Several years ago one of my buddies set up some kind of reactive shooting course; steel plates etc. I took my S&W 60-4. The rest had high capacity 9mm's. I was also wearing a knife on my belt - a Loveless style Gent's Hunter. One of them looked at it and asked if that was my patch cutter. All laughed at that. But I knocked down 5 plates in a row with the 60-4, and all were impressed. That was along time ago, and probably could not do it now. But the memory still warms me a bit.
People seriously underestimate S&W snubs.
I used to live near Microsoft in Washington, and a lot of my friends worked there. They were always getting guys who had never held a gun interested in shooting and I put together a little bit of a line up to help them learn to shoot right from the start. At least handguns, we didn't have a rifle range.
In any case I would start them off with a S&W Single Shot Third Model. Perfect trigger, light, non-threatening, accurate as anything you care to pick up and point at paper, and it had thumb rest target grips that force you to hold it right. That gun taught them that they were a good shot, with that first shot they ever fired, and that any failures after that are just because of how they are holding the gun, or how they are reacting to the recoil.
Moved on up through the guns (a .22 auto to learn automatics, Pre-14 to be introduced to center fire, and so on until they got to shoot a .44 mag if they wanted).
The thing that I always made sure to do though was to pull out my 2' Pre-model 10. I'd have them shoot it single action. The misconception that a short barrel automatically equals inaccurate is immediately dispelled.
I also used to take that gun to the range, put the target all the way to the end, and quickly fire a decent grouping. Not that I'm a good shot, but with single action and a pre-model 10, and a bit of wrist strength, it's not difficult at all to put a pretty tight group of holes on paper at 50'. At least it is with a trigger that good.
It usually stunned everyone around, made them think I was some kind of magic shot. Which was always funny because I am absolutely not.
Out at the rifle range the really fun thing to do is to haul out the old Registered Magnum and put a respectable group on paper at 200 yds. It's... easy. The first time we tried that my group of friends were all able to do it, and everyone was staggered by how easy it was. For people that don't know however, it makes you look like some kind of savant. I highly recommend it.
) steel and hardwood guns for a song. Fingers Crossed!!!
