Wednesday, October 01, 2008 Rama: Small hands on a large gun By Karlon N. Rama Stage Five
FROM Assistant Cebu Provincial Prosecutor Jay Paradiang comes today’s query (jparadiang@yahoo.com).
“One time I brought my eldest child to a range for him to see what it looks like and to let him hear the sound of gunfire and eventually try shooting a few rounds from my Norinco 9mm.”
From a distance of seven to eight meters, my son fired 28 shots. Modesty aside, the range officer commended my son for landing decent shots on the target board even though it was his first time to fire a gun and that he was shooting (Full Metal Jacket) bullets. After the session, the range officer encouraged my son to come back but he suggested that it would be better if my son actually shoot low-caliber guns, such as the .22, .38 or the .380.”
“I agreed with him because we both observed my son had difficulty handling or gripping the unit during and after the recoil owing to the compact frame of the gun. Even with its small size, the gun is still big at the small hands of my son.”
“In your opinion, what gun, pistol or revolver, and caliber is appropriate and proper for my 11-year-old son?”
“And speaking of shooting ranges, I’ve been to both an outdoor and an indoor range. But I cannot say which is better. What is your take on this?”
Thanks for the e-mail, Fiscal. Now I feel like I’m on the witness stand.
Anyhow, it is kind of hard to give an analysis over something I didn’t actually see.
Still, as far as the caliber is concerned, and taking into account your observation on how he was scoring decent hits on the target board, he does not appear to be having any serious problems managing your gun’s recoil.
Now I may be wrong. As I said, I wasn’t there. But if your kid is making good hits, then we can safely speculate that he is shooting the right caliber for size and weight.
Recoil is simply the natural motion of the gun caused by the bullet leaving the barrel. It cannot be controlled, as the regular definition of control goes. It can only be managed. And by managing it, I mean riding it out, waiting for it to pass, and for the shooter to resume the process of shooting when it does.
Shifting to a lower caliber gun just because felt recoil is somewhat pronounced is the wrong way to go, in my honest opinion. What I suggest is for your kid to continue shooting and get the proper training. This will develop his capability to manage the recoil and improve both his speed and accuracy.
This leaves us with your perceived problem with the grip. But since you said he was making decent hits, then this must not be much of a problem too.
A firearm must be held the proper way for it to be shot accurately. Shooters call this “presentation.”
But the presentation is not only about gripping the gun at the handle. It’s also about the amount of tension being exerted, the position of the elbow vis-à-vis the ground, the posture of the upper body, the distribution of weight and the position of both feet as against the target.
Anyhow if you really feel that the grip of your pistol is too large for your kid’s hands, you can try to find a replacement for the grip panels.
If this doesn’t help, you can then consider getting another gun with a smaller grip profile, like the Jericho 941 or the guns from Tanfoglio, or guns like the Smith and Wesson M&P or SW99, which have interchangeable panels.
But I caution against resorting to an equipment solution to an otherwise a training problem.
On your third question, I go for outdoor ranges. Indoor ranges usually have ventilation issues. Trust me; unless you have a death-wish, you don’t want to spend hours on end in a dark room, inhaling smoke, nitrates and lead particles on an otherwise bright and sunny day.
MATCH. Speaking of bright and sunny days, Front Sight Gun Club, based in the town of Minglanilla, Cebu, held a sanctioned match last Sunday, drawing in some 70 shooters from the different gun clubs all over Cebu.
A challenging course of fire and a sumptuous lunch that risked cardiac arrest were the highlights, said Supt. Efren Nemeño.
The winners in the members category are James Manigos, Brandon Lariosa and Joseph Manigos for Standard, Jack Rentuza, Nemeño and Donan Bacalso, for Production.
Meanwhile, Jaime Cabuenas got tagged the highest scoring “old-guy” in the standard event, while Neil Rosaroso and Adonis Dumpit, of the Cebu City Police Office, scored the highest in the range officers’ match.
