I'm so proud!

[thardey]

I went with my sister yesterday to the sporting goods store, and she came home with a shotgun (Remington 830 Express), and a Springfield XD .40.

She just turned 30, and this is the first time she's been serious about shooting. She had a .357 she inherited from my Grandfather, but she didn't like it.

We fired off a few rounds last night, and she's hooked!

 

[Sukerkin]

I so envy how you chaps in America can follow shooting as a hobby . I miss my times on the range when I was on the University rifle team.

 

[thardey]

hobby is part of it -- she lives in a rural area, and raises horses.

The shotgun will be loaded with 00 buck, and will be used to keep away the coyotes from the foals that she raises.

The Springfield is to be carried while she rides in the woods, as protection against the mountain lions that make their home hereabouts. (We're actually pretty lucky -- we only have about 3 that roam in our neck of the woods -- my friends have at least one den of mountain lions that live a half-mile from their house.)

But it's always easier to practice when you enjoy it, too!

 

[Andy Moynihan]

Good for her....Happy Shooting !

 

[KenpoTex]

very cool...now you need to start working on her regarding the CCW thing (there are 2-legged predators that are much more dangerous than the 4-legged ones )

edit: Remington 830 express???

 

[KenpoTex]

--double tap, mods please delete--

 

[thardey]

very cool...now you need to start working on her regarding the CCW thing (there are 2-legged predators that are much more dangerous than the 4-legged ones )

edit: Remington 830 express???

Oops, that's an 870 -- I should know better, I have one and love it.

Yep, we actually took the course together years ago, but she never pursued the license. Now she's going to take it again, with several friends, and get the license this time.

She's been doing a lot of practice with her airsoft gun, and she was surprised how similar it was to shooting the Springfield. It may be a while before she's trained and comfortable enough to carry it with her, but she does want to get a car safe, and keep it with her in her truck.

 

[jetboatdeath]

Hey can i come shoot some of them yodle dogs ?

 

[Rich Parsons]

I went with my sister yesterday to the sporting goods store, and she came home with a shotgun (Remington 830 Express), and a Springfield XD .40.

She just turned 30, and this is the first time she's been serious about shooting. She had a .357 she inherited from my Grandfather, but she didn't like it.

We fired off a few rounds last night, and she's hooked!

Shooting is like buying a car for a person who enjoys driving. Some like 4x4's others like dump trucks while others like to have just a small car to move them while others like the sports car.

Finding the right gun that a person likes to hold and shoot is important because if a person does not enjoy it they will not do it.

 

[thardey]

Shooting is like buying a car for a person who enjoys driving. Some like 4x4's others like dump trucks while others like to have just a small car to move them while others like the sports car.

Finding the right gun that a person likes to hold and shoot is important because if a person does not enjoy it they will not do it.

That was the thought that was running through my mind as well. I was driving the guy at the store nuts because I just kept saying. "Let her hold that one." Now let her hold that one, now that one, etc." The poor guy never figured it out, and kept putting each gun away, only to have to drag it out again. I just had her keep cycling through until she found the one that was the most natural fit, including semi's and revolvers.

She had already decided that a 9mm was too small for her, so that basically left .357's (which she already has one, and doesn't like it), .40's or .45's.

Unfortunately they don't have a test drive type program, nor can you rent guns from the shooting range. But she really liked the .40 when she fired the first few rounds. It has a low recoil, and isn't very loud, compared to what she expected. She is very pleased with it, and I expect that she'll enjoy plinking with it a lot.

My Dad, a hard-core double-action revolver type, also liked the grip safety, as well as the internal safeties. So it got his approval, too.

One question -- are the XD's okay to dry fire, like the Glocks? I told her to do a lot dry firing to get used to the gun, but I need to know if she needs snap caps for that?