The AGirl Clan Shoots

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So, a few days before Christmas TSM and I gave M her Smith & Wesson M & P .22 pistol. (her gun, under our control and supervision only)We gave it to her early because I knew we did not have any classes scheduled at the range and I wanted to get her out there shooting. John was gracious enough to allow me to use it for the day.

TSM, myself, all 3 little kids, M, M’s friend and a gentleman from my husband’s work all headed to Culpeper for a little fun…

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Family 307M was first up.

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My approach was take her out with her friend and let her shoot or not. No pressure. She shot and shot and then E asked if she could shoot her sister’s gun and, of course, M was gracious enough to agree.

Family 322All the kids took turns.

Family 338Our daughter A is a princess. She is the girl-est of all girls. She has always been that way. Well, not always, but close. Her choice for the range was skinny jeans, maroon “leather” boots and a pink flowy coat. Not really range attire, but it’s her and we have no intention of changing that. She has shot before and she likes it, but she is flighty, so we are very much hands on with her when she is shooting.

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This was The Boy’s very first time ever shooting anything. He has been allowed, under supervision, to hold a gun(in our dedicated safe area) and dry fire, but until that Sunday, he had not taken a live shot. He used E’s .22 rifle. He did well, but as with A needs much hands on support.

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When one child was shooting the other 2 had to sit inside the trailer and wait patiently without getting up. If they did that, they could then have their turn. They never once got up or caused a single issue that caused me concern. I was very proud!!

My older son and our friend were off shooting on the other side of the range while TSM and I worked with the little ones. At one point M came up to me and asked if she could shoot her gun. Shocked, I said sure. She shot and shot and shot. A little later she even took E and at one point helped E clear a malfunction. I was standing by on overwatch and taking pictures.

I did not shoot much as I was helping my kids and making sure everything was done safely, but I did get a few rounds in…

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Shooting my son’s shotgun with self defense loads. That was a bit of a kick:)

I ran a few runs with Eleanor(the AR), our friend’s AK, my M&P, my Shield(liking that thing more and more) and M’s .22.

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Our son taking his turn.

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E wanted to try everything, M wouldn’t touch a thing other than the .22. Not the 9mm, not a single rifle…nothing. Which really isn’t that big of deal because she thoroughly enjoyed shooting her gun and that is a big, big win!

 

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E asked to shoot the steel, so we let her! We started her out fairly close. Maybe 25 yards. Plink, plink, plink. 3 for 3. We moved her back and plink, plink, plink. Again we moved her back. At this point we took her ear protection off. She is deaf, but wears Cochlear implants. With her ears on she can’t hear a thing, so we removed them for a few rounds to let her hear the sound of her round on the plate. It was pretty motivating for her. We kept moving her back. She was 15 for 15 and asked if we thought she could win any competitions  She wants to compete…

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We ended the day with our own little working party.

 

 

 

 

45 thoughts on “The AGirl Clan Shoots”

    • Thanks Bill. It was no different than a day at the park or bowling or hanging with friends. It was, but, you understand.

  3. That’s gotta be the most awesome Christmas story ever! Even better than endless reruns of “Oh….Fudge….” I so look forward to the day that the LittleAlien is able to go to the range…I plan on bringing several boxes of ammo, and not shooting a single round.

  4. By all means please allow E to begin competitive shooting, though I’ve not met her I do believe that she will excel. Let her try small bore bull’s-eye, IDPA and Cowboy; she has the determination to succeed. You and your husband are raising exceptional children…well done…

    • We will. I contacted a friend here in the area that competes and he gave me some contacts. She has determination for sure:)

  6. That. Absolutely. Rocks!

    All my family did over the break was argue with me about how guns are the problem. I’m the only gun owner in the family and you’d think I’d been deemed a leper. Doesn’t help that my sister is a teacher and my other sister a lawyer…

    But I would LOVE to have a day at the range with my nieces and brother-in-law!!!! 🙂

  10. A nice story about good people and the future of our country. I started my daughter shooting when she was about 10 and gave her a nice Browning 380 when she turned 18. She’s now 42 and we enjoy shooting with her family when we go to visit. My youngest grandson got a nice 12ga over and under for Christmas (he’s interested in skeet shooting).

    Take care and have a wonderful New Year

  12. What a great family day !! You and the Marine should be so proud of your work in raising a family that behaves,and shares,and goes to spend the day together.If more parents devoted as much time to teaching and leading their kids in the right direction this would be a different world.
    Bill

  13. I’d advise that you find a junior program for E. We have a CMP affiliated junior program at our club that is free to all juniors, .22 rifles, ammo, and most importantly instruction are provided free. Our program does not require club membership. I am sure that you can find a local club that has a similar program.

    I love seeing this post presenting shooting as the wholesome fun family activity that we all know that it is.

  16. Ahhh… a good day at the range.

    Today a co-worker asked me why anybody would need an “assault” rifle. I said there are hundreds of thousands of them not used in crimes everyday in the US. They’re fun to shoot, used in competition, very accurate and can be used for hunting some animals etc.
    “Oh, I didn’t know that.”

  19. Bill said it better than I could ! Your kids look so neat and well-behaved, good job !!

  21. That looks like good wholesome family fun. I find that with teenagers, it’s often hard to get everyone together. I took my oldest, now @19, a Marine, and one of his friends last Friday. We burned through 1000 rnds. That was an all day affair. We brought lunch. It was a good time.
    565yd shots with the 308. That was a first for me.

    • You are so right! Trying to get the whole family together can be a challenge. I try to use the time wisely:)

      Please tell thank your son for his willingness to serve our country!!

      P.S I have never shot from 565yards…sounds fun!

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  23. When I first took my boys shooting, they were something like 6 and 4 years old. They’d had the safety lecture, and the added instruction that if they chose to break the rules, they wouldn’t get to shoot again for quite a long time. They were better behaved than I’ve ever seen them. Follow-up trips to the range have required some refreshers on safety, but they’re safer than most adults I see shooting.

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