Nope.  The fisking of the anti isn’t here.  It’s here.

Noted quote:

He writes about “violence enacted by guns” as though the little suckers go gallivanting about of their own free will, just looking for someone to shoot. Guns do not kill people. Gun operators kill people. Whether out of malice or negligence, it takes human interaction for a gun to become lethal.

As they say, RTWT.  And comment.  Hubby enjoys the discussion.

This from someone in my office that has been afraid of guns for most of her life.

We need to schedule a time for you to show me how to shoot THE GUN.

THE GUN belongs to her husband, and I do not yet know what it is.   But he keeps it loaded on the nightstand for home defense.  She has come to the very reasonable conclusion that she needs to actually learn to use it rather than just know that it is there.

SCORE!

She was home alone recently and heard noises that frightened her.  She told herself that it was okay because she had her bat that she has been keeping close by and THE GUN was on the nightstand.  But wait.  She doesn’t know anything about THE GUN.  “Do I need to take it out of the holster?”  “Does it have a safety?”  “How do I pull the trigger?”  etc.

Yes, we are talking very elementary gun handling skills here.  So she asked me to show her how.

Understand that this is a woman that has been absolutely terrified of guns all of her life.  She has good reasons to be afraid too.  There was some childhood trauma that I won’t elaborate on.  This is enough fear that I’ve seen her become noticeably uncomfortable just looking at one of the holsters that Michael makes.

So to say that we are going to start slowly is an understatement.  You know what I’m not going to do?  Hand her my snub nosed revolver and 5 rounds of .38 special telling her that’s the perfect gun for a woman.  There has been a lot of talk about that lately, in case you haven’t noticed.  I happen to really like my snub and will even shoot .357 Magnum out of it from time to time.  (I like the fireball.)  But it is NOT A BEGINNERS GUN!

Not for women, men, cephalopods anyone.  Well, it might be okay for cephalopods, but I’m not exactly anxious to teach a squid to shoot.  Octopus maybe, but not a squid.

In fact, we aren’t even going to start with a gun at all.  I’m serious, this one must be done SLOWLY.  We started today with a book.

This is so she can feel familiar with terms and concepts without dealing with the anxiety I have already witnessed from her.  For this particular person, I want to break it up into more easily digestible pieces.  It would be a sensory overload to head her straight to the range and shout over hearing protection.  The last thing she needs to have fear and anxiety associated with the learning process.

Next, we’ll look at a dummy gun.  We’ll go over the 4 rules.  We’ll talk about stance and grip and sight alignment.  Once she feels comfortable with that, we’ll look at THE GUN.  I’ll show her the same basics on that as well as discussing any specific things about that particular firearm.

And then we will head down to the local range.  I will bring along a selection of things to try out and the range has an excellent selection of things to rent.  Yes, the DAO snubby will be in the bag, but it will not be thrust at her like it is what she must shoot.  I do not currently own a handgun in .22LR, but I will either rent or borrow one. Also in the bag will be my 627PC.  That revolver was my first gun.  It has a nice long sight radius and smooth trigger pull even when shot double action.  The big N frame soaks up recoil nicely.  She’ll also have the opportunity to try out my M&P9c that I carry every day.  I will have a variety so she won’t feel intimidated by anything that she may encounter in the future.

First thing I ever shot was a Model 629 loaded with .44 magnum.  Not what I recommend doing with any new shooter.  I’m a stubborn one though and decided that day that I would conquer that beast.  I shot it all of twice that day, but I have lost count at this point of how many rounds I’ve shot through hubby’s model 29.  Don’t underestimate what that petite woman will be able to handle.  But really, don’t start a new shooter on any kind of magnum.

We will work our way up to and around THE GUN.  My hope is that by the end of all of this, she will see it as another useful tool and not something she needs to refer to in all caps.  Maybe she’ll even want a firearm of her own.

I’ve found with new shooters and particularly women, that doubling up on the hearing protection in the indoor range makes the whole experience more pleasant and helps to reduce the dreaded flinch.  Heck, I double up my hearing protection most of the time.

This particular woman is a special case.  I would not normally drag the new shooter experience out to several days in such small chunks, but you have to cater the experience to the shooter.  Some will need the basic safety briefing then you show them how to load it tell them to point it that-a-way, others will need more sensitive instruction before that first shot.  The point where that hammer falls on that first round should be exhilarating, not frightening.

She has decided that I am the one she trusts to teach her, and I will not betray that trust by scaring her.  We should all remember that when someone asks us to teach them.  They are trusting us to be their guide into a new world.  We should commit to guiding them in gently and with all the knowledge we can impart.  I would love for her to decide that it is fun and something she wants to do regularly.  If it’s fun, she’ll practice.  Teaching someone to shoot is more than just showing them how to make a gun go bang.  Don’t teach them how to use a gun; teach them to be shooters.

It seems everyone is talking about the EPA’s move to ban traditional lead ammunition.  In addition to reminding us to comment to the EPA, Stranger reminds us that we really need to be telling our Congresscritters exactly what we think about this idea.

Here is the NSSF press release.

Tam has the right idea here.

* There is anecdotal evidence that the banning of traditional ammunition would have an adverse impact on government bureaucrat populations.

Or there is also my initial response to this news.

If you come for the lead ammunition, you might just get it.

This administration has done a delicate dance around the firearms issues.  Don’t be fooled.  If they can’t take your guns away, turning them into clubs would be the next best thing.  Any effort to eliminate ammunition (or even make it prohibitively expensive) is an assault on your freedoms.

Follow all those links up there in the post.  People have a lot to say about this subject.

Party at Christina’s!  Party at Christina’s!

If you are looking for me later, I will be there.  I can’t wait.  Now, must focus on work.

Our local gun range, H&H, has an annual firearms expo where they bring in several firearms vendors to show off their wares. They have lots of nifty new stuff set out on tables and for a mere $3 you get the brand new firearm and a handful of ammo to try it out right there in the indoor range. It is beyond cool. Two years ago was the first time we’d been and it was like we’d made some kind of pilgrimage. I spent the whole day saying some variety of, “So you’re really just going to let me run off with that?” I don’t even remember what all I shot that year. I was just so incredibly starry eyed with all the new hardware. I was still a baby gunny at the time and didn’t even know half that stuff existed.

The second year, I went with a plan. I was determined to try out as many different .45s as I could put my hands on. Unfortunately, the Thompson had broken by the time I got to that table. Oh well! I think I tried every 1911 that was there. Drooled over the Wilson. And decided that I needed a Kahr PM45, which I didn’t end up buying, but that’s another story.

Which brings us to this year’s expo. I had no plan. I was just going to shoot stuff. New stuff. Fun stuff! Stuff that goes bang. And I did! 14 different things actually. And so, after the jump you will find all the gun pr0n and reviews.
Read the rest…

This sums it up perfectly.

On the one hand, I think I’m probably done with the show since they ratcheted up the drama.  But on the other hand, I just really want to see Adam put in his place.

And also, Top Shot people, don’t spam my comment section.  And certainly not in my rules post.  Your spam was disposed of.  If you want advertising, you can pay for it like everyone else.

You see what happens when you combine bourbon and The Gunblogger Conspiracy.  You get a new meme started by the EvylRobot himself.  So here’s the deal.  This is the first verse of a silly poem.

Black and blocky
was the Glocky
that did slay
the Jabberwocky.

And he tagged me to write the next verse.

Asked did he
upon demise
What could be
the caliber size.

Hmm, who to tag with that one?  How about a blog I recently discovered and have enjoyed.  Maybe Sarah of Cranky Chicks with Guns will play.  What do you say?

UPDATE: Hooray!  Sarah’s playing

Jabberwockies, so hard to slay,
will go down if they are shot
with a round starting with “four”
and bearing the name Gold Dot.

And Christina too!

The Jabberwock, not known for wit
is easy to be stalked.
You merely find a place to sit
and leave him to be Glocked.

He comes galumphing, trailing drool
and doesn’t glance my way.
Oh, shit! No Vorpal-ammo, Fool!
He lives to die another day.

Everyone is welcome to play, tagged or otherwise. This is fun!

Ooh!  And Lissa in the comments!

And as in uffish thought she stood,
The Goblin-wock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the front-door wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! NOT through-and-through
My lil’ Siguette went snicker-snack!
The four nine-mil’s quite turned its head
And put him on his back.

First it was Robb, and then it spread to Mike.  I should have known, but sometimes I can be so naive and trusting.

That’s right, yesterday, my Smith & Wesson M&P9c failed me.  Hubby and I dropped the kiddo off at church camp and my M&P just sat there in my holster.  It didn’t even get excited about the kids out there in canoes.

Sigh.

It’s actually been malfunctioning in this way for quite some time.  I just felt like maybe I was alone so I didn’t really want to talk about it.  Now I know I am not the only one.  It’s a good thing the Firearms Expo is this weekend.  I need to find something that is more reliable.