Thanks for posting this. We know FOR CERTAIN this happened in NY - she probably ordered the gun from Sears or Marshalls, paid for next day shipping, and uh 
( just a slight jab at the convoluted gun laws that exist in this state)
Many years ago, when I had way more enthusiasm than patience and common sense, I saw an older new shooter at an indoor range a few stalls over from me having great difficulty hitting a B-27 target at ~ 21ft.
He also sucked at simply racking the slide on that steel Smith Wesson 5000 series semi auto. So I did what was natural at the time, I walked over, interrupted him and gave him a few pointers on how he could do better. He soaked it all in, and then said to me
"Son".
And I knew I had stepped in it bigly.
Turns out he was a cop, SWAT team leader and firearms instructor for his agency, recovering from a reconstructed shoulder something and was trying to get his body to behave the way it did before he busted things up.
The other thing I always take with me is, my first car had more rust than car, and I loved that damn thing. I would never tell anyone their kid was ugly, or their car was a POS, so I never have the inclination to speak disparagingly about the gun someone owns. If it doesn't hum I try to help them make it run. If they are not a good shooter I try to see if TOGETHER we can figure out what is blocking them from getting better. But mostly I try to listen, and hope to leave each interaction myself being better, and learning something new.
( just a slight jab at the convoluted gun laws that exist in this state)Many years ago, when I had way more enthusiasm than patience and common sense, I saw an older new shooter at an indoor range a few stalls over from me having great difficulty hitting a B-27 target at ~ 21ft.
He also sucked at simply racking the slide on that steel Smith Wesson 5000 series semi auto. So I did what was natural at the time, I walked over, interrupted him and gave him a few pointers on how he could do better. He soaked it all in, and then said to me
"Son".
And I knew I had stepped in it bigly.
Turns out he was a cop, SWAT team leader and firearms instructor for his agency, recovering from a reconstructed shoulder something and was trying to get his body to behave the way it did before he busted things up.
The other thing I always take with me is, my first car had more rust than car, and I loved that damn thing. I would never tell anyone their kid was ugly, or their car was a POS, so I never have the inclination to speak disparagingly about the gun someone owns. If it doesn't hum I try to help them make it run. If they are not a good shooter I try to see if TOGETHER we can figure out what is blocking them from getting better. But mostly I try to listen, and hope to leave each interaction myself being better, and learning something new.
