Althouse: I can see that there's one thing you people would really like to see me do in 2015.

January 1, 2015

I can see that there's one thing you people would really like to see me do in 2015.

Shoot guns!

44 comments:

Bruce Hayden said...: Actually, you may find, if you haven't tried it, that it can be quite enjoyable. Not necessarily the writing about it, but the actual shooting.; 1/1/15, 7:22 AM
Tank said...: That was my choice.

No opportunity to vote for egg salad.; 1/1/15, 7:22 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: I would have voted for "Blog more about conversations with Meade" but that wasn't an option so I abstained.

I noticed Meade was not involved by name in ANY of the options.

Nor was Laslo, for that matter.

A cold, lonely year approaches.

I am Laslo.; 1/1/15, 7:26 AM
great Unknown said...: It's for your own good, young lady. One never knows when the need will arise...; 1/1/15, 7:40 AM
MikeR said...: I actually took my kids shooting for the first time for any of us a month or so ago. To everyone's astonishment, I turned out to be by far the best shot (with a .22 handgun) of any of us, basically because I was careful to follow the instructions we were given. We all enjoyed it.; 1/1/15, 7:43 AM
CStanley said...: Haha...I notice that no one chose the option: "Write longer, more elegant and thoughtful blog posts."

That could be taken two ways, I guess....either your readers think that your posts are sufficiently long, elegant, and thoughtful, or we readers are just not that into the deep stuff.; 1/1/15, 7:45 AM
Tank said...: "You people"?; 1/1/15, 7:47 AM
Danno said...: Ann(ie) get your gun!; 1/1/15, 7:54 AM
CStanley said...: Maybe to live blog the shooting...a Bloggingheads duel.; 1/1/15, 7:55 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Guns?!?

I thought we were talking about pool!; 1/1/15, 8:04 AM
Bob Ellison said...: There was no "Ignore what people, most especially your own commentariat, say you should blog about" option. That would've garnered my vote.; 1/1/15, 8:33 AM
Big Mike said...: Happy New Year to you and Meade!

I really thought you were referring to shooting your camera, but shooting guns is okay too. I think petite women should either know martial arts (and be young and strong) or have a concealed carry permit.; 1/1/15, 8:33 AM
traditionalguy said...: Shoot a possible in kneeling and report back.; 1/1/15, 8:48 AM
chillblaine said...: @CStanley wrote "...a Bloggingheads duel."

Robert Wright is probably terrified of firearms. If he got one and wrote about it, it might sound like this.; 1/1/15, 8:51 AM
victoria said...: Really, Ann, that is not necessary.
Expand your brain, not your shooting aim.

vicki from Pasadena; 1/1/15, 8:59 AM
dbp said...: I figure you will now be inundated with recommendations of firearms to purchase: A .22 automatic pistol would be a great place to start. Easy to shoot accurately, not very loud, very little recoil and the ammo is cheap. Not really suitable for personal defense, though better than nothing, by a lot. A good way to get your feet wet and if you like it, you can get something stronger like in a .40S&W.; 1/1/15, 9:01 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Enough about guns. Will 2015 be the year of
Blue Hands?
Helter Skelter in 2015, people.

I am Laslo.; 1/1/15, 9:05 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "I really thought you were referring to shooting your camera,..."

Why would you think that when the post said " Many of the listings anticipate that you will be using them for target practice. So there's that too. You might want to sharpen your shooting in 2015"?

"There was no "Ignore what people, most especially your own commentariat, say you should blog about" option. That would've garnered my vote."

That would be an incoherent option.; 1/1/15, 9:06 AM
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: I would have voted for "less Jesus".; 1/1/15, 9:06 AM
Bob Ellison said...: It's not incoherent; it's Zen!; 1/1/15, 9:12 AM
Guildofcannonballs said...: I killed the shit out of the paper target recently using an AR-15. Circus City Sportsman's Club off Trap Road in Baraboo.

Handguns were another story. I doubt if I could hit the narrow side of a barn, though I am still quite certain I would have little distress in hitting the broad side.

Note: The suppressor, at $1200, isn't inexpensive yet makes things noticeably more pleasant. If you feel a splurge urge, go with the suppressor. You shall not regret.; 1/1/15, 9:26 AM
Harris & Harris said...: It'd thought there was a better then even chance you were referring to shooting more photos...; 1/1/15, 9:36 AM
Bob Boyd said...: @Althouse

Do you have any shooting to sharpen or would you be a beginner?
If I had to guess, I'd say you're already a shooter to some degree.; 1/1/15, 9:36 AM
Anonymous said...: Best optics. You could go ziplining.; 1/1/15, 10:05 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/1/15, 10:17 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: Timely! Cabelas is opening a store in Sun Prairie this year! I'd love to see Althouse blog a trip there to buy ammo!; 1/1/15, 10:37 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: There was no option for "Shoot a man in Reno, just to blog about him dying...; 1/1/15, 10:41 AM
SJ said...: @Ann,

there's an outfit called Appleseed which might be able to help you with rifle-shooting.

I've taken classes from them.

Classes are usually interspersed with a short presentation about the history of American Militias and the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1776.; 1/1/15, 10:42 AM
Scott said...: Don't you wish Amazon sold guns? We could all buy AA a nice shotgun.; 1/1/15, 11:18 AM
mccullough said...: Blog a bit more about sports. You have an interesting take on them; 1/1/15, 11:22 AM
Heartless Aztec said...: Stand Up Paddle (SUP) in some surf. "Catch a wave and you're sitting on top of the world..."; 1/1/15, 12:39 PM
richard mcenroe said...: The Ruger remains a classic .22 auto but there are a bunch of compact .22's that can double as a purse gun now.

I don't know how far along you are in your shooting but remember a gun salesman is still a salesman. He'll pushing things to clear his inventory as much as to help you. You almost certainly don't need that alloy-framed .357 snubbie with +P+ ammo unless you're into wrist pain, for instance.

You can do fine with standard non-magnum calibers and practice.

The trick is to figure out what you want from a gun. Then talk to other gun owners. I suspect you have more than a few here.; 1/1/15, 2:21 PM
Heartless Aztec said...: "Shooting the curl is so bitchen" - Gidget; 1/1/15, 2:41 PM
richard mcenroe said...: Also, if you have a local range, visit it and try a variety of models and calibers.; 1/1/15, 2:42 PM
Bill said...: Big Mike said "I think petite women should either know martial arts (and be young and strong) or have a concealed carry permit."
And of course being young (or strong) isn't an option for all petite women....; 1/1/15, 3:37 PM
Rusty said...: victoria said...
Really, Ann, that is not necessary.
Expand your brain, not your shooting aim.

vicki from Pasadena

Shooting well is just as much an intellectual exercise as a physical one.

cheers; 1/1/15, 3:47 PM
Rusty said...: So. Althouse. What ya packin,?; 1/1/15, 3:56 PM
Big Mike said...: Why would you think that?

Because the first thing I think of when I think of you is photography. When you wrote "Many of the listings anticipate that you will be using them for target practice. So there's that too. You might want to sharpen your shooting in 2015." it wasn't strong enough to overcome the mental connection of you with a shooting a camera. Not sure I should apologize for that.; 1/1/15, 4:42 PM
Big Mike said...: I disagree with starting with a .22. Take a class at some local range that lets you try out a variety of different types and sizes of guns. Nearly all women can readily handle a .380 (aka 9mm short) semiautomatic or a .38 Smith and Wesson. A .22 is okay for plinking, but it won't even slow down a bad guy when you need to not just slow him down but actually make him stop.; 1/1/15, 4:49 PM
buwaya said...: I should too -
Haven't been to the range in a year; worse, haven't taken my boy to the range.
Used to take him fairly often.
Could never get wife and daughter to go.; 1/1/15, 5:53 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: A .22 is okay for plinking, but it won't even slow down a bad guy when you need to not just slow him down but actually make him stop.

Find that interesting coming from commenter Big Mike, because it took 5-6 hits with .40 S&P JHP to stop the nearly 300 lb 'Big Mike" Brown (he apparently had that nickname tattooed on his body). The ammunition like that that I have is 185 grain, which means that is a decently large bullet, far bigger and heavier than the .22 in the post (probably not quite a cube rule, but greater than the square rule in bullet cross section area); 1/2/15, 9:54 AM
Big Mike said...: @Bruce, the first four hits to Michael Brown were in the hand and top of the arm. The fifth was fatal. The sixth would have killed Brown if the fifth hadn't already done so, but probably happened because the cop was pumping the trigger as fast as he could so the sixth bullet was on its way before it registered on the young officer that his target was, indeed, stopped.

The guys I shoot with are, like me, are north of age 60 and those of them who've tried .40 tell me that "it's got a kick." The kick of a .40 coming out of a compact handgun like the P229 must be quite something. I don't think I'd recommend a .40 for a petite woman. I believe that shooting champion Julie Golob has posted that her choice for concealed carry is a 9mm S&W M&P Shield.; 1/2/15, 1:07 PM
Rusty said...: Big Mike @ 1:07

For allwe know she want's to be a competition trap shooter.

"So. Althouse. What ya packin,?"

A pair of 38s and she has a gun too.

sorry; 1/2/15, 3:25 PM
richard mcenroe said...: Big Mike...

OMIGOD Althouse is going to trap people and shoot them?!

(I know, I know...); 1/2/15, 4:28 PM