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So I did some 1 on1 instruction today. 72 year old female who had never even held a gun before.
2/4/2012 2:55:02 PM
A woman I work with told me her mother wanted a gun and wanted to learn how to use it. I told her my fee per hour and said we will get a gun picked out for her and in less than 4 hours she will feel 100% confident in her ability to use that gun to defend herself.
The story she told me was one that I think alot of older folks who live alone have dealt with. She said she was going to leave for church one Sunday morning and as she opened the door a guy was there demanding the money he was owed for working on her driveway. He got in her face and scared her bad but she held her ground and told him he had never worked on her property and he needed to leave. He complied but was pretty angry and said something about he would be back. It turns out that he had worked on her neighbors driveway and apologized to her at some point later. She told me she had no idea what she could have done to protect herself if he decided to hurt her and wasn't ever going to feel that way again.
I had a few guns already in mind based on the facts I knew.
Older woman with some slight mobility and grip issues who had never even handled a gun in her entire life.
After settling on a revolver of some kind as she did not like the extra controlson an auto pistol and could not work the slide comfortably. She settled on an LCR 22 as she could not pull the trigger on other guns reliably and liked the weight and trigger pull. I know a 22LR is one of the woprst options but in this scenario I think it was the best choice she can afford to practice with it alot and it won't cost her a fortune.
After an initial safety walk through on procedures and alot of dry fire and loading and unloading drills she was ready for her first shot. She didn't hit paper as she was terrified of the recoil. After that she started handling business. indexing the front sight worked for her as her eyes aren't the best anymore.
She had some fumbles reloading and learned from them. By the end of the day before the gun was empty she already had a handful of 22 shells in her right hand and was popping the ejector with her left thumb and visually checkng the cylinder to reload ASAP.
By the end of 3 hours of shooting she had shot between 300 and 400 rounds, she was able to keep all 8 rounds in the head of an IDPA target while walking backwwards and then reload and do it again. Her hands were filthy and she was all smiles and laughing about how easy it was to shoot.
She much preferred shooting one handed and shot better one handed than two handed.
I let her shoot 5 rounds out of my 637 and she did not like the recoil at all, she said I did a wonderful job of picking out her gun and didn't think a 38 would be her best option again. SHe was very happy with the LCR 22.
I broke out the 930 spx loaded with some of that 12 pellet count 00 buck and she rapped off 5 rounds at 7 yards like nobodies business as well and got good hits.
Her and her daughter both hugged me and thanked me after we were done. Then went and bought 2 full sized Sabre peppersprays for their cars and she wants me to email her the best place to buy a pair of surefire e2d LED flashlights as she fell in love with mine when I showed it to her. LOL she tagged a tree a couple of times with the light and liked the gouges it put on the tree. She did not like the cheaper china light I showed her, she said it felt cheap and the surefire felt like it was more solid. She asked where the surefire was made and said America, just like her new gun, that is what sold her on the surefire. She wants a pocket holster as she wears skirts with pockets the vast majority of time. She wants to attend the next CCDW class I put on.
She said she had never in life felt as safe as she did at the end of the day knowing she could protect herself and wished she had learned to shoot 60 years ago.
I feel like superman now.
The story she told me was one that I think alot of older folks who live alone have dealt with. She said she was going to leave for church one Sunday morning and as she opened the door a guy was there demanding the money he was owed for working on her driveway. He got in her face and scared her bad but she held her ground and told him he had never worked on her property and he needed to leave. He complied but was pretty angry and said something about he would be back. It turns out that he had worked on her neighbors driveway and apologized to her at some point later. She told me she had no idea what she could have done to protect herself if he decided to hurt her and wasn't ever going to feel that way again.
I had a few guns already in mind based on the facts I knew.
Older woman with some slight mobility and grip issues who had never even handled a gun in her entire life.
After settling on a revolver of some kind as she did not like the extra controlson an auto pistol and could not work the slide comfortably. She settled on an LCR 22 as she could not pull the trigger on other guns reliably and liked the weight and trigger pull. I know a 22LR is one of the woprst options but in this scenario I think it was the best choice she can afford to practice with it alot and it won't cost her a fortune.
After an initial safety walk through on procedures and alot of dry fire and loading and unloading drills she was ready for her first shot. She didn't hit paper as she was terrified of the recoil. After that she started handling business. indexing the front sight worked for her as her eyes aren't the best anymore.
She had some fumbles reloading and learned from them. By the end of the day before the gun was empty she already had a handful of 22 shells in her right hand and was popping the ejector with her left thumb and visually checkng the cylinder to reload ASAP.
By the end of 3 hours of shooting she had shot between 300 and 400 rounds, she was able to keep all 8 rounds in the head of an IDPA target while walking backwwards and then reload and do it again. Her hands were filthy and she was all smiles and laughing about how easy it was to shoot.
She much preferred shooting one handed and shot better one handed than two handed.
I let her shoot 5 rounds out of my 637 and she did not like the recoil at all, she said I did a wonderful job of picking out her gun and didn't think a 38 would be her best option again. SHe was very happy with the LCR 22.
I broke out the 930 spx loaded with some of that 12 pellet count 00 buck and she rapped off 5 rounds at 7 yards like nobodies business as well and got good hits.
Her and her daughter both hugged me and thanked me after we were done. Then went and bought 2 full sized Sabre peppersprays for their cars and she wants me to email her the best place to buy a pair of surefire e2d LED flashlights as she fell in love with mine when I showed it to her. LOL she tagged a tree a couple of times with the light and liked the gouges it put on the tree. She did not like the cheaper china light I showed her, she said it felt cheap and the surefire felt like it was more solid. She asked where the surefire was made and said America, just like her new gun, that is what sold her on the surefire. She wants a pocket holster as she wears skirts with pockets the vast majority of time. She wants to attend the next CCDW class I put on.
She said she had never in life felt as safe as she did at the end of the day knowing she could protect herself and wished she had learned to shoot 60 years ago.
I feel like superman now.
2/4/2012 4:57:44 PM
Good job, a 22lr and revolver is an excellent choice, considering the circumstances. It usually goes in straight for at least 4 or 5 inches. I have seen larger caliber copper plated ammo bounce off an animal's head at very close range.
2/9/2012 1:21:45 AM
A gun she can use comfortably and practice with regularly (and enjoy 
) is FAR better than one she'll never touch again. You did well. 5 shots of .22 in the right place is much better than 5 missed shots of .38
Sounds like she's happy and confident
) is FAR better than one she'll never touch again. You did well. 5 shots of .22 in the right place is much better than 5 missed shots of .38
Sounds like she's happy and confident
2/9/2012 7:12:41 PM
Nice job! There is nothing wrong with the .22 LR selection for this shooter IMO. You've done good. 
