A bit of history before the actual reason why today was a great day.
Back in 2012 or early 2013, I was just getting back into firearms and shooting. In my enthusiasm to share my new found and very enjoyable hobby, I asked my daughter (appoximately 13 yo) to go with to Manchester Firing Line with me, and off we went. I think at the time, the only thing I owned was a 10/22, so we also rented a 9mm pistol (forget which brand). Unfortunately, the 9mm was a horrible introduction for her due to age / size / whatever, and she was so overwhelmed and freaked out she literally cried at the range. She's been very closed to the option of shooting ever since, disliked the idea of my having and carrying a firearm, blah, blah, liberal schooling kicking, etc, etc.
Fast Forward to middle of last week...... *WHEEEEEEEEE* She messages me from school and tells me that she wants to try shooting again, and her cousin and grandmother want to go as well. *DOUBLE TAKE* My Anti-Gun Daughter wants to give it another shot?! I'm in!
Today was the great day. We did a brief (20 minutes) briefing to cover the safety rules, basic mechanics of shooting, positioning, and handling. Had them using dummy rounds to load, chamber, clear firearms. Answered any questions they had. I think this was a good part of the process because everyone got to handle a firearm in a safe environment without the risk of putting a round into the wall.
We started off with the M&P 22 (pistol) to get them eased into and it worked splendidly. All three people were consistently on paper with a good beginners stance and were following all the safety rules.
We then moved onto a M&P 9 Full Size. Everyone shot it, again mostly on paper, and was safe the entire time. Daughter didn't really enjoy the recoil, everyone else was okay with it.
I gave them the option of shooting my Ruger SR1911, which all of them did at one point. Daughter did it, a couple of times, but didn't enjoy it at all. Actually, none of them seemed to enjoy the 45, but that's understandable.
I had a M&P 15-22 in the car as well, so we pulled that out and did a basic function walkthrough on the rifle and then I let them plink away for as much 22 as we had left, which wasn't much at this point.
It took a lot of courage and fortitude for her to go from hating guns to actually enjoying shooting, at least the 22 stuff
Couldn't be a prouder dad and I am extremely grateful I got to fix my original screwup and re-introduce her to shooting.
We did talk briefly about her getting an FID, but is leaving to go back to school and already has commitments on the night of the LTC class I could have gotten her into, but we'll figure it out when she's back from school.
Back in 2012 or early 2013, I was just getting back into firearms and shooting. In my enthusiasm to share my new found and very enjoyable hobby, I asked my daughter (appoximately 13 yo) to go with to Manchester Firing Line with me, and off we went. I think at the time, the only thing I owned was a 10/22, so we also rented a 9mm pistol (forget which brand). Unfortunately, the 9mm was a horrible introduction for her due to age / size / whatever, and she was so overwhelmed and freaked out she literally cried at the range. She's been very closed to the option of shooting ever since, disliked the idea of my having and carrying a firearm, blah, blah, liberal schooling kicking, etc, etc.
Fast Forward to middle of last week...... *WHEEEEEEEEE* She messages me from school and tells me that she wants to try shooting again, and her cousin and grandmother want to go as well. *DOUBLE TAKE* My Anti-Gun Daughter wants to give it another shot?! I'm in!
Today was the great day. We did a brief (20 minutes) briefing to cover the safety rules, basic mechanics of shooting, positioning, and handling. Had them using dummy rounds to load, chamber, clear firearms. Answered any questions they had. I think this was a good part of the process because everyone got to handle a firearm in a safe environment without the risk of putting a round into the wall.
We started off with the M&P 22 (pistol) to get them eased into and it worked splendidly. All three people were consistently on paper with a good beginners stance and were following all the safety rules.
We then moved onto a M&P 9 Full Size. Everyone shot it, again mostly on paper, and was safe the entire time. Daughter didn't really enjoy the recoil, everyone else was okay with it.
I gave them the option of shooting my Ruger SR1911, which all of them did at one point. Daughter did it, a couple of times, but didn't enjoy it at all. Actually, none of them seemed to enjoy the 45, but that's understandable.
I had a M&P 15-22 in the car as well, so we pulled that out and did a basic function walkthrough on the rifle and then I let them plink away for as much 22 as we had left, which wasn't much at this point.
It took a lot of courage and fortitude for her to go from hating guns to actually enjoying shooting, at least the 22 stuff
Couldn't be a prouder dad and I am extremely grateful I got to fix my original screwup and re-introduce her to shooting.We did talk briefly about her getting an FID, but is leaving to go back to school and already has commitments on the night of the LTC class I could have gotten her into, but we'll figure it out when she's back from school.
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