The Challange

[grey8833]

Well, here is one for you married shooters.

The wife lets loose with the "We don't spend any time together anymore" ("cringe".....anyone heard that one before?). So then she lets out the challange: "OK, if you go to my yoga class, I will go shooting with you! So there, I dare you!"

Ok, says I, You are on! I do martial arts, how bad could yoga be? Well, one sprained back later she felt she had to hold up her end of the bargan. So it was off to the range.

Now, what to shoot. I have a rifle and a pistol, and being a "mid life crisis" kind of guy, and a black powder shooter, the rifle is a ToTW .60 cal Hawken and the pistol is a, yup, you guessed it, a Colt Walker. Soooooooo, I settled on the Walker (it's smaller???) :rotf: .

Well, she is not one to back down (she has had MS for 40 years, uses a cane and refuses to sit at home - thus the yoga) so it was off the the range with a grim face (she was not big on guns at all - nearly anti-gun you would have to say :nono: ).

Well, we got to the range and I had her pop six caps with no powder just to get used to the hammer fall. Then I loaded up (light - 45 grains, fffg - well, light for a Walker) and let two rounds go down range > just to get her used to the booom!

So the last four are hers. First boooom! and all I hear is this hysterical giggling :shocked2: , followed by three more Boooms! More giggling and a "Wow! this is fun! Load me up again!" So, three hours later and here I am... "Honey, its getting late, I have things I need to get done this afternoon / evening, my back is killing me (yoga) and exactly what are we doing for dinner?" Reply: Dinner hell, load this thing again! (her coordination is a bit impared and would require a loading stand, which I failed to bring, so I was loading > who knew I would be out here hoping the sun goes down).

I think I created a monster - a small monster - but a monster none the less:

I ask, just to be sure this was not a fluke: "Honey, want to go shooting again this Sunday? Reply, with no hesitation, SURE!: I think I am getting good at this> 1st Target, the big orange marker is the 25 yard spotter for the "shoots 6 inches high" Walker:

Well after three hours even she (hard head) admits the Walker is tiring (both her hands don't cover the grips and most of the scatter is due to the weight of the gun). I nod sagely and agree (helps that's true).

Well, she does not know it, but there is now an 1862 Police coming from Taylor (Merry Christmas) and I am going to make the pretty little thing (the 1862 is a beautiful pistol) a loading stand - she can load her own da-m gun, darn it.

Mike F

 

[Zonie]

Congratulations ! :grin:

You are indeed a lucky man to have a wife that enjoys shooting.

Had you not already sent away for the 1862 I would have recommended the 1851 Navy. You might keep that in mind anyway because it is a nice compromise between the Walker and the little '62.

My '62 is a beautiful little gun. In fact I think it is the most beautiful of all of the Colt pistols. It is very small though.
The grip is very small and the weight is very light and at least for me, the combination of these things makes it difficult to get a steady hold for accurate shooting. If it weighed a bit more like the '51 Navy it would be easier to hold steadily.

On the other hand (no pun intended) it may fit your wife to a tee.

Just be ready to have her outshoot you every time.

I say this based on having seen many women consistently out shoot their husbands at the range.

Where men are very hard to teach (because they already know it all) women listen to the instructions and do as they are told.
They also seem to have a knack for aiming and gently squeezing the trigger without forcing the gun off of the point of aim.

Just tell her to concentrate on the front sight first while she is aligning the gun with the rear sight and the target. Also mention that it is totally natural for the gun to seem to wave back and forth a bit and she should fire just as the sights are passing the middle of the bullseye.

Now, your only real challenge is to try to keep up with her. :rotf:

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. oct 17 / 01:25



looks like a really beautiful range, too.. i seem to always end up at places that have, for lack of a better discription, 'feeding stalls' like those used for cows.. the closest facility is actually right next to the city's waste treatment plant which can get a little 'ripe' on hot summer days... need i say more.

 

[bwhoffman]

same deal with my wife. she is into jumping horses and does 3 1/2 to4 foot no problem. I'm old school cowboy/teamroper. She will come out and shoot with the rest of us,as she puts it,..."butt scratchers", when I jump one of her horses.

I can without a doubt say, "That aint gunna happen"!

Good for you and your wife!

 

MikeF,

Marvelous story. :hatsoff: Does a heart good.

Jay :wink:

 

[PaulN/KS]

Well since I'm at work and the wife is on her way to the Rondyvoo this weekend all I can say is Good on ya mate and keep up the good work Bringing another shooter into the "fold" is a good thing.
:thumbsup:

 

[rafterob]

Just like taking yer wife fishing-you do all the work and she catches all the fish! Keep up the Yoga-after you get over the back issue it will do you wonders as you advance in age. Just think-you could do some trick shooting, like holding your rifle over your head with your toes while balancing on your hands.

 

[Emet Huntsman]

That is great! Glad you are getting something smaller -- that Walker is as big as she is :shocked2:

Did something similar with my wife. After her first time with the pistol I resolved to never get her mad at me. From then on -- "Yes dear, whatever you want!" :rotf:

 

[renovato]

That's great, Mike. Now doncha wish you had gotten her interested long ago? :rotf:

I'm with Zonie. I've seen many women train up better than the men and outshoot them. I think women have inherently better fine motor control skills than men. In any form of competition that depends on fine motor control, women, if they work hard at it and take it seriously, are generally in the winner's circle more often.

As for yoga...ugh! I got talked into attending a few classes a couple years back. I came to the conclusion that yoga was invented by chiropractors as a way of bolstering their business!

 

[Rev-Bill]

:hatsoff: Hey Mike F. My wife is as good as I or better w/the walker but she is a lot younger(12 yrs) w/out arthritus, but only with a handgun,she can't touch me w/the Hawkin or the Zouave heh heh heh. Nice pistol range looks just like mine on the Ma./NH line F.S.C. Shoot straight and often Rev-Bill (Doc-Baz) :thumbsup:

 

[grey8833]

Rev. Bill:

Where on the Ma - NH line. We shoot out of Ipswich.

Club just finished putting in the new range shed, concrete pad and a clear plastic roof.


Mike

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Looks like you really got a keeper there! Zonie is right about what he said about females! Everyone of them that ever took me up on an offer of a trip to the range, had lots of fun cause they listen to instructions and then proceed to hit what they aimed at!

Took the Mrs. to shoot and plink BEFORE I had proposed to her! She loves revolvers (modern S&W), so maybe some day I might convince her to try my Walker :shocked2: .

Keep up the good work! Maybe somebody in her circle of friends that she tells of her exploits will be interested enough to attend the next time...then you'll have the two of them to deal with at the same time! :haha:

Dave