I discussed one of my students with you, my gentle readers, on these pages last year. Let me refresh your memory.
She had moved away from home to attend college, the first time she was on her own.
(Not the young lady in question.)
She acquired a boyfriend, which turned out to be a mistake as he became physically abusive. This encounter was more dangerous for her than it would be for most, as she is an extremely small and slight young woman.
She wasn’t permanently damaged, as she merely suffered a split lip and two black eyes. Still, violent crime is violent crime. No one said you had to be gravely injured in order to request my help.
But she didn’t, at least not at first. It wasn’t until she awoke shivering in the winter cold, her bedroom window open and her valuables missing from the apartment, that she decided to seek me out.
I did the usual, upgrading the barriers to entry at her place by installing window bars and new locks. Then it was time for the firearms training.
She said that she was ready, and even seemed enthusiastic. But she had the worst startle reflex that I have ever seen! Every time a gun went off at the shooting range, she would jump so violently that her feet would leave the floor!
I wasn’t too inclined to spend the time needed to get her over this psychological hurdle, but the comments some of you left here convinced me to persevere. It took much longer than it normally does, and I had to use training methods that normally aren’t part of my class, but eventually she managed to calm down enough to become an adequate shooter. She received the documents she needed to apply for a CCW license, and we parted ways.
That would normally be the end of it, but I received a call from her very recently. It seems that she has not improved when it comes to choosing quality boyfriends, but the outcome was much different from the last time a significant other attempted to lay violent hands upon her.
No, dear readers, she didn’t shoot anyone. She didn’t have to, as he stopped dead in his tracks when she lifted her shirt and he saw her defensive arm on her hip. The only response he was able to muster was to point in shock and horror while saying …
“OHMIGAWD! YOU’VE GOT A GUN”
She then told him to leave, and he scrambled out the front door. Problem solved! She didn’t even have to touch her defensive handgun to send him running for the hills. The phone call was to thank me for my efforts on her behalf.
I was, as you might imagine, extremely thankful for the very kind words. But a puzzle began to nag at me as we talked. She was so small and built so delicately, I was having trouble placing a gun that she would be able to conceal on her tiny frame. When asked, she revealed that she had purchased a Kel-Tec P-3AT, a very minute handgun chambered for the .380 ACP cartridge.
(Picture source.)
She first encountered this particular firearm during the charity course, as I have one myself. It is a no frills gun, unadorned and left in basic black like the one pictured. Being rather girly, my former student opted for something aligned more with her sense of style.
So that answered my question about her firearm, but another emerged. She mentioned that her erstwhile romantic partner had made a habit of spending the night, and yet she had started the conversation by relating how shocked and overawed he had been to discover that she was packing heat.
“So you’ve been sleeping with this guy, but have somehow been keeping him in the dark about how you have a CCW license and carry a gun wherever it is legal to do so? How is that even possible?”
She replied that they might have been sleeping together, but the fact that she carried a gun was private! She wasn’t going to share it with just anyone!
Things sure have changed since I went to college!
Well, if she revealed to just *anyone* that she was a gun owner, they might get the wrong impression – – that she might be a *gasp* conservative, or worse, a Christian, or, worst of all, a member of the Tea Party!
You did good sir. And I pray the young lady continues her journey with firearms so she may hopefully learn to enjoy them for more than just personal protection.
“That would normally be the end of it, but I received a call from her very recently…”
Can you provide any other details?
Obviously her boyfriend selection routine hasn’t gotten any better, but her secondary screening process must have improved at least.
“Can you provide any other details?”
That is pretty much all the details there are to relate.
How much do these generally cost? I have a KelTec P11, and I can’t use it because the trigger pull is too far for my hand. I’m a woman, but I’m not tiny, but somehow I can’t get the trigger to pull back all the way with one pull. Does this gun have an easier trigger pull because of its small size?
Regards and thanks for any info.
Maybe. Obviously I don’t know the details. But generally:
A girl who serially dates guys who abuse her – that’s a lifestyle choice, self-abuse by proxy. She is an active participant, not a victim.
Someone who knowingly, intentionally, actively works to get into situations where he or she ‘needs’ to brandish a gun – that’s not self-defense.
Good point, dustydog.
That is a very cool story James. Well done for persevering with this young woman. And I am glad that your efforts had such a positive effect on her.
Hmmm . . . as for what counts as private these days, who knows.
Though hasn’t it always been the case that a girl has to have some secrets. 😉
I friggin’ HATE hearing about cases like her. Used to know a lady with the same kind of bad taste in males; right up until one broke a bottle on her and sliced up her hand.
She wound up with several surgeries, some loss of function, and apparently that finally shocked her enough to change her ways.
Bloody hell.