New Gun And Range Report (Plus A New Shooter!)

I've written before about gun enthusiasts versus casual shooters, especially as it relates to Lu. She loves to shoot and is very good at it but she's a product of her upbringing and limited training. She is comfortable with single shots, revolvers, pumps, bolts and levers but semi-autos, either handgun or rifles, make her uneasy. She is never quite certain, deep down inside, whether or not she needs to do some sort of manipulation to make it go bang and she has to stop and really think whenever reloading comes into play. In a casual setting, one where she's just plinking and not training, she's fine but throw in pressured training and she has issues. It's a problem for us because I have based my home defense plan around high capacity semi-auto pistols and AR15 pattern rifles. Yeah, it's a problem. Again, that's totally my fault. I should have gotten her up to speed on semis a long time ago but I didn't and that is a massive failure on my part. One I am going to address.

I decided to start with getting Lu comfortable with the AR rifles first because if we can get her skillful with that weapon then a pistol should be much more simple. To me the best way to get her going strong was to ramp down the training aspect and give her a training tool she'd be comfortable with and was fun to shoot. Nothing makes training easier than having fun. Enter my answer. Mind you it's my answer. Yours may differ.

A S&W M&P 15-22. I considered just getting a .22 conversion for one of my ARs but one of Lu's complaints was the weight of the rifles. At 5 1/4 pounds the Smith is very light weight and I'll later go to work on one of the ARs to lighten it up considerably. Composite everything except the barrel, bolt and bolt guide rails the thing is really easy to carry and hold off hand.

The controls mimic the AR platforms exactly.

It's a blowback design with a light weight bolt so cleaning is much easier.

The guts seem pretty much AR standard, including the robust hammer. We had no failures to feed or fire and got good primer strikes. The trigger is fairly heavy but crisp with no appreciable creep or slack.

Enough about the technical aspects. How did it shoot? Very well. We didn't do any accuracy testing (the first range session was purely a fun shoot) but anecdotally I was very happy with it. It shoots very softly, as you'd expect with a .22 long rifle, and put every round in a 10 inch pie plate at 10 yards. That may not seem exceptional but one of the shooters was a brand new shooter. I'll get into that in a bit.

To address the training and gun handling issues I mentioned earlier my plan was to introduce Lu to the gun as gently as possible with no pressure or expectations. I even did all the magazine loading.We headed to the range with one of Lu's co-workers and his non-shooter wife. There was a bit of subterfuge going on here. He wants an AR for himself but she's resisting, not quite understanding the attraction. This was the perfect opportunity to slay two dragons with one bolt.

We started the day on the line with two Ruger pistols, Lu's MKI and my bull barrel MKII. Again, yours truly did all the magazine loading and gun manipulation (short of the actual shooting). The setting was low key with the emphasis on fun and trying some new stuff. Lu is well acquainted with her little Ruger so had her usual load of fun. The new shooter (TNS for short) was pleasantly surprised. She had a ball. The first thing I did was have a safety brief. The very next was to assure her that I was not not not one of those idiots who think it's funny to hand her a hand cannon and laugh at the results. I told her I wouldn't give her anything to shoot that would hurt or cause her discomfort. No YouTube follies here.

With that success in my pocket out came the rifles. We started with a pair of 10-22s because hey, they're 10-22s and who doesn't love those little guns? Both women had an absolute ball. All that was required was range safety and a good time. Smiles were in abundance. One of those rifles is Lu's so no manipulation issues were encountered and with the relaxed atmosphere she quickly got into a good groove. A good sign.

After about half a brick of fun it was time to bring out the New Gun. Lu was first up and I have to say that after the first magazine she had a grin plastered on her face that never left. I acquainted Lu with the controls but didn't ask her to manipulate any except the safety. Easy, gentle and fun. More will come later, and there will be a later. This gun did exactly what I hoped it would. Relaxed Lu and let her handle an AR pattern rifle with minimum pressure and maximum fun. She can't wait to shoot it again. In future range sessions I will be slowly adding in gun manipulation skills and tasks but only as she and I deem her ready.

Same with TNS though she was pretty much divided on which rifle she liked best. I also didn't fuss over her or give her too much input in this first of hopefully many more range sessions. She shot everything and is a natural shot. She had an absolute ball and never once missed, hence the short range and large target. If a new shooter has that much fun and initial success you're halfway toward making a true Gunny.

All in all it was a great day and an excellent purchase. I highly recommend the S&W rifle. It's light, easy to shoot, relatively inexpensive (I paid $569), 10 different kinds of fun and cheap to shoot. For smiles per dollar spent it's an absolute steal. Lu now has a rifle that she loves as opposed to one that she's intimidated by and that should make acquiring the skills I need her to have much easier. As she progresses I'll modify the AR I have set aside for her to make it smaller and lighter to more nearly mirror the little Smith. This has reinforced in me the idea that it's a bad assumption to make that all other shooters can simply pick up a gun, any gun, and shoot it competently just because you can. That lesson is now permanently impressed in what passes for my brain.

As for The New Shooter? That was pure icing. I talked with her husband just today and a 10-22 purchase is already being planned. I think we may have a brand new shooter joining our ranks and that makes me very happy. I'm not Keads or Dann yet but I am doing what I can.

A very good day indeed.

Six

Lu's Gun

There's a lot of information and opinion out there on carry guns, what, how and why. A lot of it is very good and some is downright awful. I think the final selection for a self defense gun is dependant on a few things. Shooter experience, needs, strengths, weaknesses and comfort level. Now add in caliber, reliability, ammunition capacity, price (and budget) and local laws. Throw it all in a big bowl, stir well and voila! A new gun is added to armory. Here's Lu's choice (and it was her choice) with the reasoning that went into it.

That's a Smith and Wesson Model 642, aka an Airweight. Price out the door was $421.00.

Specifications

Model: 642
Caliber: .38 Special +p rated
Capacity: 5 Rounds
Barrel Length: 1.875″
Front Sight: Integral Front
Rear Sight: Fixed
Grip: Rubber Grips
Frame: Small – Centennial Style
Finish: Matte
Overall Length: 6 3/8″
Material: Alloy/Stainless Steel
Weight Empty: 15 oz.

We looked at a lot of guns but the choices came down to three. The Ruger LC9, the Kahr PM9 and the Airweight. We already have a Sig P230 and my little Glock 26 but I don't particularly care for the .380 and the Glock is a bit large for Lu to tote around. Lu handled them all and has shot the Sig and Glock (as well as the rest of my semi auto pistols) and there the issue finally became obvious to me. She's massively uncomfortable with the semi auto pistols.

It's completely my fault. I spent so much time shooting, going to shooting schools and instructing others on all things shooting that I neglected her training and familiarization. Too busy with my career and subconsciously doing what I think a lot of other gunnies out there are guilty of. Assuming that everyone else is as nuts about guns as we are and that simple instruction will carry the same weight as regular range time and bullets down range. Oddly enough, it's not so.

I noticed that whenever I took Lu out to shoot one of the high capacity bullet hoses she immediately showed trepidation and hesitation. She'd take a gun she's shot before and handle it like it was about to sprout poison spikes. I could see the consternation and uncertainty on her face. I chalked it up to simple nerves and concentration and went on with the lesson, blithely confident that she was soaking up the instruction the same way I, or any serious gunny, would have. Contrast that with her handling of the revolvers. Then she was confident, smiling, happy and in control. Her favorite is her stainless Vaquero which should have told me something way sooner than it did.

Lu is a product of her environment and experience, just like the rest of us. She was raised on bolts, levers and revolvers. Our early life together was a continuation of those experiences as that was what was out there and what we could afford. When I transitioned to the world of semi autos I failed to take her along with me. Again, it's that gunny in me and the assumption I made that she'd simply absorb it all by osmosis or something. But she didn't. She's not a gunny. Oh, she loves to shoot and can do so very well. She loves her guns and the time we spend together making money into smoke, holes and broken bottles. But she's not a gun nut. She doesn't spend hours with the Cabela's catalogue or on the internet browsing forums and gun blogs. She doesn't read and remember everything she sees on the subjects of caliber, ballistics, holsters, ammunition performance, etc. ad infinitum. She likes the things she's comfortable with and knows well. She loves her lever and pump and Vaquero. She's not out there looking for the latest and greatest super duper whiz bang bullet hose and tactical ninja rig. She likes wood and steel and things she can understand without 40 hours of intense instruction. She's great under pressure but, like all of us, pressure she is equipped to deal with. Give her an emergency within the bounds of her competence and she's amazing. Take her out of her comfort zone and she's hesitant, uncertain and slow. We're all like that to one degree or another but we tend to forget when what we're talking about is near and dear to us. Like guns to gunnies.

But in the world of self defense handguns hesitant, uncertain and slow are threats to life and limb and that is unacceptable. Here's an example. When I took Lu out to shoot, say the Sig 226, I'd go over basic safety rules and hand her the gun. I'd go over the manual of arms, have her load up and point her at the target. You could see the wheels turning. I'd tell her "It's ready. There's no safety. Just point and shoot. When it's empty reload and do it again." She trusted me but always acted like there were things she was afraid to forget. She'd look at the controls as if she was supposed to know what they all did but didn't. In my arrogance I put it down to insufficient trigger time (as was indeed the case) but that wasn't the crux of the issue.

She liked shooting those guns but was afraid to trust her life to her ability to manipulate it correctly and competently in a crisis. Shooting for fun is one thing. Shooting for self defense is something altogether different. That was the heart of the matter.

By the time I realized my massive failing (and it is mine, not hers) it was very late in the game. We're in Utah now, not california and though the need for a CCW might not be as dear here as it was there, here we could actually get her a CCW as opposed to the People's Republic where we could not. And I was determined that she was going to have the option of going about armed. Now what?

Training was a potential solution but again, she's not a gunny. But she was competent on those things she knew well and was comfortable with. Bolts, levers, pumps and revolvers. She liked the bullet hoses on the range and within the narrow confines of no pressure shooting. Not so much when the pressure to perform got ratcheted up. Not her fault, it's not even a fault, it's just how she was built based on her experience and training (or lack of. Again, that's on me). So together we went shopping. A search for her perfect carry gun. The journey took us in a specific direction but I was determined that she'd have all the knowledge she needed to make an informed and comfortable decision. She shot every pistol we had and handled those we didn't. We left nothing out from semis to modern revolvers to SAA. It was very instructive for me. Now that I (finally) knew what to look for I could see it on her face every time she even handled a gun. With the pistols she was consistently hesitant and uncertain. With the revolvers she was happy, enthusiastic and confident. In the end she chose the Airweight.

She loved it from the very first time she picked it up. You could see her face light up immediately. Here was a small, lightweight handgun with technology she could understand and manipulate with confidence and speed. I let her choose, right down to the laser. The model comes from the factory either with or without a Crimson Trace laser. She chose no laser. The grip just feels better to her and comfort relates directly to shooting speed and accuracy. I'm good with that. All things mechanical will eventually fail and in that event your shooting skills will make the difference. It's also in a major caliber and since I'm a handloader I can tailor her ammunition to her abilities and needs. Done. Bought and out the door. Lu was giggly with delight.

We took it out on her birthday and ran a few cylinders through it. She's in love. How much so? The DO came out with us and brought her 2 1/2 inch 66. After shooting both Lu remarked that she no longer liked shooting the 66, a gun she used to adore. Stacked against her new Airweight it wasn't even close. Heck, I like it so much I'm considering buying one of my own and retiring the baby Glock. I'm definitely selling the Sig P230. She even did reloads sans speedloaders or strips with speed and aplomb. She manipulates it like it's an extension of her hand. This gun is right smack dab in the middle of her wheelhouse and darn if that girl didn't hit it right out of the park.

It's hard for me to convey how I feel about both my dereliction in her pistol training and my massively incorrect assumptions about her comfort levels with the tools I provided her with. For years I sent her out in the world with a Glock 19 she was ill equipped to defend herself with. My fault. Mine. I've learned a great deal from this though and am taking those lessons to heart. I hope I'm now a better husband and instructor than I was. Frankly, it'd be hard for me to have failed any more completely and a worse failure, in this context, doesn't bear dwelling on. If you're an instructor, whether for family or the larger public, it bears thinking on.

But now the ship has been righted. A few more range sessions and she'll be ready for her CCW class. I sent an e-mail to Michael at Michaels Custom Holsters and a new carry holster for a J Frame Smith will soon be in the outing. Anyone know the proper speedloaders and a good source? Like I said, the girl loves her new gun and wants all the cool stuff for it. It's incredible what happens when you couple the right shooter with the right tool. Amazing.

I feel incredibly good this morning. I've managed to correct a horrible oversight and equip my beloved with a tool that may save her life. That she loves it is pure icing. Today, I am a better gunny.

Six

PS: One thing I forgot to include. In California my wait for a gun was 10 days. I asked the clerk how long the wait here was and he said "It usually runs about 30 minutes but after the first time it's much shorter." Gotta love living in Free America!