I have a range report to share. No target pics to show because it's more about someone experiencing shooting a revolver for the first time ever.
The young man in the pictures is from Germany (he's very polite and speaks perfect English). Because he is a German citizen, strict rules have made it practically impossible for him to own a handgun, or any high powered rifle. A .22 rifle is the only firearm that he has ever shot before he came to the U.S..
Two years ago he was an exchange student. While attending the local high school, he and my girlfriend's daughter hit it off and have become best of friends. Last month he returned to visit her and the family...and do some more shooting, which he couldn't get enough of before.
My girlfriend informed me that the young man wanted to shoot a revolver, which was a pleasant surprise to me. He and his high school friends have spent time at a range shooting .45 ACP and 9mm semi-autos, but he had yet to shoot a revolver. So i offered to take him to the range. There were 4 different frame size S&Ws in the bag... including a 642-1, a 66-1 snub, the 686-4, and a 4" 610-2.
I started him out on the 686 with .38. He handled that very well, and being the first time he handled a revolver, he grinned ear to ear the entire time he shot the first 7 rounds.
Next came the 66 snub loaded with .38. Although it was, as he put it, "uncomfortable" because of the bare backstrap, he still wanted to try some Magnum rounds (that came later).
He then shot the 642. He understood that it was made for carrying, but he wasn't comfortable shooting that small of a gun. He put only 15 rounds through the 642.
He then shot some S&W .40s out of the 610. He had never seen moonclips before, so that method of loading the cylinder was all new to him. He had no problem handling the .40.
Next he tried the 610 with 10mm. He was curious as to why the .40s needed to be in moonclips while the 10mm did not. After the explanation, he fired off a few cylinders. He liked shooting the 10mm, but he felt that the N frame was "too large"...he preferred the size and feel of the 686.
Back to the 686, and this time it was .357. Although he was given the heads-up and was expecting the recoil, he was amazed at the difference between Magnums and .38s. He was really enjoying the moment.
Next came the 66 snub with some Magnums. That flat out made him understand the difference in recoil regarding barrel length. He was shaking the 'pain' from his hand after doing a few cylinders of .357 in the snub.
After trying them all he wanted to shoot the 686 again. It was clearly his favorite because if its size and feel.
He shoots right-handed, and the majority of his shots were right-of-center. Because he was new to revolvers and slightly nervous and tense, I wasn't sure what to attribute the consistently right-of-center shots to.
His college major is mechanical engineering... while looking at that picture of him inspecting the 686, i'm wondering if he's thinking of a way to make the cylinder an 8 rounder.
Sadly, he fears that some sort of repercussion from his mother is possible, so he will not be sharing the experience with the parents. I really didn't want to black out his ear-to-ear grin picture, but it is better for him that i do.
He has since returned home. He'll be back here again next year.
The young man in the pictures is from Germany (he's very polite and speaks perfect English). Because he is a German citizen, strict rules have made it practically impossible for him to own a handgun, or any high powered rifle. A .22 rifle is the only firearm that he has ever shot before he came to the U.S..
Two years ago he was an exchange student. While attending the local high school, he and my girlfriend's daughter hit it off and have become best of friends. Last month he returned to visit her and the family...and do some more shooting, which he couldn't get enough of before.
My girlfriend informed me that the young man wanted to shoot a revolver, which was a pleasant surprise to me. He and his high school friends have spent time at a range shooting .45 ACP and 9mm semi-autos, but he had yet to shoot a revolver. So i offered to take him to the range. There were 4 different frame size S&Ws in the bag... including a 642-1, a 66-1 snub, the 686-4, and a 4" 610-2.
I started him out on the 686 with .38. He handled that very well, and being the first time he handled a revolver, he grinned ear to ear the entire time he shot the first 7 rounds.
Next came the 66 snub loaded with .38. Although it was, as he put it, "uncomfortable" because of the bare backstrap, he still wanted to try some Magnum rounds (that came later).
He then shot the 642. He understood that it was made for carrying, but he wasn't comfortable shooting that small of a gun. He put only 15 rounds through the 642.
He then shot some S&W .40s out of the 610. He had never seen moonclips before, so that method of loading the cylinder was all new to him. He had no problem handling the .40.
Next he tried the 610 with 10mm. He was curious as to why the .40s needed to be in moonclips while the 10mm did not. After the explanation, he fired off a few cylinders. He liked shooting the 10mm, but he felt that the N frame was "too large"...he preferred the size and feel of the 686.
Back to the 686, and this time it was .357. Although he was given the heads-up and was expecting the recoil, he was amazed at the difference between Magnums and .38s. He was really enjoying the moment.
Next came the 66 snub with some Magnums. That flat out made him understand the difference in recoil regarding barrel length. He was shaking the 'pain' from his hand after doing a few cylinders of .357 in the snub.
After trying them all he wanted to shoot the 686 again. It was clearly his favorite because if its size and feel.
He shoots right-handed, and the majority of his shots were right-of-center. Because he was new to revolvers and slightly nervous and tense, I wasn't sure what to attribute the consistently right-of-center shots to.
His college major is mechanical engineering... while looking at that picture of him inspecting the 686, i'm wondering if he's thinking of a way to make the cylinder an 8 rounder.
Sadly, he fears that some sort of repercussion from his mother is possible, so he will not be sharing the experience with the parents. I really didn't want to black out his ear-to-ear grin picture, but it is better for him that i do.
He has since returned home. He'll be back here again next year.
