Saturday, August 12, 2006

If It's Saturday, Then It's Time For...


Another Look At Horrendous "Lessons" In Shooting From The Box O' Truth

This one was entitled, "Teaching A Lady To Shoot." Except it was not a Lady, but F.O.R.G's* 12 year-old niece, and there's a world of difference between the two.

The gun they settled upon was a Ruger SP-101 in .38 caliber, and the picture is of the grip they asked her to use.

She had to hold the gun so low because the double-action trigger was too hard to squeeze.

Teaching someone a bad grip on the wrong weapon.

Great. If a girl or boy, or strength-challenged adult cannot properly activate the bang-switch then the gun is not the right one for them. Civilian life is NOT the military where one must learn what one is issued. And it's particularly evil to start off a child this way.

Case closed.

Initiating faulty muscle-memory is one of the worst things imaginable in teaching someone the art of firearms.

And showing someone how to put holes in a piece of cardboard 15 feet away is NOT teaching them how to shoot. I feel quite sorry for this girl, and hope she will never have to use such "training" to defend herself.

It's up to all of us to help teach new shooters, just as it's up to all of us to steer them away from the nonsense to be found on the internet.

If you're looking for an instructor for yourself or a loved one, then sit down and chew the fat with the perspective trainers. Deduct a point for each and every cliche they spew, and walk away when the total number of "a handgun is something to use to fight your way to your rifle" sort of reasoning hits 5.

*Fat Old Retired Guy

Post Shot: Clicking into this FORG'd feature, you'll take notice that the girl has wrists thicker than most mens ankles, so hand strength was most likely NOT the real issue. I've seen plenty of boys, girls, and Texans holding a gun thusly because it makes it easier to drop if the attending boom becomes too pronounced and downright scary.

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