Teach Your Parent To Shoot Night
A Lesson In Target Shooting At The Local Gun Range
Can you guess which one of the parents I am? Hint: Left Handed!
My husband is retired military, and when I say retired, I mean forcefully so. He was blown off something while fighting overseas, paralyzed after being operated on four times, and he learned to walk again. He'd still be out there if he could, for it's who he is, and to have that all snatched away from him in one fell swoop along with being left in debilitating pain is the kind of duty that I wish he didn't have to endure.
One of the things that I admire so much about him is that he took some of his skills and applied them in arenas that he could act in. He became a rifle and pistol 4H leader, a NRA competitive marksmanship instructor for youth, and a range safety officer at our local gun range. Every Friday night he takes a group of kids from 10-17 years old to the range and coaches them. He holds monthly meetings at our home and teaches a whole group of youngsters about the ins and outs of firearms. I'm constantly hearing the terms, "trigger control," "hangfire," "misfire," "natural point of aim," "sight alignment," and so on.
He is a great leader, instructor, and all around person to be around, but then again, I am slightly biased.
My experience with firearms was pretty limited, even though I lived in the wilderness. As a "girl" I was usually handed a loaded weapon and allowed to shoot it. During my tenure in the logging camp I tended to carry around a 12 gauge shotgun as a bear deterrent, but aside from pumping it and pulling the trigger, I was rather clueless about its inner workings or even how to load in properly. Thanks to my husband I am much more proficient with firearms, and while I cannot break down my pistol and reassemble it blindfolded; I can now strip it completely down, clean it, reassemble it, load it, and shoot it proficiently. Yay for competency.
I do however, have a bit of an "issue." I am right handed and left eye dominant. It makes things especially interesting in the aiming department as I always tend to feel a bit awkward, so I leave the marksmanship shooting to my husband and our two kids.
Then came "Take Your Parent To The Range Night."
My family has been going to the range for months, and yet I had never set foot inside. So that night, aside from the normal crew, my mother and I were in tow for Friday Night Shoot.
My daughter "taught" my mom to target shoot, and my son, who is left handed, told me not to worry that,
"I'll show you what to do Mom."
My instructor for the evening!
And show me he did! He checked out the .22 rifle that he always uses, got me some hearing and eye protection, and showed me how to lie in the prone position on the mat. That was after I clipped my target to the target holder. He pressed a button and sent it out fifty feet. He then showed me the ten rounds that I was going to shoot at the target that evening, all placed in a little block that looked like a cribbage board. Apparently I had to use them in a specific order. There was a little waiting as we got a safety lecture from the director of the range, and then the shooting began!
It's always fun to impress your children! I got four bulls-eyes and hit all ten of my targets. My Bobo hugged me and told me I did a good job, and I only felt slightly awkward as I had to reach over the top of the rifle and open the bolt action with my left hand! LOL!
My family amazes me! They are so competent and proficient when it comes to firearms. I feel pretty privileged to be a part of such a awesome group!
And as always, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's gun range dust covered iPhone.
That is great you did so well. It is a lot of fun, that's for sure. I took a concealed permit course a few years back, and learned to shoot a pistol, which I hadn't done before. Never hit anything like you did though. Never did get the permit, decided it was too much responsibility. I just run away fast now whenever a situation occurs. But it was sure fun to shoot.
So very nice of your husband to get involved with that, and then give so much back to the community. Especially after all he's gone through. It's obvious he is a very special person. Plus...he gets to hang out with you...which no doubt is a whole lot of fun as well. Thanks for sharing your night out on the range.
I like the Monty Python version of self-defense, lol, "Run away!"
Poor husband, I don't know if fun aptly describes life with moi. More like torture, Yay! Totally think the poor guy is feeling the 18 year age difference between us now, he he! Someday I will tell the harrowing tale of our origins "story." It's full of drama.
You are far too kind by the way; I always adore your comments, and I hope that the gazebo construction has gone well:)!
Those fellows really did have the self defense thing down to a fine art. Always subscribed to that philosophy. How did that joke from working in the woods years back go? " I don't have to outrun the bear, only you."
Thus far, the gazebo is only four posts in the ground, sitting there waiting for the rest of the boards to attach themselves. Not a professional by any means, but get'er done works for me. Actually, the continuous rain is what is really slowing me down. (Not sure I got it very square, so the roof is going to be a major mathematical exercise. Maybe I can enlist your librarianic skills.)
I'm sure hubby is always in major humor mode with you as a helper, if life imitates your take on writing about life and all. It would be fun to hear your 'origins'. I sure do enjoy our conversives on here as well. They keep the day fun and lively. (Let me know if these things get too long for you to keep up with in your busy schedule. I tend to just babble on here, irregardless of what the hands on the computerclock holler at me.)
Well, I'm off to stain the 2x6's for the gazebo thing. I'll make a post on it. I wonder how many other people on here do major, expensive, time consuming projects, just so they have something to post about on Steemit. Be so much easier to just paste up a cat from the Internet.
Naah.
Heh. I just threw a rather large Amazon box on the floor after I emptied it, and no less than three cats manifested inside its innards. Suppose I could post about that;)
Um, theoretical math I am great at, practically applied mathematics in the form of building applications not so much, but you are right, I could probably find you a book on it!
As of late, I have been feeling a touch bad that I haven't been replying to replies daily on here. Life has taken a hairpin turn toward the even more busy than normal road, as on top of an already crazy schedule; we are now coaching volleyball. I could do a whole series of posts on that bananas situation, and probably will! So, I love our comment threads, the rambling awesomeness that they entail elates my tired and drained carcass with every read!
I look forward to the Gazebo chronicles, if the weather ever improves. I also feel your weather-related woes...Dratted cold and drizzle!!