My Mother's First Time Shooting A Rifle

Song:  Lotus

Group:  Secret Garden

This is a partial repost of an article from my other blog:

2E Child

My mother, Alex, and I, headed off to the mountains to shoot

Alex's semi auto Marlin 795 (without scope)

(Late August 2015).

This was the first time my mother had ever shot a rifle.

She was at first...apprehensive.

When my mother first moved here to Reno...

I had explained to her that she would be starting a whole new way of living.

I had told her that being 76 years old is no excuse for not living life to the fullest.

Besides living the basic three

(Nutritious and Delicious Diet / Exercise / Deep Restorative Sleep)...

she was going to say yes to truly living life by doing new things...

and creating magical memories for her to savor for the rest of her life.

In Nevada...

so long as you are outside of the city limits on public land...

you may just take your firearms and set up a target...

and set up your own impromptu shooting range

(so long as you do it safely).

This is a favorite place of mine to shoot...just half an hour from home.

I have taken Alex here many times.

When we arrived...

I had Alex show my mother how to load the magazines with ammunition.

In the meantime...

I had set up the rotating metal targets downrange.

I then had Alex set up his kneeling and prone position as I took my mother forward

with the rifle so I could have her shoot from the standing unsupported position.

I first had her practice without the magazine of ammunition.

We then went live with full ammunition.

My mother was missing the target at first...

so I had her rest.

It was then Alex's turn from the kneeling position.

I had my mother watch Alex as he fired.

Alex did well hitting the heavy free rotating metal targets.

It was then my mother's turn again.

This time...

she did much better.

My mother with a big smile and happy laughter.

My mother was as happy as a school girl 

after she realized that she could...in fact...learn to shoot.

This was after her second time hitting the target...

and knowing that it wasn't just a fluke shot the first time.

It was at this point that she realized how fun shooting could be.

However...she would soon learn that it is so much more.

It was then Alex's turn from the standing unsupported position...

and then from the prone position.

My mother counting the hits Alex made on the targets.

After their rounds of shooting...

I had Alex retrieve the targets...

and I had my mother pick up the ground cloth...

as I secured the weapon in the car.

I had them come to me as I sat on the back of the car with the hatch open...

and I had then explained about the true nature of non-combat shooting.

In a nut shell...

this is what I had said:

In order to achieve accurate results from a distance...

you must first know, and learn how to control, your body.

Besides fine motor control...

you must control your breathing.

You must fire between the breaths...

and later, as the distances become more extreme with a scope...

you will have to time your shots between your own heartbeats.

The more in tune you are with your body...

the more calm your mind.

The more calm your mind...

the more calm your body.

The more calm your body...

the more accurate your shot.

This is the Zen of shooting.

After our talk at the car...

I then had them turn around to look toward the sunset.

This would be a fitting end to a great evening of shooting.

It is not enough to merely have fun...

our aim was to make it a time of magic...

something which was truly remarkable...

the creation of a magical memory.

This is a time that Alex can remember that he had with his grandmother...

and she with him...

and this served to reinforce to my mother...

that to say yes to new experiences...

is to say yes to life.

I had also explained that the timing of sunset at the end was no accident.

It is was our carrot.

I always explain that the key to enjoying new objectives...

is to always place a carrot at the end...

something with which to look forward...

to bring peace of mind and to mark the experience in your mind...

and to bring the event to a fitting close...

something which would make it truly memorable.

And a memorable time it was.

The sky was turning pink...

the wind was blowing our hair back...

and washing over us in a way which felt magical.

My mother had a magical evening with a new experience to savor.

Their bodies were relaxed...and in tune with their minds.

This was a fitting end to a beautiful time had.

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In my next article...

I will show some of the hikes my mother had gone on a couple of months ago.