I will have to take her to the range, for sure. I'm also going to take my 13 year old son and teach him gun safety and how to shoot... (yada, yada, yada)
After some reflection, she told me not to sell it. She told me not to wear it outside the house, and just keep it in the house for self-defense.
A pistol in the house for self-defense is fine...
IF you're
IN the house when you need it. If you're carjacked in NLV, or accosted in a parking lot downtown, that gun
at home isn't much of a
deterrent to - or help
getting out of - the dangerous situation. You have a 13 year old son, so I'm assuming that your marriage is about that long (plus or minus) too. Curiosity forces me to ask... is this your first pistol during your marriage, or just your first public carry, or both? Depending on the answer, your wife may be more concerned about the OCaspect, than the gun itself. The solution there
may be a NV CCW. If it is a fear of the gun (or
also a fear of the gun) your trip to the range with her is an excellent plan.
My personal experience indoctrinating females into the safe and proper use of a handgun, has been that
90% of them are
natural shots with a handgun. On target from the get-go! And the other 10% are fast learners, but both scenarios require that you don't
start them out trying to shoot a
.50cal Desert Eagle. Her first experience cannot be physically unpleasant, or it will
reinforce any negative assumptions she may have about guns in general. Make that first trip
fun and exciting for her. I took my 2nd ex to a range once...
JUST ONCE. (I suggested she begin with my Ruger Mark I (.22), but she
insisted on shooting the Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Special (cut back to 2½") because it was "cute". I warned her, and placed my body against the back of hers at the firing line)
One round (even with the Pachmayer grips) and she was
terrified. Tears were
streaming down her face, and she was trembling like she had faced Satan himself! I had to reach around and physically remove the gun from her hands. Good luck, Ed!
Pax...
