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The Unusual to Bizarre in Early Professional Baseball
There were many reported bizarre and unusual incidents and events in baseball featuring various
baseball characters that seemed to be acting in an epic saga that combined comedy, mystery, and
fantasy. Some of these incidents may be embellished, or they may not be apocryphal. Some though,
are so unusual and bizarre, that I believe no one could make them up. Some of the events are well
documented and there?s no question that they actually happened.
Flame On:
Chris von der Ahe became the owner of the St. Louis Browns in 1882. He was said to be the first
owner to sell hot dogs at his ballpark. He encouraged his players to brawl with their opponents for
entertainment value, and by dropping his home game ticket prices to 25 cents, he was able to lead
the Majors in attendance. He claimed to have made back his losses by selling beer.
Von der Ahe erected a large statue of himself at a major park in St. Louis, and throughout his stint
as owner of the Browns, he was embroiled in controversy and was ridiculed by the media. Legal and
business problems plagued him.
At one point he hired Charles Comiskey, who would become legendary in baseball, to manage his
team and play first base. Comiskey turned out to be a very successful manager, winning the league
championship four years in a row. His fifth year at the helm was less than successful, and von der
Ahe fired Comiskey and managed the club himself.
The Browns? owner got himself into financial trouble, and his own bondsman kidnapped him in an
attempt to get him to pay his bills. Von der Ahe also accidentally burned his own ballpark down by
setting out hundreds of candles on the field and near the dugout in an attempt to get his players to
finish a game at dusk.
Merkle Debacle:
The 1908 season in the National League produced a bizarre finale that has come to be known as
the Merkle Incident. It started in a regular season game between the Giants and the Cubs at the
Polo Grounds-- tie score, two outs, bottom of the ninth, runners on first and third. Merkle was on first.
A single was hit, the runner scored from third, and thinking that the Giants had won, Merkle ran to
the clubhouse instead of advancing to second base. One of the Cubs? fielders claimed to have
retrieved the ball and tagged second base, which no official saw. There was an official protest by the
Cubs, and Merkle was ruled a force out at second, wiping out the game winning run.
The League ordered that if it were necessary the game would be replayed at the end of the season.
The Cubs and Giants ended the regular season tied for first place. The Cubs won the replayed
game and subsequently, the World Series. The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series since.
Black Sox:
The White Sox of 1919, or as they have become widely known-- the "Black Sox", conspired (8 of
them) to throw the World Series. After the series there were rumors about the fix, creating a
controversy that led to an investigation. Eddie Cicotte admitted his part in the conspiracy, followed
by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Even though they broke no law, all eight involved were suspended from
baseball. The players were eventually acquitted, yet baseball ruled they were permanently ineligible
to play.
Team Work:
Pitcher Buck O?Brien?s record was 20-13 for Boston. He gave up 5 runs in the first inning of game
six of the 1912 World Series subsequently losing the game. His teammates beat him up after the
game. To add insult to injury, Boston won the World Series and O?Brien was traded to the Chicago
White Sox.
The Umpire Strikes Back:
Umpire Tim Hurst had a bad reputation for settling arguments by striking arguing players on their
heads with his mask or his fists. In 1897 an irate fan threw a beer stein at Hurst. The umpire tossed it
back, hit an innocent fan, was fined and dismissed by the American League.
After a stint of 5 years in the National League as an umpire, Hurst rejoined the American League. An
argument with New York manager Clark Griffith resulted in Hurst knocking him cold. In 1909, he
intentionally spit in the eye of Athletics second baseman Eddie Collins, which ended an argument but
started a riot. The American League fired Hurst for a second time.
Fact or myth?
Here are some strange and bizarre events that have been reported over the years.
* Rumor has it Charlie Hough once broke his finger shaking hands with a friend.
* Some sources say Red Murray and Ray Caldwell were struck by lightning during a game.
* It is well documented that Ted Williams once picked up a reporter (Hy Hurwitz) by his necktie, and
then cut the tie off with scissors.
* Some sources say Minor league umpires Samuel White and Ora Jennings were actually killed by
fans during a game.
* Babe Herman reportedly once doubled into a double play.
* It has been said that Ed Stewart once swung the bat so hard he knocked himself out.
* Some sources say Dan Friend once played the outfield in his robe.
* Legend has it Marv Thorneberry once hit a ball that was ruled a triple but he was called out for not
tagging first and second base.
* Jackie Brandt once said his inconsistent defensive play was due to the fact that when he ran hard,
his eyeballs jumped up and down.
* Jim Kern reportedly once came out on the field with his uniform on backwards and fell backward off
the mound, suffering a concussion.
Perhaps the strangest of the bizarre come in the form of quotes from the inimitable Yogi Berra:
* "I didn?t really say everything I said."
* "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical."
* "Nobody goes there anymore; it?s too crowded."
* "This is like deja vu all over again."
* "If you come to a fork in the road, take it."
* "It?s never happened in the World Series competition, and it still hasn?t."
* "Nobody can hit and think at the same time."
This article was written by FR Penn sponsored by http://www.stubhub.com. If you?re looking for
tickets to see your favorite team live in action, look no further than Stubhub.com where fans buy and
sell the hottest baseball tickets.
http://www.stubhub.com
There were many reported bizarre and unusual incidents and events in baseball featuring various
baseball characters that seemed to be acting in an epic saga that combined comedy, mystery, and
fantasy. Some of these incidents may be embellished, or they may not be apocryphal. Some though,
are so unusual and bizarre, that I believe no one could make them up. Some of the events are well
documented and there?s no question that they actually happened.
Flame On:
Chris von der Ahe became the owner of the St. Louis Browns in 1882. He was said to be the first
owner to sell hot dogs at his ballpark. He encouraged his players to brawl with their opponents for
entertainment value, and by dropping his home game ticket prices to 25 cents, he was able to lead
the Majors in attendance. He claimed to have made back his losses by selling beer.
Von der Ahe erected a large statue of himself at a major park in St. Louis, and throughout his stint
as owner of the Browns, he was embroiled in controversy and was ridiculed by the media. Legal and
business problems plagued him.
At one point he hired Charles Comiskey, who would become legendary in baseball, to manage his
team and play first base. Comiskey turned out to be a very successful manager, winning the league
championship four years in a row. His fifth year at the helm was less than successful, and von der
Ahe fired Comiskey and managed the club himself.
The Browns? owner got himself into financial trouble, and his own bondsman kidnapped him in an
attempt to get him to pay his bills. Von der Ahe also accidentally burned his own ballpark down by
setting out hundreds of candles on the field and near the dugout in an attempt to get his players to
finish a game at dusk.
Merkle Debacle:
The 1908 season in the National League produced a bizarre finale that has come to be known as
the Merkle Incident. It started in a regular season game between the Giants and the Cubs at the
Polo Grounds-- tie score, two outs, bottom of the ninth, runners on first and third. Merkle was on first.
A single was hit, the runner scored from third, and thinking that the Giants had won, Merkle ran to
the clubhouse instead of advancing to second base. One of the Cubs? fielders claimed to have
retrieved the ball and tagged second base, which no official saw. There was an official protest by the
Cubs, and Merkle was ruled a force out at second, wiping out the game winning run.
The League ordered that if it were necessary the game would be replayed at the end of the season.
The Cubs and Giants ended the regular season tied for first place. The Cubs won the replayed
game and subsequently, the World Series. The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series since.
Black Sox:
The White Sox of 1919, or as they have become widely known-- the "Black Sox", conspired (8 of
them) to throw the World Series. After the series there were rumors about the fix, creating a
controversy that led to an investigation. Eddie Cicotte admitted his part in the conspiracy, followed
by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Even though they broke no law, all eight involved were suspended from
baseball. The players were eventually acquitted, yet baseball ruled they were permanently ineligible
to play.
Team Work:
Pitcher Buck O?Brien?s record was 20-13 for Boston. He gave up 5 runs in the first inning of game
six of the 1912 World Series subsequently losing the game. His teammates beat him up after the
game. To add insult to injury, Boston won the World Series and O?Brien was traded to the Chicago
White Sox.
The Umpire Strikes Back:
Umpire Tim Hurst had a bad reputation for settling arguments by striking arguing players on their
heads with his mask or his fists. In 1897 an irate fan threw a beer stein at Hurst. The umpire tossed it
back, hit an innocent fan, was fined and dismissed by the American League.
After a stint of 5 years in the National League as an umpire, Hurst rejoined the American League. An
argument with New York manager Clark Griffith resulted in Hurst knocking him cold. In 1909, he
intentionally spit in the eye of Athletics second baseman Eddie Collins, which ended an argument but
started a riot. The American League fired Hurst for a second time.
Fact or myth?
Here are some strange and bizarre events that have been reported over the years.
* Rumor has it Charlie Hough once broke his finger shaking hands with a friend.
* Some sources say Red Murray and Ray Caldwell were struck by lightning during a game.
* It is well documented that Ted Williams once picked up a reporter (Hy Hurwitz) by his necktie, and
then cut the tie off with scissors.
* Some sources say Minor league umpires Samuel White and Ora Jennings were actually killed by
fans during a game.
* Babe Herman reportedly once doubled into a double play.
* It has been said that Ed Stewart once swung the bat so hard he knocked himself out.
* Some sources say Dan Friend once played the outfield in his robe.
* Legend has it Marv Thorneberry once hit a ball that was ruled a triple but he was called out for not
tagging first and second base.
* Jackie Brandt once said his inconsistent defensive play was due to the fact that when he ran hard,
his eyeballs jumped up and down.
* Jim Kern reportedly once came out on the field with his uniform on backwards and fell backward off
the mound, suffering a concussion.
Perhaps the strangest of the bizarre come in the form of quotes from the inimitable Yogi Berra:
* "I didn?t really say everything I said."
* "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical."
* "Nobody goes there anymore; it?s too crowded."
* "This is like deja vu all over again."
* "If you come to a fork in the road, take it."
* "It?s never happened in the World Series competition, and it still hasn?t."
* "Nobody can hit and think at the same time."
This article was written by FR Penn sponsored by http://www.stubhub.com. If you?re looking for
tickets to see your favorite team live in action, look no further than Stubhub.com where fans buy and
sell the hottest baseball tickets.
http://www.stubhub.com
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Baseball History may be ever Changing but some things never Change
Baseball history, like all history, certainly is ever changing, but some aspects of the game have
remained unchanged for well over a half-century. There are a few reasons for this - over time the
basic rules of the game have for the most part remained unaltered; the development of essential
skills continues to involve an investment of time and personnel by ball clubs; and fans have always
flocked to see money players and exciting teams.
In 1976, Major League Baseball (MLB) was changed forever with the birth of free agency. Since its
inception, the owners had held power over all players. They could trade anyone at anytime and
control, with relative ease, what individuals would be paid. Great players, like Babe Ruth, usually
commanded solid salaries but with free agency players were able to negotiate their contracts and
to go to a team willing to pay their price.
Still, as it had always been, players had to have the skills a team needed to get their price. The
one major difference was that players were now able to sign guaranteed contracts, which stated
that they would be paid their salary no matter how they performed and even if they were injured.
Seventy-three years before free agency, professional baseball underwent a change that would
influence the way in which the Majors conducted business and found players. In 1903 the National
Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, better known as the Minor Leagues, was formed in
order to create some order in which Major League teams acquired players from small market clubs.
In the 1930s the great Branch Rickey developed the structure for what we know today as the
"Minor Leagues." Rickey?s formalization of the "Minors," which became dedicated to developing
players who could perform in the Majors, was jokingly called the "farm system" because small town
clubs were raising young players "like corn" down on the farm.
Since the 1930s, MLB has relied upon affiliate farm teams to develop players for the big leagues to
supply promising prospects for trades, or to simply provide adequate replacements when
necessary. Today, the Minor League system is highly developed, bringing players up through A,
AA, and AAA ball. When a team is looking to make a trade for a solid Major Leaguer, one way they
can sweeten the deal is by including prospects from the minors. Additionally, one way for owners to
keep costs down is to bring up players from the "farm team" when they?re ready. By doing this a
MLB team can save millions of dollars.
Bringing up an adequate second baseman from the minors and paying him the minimum $327,000
for the season can prove to have more value than paying a veteran infielder 2.5 million dollars.
Using a certain number of non-veterans allows a team to spend more money on other positions,
especially pitching, which is always at a premium and comes at a high price.
The Minor Leagues have always been a cost-saving venture for clubs but with today?s exorbitant
salaries, the strength of the players union, and most clubs carrying payrolls of under one-hundred
million dollars, the strategic use of Minor League players can make the difference in both turning a
profit and winning the World Series.
Using players from the farm club actually gives owners more power, since those team members
who have been brought up are not eligible for salary arbitration until they have three years in the
Majors and cannot become free agents until they?ve accumulated six or more years in the big
leagues. Today, for a brief part of a player?s career, National and American League owners have
the power they used to possess over every player prior to 1976.
Teams looking to win a championship and attract as much revenue as possible have often invested
money in key players. Throughout baseball?s history, there have been owners willing to pay more
than others. In 1919, some of the Chicago White Sox, which was owned by Charles Comiskey,
decided to throw the World Series to their National League counterparts, the Cincinnati Reds.
The White Sox players felt they were both underpaid and under-appreciated by their boss and
figured if they bet on the underdog Reds and insured that the National Leaguers would win, they?d
make a tidy profit. They did just that, but they also got caught. It became known as the Black Sox
Scandal of 1919, and it?s a constant reminder to owners of how a man like Comiskey, who had a
whole lot of money, could be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Of course, spending a lot of money does not insure a team will win the World Series or even the
League Championship. Since the New York Yankees payroll exceeded one hundred millions dollars
five years ago, they?ve been unable to win it all. The last few years Steinbrenner and company
have been handing over two hundred million in team pay. Last year?s champs, the Chicago White
Sox, paid out a little over seventy-five million to their players. It was ironic, because they had not
won the Series since 1917, prior to the big scandal.
Most analysts agree that a MLB club needs to wisely spend about seventy million to be competitive.
That?s why some pundits believe that the Toronto Blue Jays, who reached that magic salary mark
this season by adding quality players and about thirty million to their pay roll, are a club to watch.
The basic idea at work regarding salary prior to free agency is that a happy player - one who feels
he?s being treated and paid fairly - can equal a happy owner with a winning team. After free
agency, the thought became that in order to compete a team had to pay a player what the market
dictated and owners, to a degree, had the ability to control that market. These are, in essence, two
sides of the same coin.
If we could resurrect Cy Young, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Home Run Baker and bring them out to
the ballpark, they?d certainly still understand the game, even though it has changed. Since their
time, there has been the development of specialty pitchers, creation of artificial turf, and the
addition of the designated hitter in the American League. The mound, strike zone, and
scoreboards are all different too.
Player skills are still fundamentally the same, except more advanced. They would get the idea that
a better player should command more money than a player with less skill. But the overall
economics of the game would probably baffle those great players. That has added a new type of
off-field strategy that owners who want to win must master. Since the turn of the 19th century, it?s
been the greatest change MLB has seen.
About the author:
This article was written by Paul Mroczka sponsored by http://www.stubhub.com. If you?re looking
for baseball tickets to see your favorite team live in action, look no further than Stubhub.com where
fans buy and sell the hottest sports tickets.
http://www.stubhub.com/
Baseball history, like all history, certainly is ever changing, but some aspects of the game have
remained unchanged for well over a half-century. There are a few reasons for this - over time the
basic rules of the game have for the most part remained unaltered; the development of essential
skills continues to involve an investment of time and personnel by ball clubs; and fans have always
flocked to see money players and exciting teams.
In 1976, Major League Baseball (MLB) was changed forever with the birth of free agency. Since its
inception, the owners had held power over all players. They could trade anyone at anytime and
control, with relative ease, what individuals would be paid. Great players, like Babe Ruth, usually
commanded solid salaries but with free agency players were able to negotiate their contracts and
to go to a team willing to pay their price.
Still, as it had always been, players had to have the skills a team needed to get their price. The
one major difference was that players were now able to sign guaranteed contracts, which stated
that they would be paid their salary no matter how they performed and even if they were injured.
Seventy-three years before free agency, professional baseball underwent a change that would
influence the way in which the Majors conducted business and found players. In 1903 the National
Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, better known as the Minor Leagues, was formed in
order to create some order in which Major League teams acquired players from small market clubs.
In the 1930s the great Branch Rickey developed the structure for what we know today as the
"Minor Leagues." Rickey?s formalization of the "Minors," which became dedicated to developing
players who could perform in the Majors, was jokingly called the "farm system" because small town
clubs were raising young players "like corn" down on the farm.
Since the 1930s, MLB has relied upon affiliate farm teams to develop players for the big leagues to
supply promising prospects for trades, or to simply provide adequate replacements when
necessary. Today, the Minor League system is highly developed, bringing players up through A,
AA, and AAA ball. When a team is looking to make a trade for a solid Major Leaguer, one way they
can sweeten the deal is by including prospects from the minors. Additionally, one way for owners to
keep costs down is to bring up players from the "farm team" when they?re ready. By doing this a
MLB team can save millions of dollars.
Bringing up an adequate second baseman from the minors and paying him the minimum $327,000
for the season can prove to have more value than paying a veteran infielder 2.5 million dollars.
Using a certain number of non-veterans allows a team to spend more money on other positions,
especially pitching, which is always at a premium and comes at a high price.
The Minor Leagues have always been a cost-saving venture for clubs but with today?s exorbitant
salaries, the strength of the players union, and most clubs carrying payrolls of under one-hundred
million dollars, the strategic use of Minor League players can make the difference in both turning a
profit and winning the World Series.
Using players from the farm club actually gives owners more power, since those team members
who have been brought up are not eligible for salary arbitration until they have three years in the
Majors and cannot become free agents until they?ve accumulated six or more years in the big
leagues. Today, for a brief part of a player?s career, National and American League owners have
the power they used to possess over every player prior to 1976.
Teams looking to win a championship and attract as much revenue as possible have often invested
money in key players. Throughout baseball?s history, there have been owners willing to pay more
than others. In 1919, some of the Chicago White Sox, which was owned by Charles Comiskey,
decided to throw the World Series to their National League counterparts, the Cincinnati Reds.
The White Sox players felt they were both underpaid and under-appreciated by their boss and
figured if they bet on the underdog Reds and insured that the National Leaguers would win, they?d
make a tidy profit. They did just that, but they also got caught. It became known as the Black Sox
Scandal of 1919, and it?s a constant reminder to owners of how a man like Comiskey, who had a
whole lot of money, could be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Of course, spending a lot of money does not insure a team will win the World Series or even the
League Championship. Since the New York Yankees payroll exceeded one hundred millions dollars
five years ago, they?ve been unable to win it all. The last few years Steinbrenner and company
have been handing over two hundred million in team pay. Last year?s champs, the Chicago White
Sox, paid out a little over seventy-five million to their players. It was ironic, because they had not
won the Series since 1917, prior to the big scandal.
Most analysts agree that a MLB club needs to wisely spend about seventy million to be competitive.
That?s why some pundits believe that the Toronto Blue Jays, who reached that magic salary mark
this season by adding quality players and about thirty million to their pay roll, are a club to watch.
The basic idea at work regarding salary prior to free agency is that a happy player - one who feels
he?s being treated and paid fairly - can equal a happy owner with a winning team. After free
agency, the thought became that in order to compete a team had to pay a player what the market
dictated and owners, to a degree, had the ability to control that market. These are, in essence, two
sides of the same coin.
If we could resurrect Cy Young, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Home Run Baker and bring them out to
the ballpark, they?d certainly still understand the game, even though it has changed. Since their
time, there has been the development of specialty pitchers, creation of artificial turf, and the
addition of the designated hitter in the American League. The mound, strike zone, and
scoreboards are all different too.
Player skills are still fundamentally the same, except more advanced. They would get the idea that
a better player should command more money than a player with less skill. But the overall
economics of the game would probably baffle those great players. That has added a new type of
off-field strategy that owners who want to win must master. Since the turn of the 19th century, it?s
been the greatest change MLB has seen.
About the author:
This article was written by Paul Mroczka sponsored by http://www.stubhub.com. If you?re looking
for baseball tickets to see your favorite team live in action, look no further than Stubhub.com where
fans buy and sell the hottest sports tickets.
http://www.stubhub.com/
David Nash | Published 05/11/2006
Teach You Wife to Shoot
I have to say I started all wrong. On my first real date with my wife, I took her out to go shooting.
Now my wife did not know where we were going and had not really seen me since I had left for the
Marines. We dated a few times in high school but never really hit it off. Imagine how she felt when
I surprised her by pulling into the local gravel pit and pulling out a trunk full of guns, literally!
She took it pretty well, especially how I kept giving her new guns to shoot with many ?tips? on why
she was not hitting anything and amazingly enough, we later married. I took some courses to learn
how to teach and not just shoot. Unfortunately, my wife was still not very comfortable with me
having or carrying guns. It was not until an incident at the local Wal-Mart, where my wife felt we
were being followed by a guy that had paid just a little too much attention to our kid that she started
to think maybe carrying guns wasn?t such a bad idea.
I convinced her to give me another chance at the range, and we tried again. This time I looked at it
from a new perspective, and not only did my wife do well, she actually enjoyed her time on the
range. From this experience, I have created a set of guidelines to use when teaching someone
how to shoot.
1.Do not pressure her. This is not boot camp; you will find that high-pressure tactics are
counterproductive. Trying to pressure your wife to do something she does not want to do will only
ensure she will never accept it.
2.Have the appropriate safety gear. Having eye and ear protection ready and explaining their use
will help allay any fears. Also, before the firearms are introduced, go over the four basic firearm
safety rules:
a.Every handgun is loaded, even if it is disassembled.
b.Never point your handgun at anything you do not intend to destroy.
c.Keep your handgun on safe until you are ready to fire.
d.Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
3.Start with a simple, small caliber firearm. Explain and show the basic operating principles of the
firearm you use. For teaching long guns, I like either a .22 semi auto like a Ruger 10/22, or a
single shot break action .410. If I am teaching pistol use I prefer a .22 or a .38 revolver. Make
sure that if you start with a magazine fed firearm, you keep a ready supply of loaded magazines.
4.Do not use humanoid targets. If it?s an outdoor range and we are using long guns, I like stale
cookies. They break in a satisfying way and are biodegradable. For pistols, a regular target
turned around with a paper plate stapled to the center gives a large non-threatening target.
5.Last but not least, go slow. Answer any questions simply without going into a long technological
lecture. The point of the first few sessions is to allay fears and allow your wife to become
accustomed to shooting.
You will find, as I have, if you make her feel secure, allow her to go at her own pace and do not
pressure her, she will rapidly begin to enjoy this sport. My wife took to shooting like a natural, and
now she gets better range scores than I do. She is also slowly getting involved into the gun
culture, working on becoming an instructor, and reading and subscribing to firearm magazines.
When this started, I was all for it. When my wife started telling me which guns she wanted all for
her own, I was ecstatic. There are drawbacks to involving your wife into your hobby. The last four
guns we bought are hers, so is the last range bag and all the ammo. I have half of an AR-15 in the
closet that I have never been able to finish because as soon as I get ready to buy my last set of
parts, somebody comes out with a ?pretty? gun?
Teach You Wife to Shoot
I have to say I started all wrong. On my first real date with my wife, I took her out to go shooting.
Now my wife did not know where we were going and had not really seen me since I had left for the
Marines. We dated a few times in high school but never really hit it off. Imagine how she felt when
I surprised her by pulling into the local gravel pit and pulling out a trunk full of guns, literally!
She took it pretty well, especially how I kept giving her new guns to shoot with many ?tips? on why
she was not hitting anything and amazingly enough, we later married. I took some courses to learn
how to teach and not just shoot. Unfortunately, my wife was still not very comfortable with me
having or carrying guns. It was not until an incident at the local Wal-Mart, where my wife felt we
were being followed by a guy that had paid just a little too much attention to our kid that she started
to think maybe carrying guns wasn?t such a bad idea.
I convinced her to give me another chance at the range, and we tried again. This time I looked at it
from a new perspective, and not only did my wife do well, she actually enjoyed her time on the
range. From this experience, I have created a set of guidelines to use when teaching someone
how to shoot.
1.Do not pressure her. This is not boot camp; you will find that high-pressure tactics are
counterproductive. Trying to pressure your wife to do something she does not want to do will only
ensure she will never accept it.
2.Have the appropriate safety gear. Having eye and ear protection ready and explaining their use
will help allay any fears. Also, before the firearms are introduced, go over the four basic firearm
safety rules:
a.Every handgun is loaded, even if it is disassembled.
b.Never point your handgun at anything you do not intend to destroy.
c.Keep your handgun on safe until you are ready to fire.
d.Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
3.Start with a simple, small caliber firearm. Explain and show the basic operating principles of the
firearm you use. For teaching long guns, I like either a .22 semi auto like a Ruger 10/22, or a
single shot break action .410. If I am teaching pistol use I prefer a .22 or a .38 revolver. Make
sure that if you start with a magazine fed firearm, you keep a ready supply of loaded magazines.
4.Do not use humanoid targets. If it?s an outdoor range and we are using long guns, I like stale
cookies. They break in a satisfying way and are biodegradable. For pistols, a regular target
turned around with a paper plate stapled to the center gives a large non-threatening target.
5.Last but not least, go slow. Answer any questions simply without going into a long technological
lecture. The point of the first few sessions is to allay fears and allow your wife to become
accustomed to shooting.
You will find, as I have, if you make her feel secure, allow her to go at her own pace and do not
pressure her, she will rapidly begin to enjoy this sport. My wife took to shooting like a natural, and
now she gets better range scores than I do. She is also slowly getting involved into the gun
culture, working on becoming an instructor, and reading and subscribing to firearm magazines.
When this started, I was all for it. When my wife started telling me which guns she wanted all for
her own, I was ecstatic. There are drawbacks to involving your wife into your hobby. The last four
guns we bought are hers, so is the last range bag and all the ammo. I have half of an AR-15 in the
closet that I have never been able to finish because as soon as I get ready to buy my last set of
parts, somebody comes out with a ?pretty? gun?
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