For those with a ball & chain...

[sixtiesstill]

My wife does not like guns period, so when I told her I was getting one she said "that's not going to happen". Now this discussion took place 4 months after I took the safety course and applied for my license as I was window shopping at Cabelas in PA while on vacation. Well I got my license and have a number of guns, she still doesn't like guns, but accepted the fact the I got them. I don't force the issue by sticking them in her face, but I don't hide them either. Look not every one likes guns for very many reasons, but you can have an adult conversation and you do have to accept that others may disagree. I'm happy my wife isn't one of those women who says, "the gun goes or I go", probably why I've been married 45 years to the same women.

 

[swampy]

Hi all, recent green member and young person who likes to exercise the good ol' second amendment. I have a bit of a random question here. My girlfriend is a little, shall we say, gun-shy. She doesn't have anything against me having one (except that it takes away from her buy-me-stuff-budget ). At this point, I've only been able to get her to even hold a pistol once, and she was none too happy about it. I would like for her to be comfortable around guns, and maybe in the future to own and enjoy one (or three) of her own.

SO, my question is, have any of you had a similar experience with a significant other not liking your primal need to shoot things? Any suggestions to help a brother out? I know I'm probably in for the long haul here, and I'm not expecting a night-and-day difference, but at this point I think anything will help out.

Thanks!

I took my GF to the range for her first shooting experience a short time after we first started going out. She wasn't exactly anti gun but had never held one or seen one in person before. I gave her a 45 minute intro to gun handling and shooting safety before she shot the gun. She loves it and had scary mad skills with a .38 within the first 15 minutes shooting.

Afterwards she was telling her daughter and son in law about it and admitted she was nervous and scared but the way I taught her to safely handle the gun put her at ease. Now she has her CCW permit and a collection of targets she keeps to show off her killy skills.

 

[RoterTeufel]

Clean it in front of her often (I mean the firearm). Get her used to seeing you with it as much as you can. Maybe point out how to take it apart while you're doing it. One of the most docile ways of exposing her to it and let her curiosity work

Excellent advice... her natural curiosity will get her talking and asking questions.

leave her alone about it, let her decide her own level of involvement (if any), and if she decides to be involved, be patient and allow her to experience this at her own pace.

be warned she may not be interested at all just like you may not be interested in sipping sangria and gossiping about boys. yeah, opposite activities can be like that.

Atilla, comes up with a gem every once in a while .
Think its actually a pretty good strategy. I'd just add to that to make sure you get spare eyes & ears (protection). And make sure they are comfortable, so if and when you take her she won't be bothered by the noise. Also, make sure to do plugs & muffs. Always have disposable plugs.

I took my G/F to an Open House at my current club a couple years ago. Now she has her license too & she has her own rifle.
She shoots her rifle better than me... she doesn't shoot all of mine, because some of them are too big & scary... She's seen the bruises from the Mosin.
Start off with a .22, they are quiet & low recoil. If you don't have one, you should.

 

[Coyote33]

Every time one of these threads comes up I realize how lucky I am, in this respect. I live in a house full of gun loving women.

This is the only Ball & Chain I have;

OK, I'll raise:

 

[Chris]

I don't question her craft, quilting, and other supplies, she doesn't question bikes, electronics or guns.

Its a nice arrangement that works.

Telepathically uploaded via Google implants.

 

[GottaGetShooting]

Heehee! I was that girl! Less than 2 years ago I shot a .22 handgun for the first time, I was scared to death. With the help of that awesome friend I built my own AR last month! NOT PINK though!

I also loved the Women on Target program!

My gf was the same way.

Get a .22lr rifle or handgun. Take her to the range and eventually she will start to enjoy it.
Make it a thing. Range, out to eat, something like that.

I thought my gf was going to break down and cry in the middle of Walmart when she realized I was carrying.

Now I'm building her a AR15. (Pink of course)

 

[NTMAREMACH]

Tell her there's nothing hotter than a girl with a gun and prove it.

 

[92G]

Hi all, recent green member and young person who likes to exercise the good ol' second amendment. I have a bit of a random question here. My girlfriend is a little, shall we say, gun-shy. She doesn't have anything against me having one (except that it takes away from her buy-me-stuff-budget ). At this point, I've only been able to get her to even hold a pistol once, and she was none too happy about it. I would like for her to be comfortable around guns, and maybe in the future to own and enjoy one (or three) of her own.

SO, my question is, have any of you had a similar experience with a significant other not liking your primal need to shoot things? Any suggestions to help a brother out? I know I'm probably in for the long haul here, and I'm not expecting a night-and-day difference, but at this point I think anything will help out.

Thanks!

My wife does not like guns period, so when I told her I was getting one she said "that's not going to happen". Now this discussion took place 4 months after I took the safety course and applied for my license as I was window shopping at Cabelas in PA while on vacation. Well I got my license and have a number of guns, she still doesn't like guns, but accepted the fact the I got them. I don't force the issue by sticking them in her face, but I don't hide them either. Look not every one likes guns for very many reasons, but you can have an adult conversation and you do have to accept that others may disagree. I'm happy my wife isn't one of those women who says, "the gun goes or I go", probably why I've been married 45 years to the same women.

every woman i have dated was anti-gun when we met.
however, once they learn how to shoot i find they quickly switch to being pro-gun. in fact i have never met a woman who knew how to shoot and was against guns. the anti-gun stance is driven purely by the typical liberal fear-propaganda.

once a woman's "inner mother" learns how to shoot then they realize the same tool which can be used to hurt people can also be used to protect them (especially children)...and i believe "the armed mother" inside of them wins out.

i have had numerous discussions with my woman about what would compel her to use lethal force and basically it comes down to whether herself or any children are in danger...so there you go...

perhaps some ladies can chime in and confirm my quasi-misogynistic theory?

 

[OfficerObie59]

In five years my wife has gone from refusing to allow guns in my home to buying me an M1 Garand for my recent birthday.

Take it slow. Take her to the range one day and plink some cans with a .22. If she doesn't want to go shooting again, at least she'll understand the hobby and not break your balls every time you drop some cash on a new toy and some ammo. The worst thing you can do is start her on a .44 Magnum and expect her to have fun.

 

[Marty McFly]

In five years my wife has gone from refusing to allow guns in my home to buying me an M1 Garand for my recent birthday.

Take it slow. Take her to the range one day and plink some cans with a .22. If she doesn't want to go shooting again, at least she'll understand the hobby and not break your balls every time you drop some cash on a new toy and some ammo. The worst thing you can do is start her on a .44 Magnum and expect her to have fun.

we can ALWAYS count on officerobie59 to chime in with a great word of wisdom.

 

[FSTC]

If you respect her enough to refer to her (to your new friends on NES) as your "ball and chain" then chances are she ain't gonna be around long.
So why worry about it?

Here are a few words of advice:
1. Find a WoT event. Because (and I'm going to make a guess here) You won't be the best person to introduce her to shooting.
2. Never shit on your SO to try to win points with new friends.

 

[Stoutcat]

Hi all, recent green member and young person who likes to exercise the good ol' second amendment. I have a bit of a random question here. My girlfriend is a little, shall we say, gun-shy. She doesn't have anything against me having one (except that it takes away from her buy-me-stuff-budget ). At this point, I've only been able to get her to even hold a pistol once, and she was none too happy about it. I would like for her to be comfortable around guns, and maybe in the future to own and enjoy one (or three) of her own.

SO, my question is, have any of you had a similar experience with a significant other not liking your primal need to shoot things? Any suggestions to help a brother out? I know I'm probably in for the long haul here, and I'm not expecting a night-and-day difference, but at this point I think anything will help out.

Thanks!

Here's an idea: how about not referring to her in public, or thinking about her, as a "ball and chain"? That alone would probably do wonders.

Just sayin'.

 

[MrJones79]

leave her alone about it, let her decide her own level of involvement (if any), and if she decides to be involved, be patient and allow her to experience this at her own pace.

be warned she may not be interested at all just like you may not be interested in sipping sangria and gossiping about boys. yeah, opposite activities can be like that.

Exactly this. She may not ever be interested in it enough to shoot for fun. Just make sure you educate her so she supports gun rights, even if she chooses not to exercise them.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[.40swToFreedom]

leave her alone about it, let her decide her own level of involvement (if any), and if she decides to be involved, be patient and allow her to experience this at her own pace.

be warned she may not be interested at all just like you may not be interested in sipping sangria and gossiping about boys. yeah, opposite activities can be like that.

Bumping this thread to give everyone some positive reinforcement. I've always asked mine to come with to the range. Sometimes urged, never forced her or judged her for it. Eventually I went with this policy quoted above. She went from "guns are scary they kill people" and "you don't need to carry" to overall curiosity and respect for my beliefs and interests to an out-of-the-blue "I want to go shooting with you" with a reason given of "it's something I want to do in my lifetime" (I'm sure this will turn into doubling my ammo budget ). I tried to parlay that into getting her an LTC, at least for sake of taking possession if I ever got jammed up. She pushed back hard on that... for now. Gotta crawl before you can walk I guess.

 

[scatter]

Bumping this thread to give everyone some positive reinforcement. I've always asked mine to come with to the range. Sometimes urged, never forced her or judged her for it. Eventually I went with this policy quoted above. She went from "guns are scary they kill people" and "you don't need to carry" to overall curiosity and respect for my beliefs and interests to an out-of-the-blue "I want to go shooting with you" with a reason given of "it's something I want to do in my lifetime" (I'm sure this will turn into doubling my ammo budget ). I tried to parlay that into getting her an LTC, at least for sake of taking possession if I ever got jammed up. She pushed back hard on that... for now. Gotta crawl before you can walk I guess.

Keep it up. Before long she'll be out-shooting you, asking you gun questions that you don't know the answer to, and wondering why you're only ordering one CMP M1 between the two of you. Not that I have any personal experience in that regard.

 

[Carver patriot]

Every year when my lady askes me what I want for my birthday I tell her I just want her to join me at the range for the day. She does like gun but understands and support me in my hobby.

 

[MikeScarn]

Quick update from OP.
A) I realize now that sarcasm is hard to convey through the interwebs, so maybe "ball-and-chain" was a poor choice.
B) Thanks to those who took this seriously and gave some good advice, I am taking my time and anyways I don't need a gung-ho 2A right wing nutcase as my better half right now.
C) I enjoyed reading most of the posts on here because frankly I forgot how much internet anonymity makes people say asinine things .

 

[WatchCityCPA]

2nd ammendment sisters is quite active in NH

http://www.2asisters.net/nh/events.html

and apparently MA

http://www.2asisters.net/ma/web-content/home.htm

Nice group of people and since its a girls only organization, it might be easier for her to show up at some of their events.

The other thing - be very, very patient. Slow, sustained progress is the best way to go if you want permanent change.

 

[DrBurnsides]

Get 22 conversions for everything you possibly can.. A glock 17 in 22 takes the fear factor out. Same for an AR in 22. Rifles are easier. Try those Battleship targets and challenge her. It's like game night.. Except with 22.

 

[scatter]

Quick update from OP.
A) I realize now that sarcasm is hard to convey through the interwebs, so maybe "ball-and-chain" was a poor choice.
B) Thanks to those who took this seriously and gave some good advice, I am taking my time and anyways I don't need a gung-ho 2A right wing nutcase as my better half right now.
C) I enjoyed reading most of the posts on here because frankly I forgot how much internet anonymity makes people say asinine things .

Wat? It's been a long day but if this is sarcasm, or even subtle humor, no matter how slightly subtle, it's beyond me right now.

 

[rudiewhitebwoy]

Every time one of these threads comes up I realize how lucky I am, in this respect. I live in a house full of gun loving women.

This is the only Ball & Chain I have;

[video=youtube_share;gGMFEYGJsuc]http://youtu.be/gGMFEYGJsuc[/video]

OK, I'll raise:

I'll see you, and raise;

[video=youtube_share;r5If816MhoU]http://youtu.be/r5If816MhoU[/video]

 

[Palladin]

Quick update from OP.
A) I realize now that sarcasm is hard to convey through the interwebs, so maybe "ball-and-chain" was a poor choice.
B) Thanks to those who took this seriously and gave some good advice, I am taking my time and anyways I don't need a gung-ho 2A right wing nutcase as my better half right now.
C) I enjoyed reading most of the posts on here because frankly I forgot how much internet anonymity makes people say asinine things .

I can't say enough good about Women on Target. Two years ago I convinced the wife to take the course, basically because of the guns I own . She had an awesome time, now has a LTC, hit me up to go to the range next weekend. " I need more handgun practice"

 

[hminsky]

For introducing someone to handgun, who might be put off by loud noise and recoil, I recommend getting a very heavy solid .22LR pistol, so there is no recoil to speak of.

Like a full size 1911 in 22lr if possible.