Approaching a Gun Disliking Wife

[cadillacdude1975]

i am one of the lucky ones. my better half loves shooting my .40 more than i do i think lol

i am sitting on almost 500 rounds (the SHTF ammo) and it is killing her over the fact she knows i have it and we are 9 miles from prentice cooper. i would love to go target shoot, but it is just not the best thing for me to do since i lost my job. kinda hard to replace those rounds with no extra cash falling into the pocket.

[Guest Bluemax]

One tip.......It's much easier to hide a new hand gun than a rifle or shotgun..and whatever you do, do not keep your dated reciept in the same place as your new toy

Hypotheticaly speaking of course....

[ukerduker]

I will take things slow....

I want to take her out, show her the basics of my Ruger 10/22. I want her to gain the confidence in handling, loading, and shooting. I will not push her at all, but rather focus on the safety of firearms. From this I will hope to build her skills and interest in being around any weapons.

More to follow...

[analog_kidd]

We were a no gun house up until a few years ago when I came to my senses. I bought a gun for protection and it turned into a hobby.

My wife was not crazy at all about the idea of having guns around, but said "you're a grown man, do what you want".

After I bought one, I told her that if it was going to be in the house she at least should know how to use it, just in case she would ever have to use it, no matter how slight the chance.

We went to the range, I showed her all about it, taught safety, handling, etc. and demonstrated the gun. I reloaded it and handed it to her. She unloaded the magazine, put the gun on the shelf and turned to me with the biggest grin I've ever seen. She said " that was so cool. Can we look for a pistol for me on the way home?"

Ever since she has been hooked. She is waiting for her permit as we speak. It has turned out to be something we both enjoy and go shooting on "dates".

My advice is go slow, be understanding, but be persistent. She'll come around.

[cadillacdude1975]

had that been my better half, she would have instructed me to load all the mags so she could continue shooting lol

[ukerduker]

had that been my better half, she would have instructed me to load all the mags so she could continue shooting lol

I hope to get to that point in the future. I think it will all come down to her being comfortable. I will try to take her out to the range and see how it goes. More to follow...

[ukerduker]

In a sudden turn of events, my wife approached me and ask: "Can I get a pistol?"

I didn't know what to say, but "sure, but I'm not teaching you to shoot". She had a puzzled look on her face. I'll agree to show her all the safety aspects of working with firearms, but I would recuse myself from the shooting portion. I think she would be more comfortable with someone else showing her the basics of shooting. Patience is the key, and I lack the required amount.

[TGO David]

Sweet!

[Mike.357]

I have come to the conclussion that we have to wait for them to come around on their own. Some may never come around to it.

At first my wife disliked my guns. Then she came to accept that I was going to continue to own them. Then she wondered why I wanted a carry permit. But she came to tthe conclussion to not fight my getting it. Then she was not crazy that I was actually going to carry a gun. Now she fully accepts these facts, not quite my biggest supporter but not a detractor anymore. I really believe she is starting to get it.

Time is the key for many people.

[PackinMama]

We knew you could do it!

[Guest dizzielizzie]

When I got married (living in NH) my husband came home with a 22 rifle one day, and I told him it made me nervous. A week later he came home with a used charter arms 38 special revolver... taught me how to handle it, clean it, and shoot it. We both applied for carry permits (in 1992 it was $14 and a week wait.)

14 years later (divorced, work brought me to TN) I still feel this was the biggest gain from having been married! My ex was patient and understanding and felt this was the only way to overcome my fear of guns (and it worked.) Perhaps if you could convince your wife to try firing a small caliber revolver (yeah, automatics intimidated me until I got one of my own.) If you can't get her to pick up a gun then maybe the wife of a good friend can. I honestly don't know anyone who has fired a gun and then say "I'll never do that again!"

[Guest MorePower7701]

My wife did not like guns when I got with her, the sight of them made her cringe. She came around after a couple of years, it was a slow but she now enjoys firearms almost as much as me. I think it is very important for a woman to be able to protect herself.

[ukerduker]

With Mothers Day coming up, I plan to take her to try out some pistols. I think, with her small hands, she will prefer a .25 or .32 caliber pistol. I saw some Keltecs at Guns & Leather today that might be the perfect solution. I like the fact that she is pushing to get one now. It makes my job much easier.

Now if I can just get her to take the HCP class.....

[Guest pontiac_fiero_g]

With Mothers Day coming up, I plan to take her to try out some pistols. I think, with her small hands, she will prefer a .25 or .32 caliber pistol. I saw some Keltecs at Guns & Leather today that might be the perfect solution. I like the fact that she is pushing to get one now. It makes my job much easier.

Now if I can just get her to take the HCP class.....

personally id stay away from the .25auto it is about useless and expensive to boot. i beleive that sgt. lett told me thay produce about 63ftlbs from a 3in bbl where as a .22rimfire produces about 120lbs of energy from the same bbl at a much cheaper cost. i have a titan .25 and it has absolutely no power.

i took my woman to a shoot in may and it did nothing to make her want to shoot more.

[ukerduker]

She needs to gain some man-hands, otherwise my options are limited.

[Guest smithandwesson]

I guess Im lucky, my wife will shoot anything I hand her, she always wants to shoot the biggest guns too, not the little puny .22's as she calls them.

[Guest smithandwesson]

Ill never forget the day I did finally get her to start shooting, I asked her, what would you do if I died tomorrow? How would you protect the kids? Every since, she has been enthusiastic about learning to operate them.

[PackinMama]

Good for her! I wish more ladies would do the same!

[Guest tnjimbob]

Took my wife to the range on Hobson Pike to try to get her comfortable with shooting. The rangemaster put us in between 2 guys who were looking to expend as much .45 ammo as quickly as possible and there were no more spots available at that time. Tried to get my wife comfortable with my .22 auto (which she was OK with handling & shooting), but the guys on either side of us were shooting so much that the percussion intimidated her.

I think I need to take her back but she is hesitant to go because of the first bad experience.

[Good_Steward]

My wife will go to the range with me and her father sporadically. She's afraid of the ammo that is ejected from a semi auto from an incident where a spent (hot) cartridge landed in her shirt. I tried getting her to shoot revolvers, but she was intimidated by the ones that I owned, so I went out and bought a Charter Arms Target Pathfinder (.22) for her. She has shot it maybe 5 times. Finally, I decided that she would come around to it when she wanted, so I bought a Kimber LifeAct to carry with her for protection. Not my idea of self defense, but definately better than nothing.

[Guest tnvolfan]

I'm a lady and have been shooting since November of last year. I shoot at a local gun shop/range (Coal Creek Armory - Knoxville) on Tuesdays because ladies shoot free that day and their male escorts shoot half-price. There are lots of women in the store on Tuesdays, especially after 5pm, and we're all having a really good time with our guns! Maybe if you and your wife could find a range that has a "Ladies' Day," she would be more receptive to guns. I have taken several women with me to the range who wanted to learn more about guns, and when they see other women, like them, learning and enjoying the activity, it really increases the desire to learn even more. There's a gun club in Sevierville that has an annual banquet to support the NRA -- really nice and first-class event -- maybe she would enjoy going to something like that, too. Give some of these things a try -- and good luck!

[crashgordan]

so, what did you get her??

i agree, if she has super small hands, .380 is the minimum and only then loaded with the new Powerball load or even better, the Hornady XTP... both have significant penetration and excellent expansion....

i'd look very hard at the XDm 9 (any variant) with the interchangeable backstrap, (HK now offers some very fine weapons with interchangeable backstrap, but very spendy), S&W M&P come with interchangeables as well and has a strong reputation (don't personally have one, so can't comment)

again, don't know how small her hands are, but there are options for small handed women...

Just put a student in a XDm 9 compact, 5'2", very small hands, and she's very happy. She also liked the Kahr p9 and pm9, but the XDm offered more of what she was looking for as a beginning shooter...

just MHO, FWIW.

[ukerduker]

so, what did you get her??

i agree, if she has super small hands, .380 is the minimum and only then loaded with the new Powerball load or even better, the Hornady XTP... both have significant penetration and excellent expansion....

i'd look very hard at the XDm 9 (any variant) with the interchangeable backstrap, (HK now offers some very fine weapons with interchangeable backstrap, but very spendy), S&W M&P come with interchangeables as well and has a strong reputation (don't personally have one, so can't comment)

again, don't know how small her hands are, but there are options for small handed women...

Just put a student in a XDm 9 compact, 5'2", very small hands, and she's very happy. She also liked the Kahr p9 and pm9, but the XDm offered more of what she was looking for as a beginning shooter...

just MHO, FWIW.

No firearm yet. We had a crazy weekend and were unable to get out to the local shops to size her hands up.

[Guest putmanphoto]

I am only 5-2 and I also have small hands, but I DC a M&P .40c - I do not have any problems with loading, racking or control when shooting.... I believe that you might be underestimating her...

I also have a Taurus 38 UL - but I honestly do not have any problems with either of my guns.... Let her try several different ones, you might be surprised what she likes