Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Girl Whirl

Shortly before I left for the NE Blogmeet, Sweet Daughter got a little … wistful. She didn’t want me to be so far away. (For two and a half whole days, even!) So I promised that I’d have a surprise planned the weekend planned after I returned. This incident being seared into my memory, I enlisted the aid of The Miller who was kind enough to aid and abet me in my plot.

So, Saturday morning I told SD to hurry up and get dressed because we were going to her favorite restaurant for breakfast (all-you-can-eat bacon, doncha know) and then … to the range. To say that she was excited was a bit of an understatement. I did a quick gear check and noticed that the batteries were dead on her “ears”, so we stopped and got new batteries. Then, as we were walking into the restaurant, we noticed she’d forgotten her coat in all the excitement. No problem, I’d grab one the multitude of sweatshirts we leave in there for just this kind of occasion … but I’d cleaned out the car before my trip. A quick stop in the Wal-Mart parking lot followed, and after digging in the wheel well, I found the ultra emergency back-up parka that had been there for 3 years. And still (barely) fit.
Next stop … THE RANGE. And we got there on time, with only one other car in the lot, so we used our time reciting the Four Rules. Not long afterwards, The Miller came rolling in and we got in line. It was a mixed crowd with a lot broader demographic than I was used to seeing. And of course, this:

 

We went in, got a lane and geared up. The Miller unpacked his arsenal of .22’s he’d brought for SD as she’d been dying to shoot a “real”pistol. We started with her Cricket rifle as it was familiar, but she really wanted to shoot a pistol. The Miller gave her some excellent advice, and she went to town.

 
While my goal for this trip was simply to keep her safe and have fun, most of her rounds ended up on paper, including several in the 10 ring. She was THRILLED.

No, I did not jiggle the camera. SD was just doing her best impression of a hummingbird. On crack.
 
While shooting, she was all business. Even when she got a little too close to the slide and it bonked her in the nose, she carefully put the pistol down, and stepped away from the lane before requesting hugs and sympathy. And, as it was one of those instances where she “just needed to get the tears out”, she had the presence of mind to ask to be taken back into the lobby so she could safely remove her safety glasses before wiping her eyes.
She then went back and did one last mag dump. Just because.
 
"Also, I can kill you with my brain."


I guess I need to look at buying a .22 pistol. Any suggestions?
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12 comments:

  1. johnJanuary 15, 2013 at 7:30 PM

    Suggest a revolver myself, but if semi auto is what you want, Ruger cant be beat. The 'bull barrel' is nice, but maybe a might heavy for SD.

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  2. doubletroubleJanuary 15, 2013 at 10:30 PM

    Cool!
    You might take a look at the S&W/Walther P22. It has a smallish grip, not too heavy, & can be had with a longer (interchangeable) barrel.
    Whatta kid...

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  3. HankJanuary 15, 2013 at 10:33 PM

    I'm a fan of the Browning Buckmark myself.

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  4. Anti Money LaunderingJanuary 16, 2013 at 1:59 AM

    So cool and brave girl. I suggest Walther P22 Pistol.

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  5. Old NFOJanuary 16, 2013 at 8:40 AM

    I'd have to say Ruger also... 22/45 so that when she gets the .45 later, she will already have the muscle memory to shoot it!

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  6. doubletroubleJanuary 16, 2013 at 8:48 AM

    Forgot to add, the P22 comes in PINK!

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  7. RabbitJanuary 16, 2013 at 11:35 AM

    I'm a huge fan of the Browning Buck Mark, also. It's much simpler to disassemble and clean than the Ruger as well. It also has excellent ergonomics.

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  8. TBeckJanuary 16, 2013 at 1:17 PM

    I bought a Walther P22 for my girls but it tended to throw the empty cases back right between the eyes. So I sold it and bought a Buckmark. Great pistol, no problems.

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  9. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2013 at 2:02 PM

    Strength might be an issue w/ a Ruger Mark whatever. My wife can no longer (due to arthritis) handle pulling back the slide to cock the pistol w/ our Mark II. Whatever you wind up getting, I'm sure she'll have a wonderful time with it.
    -- ARRognlie

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  10. New Jovian ThunderboltJanuary 16, 2013 at 5:45 PM

    I'm so sorry I couldn't make it.

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  11. azmrmacsJanuary 17, 2013 at 7:53 PM

    Damn, she's good! She did the Four Rules unprepared at Larry's book signing, now she's shooting the 10 ring. No need for your family to enroll in D.A.D.D., she'll take care of the problem herself.
    Oh, and I found a range outside Andrews AFB. They're getting ready to expand to a larger facility, including 100 ft.

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  12. JimJanuary 24, 2013 at 1:03 PM

    I'm a fan of the Ruger 22/45 as well. And with her small fingers she may actually be able to successfully reassemble it after cleaning without resorting to a rubber sledgehammer.

    It's that Navy training...

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