I'm very proud of my mom

And not just for bringing me to term and raising me and all of that. I am proud of her because lately she has made the decision not only to buy herself a gun, but to get her CCW and carry.

A few weeks ago, here in Overland Park, Kansas (a suburb of KC), an attempted robbery happened at the Oak Park Mall. This is not a crummy, dead mall by any means; it is pretty upscale and has only gotten more so in recent years. This robbery happened outside of a Nordstrom, of all places, and it happened during the day (though in a covered parking area, so not quite broad daylight). A 64-year-old man was approached by a young woman who demanded his money; the man refused, so the woman pistol-whipped him; the woman and her accomplice then drove away. Thankfully the man didn't suffer any serious injuries. This attack outraged my mom and she started talking about carrying a gun; a day later, in an email, she told me that she was serious about getting a gun and that she "didn't want to be anyone's victim." I couldn't be more proud.

We are still in the process of finding out what kind of gun fits her the best and what kind she likes shooting. This experience has given me a lot of lessons in introducing new shooters to the world of guns, so I thought I would share my thoughts about it here.

When someone wants a gun, it's best to cast a wide net in terms of makes and models. When my mom told me she wanted to carry, the first place my mind went was a compact or subcompact semi-auto in 9mm or .380, because that's what I'd carry. The gentleman behind the gun counter at Bass Pro, however, correctly assumed that my mom wouldn't be able to easily rack the slide on this kind of gun, due to the very strong spring that must be used in such a small firearm. He directed us to the subcompact .38 Special revolvers instead, and it looks like that's what we'll be going with. Had I continued to focus on the semi-autos, without seeking advice, my mom might have ended up with a gun that didn't fit her needs.

The wisdom of the man behind the Bass Pro gun counter brings me to another point regarding those brand-new to the gun scene - atmosphere matters. I wanted to go to Bass Pro to look at and handle different models because every time I've been there and interacted with the folks behind the counter it's been a positive experience. It's a big, well-lit, family-friendly, fun store. This is not to say that The Bullet Hole is some dingy, horrible place crawling with unsavory people - by no means. But while I prefer to give the little stores my business, I think your Bass Pro Shops or Cabela's type places are much nicer for window shopping. Bass Pro ended up being a great choice, because not only did their employee wisely direct us to the revolvers, but he was a jovial guy that cracked a lot of jokes and really made my mom feel comfortable with the whole thing.

The search for a gun entails not just holding guns in the hand, but firing them too. I took my mom to the range last week to try out the J-frame. This was not my first time taking a new shooter to the range, and my mom has fired handguns before, though it's been a few years. I was reminded that when you're taking a new (or rusty) shooter out, you should leave no stone unturned.

The night my mom and I went to the range was pretty busy, and I didn't really have the time to go over much of anything beyond the four rules on the way in. I realized how little I had prepared her when, on her last go on the revolver, she asked me about how the sights on the gun worked. D'oh! I look at this as a failure on my part, and something of a waste of money (38spl is expensive!). Contrast this to a few weeks ago when I took my friend Sean to the range to shoot my Mosquito and try out a Springfield XD9. This is what we did before going to the range - I consider this the ideal when taking a new shooter out:

-Took the gun out, showed him that it was clear, explained why that's important

-Explained the workings of the slide, the magazine, and the hammer

-Showed him how it fires (didn't dry fire since it's a rimfire handgun), how to hold it, and how to acquire sights

-Had him hold it and acquire sights, explained ideal stance

-Field stripped it, explained how it fits together

-Went over the 4 rules in detail

Since my mom and I rented a gun, not all of these are possible, but the more you go over beforehand, the better (also easier to do this when you don't have earplugs in and there isn't gunfire all around). I would add to this explaining how to pull the trigger (squeeze, don't pull) - I always forget to do this until we're actually on the line, but it's quite important.

So this is where we're at now - my mom has more or less settled on a J-frame revolver. We actually tried out two different ones at the range - one was a small, concealable Ruger, 5-round capacity, with the hammer hidden in the body of the gun. The other was a slightly larger model with a 6-round capacity and the hammer exposed, so worse for carrying. The employee insisted that the small one was far more unpleasant to fire than the other, though my mom and I both didn't feel much of a difference, honestly. Even with my mom's questionable sight picture, she was able to hit the target pretty well with both. The next thing she wants to do is, with her newfound knowledge of how to aim, try out both models simultaneously to see what she likes best.

The last thing I want to do, before she buys the gun and takes her CCW class, is to talk to her about the subject I discussed in my "Killing" post from a few weeks back. I'm happy she wants to assert her rights and do her best to avoid being a victim, but I want to make absolute sure that she knows what she's getting into. I'm confident the CCW class will talk about this, but there's also a whole additional set of rules to conduct yourself by when you're carrying - not instigating, avoiding confrontation, making sure you only draw when you're in fear for your life and are prepared to use the firearm to defend it. I'm in favor of lawful carrying, but only by those who deeply understand and respect the power that they have by doing so.

Since I'm getting married in a few short weeks, things will likely be on hold until September, save for maybe one more trip to the range to try things out again. I'm sure that I will continue to learn about dealing with new shooters as this process continues - look for more entries on the subject to come.

Endnote: I've gotten some feedback, the vast majority positive, on my Jason Alexander piece, and I sincerely appreciate it. Thank you all for reading it and, for those of you who did so, for letting me know of your thoughts.