Manda has a Vendetta Against Them...

Do Women Really Want Pink Guns?

Would any Ladies like $300 to put towards a Self Defense Course?

If yes, head over to A Girl and Her Gun and get in on the drawing.

One of Those Days...

When your SO catches you entirely off guard, and makes you all sorts of proud.

I worked overnight Thursday, and eventually stumbled out of bed and read a text from her "So I see Shelley says the M&P22 is good to go, so I think it might be a really good gun for me to get for my first one... it really makes sense being able to go from that to a bigger caliber one."

Awesome.  Plus, it's a gun I've been wanting to get my hands on for a while as well.

Later I got an email letting me know Wisconsin Carry, Inc. is getting their first round of Free Training Courses for WI CCL underway, and there's one nearby next weekend.  The day's wide open for her, so she jumped on that fast.  I'll be going along with (she'll be more comfortable with me being there, and even though I've got my permit, training is training.)  In her own words, "I doubt I will ever carry, whether is it open or concealed, but I will go through a course and get my license. I want to learn the right way stay safe, just in case."

Later on in the evening she was talking about being at a liquor store a few weeks back, and a shady individual walked in.  Apparently I'm rubbing off on her, as she noted him right away, and cautiously put herself in a position for a quick egress in case things went ploin-shaped, while taking a good mental picture of the guy.  Thankfully for all involved, the guy just turned out to be your typical asocial drunk that looks like he's about to hold up the joint no matter where he is.  He got his stuff and left without issue.  She said that the best part of it was that she never was scared, just aware (she even used the phrase "situational awareness!")

It's just amazing to watch what was once a shy and timid girl bloom into a self-reliant and empowered woman in the year or so that I've known her.  I think she's definitely worth hanging on to.

10/22

You know... October 22nd.  And a repeat of a photo... cause I can.

Today's Gonna Drag...

Cro has returned from the rocky, dusty middle-east, so we're hitting up the gun show in Waukesha tomorrow.  It's supposed to be a pretty good sized one, so even though I'm not looking for anything in particular, there should be plenty to look at.

It's also going to be MandaFern's first gun show.  She's looking forward to it and will probably be keeping an eye out for a decent deal on a 10/22.  I don't know if she realizes how awesome that is...

THE Smile

If you haven't watched it yet, head over to New Jovian Thunderbolt's place, and watch the video of Breda shooting the Drilling.

Back?  Did you see that smile right after she touches the round off?  That's why taking new shooters out is fun (either new to the sport, or just new to the gun.)

Be Prepared

The girl (Fern) wrote a short explanation of why she's going to get her CCW permit come November.

Speaking of Taking the Ladies to the Range

WotC has a pretty good post up titled "On having your wife as a battle buddy."  MandaFern feels much the same way.  She has no intention of carrying come November, but I think she's in agreement that at least getting the permit and having the ability to is a good idea.  Way back when we started dating (well, seems like a long time...) I used the "I've got a fire extinguisher in my trunk, but I don't expect my car to burst into flames any second" example for why I carry a handgun pretty regularly.  At the time it simply reminded her to get a new extinguisher for the kitchen, but the point did make it across.

Trophy Photo

Manda was quite proud of the 9X18mak ball she stuck in the bowling pin.

Can't blame her, it was pretty cool.

Corruption

Talking to Dan about setting up a range trip the other day (he got a .44mag S&W a couple months ago, and I haven't shot it yet...)

Me- So what are you doing Wednesday?
Dan- I work until 3, but I'm open after that.
M- Cool.  The girl works until 4 or so too, so I'll run it past her.  She may get upset if she misses the chance to pop off some rounds out of the little 10/22.
D- Sounds good.

So later that evening she swings by work on her way home;

Me- So Dan and me are thinking of a range trip Wednesday...
Amanda- (Before I can even finish the sentence...) You told him I work until 4 right?
M- Yes.

Yeah, she's pretty awesome like that.

Range Time

The 10/22 has apparently been claimed...

Although she could use a stock with a slightly higher comb than the factory one (any suggestions would be appreciated.  Also a sling-ready one would be nice.)  Fern has a small face and the TechSights are a little tall for her.

On the upside, she says she likes the iron sights better than the red-dot for general plinking.  I like the red-dot for first time shooters, as it's simple, but if they show more interest, then I'd rather they master irons before getting much into optics.  This'll work great with Fern, her archery background has her more interested in bullseye-style target shooting more than tactical stuff, so it suits her fine.

I fully stripped down the little Ruger before the range session as well, and noted the new finish they're using seems a bit thick on the inside of the receiver, and was actually chipping off inside.  I think this may have been part of the reliability issues I've been having with this gun.  I scrapped off as much as I could inside, and am contemplating just polishing out as much as I can in the not so distant future.  Yesterday it only had two failure-to-eject type malfs, much better than past sessions.

Fern also caught her first piece of shrapnel when I had her shoot the SigPro at the steel target... tiny bit of bullet jacket came back and smacked her in the forehead.  Thankfully it only left the tiniest of cuts, and didn't even bleed.  She immediately took her finger off the trigger and kept it pointed in a safe direction, even though the slide was locked open (last round) but decided that was enough 9mm for the day.  Eye pro is important when shooting steel!

New Shooter vs. Mosquitoes!

So, as mentioned, I finally was able to get Fern out to the range.  Up until today, the biggest thing she'd ever shot was a paintball gun (although she does have an archery background.)

A couple weeks ago we spent some quality time in her kitchen covering the basics.  She quickly picked up on the big four, and after a bit was very comfortable dry firing the little Walther P22.  Since then I'd quiz her on the Mr. Cooper's rules and get her used to handling various types of firearms whenever she was over at my place.

Today I felt a strong need to get out to the range and sling some lead, so after she finished work for the day, we headed out.

Unfortunately I forgot the range is surrounded by swamp on all four sides.


We got to the range, set up the new steel target, and did some more dry firing with the little Walther, swatting mosquitoes the whole time.  After a bit I racked one into the chamber, and we got things properly started.  Before too long, the steel was ringing more often than not.

(Left-eye dominance... not blinking)

I really need to find a better .22lr pistol option though, the sites on the Walther won't hold a zero in a mild breeze.

After a bit she was willing to give a rifle a try, so I brought out the M&P15-22, and Fern went 20 for 25.

Before too long we decided the mosquitoes won, and headed into town for some Benedryl and dinner, but in her own words;

The pain from the 27 mosquito bites is slowly fading away and will most likely be replaced by the realization that the "mythical" range is no longer a myth but a very real, very addictive place. Oh, and the smell of burnt gunpowder is good.

On the upside, the supply of DEET has been restocked in the Mayhemobile, and hopefully we won't get out there so late in the day and there'll still be enough of a breeze to keep the skeeters from swarming.

For the Ladies

As a brother and a fan of ladies in general, I'd like to see them stick around.

Shooting Diva's has released a free pdf download of the Diva Defense Guide.  It's a great little primer on where to start, and packed full of useful tips.

Pass it along to the important women in your life.

New Shooters

A couple blurbs involving novice shooters.  One blogger takes a frightened novice out and conquers her fear, and a neuroscientist takes a reporter out shooting simply because everybody should do it.

He doesn't hunt. Rifle practice is just another way to mentor his students. "I try to teach them about life," he says. "How to shoot a gun is something you hope you never need. But, whatever one feels about gun ownership, everyone should know how to use one."

Sounds good to me.

(h/t Unc)

Stats Show More Women Buying Guns

"I feel more independent, more safe, more of a stronger woman," Powers-Spurlock told Nashville's News 2.  "Never again am I going to ever let any man run me over like that."

Despite what Eric Heyl has to say on the subject.

There's a reason the Colt of old was known as "The Great Equilizer."

Girls and Guns

I take some time off and miss the recent "everybody's blogging about" thing...

Apparently some asshat (I love that word...) thinks women shouldn't be shooting.

Uncle already summed things up pretty well (go take a look if you haven't already.)  The primary thing is that factual evidence shows women are the fastest growing segment in the firearms industry, quite the opposite of the NRA's efforts failing as Heyl seems to think.

Overall though, it's a shame they don't have comments enabled on the original story, that would have made for some good reading.  I'll have to tell Marty to read it, although I've got a feeling some strong editing would be required if I was to post her response...

I also need to get together a group of new shooters.  MandaFern (the girlfriend) has never shot anything more than a BB squirt gun and is really excited to try something more, and the more the merrier.

A Few Range Shots

More SA-20

Mossberg has them listed on their site, MSRP $510, and 1.5lbs lighter than the 930 SPX.  My only complaint is the 20" cylinder bore barrel; I'd rather have it either minimum legal length(HD) or threaded for chokes (comp).

However I still think it'd make for a great novice gun for smaller shooters (ladies feel free to weigh in on that!)

.38 Snubbies

"It's about as narrow-purpose as a handgun can be, and tricky to shoot well: the sights are hard to see, not to mention the basic physics problem of trying to hold a sub-1lb. object steady with two fingers while pulling a 10+ lb. trigger, all the while knowing it's going to smack your hand like a ball bat when it does go off? I mean, if you were trying to frustrate a new shooter and turn them off on shooting as a pastime, could there be a better gun to give him or her?"

And-

"Sure, snubbies live up to a lot of their selling points (It's small! It's light! It'll fit in your purse!) but no one ever seems to tell women what it feels like to shoot one. So let me say it right now... It sucks."

I do think I should pick one up at some point, just to show people these things.  They may be a great sollution for somebody who's familiar with firearms, but are far from a great novice gun.

Foggy Range Photos

As promised, more photos from yesterday.

More after the jump-