Converting the anti-gunners you know

Bill Nance

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Just wanted to pass on a success story.

About a year ago we got my Father-In-Law into shooting. He now has a whole cowboy shooting getup and is active in the SASS.

My Mother-In-Law not only has no interest, she was afraid of the guns and really uncomfortable about the whole thing. So we took her through an entire NRA Home Firearm Safety curriculum a few weeks ago, including lots and lots of hands-on loading, unloading and seeing how keeping the action open renders all her husband's guns inoperable.

At the end of the day we weren't too sure how successful we had been, but at least knew she would be safe handling the guns in case my FIL did something stupid like leaving a loaded one lying around without telling her.

THEN LAST NIGHT....

She said she was talking to someone who claimed their daughter had been shot in the knee when her husband had dropped a derringer out of a holster and it had AD'd and hit her.

"That doesn't sound right. Is that possible?" she asked us last night. We explained that yes, in a derringer of the right time frame, if the owner had it loaded and had the hammer down on a loaded chamber, AND dropped it (out of a holster? come on)! AND got really unlucky, AND the wife was in exactly the wrong position, it was possible. Like lighting striking on a relatively clear day. Possible, not probable.

"I thought there was more to the story, it didn't seem right after what you guys taught me."

So we asked her what the three NRA rules were, and sure enough: "Keep the gun unloaded until ready to fire," came up. But she said this was a self-defense gun, so that maybe didn't apply (ding, ding ding, she's thinking along the right lines)!

My take is that the husband and/or daughter was drunk and/or doing something stupid with the gun when the AD happened, making it a ND, not an AD. And besides, who the Hell in 2010 carried a derringer in their home as a self defense gun? Sounds mighty fishy to me, and more to the point, it sounded mighty fishy to her.

While the story may turn out to be 100% legit, we counted a major victory because my previously oblivious MIL didn't take it at face value. She's not skeptical of ANYTHING, but she called BS on this story right away. GO MOM!
 
This is a good story. Most people that are anti-gun whether they are afraid of them or merely don't have an interest in them, change their tune after they have an informative and interactive experience with them.
Just the other night, I showed my best friend my new Glock 22. He's pro gun, has shot some, but doesn't own any. Anytime I've mentioned he should get his license, he kind of shrugs. Well after letting him dry fire it, run it thru it's cycles, and show him how to field strip it, he played with it for an hour or so. I could see his interest growing. Now all I need to do is take him shooting once I myself get a club!
Aside from that, I'm still trying to get my potential fiancee to get interested and eventually licensed. No sense in getting these firearms partly to defend her, if she can't handle them safely or legally!
 
I only got into shooting about 2 years ago - by shooting! A friend took me to the range that was in Worcester just for fun and it really flipped a switch. I think most people only need to see that guns aren't as scary as they've been brought up to believe if they're respected.
My girlfriend was always nervous about me packing, and all I had to do was get .357 in her hand and blast a few rounds out. I went out to dinner later that night with some friends and came home to her on the S&W site looking for her own piece! With a pink grip, no less. God Bless America!
 
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