Greetings everyone. I friend told me about this site.  ( Thanks Alabama) For the first time in 12 years, I am moving out on my own and thinking maybe I should have some home protection. I do have a 17 year old daughter that will be living with me part time as well, however she is afraid of guns. So, how do I get the home protection I need without scaring my daughter to death.

Also, if anybody is in the Carolina's and knows some ranges around the Lowcountry area of South Carolina please let me know. I will need to get comfortable myself before trying to teach my daughter to trust guns.

Look in your area for a firearm self-defense course.  Take your daughter with you to the course so you can both learn at the same time.

You shouldn't try to hide the gun from her, it will do her more harm than good.

One good idea would be to take a firearms education course together.

Short answer...   You need a man.  

Welcome!

I'd recommend a S&W .38 snubbie. Short, easy to handle, good defensive weapon, not intimidating for your kids.

+2 for the first  two replies, or you could both take the course together.

Tell her to grow up.

Quoted: One good idea would be to take a firearms education course together.

Ditto, that is unless she is that chicken of a gun, and then it won't help.

30 pages...............

Quoted: 30 pages...............

I say a lock too...

It's not that my daughter is chicken, she had a bad experience with a gun and has ever since been "gun shy". I have mentioned us taking a class together and she didn't know if she could or not. I don't want to push her into anything, but I was us BOTH to be able to protect ourselves.

As for needing a man...well, not going to go there. Why do you think I am moving out on my own after 12 years. Not all men are faithful, as I have seen from previous posts, not all men treat their ladies with the respect they deserve and some are just plain downright assholes...oopps can I say that here?

Welcome Jaded!

I agree that a good 1 day safety and defense class for both of you is in order, followed by several trips to the range.

Immersion therapy for your daughter.  It works.

Quoted: I agree that a good 1 day safety and defense class for both of you is in order, followed by several trips to the range. Immersion therapy for your daughter.  It works.

I agree. It will teach her the valuable lesson that fear exists to be overcome. Plus if you're around something all the time, you become de-sensitised to a certain degree.


What was the bad experience?

Oh boy, in before page 40

I would first suggest you retreat to the womens forum and not return to GD until the swine have forgotten you're a woman.

Second, get a firearm and take a safety/proficiency course, with or without your daughter.  If she can't bring herself to become familiar with a firearm, fine, but that should in no way prevent you from doing so.  You can either protect her feelings, or you can protect her from the things that bump in the night.  You can't do both.

Oh, and welcome to the site.  

CO

Quoted: It's not that my daughter is chicken, she had a bad experience with a gun and has ever since been "gun shy". I have mentioned us taking a class together and she didn't know if she could or not. I don't want to push her into anything, but I was us BOTH to be able to protect ourselves. As for needing a man...well, not going to go there. Why do you think I am moving out on my own after 12 years. Not all men are faithful, as I have seen from previous posts, not all men treat their ladies with the respect they deserve and some are just plain downright assholes...oopps can I say that here?

Whatever her bad experience was, it had everything to do with the person holding the firearm, not with the firearm itself.

She needs to realize this.

Her fear of firearms is completely irrational.  If she witnessed a stabbing, would she never be able to use a butter knife again?

Quoted: ....... and some are just plain downright assholes...oopps can I say that here?

Sure you can say that. Let it all out, we can take it.

+1 on the training course. The best thing to get your daughter more comfortable is to learn about firearms and understand that they only do what you tell them to do. If they are treated with respect, and some very simple rules are strictly adhered to, they are no more dangerous than your toaster (except to the person that makes the mistake of trying to crawl through your window at 2:00 am).

Welcome to the site.

The 38 snubby is a great gun, but the blast and rather lively recoil might scare your daughter even more.  Make SURE she has excellent hearing protection before you fire a handgun around her.  In my experience most newbies are more intimidated by the noise than by anything else.

As for the poster who said you need a man, he was partly correct.  You would do well to find a friend who is a shooter who could take both of you out and show you the ropes.

A class is always a good idea.  If SC's CCW law requires a training course that might be a good place to start.  Hunter safety courses are also excellent for learning safe gun handling.  It doesn't need to cost a lot.  

If nothing else ask around at the local gun shops to find out what kind of training opportunities are out there in your area.  Shooters are generally a helpful bunch so I'm sure you won't have too much trouble getting help and advice.  Just remember that any recommendations you will get on guns will probably be based a great deal on individual preferences, and you will maybe never get the same advice on which gun to buy.  Do your homework, and try to get your hands on and shoot as many different guns as you can before you buy.

My advice is to start small and work your way up.  A Browning Micro Buckmark semi-auto in .22 LR would be one of my top choices, or a quality .22 wheelgun if revolvers are your thing.  The important thing is you want a gun capable of decent accuracy, low recoil, and with good sights so that you can put your shots on paper and develop good habits from the start, rather than devloping a nasty flinch and being disappointed because you can't hit the broad side of a barn.

My first handgun was a .44 magnum.  BIG mistake...  I flinched terribly and could not hit anything with it.  Well I finally went and bought a .22 and spent a lot of time shooting it.  After that I was able to shoot any handgun accurately and well, including the .44...

And a .22 is loads better than nothing when it comes to personal defense...

Anyway, good luck and welcome to the shooting sports.  I just woke up, so please excuse my lousy writing style...

Quoted: It's not that my daughter is chicken, she had a bad experience with a gun and has ever since been "gun shy". I have mentioned us taking a class together and she didn't know if she could or not. I don't want to push her into anything, but I was us BOTH to be able to protect ourselves. As for needing a man...well, not going to go there. Why do you think I am moving out on my own after 12 years. Not all men are faithful, as I have seen from previous posts, not all men treat their ladies with the respect they deserve and some are just plain downright assholes...oopps can I say that here?

Oh.  You'll meet some real winners in GD (General Disscussion) too.  

I'd take the firearms safty class and spend some time getting familiar with firearms first.  She'll be more likely to listen to you then some third party down the road.  Then offer to have her come to a class with you sometime later.  Often there will not really be a lot of guns in such a class and if she's too afraid to even discuss them then there is a much deeper issue.

Later try something non-threatning.  Maybe a .22 rifle and some target shooting with her.  It's amazing how fast opinions can turn when a person starts being able to hit something at a distance.   Make sure she feels comfortable with you and whoever you choose to bring as well.

Hopefully you can hook-up with someone who has a wide variety of weapons to try.  There is no universal 'ladies' gun.  Always try to go with the biggest caliber you can handle well, and fits your other needs (weight, concealment, ect...)

Oh, and welcome to the site

I would rather not say what her experience was at this point, but it was horrible for her. Yes she has come a long way since the accident happen. She is willing to talk about guns now and has even looked at them, but she will still not hold one. I think if I can get her into a class it would help her out alot.

Doesn't the name say it all about needing a man???

welcome to a sister female

We are vastly outnumbered, and you have to develop a thick skin to ignore the *ahem* ungentlemanly sorts.  But all in all we have a good time, and I definitely invite you to check out the Women Shooters Forum as well.  I too am relatively new, and this place takes some getting used to.  Just ignore half of what you see and you'll enjoy the place

Quoted: <Snip> Why do you think I am moving out on my own after 12 years.

Because your husband (always a cruel and mysterious lout) began to grow worse over time, eventually quitting his job, refusing to shower or shave, and stockpiling explosives in all the closets.  He would run around the house naked and wild-eyed, shaggy, filthy hair matted to his head, lecturing about how you must be ready for the day when the "Lexons" would land in their gleaming spaceships, set upon devouring humanity.  

On his more "normal" days he would be locked in the basement filming bizarre movies with dol..I mean..."action figures".

No?

Ah.  Just a guess.

Quoted: Greetings everyone. I friend told me about this site.  ( Thanks Alabama) For the first time in 12 years, I am moving out on my own and thinking maybe I should have some home protection. I do have a 17 year old daughter that will be living with me part time as well, however she is afraid of guns. So, how do I get the home protection I need without scaring my daughter to death. Also, if anybody is in the Carolina's and knows some ranges around the Lowcountry area of South Carolina please let me know. I will need to get comfortable myself before trying to teach my daughter to trust guns.

People usually fear what they don't understand. Taking a good training course with your daughter on the proper and safe use of a handgun is a superb idea.

You can contact the NRA and find some decent instruction around you that will go a long way toward helping you and your daughter learn how to properly employ a firearm.

Jaded: WELCOME!

Don't buy anything until you taken a class in firearms safety and familiarization.

If you prefer advice from a woman's standpoint, we have ARFCOM's(this is shorthand for WWW.AR15.COM) Women Shooters in the GENERAL section.  We have many lady shooters here that will be glad to help.

Find a local indoor range or gunstore in your local yellow pages phone book under "firearms," and talk with them, usually those people will know of a someone who is giving a class on firearm's safety.  Or you can call the business/non-emergency line of the local police department.  When you'r taking the class tell them that you are a first time shooter, etc.

Before buying your first gun, rent some guns at a local range, and see what you like.  Guns come in all shapes and sizes, so find the one you like.  I think that it will take some time.

For first time shooters, I personally would recommend a revolver in 38Spl because of its simplicity in operation, and ammo is relatively cheap.

Good luck.

*laughing*

I wish it was as simple as that. More like cheating, lying and marrying me for no reason other than more money in his paycheck. As for quitting his job, naw, uncle sam wouldn't let him do that yet


Thanks for the laughs this morning guys

Welcome Jaded.

Good Luck.

I would try to get some local help, instead of internet help.

I'd start with a 22 rifle or pistol.  No recoil and little noise...

As others have said either take a defensive weapon course OR go to a well-established firing range with a knowledgeable range officer- ask him or her for help and explain the situation.

FYI, reactive targets (targets that fall or break up upon impact with a bullet) can make the experience fun for your daughter.

Good luck and welcome!


oh yeah, IBTL

--welcome to the site!

get into learning casual shooting--safety, fun, and learning

then, when yall get "adapted" to a firearm being present, get more serious
+1 on courses

Thanks for all the advise thus far. I myself have shot before, just not regularly like most. I am not afraid of the power the gun has, just want to learn how to be more accurate in shooting it.

Moving targets sounds like fun, also a good way to get out the anger and frustrations of daily life.
I plan on shooting a few before deciding what to buy for the home, as well as recreational.

A big +1 on the firearms course ... being familiar with a firearm removes the fear of it ....  Take a course and become intimately familar with how it works and pay VERY close attention to the safety section of the course. Once safety is redundant (always point in safe direction, finger off trigger until ready to fire, check that it is unloaded, etc etc....) The fear will go away, replaced with the appropriate amount of respect.

As for the separation/divorce, I hope your life develops quickly into something content and happy...  Shooting things will help!

If you’re looking for a decent .38 Special home defense revolver, see if you can find a used Colt “Police Positive Special” with a 4” barrel. They are smaller and lighter than the Smith & Wesson K-frame (mid sized) revolvers and easier for people with small hands to shoot. But the longer barrel makes them easier to aim than the Smith & Wesson J-frame (Small) revolvers. Plus they are a six shot revolver, the J-frame only holds 5.

Colt doesn’t make them anymore, but there are plenty of used ones out there if you look.You might not like it but it’s worth at least trying out.

Obviously you, and your daughter, need to go through all the basic safety and marksmanship stuff. When you’re done with that, see if you can find a place that holds regular “Bowling Pin” competitions. This is just a competition where you try to knock five bowling pins off a table as quickly as possible. You have to shoot fast and accurately under the stress of competition and you get immediate feedback on whether the shot was good or not. I haven’t had a chance to do this in years, but when I started I went from being a mediocre shot with a handgun to being pretty darn good in just a few trips.