WE HAVE A WEB SITE!

I've been a little busy with National Take Your Daughter to the Range Day activities.  But...please come visit us as www.NationalTakeYourDaughtertotheRangeDay.com .  We are still putting the finishing touches on it, but are close and starting to register ranges.

We are also starting to actively solicit sponsors and donations.  These will not be tax deductible, sorry.  We are working on that.  But we have put out a lot of our own money to build the infrastructure (non-profit corporation, website, etc.), and will have more expenses coming with shipping prizes and such. 

We will have a donate button soon, but in the interim, if you would like to help, you can contact me and I will let you know how.  None of the Directors are receiving any compensation, 100% goes into the event and the backbone for the event.

All cash donations will be used for expenses.  All in kind donations, unless specifically targeted to the local event Evan, Russ and I are hosting, will be distributed by random drawing from all registered ranges about 30 days before the event.  If you would like to help, please let me know.  You will be listed on the sponsor page (unless you ask to remain anonymous).

Thank you all for your patience and your support.  I think this year will be great but we will learn so much from it that next year will be even better!

Safe Shooting!

I was pleasantly surprised last week when the Gun Divas left a message that she'd given us an award. Hopefully, you'll see this award continue to get passed around, as I plan on doing my share to spread the love.

There are some rules, but they're easy to follow:

1. Copy and paste the award on our blog. (Check)
2. Link back to the blogger who gave us the award. (Check)
3. Pick our five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award. (In process)
4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs.

Here are my picks!

 

1. A Girl and Her Gun - Awesome lady

2.Cathi at http://roundsandroses.wordpress.com/

 

3. Bob at http://www.gunpolitics.info/

 

4. www.thattexaskady.blogspot.com

 

and...

5. http://gunblogblacklist.blogspot.com/

If I've listed a blog here that you've never visited, please stop on by their blogs to tell them hello.

I've been tagged!!!  Thank you Gun Divas!!!

Mastering the Art of the Grip

This is a tough concept for a lot of people.  I once heard someone say “Maximum meat on the gun”.  Maybe not very eloquent but an excellent point.  Simply put you want to maximize the contact with the surface area of the grip. 

Talking to the Semi-Auto shooters here:  You start by wrapping your strong hand around the backstrap (the back of the grip) so that it fits snuggly into the webbing between your thumb and index finger.  The goal is to be as high as you can.  Stretch your index finger along the frame, and then curl your fingers around the front strap under the trigger guard.  Then take your weak hand and get as much of the heel of your hand on the grip panel as you can (again maximum contact with the pistol) stretching your thumb forward, (and parallel under your strong hand thumb) aligning with the strong hand thumb, and curl your fingers over your other hand fingers, under the trigger guard. Your knuckles on both hands should line up, and there shouldn’t be any air space between any of your fingers and the others.  How does it feel?  Can you support the weight of the gun comfortably?  Can you see daylight between the heels of your hands?  If you can, you need to bring the weak, or support hand in a little tighter.  Are you high on the backstrap without blocking the slide?  Some guns have a tang, beaver tail or protrusion that prevents you from being too high, like the 1911, but not all. 

When you take your shot, does the slide abrade your hand?  Does your grip come loose and you have to readjust?  Neither of these is desirable.  You don’t want to cut yourself, it HURTS!  You don’t want to readjust your grip constantly, it means you are breaking your grip, wasting precious seconds, and then still need to reacquire your site picture. 

Recently, my instructor told me I needed to be higher on the backstrap.  Looking at my grip, I probably would have said the same thing to a new student.  When I tried to inch up (fraction of an inch actually) I found the recoil was more painful, I was adjusting my grip every couple rounds, and I started anticipating the recoil.  How did I know?  My shots were centered and low.  (more on reading your target in a future blog).  I kept trying to find the sweet spot for me, and when I did I was once again drilling the dot.  However, it was a little lower than I would advise.  So…now what?  I had good control, good grouping, but my grip looked a little off.  Mmmm.  Ok, admittedly, we all have a sweet spot, but they should be pretty close.  What does this mean for me?  I need to practice with a higher grip until I can control it and then have my instructor re-evaluate. 

What is the take away for you?  A couple things, 1., be aware of your grip, and make sure you work with someone who knows to ensure you have it correct.  This is important because it is a lot harder to break a bad habit than to form a good one.  2. If you are consistently shooting low center, you are anticipating the recoil or jerking the trigger, assuming you had the correct sight picture, and there are ways to overcome that, but it takes practice.  One way is to have someone else load your magazine and insert a dummy round. (ball and dummy technique). You won’t know when it is coming up and you will see yourself drive the barrel down.  That will help you realize that you are doing it and give you some feedback to break yourself.  Another way is to safely practice dry fire with an empty cartridge or coin on top of your front sight or your slide.  Does it fall off or stay put?

We all need instructors…

Safe Shooting!

Why Teach Your Children to Shoot?

Some people seem to think that children and guns do not go together.  Anyone who has ever watched a group of kids at play, be it cops and robbers, Army, or Cowboys and Indians (I know, not PC), knows that they will imagine a gun out of almost anything.

Teaching your child to shoot serves several purposes.  It offers bonding time as a family.  It teaches them early about safety and safe handling of firearms.  Children who grew up with a firearm in the home, and learned from an early age how to first respect and avoid it, then as they became older how to handle it safely with supervision, are less likely to handle it out of curiosity, possibly with serious consequences.

Shooting can become a lifelong sport, it can be enjoyed by people of all shapes and sizes as well as by many people with various disabilities.  You may be a sunny day plinker, a serious competitor, interested in personal defense or a hunter.  All of that is OK! 

Children, especially girls, can develop self esteem by mastering a sport that is challenging and often male dominated (although the ladies are closing in!).  Plus, it teaches a girl about self respect when she goes to the range and drills the target.  It also offers bonding and closeness with older family members.  These are all important as a young woman reaches that dreaded “dating age”.  She will have learned that she has value, she can take care of herself, and she is confident in her abilities.  She will not be easily intimidated and will expect to be treated with the respect she deserves.  Personally, I can’t think of a better reason to learn to shoot.  Of course, it is followed very closely but IT’S FUN! 

Many people have asked how young is too young.  Only the parent can decide that, but probably 6 is a good time to start thinking about it.  I’ve heard from people who started their kids with Airsoft guns, teaching them the same fundamentals and safety skills they would use later with the real thing.  What a great idea! 

So take your daughters, and your sons, to the range.  Teach them the safe way to handle a firearm.  Consider some of the NRA Youth Programs, or let them attend a formal class.  Share the joy of shooting and build a bond with your family as well as teaching them safe practices.

Safe Shooting!