Shot down again!

Fortunately for me, I am used to getting shot down by women. It also helps that I am happily married, too. Kinda takes the edge off.

I was supposed to meet a good dear friend at the local range today. She bailed and I was left to my own devices. It was something of a letdown really. I was looking forward to introducing a new person to the sport of shooting. A new female, no less. Becky and I have known each other for over 10 wonderful years. She is one of those rare women in my life that I always wonder why we never "hooked-up." We enjoy a wonderful relationship and always have a blast together. I am very proud to say she is a good friend to my wife and the rest of my family, too.

Becky is also one of those women, upon first impressions, who comes off as being a "typical blonde." Nothing could be further from the truth. She is as smart as they come. She does carry some naivete regarding different matters, but then again, so do I. We each roll in different circles and have different experiences that contribute to our personal knowledge base. With regards to shooting, she is a prime reminder of Head's bit about the "other side" exploiting women who are uneducated about the gun-culture. Kudos and props to Head for publishing that piece. I took what was said to heart and was planning on using that to help educate another female in the way of the gun.

There are a couple of reasons why I planned on teaching this young lass to shoot today. First, she has absolutely no experience with firearms. I made her promise to keep her pistol unloaded and in the case until I could teach her how to use it properly. Second, her then ex-Leatherneck boyfriend (I use the term loosely and mean no offense to any of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children at all), bought her a very nice Airweight S&W .38 Special. I was just itching to shoot it myself! Third and most important, she just bought her own home and is living by herself for the first time in her life. I was not going to let my dear friend live without some basic knowledge of home defense and personal protection.

That chuckle monkey who gave the pistol to her really hacked me off. He takes her to the local "candy store" and puts a gun in her hand. Tells her it fits, has the clerk wrap it up and sends her home with a box of ammo to boot. He blows outta there before she has time to open the box and ask, "What now?" Some people can be real thick. I am glad he is out of the picture. It's a wonder the Marines ever took him in the first place.

Okay, enough pissin' and moaning. She bailed due to a late night at work. We are gonna reschedule for a time when I can take my wife and get a twofer bonus. Here's another young lady who has no knowledge of firearms, too. Mrs. Shooter's only experience aside from dry firing my Hand Howitzer is having my dad hand her a gun during our first month of dating. It is not her fault. She is a Swedish born and raised citizen (yeah guys, I know what you are thinking, and yes, she is very VERY beautiful! Jealous?) who has never been around guns except for a BB gun one of her relatives owned. We won't get into Swedish politics and gun control laws tonight.

Anyway, sometime in our first month of dating, the family heads out to Navasota, TX for a day at a friend's farm. This usually entails very good home cooking, the usual BS stories, watching some of the kids rope in the corral and plink a few rounds from the combined arsenal we tend to pack. Dad just happened to bring a very nice 6" S&W .44 Mag. A very new and VERY nice piece with some extra lovely walnut grips. As we are driving down the road heading out of town, I hear him clicking the cylinder and fiddling around. I look over to her and my wife is not really paying attention to dad in the backseat until he asks, "Hey, Shooter's Wife, how do you feel about guns?" I thought she was about to die when he placed that pistol in her lap. I know I married a wonderful woman when she picked it up and properly and safely handed it back to him. With a straight face she said, "I have no problem if you have no problem." She admitted later that she almost had a "problem" right then and there.

I will keep you posted on the quest to educate my wife and best friend about guns. With luck, I will have brought two new people into the world that is shooting. I may even get my wife to lighten up when I add to the "arsenal."