Mother-In-Law gun

[Duelist]

My mother-in-law is an adventure loving lady. She’ll try just about anything. She’s a retired professor of education who, with my FIL, went and lived on a pacific island for two years teaching and certifying their local teachers to improve the education system there. For free. They’re retired, so why not?

She bought her first horse a few months ago - six months after being thrown from a different horse and cracking a couple of vertebrae. She loves taking care of it, and rides most mornings.

She bought her first handgun today, and a lockbox to cable to her bedframe, and very excitedly told me about it tonight over the phone.

It’s a scandium J-frame. She’s a little nervous, worried about the recoil, but said “I thought about asking you about it first, but I just talked to the salesman instead.” I cringed inside, but just smiled and said it sounds like a nice revolver and that I’d make her some target ammunition that will be nicer to shoot through it than most of the stuff she’ll be able to find at the store.

I’m still cringing inside. But I’m going to load her up a few boxes of 105 grain moly-coated lead over a light load of bullseye or clays or trail boss, and hope she doesn’t shoot it once and never touch it again. Unless she just trades it off for something more pleasant to shoot.

[OlongJohnson]

Is it actually scandium, or just a base model J frame? Hard for me to imagine a sales person steering her toward the J frame without also going for the couple-hundred-cheaper price in the shallow end of that pool.

[Duelist]

I haven’t seen it, but she said she got the lightest one they had, and that it’s made of scandium and aluminum. And it has a laser. She’s very pleased with the laser.


Meanwhile, I’m sitting here with a 60-9 in my smart carry under my workout shorts.

[Canyonrat]

Someone just mentioned bunny-fart .38 loads in another thread. It didn't match anything in an ammoseek search unfortunately. I am not sure what exactly they are, but pretty sure they are the best bet in this scenario.

[HCM]

My mother-in-law is an adventure loving lady. She’ll try just about anything. She’s a retired professor of education who, with my FIL, went and lived on a pacific island for two years teaching and certifying their local teachers to improve the education system there. For free. They’re retired, so why not?

She bought her first horse a few months ago - six months after being thrown from a different horse and cracking a couple of vertebrae. She loves taking care of it, and rides most mornings.

She bought her first handgun today, and a lockbox to cable to her bedframe, and very excitedly told me about it tonight over the phone.

It’s a scandium J-frame. She’s a little nervous, worried about the recoil, but said “I thought about asking you about it first, but I just talked to the salesman instead.” I cringed inside, but just smiled and said it sounds like a nice revolver and that I’d make her some target ammunition that will be nicer to shoot through it than most of the stuff she’ll be able to find at the store.

I’m still cringing inside. But I’m going to load her up a few boxes of 105 grain moly-coated lead over a light load of bullseye or clays or trail boss, and hope she doesn’t shoot it once and never touch it again. Unless she just trades it off for something more pleasant to shoot.

Sounds like you need to get her some 148 grain wadcutters.

Depending on what your relationship is like you could be honest with her that 1) She should have talked to you first; and 2) the Salesman set her up by selling her one of the most difficult guns to shoot well. A better way might be to let her shoot her blaster with normal ammo then let her shoot something similar to what you recommend and let her decide. Physics is a harsh mistress.

[Wes Peart]

Depending on the grips, even standard pressure .38 out of a 360 won't be fun for someone older who's not used to shooting.

Those 105's loaded just fast enough to leave the barrel reliably will be the ticket to get her started. Load some 148gr HBWC's over 2.7-3 gr of Bullseye to keep it stoked with.

In the end something like an LCR .22 or 43C with some dry fire and smoothing may be the ticket.

[Oldherkpilot]

When I saw the title of this thread, I immediately thought, "He'll never get away with it now!" A few lines into your post, I realized that Mother in Law gun didn't mean the same thing that bear gun or deer gun mean.

[RJ]

Sigh.

“Retired Educator”

“Talked to the salesman instead”

“Pleased with the laser”

I agree with your plan, if you can get to her with some light ammo first before she shoots it. If not, @HCM has the right question, though. Would she listen to a discussion on why it’d suck to shoot a J frame with normal ammo?

[RJ]

When I saw the title of this thread, I immediately thought, "He'll never get away with it now!" A few lines into your post, I realized that Mother in Law gun didn't mean the same thing that bear gun or deer gun mean.

Dammit man now I need another keyboard, cause there’s coffee all over this one.

[mtnbkr]

Depending on the grips, even standard pressure .38 out of a 360 won't be fun for someone older who's not used to shooting.

Those 105's loaded just fast enough to leave the barrel reliably will be the ticket to get her started. Load some 148gr HBWC's over 2.7-3 gr of Bullseye to keep it stoked with.

In the end something like an LCR .22 or 43C with some dry fire and smoothing may be the ticket.

This.

Even target wadcutters will feel "hot" to someone who isn't used to shooting light guns.

A load I used in a snubnose 38 for "plinking" was a 000 buckshot pellet crimped into the end of the case with about 1gr of Bullseye. If you manage to find a box of 000 buckshot in this day and age and broke down each shell, you'd have enough to get her started.

36cal roundball for a muzzleloader might work too (check actual diameter), but I only did this with 000 buck.

Chris