Mother-In-Law gun

[peterb]

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.

The larger j-frame laser grips (305 or 350) are much more comfortable to shoot than the small ones. The tradeoff is concealability.

[Hambo]

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.

Not to be a dick, but it's her business, not yours. If she doesn't like it, she knows where the gun store is.

[Buckeye63]

In 1983 I gave my new Mother in law my Ruger Bearcat .. she loved it ... She passed 17 yrs ago .. the Bearcat went to her niece ... and she loves it also ...
Just sharing a memory

[Bruce in WV]

Most 36 cal round ball BP bullets are .350 unless you find an oddball mould.

I had a similar conversation with a lady from my old job. She was unhappy when she fired a full house 357 from her new snubby 66 and the front sight left a scar on her forehead! I had given her a bunch of 148WC loaded to modest velocity in 357 cases to practice with, but her boyfriend talked her into trying it out with the standard load. I don't know why he isn't the ex-boyfriend...

[JHC]

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.

I bet she'll do fine for what she probably wants it for.

A lady friend of ours got an Airweight J frame and I took her shooting her first time with it. She is from a hunting family but not much shooting herself. She took to the light J frame .38 very well easily managing DA center hits at a good pace at 7 yards. She wasn't seeking mastery for "outlier" events but something for close range personal self defense and she got something she'd carry.

[mmc45414]

As mentioned, grip size is a big part of the j-frame equation. I think those cushy Hogues are on Amazon for $12.

Also if she has not shot it at all maybe you have an opportunity to let her shoot something that is easy, like a 22 auto? Seems like it helps to set an achievement baseline, so if their performance degrades they know what they are actually capable of.

And maybe she got what we wouldn't recomend, but maybe made a move and made a decision. Maybe she didn't ask cause she didn't want the analysis paralysis.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[19852+]

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.

Yep ! Same here. I was going to say: Hey dude, you must have met your future MIL before you married your wife.. So no excuses..

[Duelist]

Yep ! Same here. I was going to say: Hey dude, you must have met your future MIL before you married your wife.. So no excuses..

It’s been decades, and she’s fine. We have a good relationship. A few months ago, she talked to me about getting her first pocketknife. It’s not like we don’t talk about things.

I appreciate everyone’s comments. The whole thing was a surprise to me, because she’s never talked about owning a pistol before, though she has shot some of mine over the years.

She will be getting a care package.

Personally, I’m just wondering what my FIL thinks about it!

[Poconnor]

I am not surprised that a gun store happily sold her the most expensive J frame they had. The salesman probably figured she will never shoot it, or only shoot it a few rounds. If she doesn’t like her snub the gun shop will love to take it back in trade for something else. I would ask her to dry fire it a lot before hitting the range. It will strengthen her grip/ trigger finger and hopefully smooth out the action. Just try 148 wadcutters. Maybe a S&W 43c .22LR might be an option.

[Lost River]

I noticed in your initial post that you said that she bought a lock box and a cable for her bed post. Clarifying here, does she intend this to be a house gun or a carry gun, or both?

If this is to be strictly a house gun, then you can (as you already know) provide an experience for her, demonstrating how much easier it is to shoot with a 4" K frame (as one example) loaded with .38s.

Don't say anything negative about her purchase. Simply let her experience shooting both, and let her reach her own conclusions, pros and cons.

She is obviously a smart person, and will quickly figure out what works best for her. You can simply lay out the options and be there to answer questions when asked, along with occasionally asking her a question (Socratic teaching) that she may not have considered since this is a new area of learning for her.


A 2.5-3" K frame might not be bad to have on hand as well if you have one, as well and different grips that can be swapped out.

Cheers!