i've shot with henry's airsoft gun a few times. and i've done pretty well with aiming and hitting the target. i did so well that chris got jealous enough to start trying to distract me.
well today hans got his bb guns out for the kids to do some target practice. we walked out back between the house and the new pond. they just got a new tv so i propped a piece of the packing foam up on against a log and we all took turns taking shots at it. samantha was soon the quickest crack-shot. she also was the quickest to be comfortable with the order of things. load the bb, pump the gun, release the safety, aim, shoot, apply the safety again, and repeat. i waited for the kids to get enough turns before i jumped into it. the sound it made as it ripped through the foam was neat. hans thought maybe i'd have some fun if he let me try the 17mm rifle, though he thought the target should be further away. i spotted a section of pvc pipe about 4 inches long and about 3-4 inches in diameter. i placed it on top of a log and took my place about 30 yards away. a few things were different from the bb gun. the sight was a scope- it magnified so much that i at first had a hard time finding the target. then once i found the target it was difficult to keep my sight trained on it bc the gun was so heavy. i knew it was going to kick a bit so i aimed at the log below the pipe and pulled the trigger. then i opened my eyes and realized i hit it! it was no longer on the log! wait! back up- my eyes were closed?
hans was getting excited.
"you wanna try the 12 gauge? heh heh heh"
"no, she doesn't" chris chimed in before i could decide.
hans walked around to the front of the house with henry and the 17 mm and they aimed at the foam but this time it was about 100 yds away and looking really small. it was a right handed gun and henry had trouble with that but managed to get off a shot.
chris got to shoot with the 12gauge in the back with all the rest of us watching from inside. it was SO loud and it tore right through the foam.
hans started getting really excited then and began bringing out his handguns.
i knocked the foam over the log with his glock40. i had to wear ear plugs for that!
i won't need to use a gun ever- and hopefully my kids won't need to. but it's good to know that i can and that the kids have the proper safety and respect in place.
guns are part of chris' heritage. a real part of growing up in the south. and hans taught them all the way his grand dad taught him.
the very first thing he had them do was to go cut a 1-2 inch diameter sapling down and make it into a 4 ft stick by trimming off the branches. then he wrote their names on masking tape and labeled each of them. once he had them all back outside he said "put yer sticks up on the table. if any one of you hits somthin' that ain't in the target area, i'm gonna break that stick over yer butt."
good ol' fashioned southern shooting practice.
2 comments:
Ah great fun! Rory and I went out skeet shooting last week. I used my 12-gauge. It's so satisfying to hit that moving target - and yes - eye and ear protection is a must. Afterwards, we shot Rory's AK-47. Guns are easy to be ambivalent about, but I think everyone should be trained in firearms safety. The man running the range was adamant that my girls learn next!
yes- it's so much fun! and loud. yes, i wore ear protection for the glock. i think next time i'll probably be less timid. i think skeet would be a blast!
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