And Two New (Old) CPL Holders Are Trained

Today I held a private NRA class for my friend's in-laws who were interested in getting their Michigan Carry permits.

As it was a private class we held it conveniently at their house which was fortuitously close to a range that I often use for the shooting portion of the class.

We went through the classroom portion of the curriculum, including a heavy focus on Michigan laws regarding firearms and self-defense first. They were attentive, asked good questions and had an excellent comprehension of the material.

I then administered the required written test and they both scored very highly, only making mistakes where the way the question were written was a bit unclear.

The we went to the range and I demonstrated and then had them perform each of the required exercises.

They had some interesting firearms with them: A 1970s all-original Beretta 84 in .380 which ran perfectly and was a joy to shoot; a S&W 357 Magnum again from the 70s that was bought second hand from a guy that had bought it specially tuned by the S&W factory -beautiful factory bluing,m perfect original grips and a trigger beyond compare - the double action was unlike any revolver I've fired before - smooth and light beyond compare. The single-action required slightly more than a sneeze to let off a round.

They shot them very nicely as well. He's been shooting for years, she's a bit newer at it and found the S&W too heavy and the recoil from the 84 a bit snappy. So she tried my Glock 17 and liked it very much, and she was soon tearing the center out of the target once she relaxed and we had worked on her grip and stance a bit.

In addition to all the standard exercises, I brought out the Kahr with the laser sight and had them try the exercises out with it as well. They certainly saw the value of the laser and it certainly sounds like they'll buy one for whatever pistol she settles on for home defense and carry.

They were aged 71 and 64. It goes to show you're never too old to be both interested and capable of defending yourself. That, and you mess with old folks at your peril.