Took my wife shooting today for the first time.

[greenaccord02]

We took a trip this weekend to my in-laws' vacation home in rural (and I mean RURAL) east Texas this weekend. There are several acres of pasture and hills and nobody around for miles. The perfect place to shoot. I recently purchased a old bolt action .22 rifle and have spent the past few weeks refurbishing it. This made my wife familiar with it. She had commented on it being interesting and neat, though she was adamant that she disliked guns. I figured it never hurts to try, so I packed up a box of sub-sonic target rounds and the rifle before we headed up here.

She was nervous about it but agreed this afternoon to go with me down into the pasture. After I fired a couple rounds, she realized the gun wasn't a fire breathing, ear-splitting elephant gun. We had the safety and proper handling procedures talk, then very nervously (and obviously, just to make me happy) she shot one bullet. Then she asked if she could shoot five more. Then she shot a few dozen more. After dinner, we returned to the pasture so that she could shoot the rest of the box.

She is now talking about getting her very own .22 bolt action for target shooting. This is the same woman who just this morning told me "I just don't LIKE guns" and wondered why I had such a large collection. Now, she wants to add more one to it and I couldn't be happier. So, the moral of this story is take somebody shooting. You never know what might happen.

 

[chubbs1]

I have to agree...shooting is fun. Especially plinking with a decent .22, glad to hear she liked it.

 

[TooManyWheels]

Show her the Lady Ga-Ga cover on the latest Rolling Stone....

 

[Astro14]

"You never know what might happen":

Took my wife shooting a few years ago before we were married...she hadn't told me that she had learned to shoot when was assigned to a USN SEAL Team (as their intel officer) and had both the USN rifle and pistol expert medals....earned using the M-4 and 1911...

Her first round out of my S&W 9mm was in the 10 ring. Dead on...

 

[river_rat]

That's cool. .22's and paper targets have made more friends of non-shooters that we could count.

When I was dating my wife, I noticed she had her own pile of gun magazines and a nice S&W Airweight 38 Special and a .22 target revolver also. I introduced her to long guns and hunting though.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I had a similar response from my 10 year old. I had a custom Remington 700 in .221 Fireball built for him to go varmint hunting. He was somewhat apprehensive about shooting it all the way to the time that we arrived at the shooting range. I made a deal with him that if he would shoot it once and if after, he did not like it, then he would not have to shoot it again.

He reluctantly agreed and once I had it sighted in, he positioned himself behind it on the bench and proceeded to fire it. He immediately said (and I quote) "Hey, this IS fun, can we shoot all of the bullets that you brought?" He says he is now a shooter for life.

We have been hunting a few times now and he has bagged more than his share of varmints...

 

[Pablo]

Great on you. Very cool.

You guys would surprised how many dipplebots take their girls out with .40SW, .357, 10mm, 44mag or some large rifle...and the outcome is never good.

 

[morris]

sounds like shes a keeper

 

[greenaccord02]

Thanks for all the replies, guys. Interesting stories.

Well, we did some talking yesterday and today about things she wanted in a gun as far as weight, balance, action, and so on. Basically she wanted a lighter version of what I had. Something tube fed for high capacity and to eliminate fumbling with a magazine, bolt action for accuracy, reliability, and safety, and above all light and easy to handle.

About a month ago, while looking for my ideal .22 at local pawn shops, I saw a dirty but otherwise fine Marlin 81TS that fit the bill perfectly. Microgroove barrel, grooved receiver, decent open sights, synthetic stock and very light. I suggested that we go by on the way home and check it out. She loved it, so I bought it. Picked up a set of weaver see-through mounts and fitted a spare 4x32 scope I had. She's chomping at the bit to go shooting again.

 

[yaris0128]

I've got the same problem. I take her shooting and she loves it. As soon as we get home it's back to the same ol hating on my guns. She can stop wasting my bullets if she wants to pull that.

 

[Robenstein]

I started mine out on my winchester 69 5 shot 22lr bolt action, worked her up slowly to a semi auto 22, then a SKS, and finally she started shooting everything from a 12ga to my old K98

Did the same on pistols. Started her on a Walther P22 and worked her up to a 357 Ruger Security Six.

 

[greenaccord02]

Yeah, I think I'm going to take the Ruger Mark II and see what she thinks of that.

 

[2cool]

.38 special in a heavy revolver like a Ruger GP-100 is a louder but still controllable beginner load.