xphunter: Congrats to you and your daughter! I can say I know how you feel. I have two teenage daughters who have been raised to respect and appreciate the shooting sports and handguns in particular. My 17 year old has been my "spotter" in handgun silhouette competition and general helper since she was 12. Heck, both girls know more about reloading and long range handgunning and associated hardware than a lot of guys I know!
When my eldest daughter was 13 she accompanyied me in a few early season whitetail hunts. One evening a nice doe can in a paused in the wrong spot about 40 yards away. Even though the Leupold 2.5x8 mounted on a 10" 7TCU TC was shaking pretty badly, she connected and the doe piled up after about 20 yards. Man, I was shaking worse than she. That was a hunt I'll never forget.
Not to be out done, my 12 year old decided it was her turn. Hunting in a box blind set up over a creekbottom clearing, last fall a large doe came into view about 150 yards away. However, she could not get the doe steady in the 3x9 Burris and the doe disappeared into the brush. But just a couple minutes later, a young spike buck came down the same trail with his nose to the ground. I hit the grunt call, the buck paused, and a long few seconds later the 7IHMSA XP-100 roared! I held my hand over the barrel of the XP to absorb some of the recoil. I'm not sure if I made the shaking better or worse. The range was approx 120 yards and she hit him a little high but spined him dead in his tracks. You talk about a happy kid and proud Dad, we were!
Those two hunts meant more to me than any animal I have ever taken. Hunting with your kids and teaching them proper safety, ethics, and the appreciation and thrill of the hunt is imperative to our future. And to do it with a handgun, well that makes it even more special.
SR
