I think she's hooked

[dstryr]

A couple, maybe three years ago I talked my daughter into shooting my first gun, a Glenfield Model 20 bolt action .22 rifle. Since then she hasn't wanted anything to do with shooting, mostly because she doesn't care for the noise. Plugged and over-ear gear didn't matter, just doesn't like the sound.

5 weeks ago she was riding her horse in snow and the horse slipped and fell on her right leg and foot, breaking her ankle, and she's been climbing the walls bored. Today my wife says 'Go see your daughter, something about going shooting.' I went inside to check on her and asked her if she wanted to go out and got a shy smile and a maybe. That's her way of saying yes, if its ok with me.

I loaded up the .22, an AR, and a couple pistols and we headed out to a place in the country where we can shoot any time.

I figure she shot maybe 8-10 7-rd magazines and enjoyed the heck out of it. Then she wanted me to shoot the AR and my .40S&W pistol to see how loud they were. Still didn't like them, but got over it pretty quickly and decided we'd have to come back out on Sunday. When I reminded her that snow was in the forecast, she said 'Ok, we're coming out on the next nice day.'

Finished up with a .40 JHP round into an unopened can of Mountain Dew. The explosion of foaming soda was a kick for her and I believe we have a newly hooked shooter. She even asked if there were shooting events at the county fair. I said probably not at the fair level, but through 4-H there is competition. We'll see where this goes.

Here are a couple of pics, shooting around 30 yards. She finally said one reason she didn't want to shoot was that she didn't want to 'suck' at hitting the target, lol.

 

[Bluestar99]

Great story. I asked my 33 year old daughter if she wanted to come out and shoot last year. I fully expected her to say NO. But she drove out and we have a fun day shooting. You just never know unless you ask I guess.

 

[JimTh]

My 18 year old daughter likes her guns which include an AR15 as well as a few others. But it is tough getting her to want to go to the range. She still has hang ups that I don't quite understand. I think she still wants to play both sides of the fence and that people will think her weird if she states an interest in firearms. She is still spooked by them but I think that is only because she doesn't plink around enough to understand that a gun can be fun as well as useful. I got her a sig mosquito and hopefully she will want to see what she can do with it. It should be easier than the s&w 38 body guard I got her for her 18th birthday.

 

[Bluestar99]

My 18 year old daughter likes her guns which include an AR15 as well as a few others. But it is tough getting her to want to go to the range. She still has hang ups that I don't quite understand. I think she still wants to play both sides of the fence and that people will think her weird if she states an interest in firearms. She is still spooked by them but I think that is only because she doesn't plink around enough to understand that a gun can be fun as well as useful. I got her a sig mosquito and hopefully she will want to see what she can do with it. It should be easier than the s&w 38 body guard I got her for her 18th birthday.

Kids can be tough, especially girls. Do you have any nieces or nephews around her age, or a close friend she hangs with to take along? Sometimes all it takes is for someone else to express interest for it to be cool. She may not want to be the only one in her group that shoots. When I asked my Daughter to shoot, yea she was much older, but I stressed teaching her to defend herself. Taking control of her own safety. That made it seem a little less Rambo then just going out and shooting up stuff.

 

[wolf_fire]

Many of you know I'm a high school teacher. I'm amazed at how many of the female students regale me with their tales of shooting. It warms this teacher's heart.

Keep up the good work dstryr.

 

[K7lvo]

My 37-year-old daughter is taking a 4-day handgun course at Front Sight in a couple of months, and she's taking me with her. . She's been around (my) guns all her life and has been pretty neutral. Lately, though, she has decided that she wants to be able to defend herself and her family, should the need arise. We're both very excited about the trip!