be when she gets scared of his tirade/smacks and she tells him it was you and gives him whatever info she has about you to him...I hope this is not a true story.

If you wanted to be the Hero, you should have stepped to the guy yourself and let the chips fall, rather than setting her up...hopefully she is smart enough to reconsider...

Her BF is coming over late tonight. She plans to show him the target, with his name written on it.

She's mid 30's, single, two children

I almost forgot aboout kids being involved,
realllly bad idea, I almost want to say "shame on you"...I will..Shame on you !

 

[Borch]

Very admirable that you woud introduce someone who needs a little bit of self confidence and self respect to shooting as it can help to improve those things. However, for her sake I hope she rethinks showing him that target, and if she does show it to him I hope she doesn't come running to your house for help when he beats the crap out of her.

 

[Elvishead]

To show it to him might antagonize an undesirable reaction, good, bad, or indifferent.

She should put it somewhere that he might accidentally run into it. Or leave the target on the front door, and let the target speak for it's self.

Hopefully he'll get the picture.

 

[b.thomas]

Quote: "Her BF is coming over late tonight. She plans to show him the target, with his name written on it. I wish I could record his reaction!"

If this is a real deal then you just might on tomorrows eleven o'clock news!

Dumb move on your part, you did nothing but add to a already volatile
situation.

 

[kamerer]

I am not going to beat up on GWBiker any more - he's heard an earful. I'm going to recount an event of my own on the same theme that I learned something from, maybe others will recall it and repeat it and avoid trouble.

Years back, I called up an ex of mine that I had left, but we had always had a good time. Just touching base and trying to stay friends after a few months. It turned out she was actually going through a scary break up with a guy she has seen subsequently. She was afraid of him, scared, etc. I had a hard time believing it at first as he was not, from what I could collect, a rough type - relatively high-paid software programmer, educated, did high-level work for a nationally know organization, licensed pilot, no record, etc. But he had left terribly scary messages on her machine ("I will F*&k you up!, etc.). I heard the messages, it wasn't just her story I had to rely upon. This guy had lost it. Furthermore, she had not sought me out for help, I just happened to re-appear at a critical time. The evidence of his instability was digital, unable to be faked, and real.

Calling the Seattle PD was pointless, they listened to the tapes and said they couldn't prove who it was (apparently that cell phone ID stuff is only on CSI!), didn't care about the threats of violence and death, and wanted to see some blood before they could justify getting involved. Thank you for your public service.

Left alone to deal with a crazy violent person, I wanted to go to his house, give him a talk-down, warn him off, and then leave her a gun of mine. Talking this through with another person, they said - "Hey, that's just not wise. Why put your handgun in a bad situation, in the hands of someone untrained and inexperienced, and out of your control? Does this sound like a good situation?" That resonated with me, and made my initial, visceral instinct snap back into a more thoughtful mode. The smart thing to do was to take HER out of the bad situation. I moved her into my place, since he had no idea I existed in any concrete way other than as an "Ex" - no address, name, etc. that he could track, until it all blew over. This was safe, less escalating, and solved it. It didn't go down well with my girlfriend in the short term, but it probably saved a nasty assault case or possibly worse.

Lessons: Don't use guns as a defense when other methods are available. Don't draw when you can run; don't arm another when you can just take them somewhere safe. Don't boast about having a gun or being willing to use it unless it's time to draw it. Don't escalate anything. Don't refuse to act, but don't make an aggressive act your first act.

 

[2cooltoolz]

Yeah...Sorry Dude...wrong play I think.
Mr Macho is going to have to prove he's still the man. One trip to the range, like one trip to the dojo, is just enough to get you hurt. Good intentions, but.....call the police.
Personally, partner....you should bail out here anyway. After the first sign of abuse any sane female/male would leave. Why is she still hanging? More here than you can fix. Call the police.

 

[mk70ss]

Dumb, dumb, dumb idea. Teaching her to shoot was a great idea. Teaching her irresponsibly is just stupid.

 

[pax]

Worse than that ... if she ever does decide to protect herself, the existence of that target could easily change her court ruling from justified self defense to premeditated murder. You really would not want to be explaining that target to a jury made up of people who don't like guns in the first place.

pax

 

[JWT]

IF the boyfriend didn't show and hasn't seen the target yet you might make an attempt to retrieve it or have her toss it.

Your intentions were decent but should have been confined to showing her how to shoot and encouraging her to leave the target at the range.

 

[kraigwy]

If her bf beats her regularly, and she is allowing him to come back, and he is married to someone else, she has a lot more problems then showing the BF a target with his name on it.

I think you are the one who needs to beat feet. That looks like a problem I sure wouldnt want to haul to my range.

 

[bbrian]

"I wish I could record his reaction!" So do the police. That evidence would come in handy at the trial.

Nice of you to take her shooting, but maybe some better advice would be to tell her to stop seeing him. At least that's better than trying to **** him off. Call me crazy.

 

[44 AMP]

The target is the key...

Having a target with holes in the right place? Good. Having a bullseye target with the middle shot out? Best.

Having a silhouette target with the boyfriend's name on it? Bad, very bad.

Having a well shot target to show the BF? OK, especially if she says something like "Look Honey, see what I learned? Now I can defend myself when you are not here!" Subtle, but I think it would get the right message across. Showing the bad BF a shot up target with his name on it is a bad idea, kind of like poking the sleeping bear. In some places, it might even constitute a legal threat. Not good.

Get in touch with this woman as soon as you can, and if things have not already passed the point of no return, convince her not to show BF any target with his name or picture on it!

 

[Smaug]

Well, I agree with the general responses here.

I assume that by now you have read them and are trying to convince her to destroy that target.

I think maybe the best thing you can do for her is convince her to change the locks, not give the scumbag a key, and do the restraining order. Let her know that if things are not going well, she and her kids can always come over to your house for a while. (if that is indeed OK)

 

[bluetopper]

The original poster knows the situation and participants waaay better than any of us. Give him a break and let's not jump to conclusions and give him a little credit as to having some sense.