Daughter practices her shooting technique at the range. A little smoothing on the trigger mecha- nism made the gun easier to shoot double-action.
big enough to keep the barrel off the ground and started the girls the same way. With bow and arrow fi rst, then later with a BB gun, a .22 rifl e and handgun. A long-barreled Ruger Single-
Six .22 makes a good target shooter and doubles as a small-game critter- gitter. Oldest daughter (18) shoots it well. Middle daughter (16), prefers the .38 Special. The youngest (12) likes the pump-action 20-gauge and trades it off sometimes for a session with the Glock. All these are se- cured in the safe with ammo locked in a separate box when range and practice time is over. In a place where they can reach
it, is a can of oleoresin capsicum, the girls’ defensive tool. Throw the
A day at the range in the high desert of central Oregon. Sometimes it makes sense to short-circuit familial communication challenges and outsource the offspring’s education to an unrelated adult.
safety switch, spray and pray, go for the phone. And the pepper canister rides in a pocket or purse (alongside a knife) when they go for a walk or a bicycle ride in the neighborhood. The primary defensive guns are
a Glock Model 19 and a smoothed- out Ruger SP101. The Glock is my choice, its magazine stacked with 135-grain Federal Hydra-Shoks. My wife’s gun is the Ruger, loaded with .38 Special 110-grain Hydra-Shoks. Both guns are fi tted with Crim-
son Trace lasergrips. Sighted in at self-defense distance, the bullet goes where the red dot says it goes. And the bad guy knows exactly what the red dot means. It’s a concept that transcends cultural barriers. To keep the guns secure, there is
a small safe, GunVault’s GV2000, bolted to the fl oor. A pressure-sen- sitive combination lock that can be operated in the dark allows us sole access to the guns. It takes a moment to punch in the
code, so the guns come out of the safe before lights-out and are kept in a bedside holster. Night Sentry’s polycarb slider (www.diamondsen-
try.com) fi ts between mattress and box springs and accepts a holster and a fl ashlight. When morning comes, the guns go back in the safe.
Mindset Matters For the person who keeps a gun
for protection, thought should be giv- en not only to which gun, but to how it will be kept, the circumstances in
a low-light/night shoot. You will need man-size targets, a handgun (laser- grips optional), holsters, ear and eye protection, 50 rounds of ammo per shooter and fl ashlights. Before dark, establish a fi ring line
and set up a table for unloaded guns and ammunition. A lantern or two will help push back the edge of the night and throw just enough light on the sub- ject to facilitate reloading. And at the end of it, break open the Thermos for cups of hot chocolate all around.
46 REALITY CHECK • 2011 SPECIAL EDITION
Make your family’s next training day
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