Fathersday in Phoenix / My daughter can Shoot!

[Mal Paso]

Last Friday I drove to Phoenix to spend fathers day weekend with my 17 year old daughter. Saturday morning we drove out to the Ben Avery Shooting Facility getting there just after opening at 7am. She has shot 22 rifles but only one session with a handgun ( 4" Anaconda ). I let her take the first relay and darn if she didn't put the first shot in the 10 ring. She had the usual problem recovering form success but managed to put 2 more of the first 6 rounds in the 7 ring with the 6" S&W 629 44 Mag. And that was far from the last Bullseye of the day. She got some very nice compliments from the Range Officer. Those are Her holes in the lower left target. We took turns for 3 hours and left several hundred of Miha's H&G 503s ( group buy mold ) in the berm before the heat of the day.

On the way home from church Sunday I spied a "GUNS" sign close to the house so Monday on the way back from the waterpark we stopped in. They asked me where I was from and when I said California he said " Welcome to the United States. It turned out to be a division of the Scottsdale Gun Club. They will be breaking ground in a month for the Peoria Gun Club at 83rd Ave. and Thunderbird. I believe he said 52 lanes Air Conditioned and HEPA filtered with 1 1/2" glass between lanes. I may be moving to the " United States " shortly.

I should give my daughter credit for the picture of me. She caught my best side!

[JIMinPHX]

We've got 13 million acres of public land in this state. Ben Avery is just the beginning of what you will find here. Sedona, the Grand Canyon & several of the wilderness areas are just some of my favorites.

You'll find the taxes here to be much lower than in CA. A lot of other unnecessary fees just don't exist in this state. You can keep the same driver's license until you're 65 without renewing it, then you need to go in for an eye test. You can shoot for free on most of the BLM land here too. This place has a lot of little things going for it.

Just don't get too surprised if you stop off at In & Out Burger on the way back from Ben Avery & see a few guys with holsters hanging on their hips. You get a little bit of that around here & there's nothing wrong with it.

If you're in the north west corner of Phoenix, (& it sounds like you were,) you might also want to stop in & check out Sportsman's Warehouse, & Randall's. Those two are where I get most of my reloading supplies. Cabella's is sometimes handy too, but it's a little further south. The taxidermy display in that Cabella's is worth stopping by for, even if you don't need anything.

Congratulations on the good shootin'.

Happy Father's Day.

[BigRix]

I shot a quick video when I took my 18 year old daughter out shooting. 6" Anaconda. She had a blast. This just happened to be on Mother's day weekend. I ended up taking the wife dancing on Father's day weekend. Funny how things work out sometimes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIEVOOcGUnQ

[Longwood]

I shot a quick video when I took my 18 year old daughter out shooting. 6" Anaconda. She had a blast. This just happened to be on Mother's day weekend. I ended up taking the wife dancing on Father's day weekend. Funny how things work out sometimes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIEVOOcGUnQ

Teach her to quit locking her arms/elbows and she will have way more fun with heavy recoiling sidearms.

[Mal Paso]

Thanks for the great information! I did read up on some your laws before my trip last January. My first trip to Cabella.s I saw the Firearms Check In and walked over. The fellow asked if I had anything to declare. I told him I had a Colt Anaconda in a holster. He asked if I planned to take it out. I said no. He said: "You're Good". Apparently Check In is only for guns out of holster (Repair/Inspection). I try to be a responsible person. It's Refreshing to be treated like one. I bought boots there last Sunday and every trip there is something new. For those who haven't been there, besides 3 huge taxidermy displays there are 8 foot tall fish tanks, archery, and an electronic shooting gallery.

Sportsman's Warehouse, & Randall's are now on my list for the next trip. I met some great people at Ben Avery. One kid was telling me I could shoot for free (BLM?) 7 miles up the road but with $7/day shooting fees and good people to talk to.............

Had to secure my gun before crossing the border on the way back. Freedom is a Felony in California.:sad:

[azcruiser]

Plus with the housing bubble bursting some pretty nice homes from -50 to 70 k plus say 800 yr prop tax .Bet you can't even buy a mail box in Carmel for that

[JIMinPHX]

If you're looking for boots, there's a fairly inexpensive place on the north west corner of Thunderbird & I-17. I think that it's called Cowtown. The quality of what they have in stock varies. Some days you can find Tony Lama Snakeskin boots for $150. Some days all you can find is cheap Chinese boots & hand made stuff for $500+. If you keep going back there every few weeks, eventually you should find something good at a price you like. They have a selection of general western wear like hats & shirts too.

You might want to stop off at some of the rest areas as you drive through AZ. You can often find locals hawking hand made Navajo jewelry for short cash. $20 usually gets you a necklace. Simple earrings, bracelets & other little nik naks are often less. Some of the larger & more ornate pieces go for more, but the basics are usually a pretty good buy. They make great gifts for out of state people who have never seen that stuff before.

$7 to shoot all day at Ben Avery is a good deal. It sure beats the prices at places like Scottsdale Gun Club or Shooter's World (AKA AZ Tacktical). I usually shoot on BLM land because there I can shoot into a box trap & recover my boolits. The folks at Ben Avery frown on using any equipment that they don't fully understand. They are OK with chronographs, but trying to set up anything else down range is not likely to get approved.

[c3d4b2]

One of my tech's worked the night shift at one of the hospitals in Phoenix. He was telling me I lived in the wrong state. He said even the nurses he worked with would go to Ben Avery in the morning when their shift was over.

[leadman]

Looks like you were shooting about where I normally shoot at Ben Avery. The RO don't like me too close to the tower with the muzzle-brakes.

Haven't checked yet but the guys on Arizonashooting say they are being run off the forests due to the fire hazard right now.

Just checked the Tonto forest, looks like it is closed.

[LatheRunner]

My daughter and I spent a few hours shooting on fathers day also. She shots very well for 15 years old. We had a wonderful time. Being a father sure is great.

[Longwood]

Looks like you were shooting about where I normally shoot at Ben Avery. The RO don't like me too close to the tower with the muzzle-brakes.

Haven't checked yet but the guys on Arizonashooting say they are being run off the forests due to the fire hazard right now.

Just checked the Tonto forest, looks like it is closed.

We now have to buy a "Permit" to get out of our vehicle in the Forest here.
Freedom,,,, Where did it go????Luckily, the desert is still open in some places but they are working on closing it also.
Fienstien is a Nasty BXXXh!

[Mal Paso]

I am also a Cat owner ( Yellow with Tracks, No Fur ) and live in work boots. Boot World in Glendale was more "western wear" than boots and the work boots were low end Chinese for too much. Cabela's had one pair of "USA" boots in my size, $259 marked down from $369, but they were "Duty Boots", not my style. The pair I bought were the best of the Chinese boots and fit well, but with the trouble I had finding these I'm already looking for my next pair. Cabella's carries "USA" Danner's and Justin's but not in the store and I won't buy another pair without trying them on.

Seemed like every other bench at Ben Avery was a family. It's nice to have one social day at the range every week and at least try to solve the world problems. [smilie=l:

[BD]

My 24 year old daughter was back east to see us a few weeks ago. I almost lost that Kimber to her, but I think she deserves a new one.
BD

[1Shirt]

Any day you get to shoot with your daughter is a great day. It is even a better day when you get to shoot with your grand daughter. AND it is a super special day when you get to shoot with them both. Don't get to do it often, but when I do, it becomes one of those days at the range that I will long remember.
1Shirt! :guntootsmiley: