I'm so Proud of my Mom!

[SuckLead]

Originally Posted by rondog

Good for her! And come on, you knew this one was coming.....

I have to show that to her! When she went to her CCW class she borrowed one of my guns because all she had were single actions and they weren't allowed. Well, she would only shoot revolvers and all I had was that big old 686 with the 6" barrel. She ended up with all the guys cat calling when she pulled it out!

[SuckLead]

Originally Posted by Seabeescotty

I love these stories, about new shooters learning the ropes, and getting interested in other aspects of the sport. Congrats, for getting your Mom out to the range.

I am very proud. It was only six years ago that brought home my first gun and she freaked out. Didn't even want to see it. Now she's out there with her own gun collection. I'm thrilled. I wish I could do the same with dad. Almost did once... he wanted to shoot my K31... unfortunetly that was 6 months after he'd had triple bypass, so he can never shoot that rifle.

[SuckLead]

Originally Posted by MrsS

I, too, have a Taurus 85 & I just love it, although the kick is a wee bit more than my .380!

I was actually shocked at how little it kicked. I only put 5 rounds through it myself, but I was expecting it to hurt a lot more than it did.

[SuckLead]

Originally Posted by larmus

dude, sucklead i need your mom to talk with my mom and tell her its ok to shoot a gun. my mom tolerates my dads guns in the house but doesnt like to shoot. i dont know what she is afraid of. so congrats!!!

Well, I found the cowboy action shooting does the trick, especially with people who grew up on westerns. That was what did it for mom. Her second match they had her hip shoot her lever rifle like "The Rifleman" and she was hooked. Now she's on a cane and she feels like a victim waiting to happen, and since she doesn't have the use of her legs much these days she can't use her martial arts. So I got her a gun.

[SuckLead]

Originally Posted by DeadEyedShooter

Congrats to mom! Have you considered trying contact lenses?

I'm one of the few who can't wear them. They won't stay in. And right now I don't need them. I don't need to wear the glasses all the time. As the doctor said, just for reading, computer, video games, and shooting (especially the rifle).

[SuckLead]

Originally Posted by Cyrano

Sucklead, I'm confused. You said the Taurus stung her a bit. What load is she shooting out of it? .38 Special + lightweight frame + 2 inch barrel = hellacious recoil for someone not used to it.
If she is willing to take a look at your M1911A1, she can't be too afraid of the weight. Even though she does not like semi-autos "because they kick the shells out" - is she left-handed, by any chance? - you might think about trying her on a FEG Model PA-63, a Walther PP or a FEG Model AP-MBP. The PA-63 is 9x18 Makarov, not as powerful a cartridge as the .38 Special; the Walther PP is either .32 ACP or .380 ACP, ditto; and the AP-MBP is .32 ACP. The PP and the MBP are only a little longer than the Taurus, weigh just a little more, and don't slap your hand when you shoot. Their 4 inch barrels are more accurate, too. She might like them.
If she stays with the Model 85 Ultralight, I suggest you get her some Pachmayr rubber grips for it. That should put a stop to the pistol slapping her palm.
Glad to hear she's shooting, but she'll shoot more, and with greater enthusiasm, if a range session doesn't leave her hurting. Parenthetic note: Southern Ohio Gun is selling PA-63s for $109 apiece, and J&G Sales is selling the AP-MBP for $120 each. And Numrich has spare magazines at about $20 each for the PA-63; while Centerfire Systems has them for the AP-MBP for a little less. You might think about giving her a present.

No, she's used to the weight of the gun, her Vaqueros aren't light weights and she's fine with them. To be honest, there wasn't much thought put into her gun choice. The little guy showed up used, never fired, at the local gun shop for $250. We'd been talking about her options for guns for a while, and for some time she was considering taking my Bersa 380. I wasn't happy with that, though, because it hasn't been a reliable gun for me. And I'm not handing a gun to my mom that I myself don't trust. It's the only gun I have that never earned my trust, and it's the only one she wanted (aside from my 686, but it isn't the concealing kind).

I am not real sure what loads she was running through the gun. She picked them up somewhere, all I know is they were Magtechs for the 10 hollow points she tried and Independance for the range ammo.

And I highly doubt she's going to shoot my 1911. Prior to arriving at the range she was all about shooting my Glock 21 and changed her mind as soon as we got on the range. She's never even seen it. It was a trick getting the 26 into her hands, I can tell you.

And she knows I'm looking for new grips for her. I told her as we were leaving the range I'd find something. She's got rubber grips on it now, though. But it's those cheap Taurus rubber grips. Will Packmyer or Hogue be better than those?

Mom prefers her cowboy guns, hands down. She also enjoys my 686. And she's a rifle girl anyway. She's itching to get her lever rifle back out on the range. She doesn't want to shoot this gun too much, even prior to taking it out she said that. I explained she needs to do so every so often, I'm hoping maybe once a month, just to get used to it. And as I said to her, for me, shooting my Glock 26 isn't the most enjoyable thing in the world. But I need to get familiar with the gun and get some kind of marksmanship or at least know what I can do with it, just in case, because I carry it. I'll give mom this... she refused to carry the gun until she'd shot it.

Mom's still fairly anti. She wants to carry while she's on her cane, and she wants to carry while traveling. She's a member of the NRA and Grass Roots NC now, too. But she doesn't really get it. She's all about the cowboy shooting and doesn't understand why I collect, why I shoot so much, why I carry all the time, etc. This all something she finds hard to grasp. But she kind of gets it. She got real mad when she found out she can't carry her gun in NJ when she goes to visit some friends. So she kind of gets it. But not enough for me to talk her into another gun, let alone a semi-auto.