New Shooter Report - Mom

Mom has been interested in heading to the range with me for quite some time now, but we hadn't had the chance to go shooting till today. I asked her yesterday If she'd like to come and she was excited about going. We did a short lesson on the 4 rules, basic range rules at Ommelanden, and how I was going handle the range session.

I figure it's best to stick to the K.I.S.S. principle when bringing someone who's unfamiliar with guns to the range. If they're safe and they have fun then that's a successful trip. With that in mind I focused primarily on good muzzle control and keeping her finger off the trigger.

We got to the range and both the rifle and pistol range were full. Mom found the noise disconcerting even when we were in the parking lot, so I thought that might be an issue once we got onto the firing line. Once we'd double plugged mom acclimated to the noise and it wasn't an issue for the rest of the trip.

We signed in, showed ID (apparently they do that now) and once we put up targets I showed her how to load magazines, load the gun, check condition, etc. She was a bit nervous, but that disappeared once she saw me shoot the .22 Bersa and realized it didn't kick at all.

Once she put the 1st round down range turned to me with a huge smile (maintaining perfect muzzle discipline) and squeed. "I hit the target!" Soon she had her shots down and was able to put several rounds in the middle of the target. I wish I had a picture of mom's face when she hit the bullseye.

We did try the P6 and the P229 in .357SIG after moving back a bit and switching to a blue silouette target. After watching me take a few shots with the P229R and exclaiming "wow, that's really loud" Mom decided she had to try it out. My shots were low and right, and one high and right. (still jerking the trigger) Mom's 1st shot was dead center, a bit high on the 8 ring. She shot out the rest of the magazine with what she called "The big, loud gun" then stopped and started shooting the Bersa again.

I think I heard the words "This is FUN" at least 10 times. Then, on the ride home she asked "can the little gun be my gun?" Yep, you heard that right. Her gun.

Too bad dad had to be a grouch, make annoying jokes about whether she shot anyone, and just generally act annoyed and disgusted that I was taking mom to shoot guns. I did invite him, knowing he wouldn't want to go, just so he wouldn't feel left out. I'm actually glad he didn't accept, since I don't need to hand a gun to someone who's acting like a bratty little kid.