Old Habits

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking a lady to shoot her father's old S&W revolver. Many years ago he had taught her to shoot the gun. She was a pretty fair shot, but she had some habits I would have liked to change. The first of those was the old "Cup & Saucer" grip, a grip that utilizes the weak hand for support underneath the gun. Another habit was a slow deliberate trigger pull that stops anytime the sights wander off target. That may be good for bullseye shooting, but it is fatal in combat shooting.
Alas, these were skills her father had taught her, and she had learned them well. To attempt to change those habits was a slap at the old man. So, we worked with what we had. Today her goal was to simply shoot the gun, not to challenge Jerry Miculek.

Her safety conciousness was excellent. She never let the muzzle wander, and manipulated the revolver through loading and extraction with expert skill. Her groups were hitting in the two inch range.

I did not teach much, nor did I try to change anything about her technique. This was more of a fun shoot, and a chance to connect with her father again, shooting as they did together so many years ago. That is OK with me.