Girls and guns

[k0ua]

Anecdotal comment on firearm training. I have had both military and civilian training and in 40+ years have fired thousands of rounds for many platforms. The day before Christmas my son and I went to the local indoor range and while shooting heavy .357 magnum loads in a revolver I had my first squib fire. It is very loud at this range and both my son and I were wearing both plugs and muffs so no recoil was the first indication and I assumed a hang-fire had occurred. After waiting a couple minutes I was going to clear the handgun, reload and resume firing but something didn’t feel right. On further inspection we found a bullet was indeed lodged in the barrel and I shudder to think what could have happened had we continued shooting.
Thinking back on all the training I have had, I believe more emphasis should be placed on recognizing and dealing with dry, hang and squib fires. With today’s tacticool mentality and the tap, rack and bang training it would be so easy to discharge another round with possibly devastating results. Shoot safely and keep them in the 10-ring!

In IPSC/USPSA competition shooting, it is stressed by the simple to remember little phrase. "if it goes pop, you STOP". Yes a squib can be a very dangerous event. It is usually caused by a round with a bullet, and a primer but no powder in it. The primer drives the bullet from the case and partially into the barrel. Sometimes not far enough up the barrel to allow another round to be chambered, sometimes in a revolver it lodges in the forcing cone and does not allow the cylinder to turn or even to be opened, but sometimes far enough up the spout to allow another round to be fired behind it with disastrous high pressure results. usually resulting in a bulged (ringed) barrel, or even a (rarely) possibly burst barrel.

 

[k0ua]

It is a full frame 9mm. I have some smaller handguns but wanted them to shoot a full frame for better accuracy and less felt recoil.

I applaud your thinking on this..:thumbsup:

 

[STx]

Check out the group A Girl & A Gun - They have a chapter in Cypress

Hot Wells, where the Cypress Chapter meets, is less than 10 minutes from the house. I learned to shoot there as a kid when this area was still somewhat rural.

Before she passed form cancer way too young, I always had Cheryl, one of the 2nd generation of owners, sight in my new scopes. She could do in 6 round what would take me all day and a box or two of shells to accomplish.

 

[Garandman]

On it.

 

[moriboy]

Being a helpless victim never appealed to any of us. Our entire family from grade school kids to old granny knows how to properly handle a firearm. For those who have never done it, target shooting with the family is a lot of fun.

 

[RoyJackson]

It is a full frame 9mm. I have some smaller handguns but wanted them to shoot a full frame for better accuracy and less felt recoil.

9mm is a great round for self-defense! My favorite carry pistol is a Glock 19 stoked with Hornady Critical Defense

 

[EddieWalker]

I will never understand the mentality of not being willing to defend yourself. It's a choice that some people make, sad when their choice to do nothing and hope somebody else will show up in time to stop it from happening results in loved ones being hurt.

When I met my wife, she had never fired a weapon. She had spent years training in martial arts and working out with the hope that would be enough to protect herself is she ever had to. Then I introduced her to firearms and she took to it instantly. She now has three weapons, her latest is this Core 15 Scout with a Nikon 3x scope. After firing close to 200 rounds through it in two days, she absolutely loves it!!!!

 

[4570Man]

It is a full frame 9mm. I have some smaller handguns but wanted them to shoot a full frame for better accuracy and less felt recoil.

I agree 100%. I wouldn't even be against starting them with a 22.

 

[STx]

You're right Eddie, and it is a decision people need to make in advance. Once the threat arrives, it's probably too late to 'get your mind right' to deal with it. Practice is important as well, with enough of it muscle memory can take over and you can just do what needs to be done.

I don't expect to ever have to need to defend myself with a gun and I'm honestly not sure how often any of us will actually carry a weapon but having the option if we want to is smart, I think. The need to protect yourself almost never comes with advance warning.

 

[STx]

I agree 100%. I wouldn't even be against starting them with a 22.

The class requires a .32 or larger for qualification. My daughter can't actually get her license until she turns 21 next December but since the law is changing and the training certificate is good for 2 years, I wanted to go ahead and get her through it now. My wife has shot our sub-compact 380 quite a bit but it isn't the best for the qualification test and it isn't a lot of fun to run 50 or 100 rounds through in a single session because of it's size.

We have a couple of single action .22 revolvers that we shoot sometimes also but these days, 9mm is easier to find and almost cheaper than .22 ammo...lol