Guns for a men's retreat?

[Idaho45guy]

Got invited to a men's retreat this weekend by my girlfriend's father. I don't go to the church, and don't know anyone there except the dad and her brother-in-law.

I asked the dad what to bring and he said a Bible, a cot, a sleeping bag, and some guns. He said there would be range time and it was really popular among the guys.

Quite a quandary to choose which guns to bring. The dad knows nothing about guns, and English is his second language, so he was not helpful in guiding me on what kinds of guns would be appropriate. I looked at the camp and the range there is 50 yards or less, so that was helpful.

Plus, the book I was supposed to read for it was Chuck Swindoll's "Improving Your Serve". Of course I didn't have time to read it with just a few day's notice, but from what I was able to glean from it, it was focused on men not being so competitive, prideful, and focused on success.

So I decided on my Henry lever-action in .45 Colt, my Ruger Bisley in .45 Colt, Glock G19 Gen 5 MOS, and my normal carry pistol, which is a Sig P365 9mm.

I have plenty of components for .45 Colt and 9mm, and not sure if I'll be expected to let others shoot my guns and ammo, but should have enough to share with no worries. All guns are modest in value and aesthetics and not considered "barbecue guns" that would be showy or prideful, which was a concern for me.

I've never been to a Men's Retreat with range time, before. I've seen archery clinics, and knife-sharpening classes, and other similar activities, but never shooting. So no idea what is expected or normal for such an event. Probably varies quite a bit.

The church sponsoring the retreat is a smaller country church with mostly ranchers and loggers, so I think the Henry and Ruger will go over well.

Anyone ever gone to a retreat where there was shooting and range time?

[Minerat]

I think I'd take a 22 revolver too if you have one. It is easier on new shooters to get the basics down.

[jdfoxinc]

All of them. You will be the toast of the town.

[MrWolf]

I think I'd take a 22 revolver too if you have one. It is easier on new shooters to get the basics down.

Yup and bring plenty of extra ammo for it as it will be popular.

[DocSavage]

Last men's retreat I brought my 1874 Sharps,AR15 and a variety of revolvers and semi autos. 22 rifle and/or handgun for those who may not have any firearms experience. When I had the van packed with guns,ammo someone asked if I was bringing enough for everybody.

[country gent]

Keep in mind the average age of you gtoup. With the older gentleman a stevens crack shot in 22 rf brings back a lot of memories. Single action revolvers also. The bigger single shot rifles will get a lot of attention but recoil for novices may become an issue. I would avoid scope sights on rifle with recoil you dont want to see some one get a new eyebrow

[GregLaROCHE]

If you have the ammo to spare, take all you want, especially your favorites. And it’s a good point to be careful with high powered scoped rifles with novices. You will loose all your brownie points if someone ends up with a bloody forehead.

[Dusty Bannister]

Gallery loads, lots of gallery loads. Easy on the shooter and observers. Brass buckets so you get your brass back, and maybe others too. I do find the focus of the weekend interesting if the group is doing a lot of shooting.

" it was focused on men not being so competitive, prideful, and focused on success."

[Char-Gar]

I have been to lots of church men's retreats in the United Methodist Church. Take a gun to one of those and they would start making the sign of the cross and hanging garlic around their necks.

[popper]

Henry lever-action in .45 Colt, my Ruger Bisley in .45 Colt, Glock G19 Gen 5 MOS, and my normal carry pistol, which is a Sig P365 9mm. With 50yds only and maybe shorter pistol, keep the p365 in your pocket. Lots of ammo. IIRC shot couple hundred 9, bout the same 40 and a bunch of BO - for 5 kids and a couple adults. Expect they will shoot your stuff and you, theirs.

[skeettx]

Also shotgun, ammo, eye protection, hearing protection, shell pouch.

[JimB..]

When I’m planning to shoot with strangers I always bring a suppressed 22 and extra eyes and ears.

[BJK]

I've never been to one or even heard of it, but what a great idea! I second the idea of a .22. Suppressed is even better.

[bimus]

I really don't like shooting or bring my guns out around people I don't know. I would think any ghost gun mounted on your vehicle would be a great ice breaker and give them something to talk about .

[ShooterAZ]

I'd bring a S&W Model 25, a couple of Model 10's, a Single Six, and a Winchester 62A. Oh yeah...and LOTS of ammo!

[Winger Ed.]

I'd also bring a pump shotgun and a few empty soda and milk bottles with some water in them to throw up in the air.

[Butzbach]

Bring something featured in a popular movie. Everyone will relate. Perhaps “ . . . The gun of Rambo.” (And a couple of 200 rd belts.)

[Outpost75]

Here in West Virginia the usual revival and retreat recreational guns are .22 rifles for the women and kids to learn on, and either family heirloom or home-built patched round ball muzzleloading rifles, either flint or percussion. A game feast is traditional.

Shooting is generally offhand at 50 yards.

[gkainz]

We’ve done a number of retreats and had range time. Oddities from the normal Colorado hunting rifle always were a hit - black powder pistols and rifles were fun.
3 years ago i brought my M1 and M1A.
Last year we got too big to have an “everyone shoot” range day and myself and the other RSO didn’t feel comfortable managing a free for all shot off the back deck. So, two of us set up long range rifles on 2 benches and had 2 sets of targets at 500, 800 and 1000 yards. Drew numbers for shooters to queue up and shoot, 5 rounds at 500 and advance if all 5 rang the gong.

It was pretty popular and before ammo prices went through the roof, wasn’t horribly expensive for ammo.

We just hosted a sporting clays shoot as a day event a couple of weeks ago but that was at an established range so we didn’t have to manage much.

Greg

[DocSavage]

Have to admit my Sharps was the attention getter,Long Range Express 34" barrel with a Malcolm style telescopic sight . Everyone was like "wow"
till they saw the ammo 45/70 500 gr bullets no one wanted to shoot it till I fired a few rounds then it was me next.

[Wayne Smith]

I've taken everything from my 405 Winchester to my flintlock! The times I took the 405 one guy and his sons claimed it and shot it - no one else really wanted to shoot it! I try to take a couple of routine guns and a couple of unusual ones for the interest/education.

[jonp]

I'd bring something others are unlikely to have.

[Huskerguy]

I have done several occasions such as this, not just retreats. One was a group of young adults that I was teaching/mentoring for several years and a big event for a wedding when I was the best man and the grooms father had a range and he and I were range masters for a day. We shot like 3,000 rounds that day. There were others.

Some of it depends on the group and the range. With one group, my revolvers were a big hit with some mild 38's for those who had 9's and then some beefier 357's. I have a Ruger Mark III with a nice dot Holo and the bullet goes where the dot is, ladies loved it. Shotguns are popular with clay if you have the space and the thrower. Of course, the venerable AR for those who have not shot one is always a thrill. Someone along the way asks if they can do a mag dump which gets everyone excited.

I built some falling targets and a shooting tree. Bring lots of paper targets and extra eye and ear protection. A table or bench for new shooters is nice, a tarp for catching brass is a must. Some blankets or towels to set firearms on. We sometimes used the back of a pickup.as a staging area.

Have fun.

[1hole]

Anyone ever gone to a retreat where there was shooting and range time?

I've never attended a "retreat" of any kind. I'm a fully committed Christian old guy and ex-military; retreating has never been any part of my vocabulary. That said, IF I were to attend any retreat at all, your's would have the most appeal to me.

God bless you. Go, relax with other men and have real fun with some Godly (but imperfect) men. And then start going to church and doing Bible study yourself. :)

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I'd start with 22 rimfires, rifles, revolvers, mild loads in centerfires, lever actions and single shots are not as scary as AR's and 9mm semi-autos. I would take an AR15 .223 and a Glock or other 9mm to provide education as much as anything. Sounds like a good chance for good will and education. Manually operated actions are safer than the semi's for the new shooters that might show interest.

[reloader28]

I've been to a couple retreats but never with a range. Sounds like fun

[MaryB]

My dad and brothers used to go to one out in SD. Shotguns a must for the trap thrower. 22's for the younger kids and inexperienced shooters. They always borrowed my super accurate AR-15 to show that yes, they are used for hunting and are not the inaccurate ammo wasters portrayed by the media, they did it as a learning lesson for the liberals who attended! I usually ended up with dozen calls asking what it took to build an accurate AR-15(by accurate I am talking sub MOA, first 5 shots in one ragged hole at 100 yard) and how expensive was it. I often had some of them come to my shop to assemble a rifle with my guidance(I never did any of the work, all of it a learning experience for them).

Bolt action rifles were popular with the older set who grew up with them as hunting rifles. No super large calibers except for borrowing my .338 Lapua(cheap Savage) and letting them experience one or two long range shots. They did have an advantage out in SD... range was located where they could shoot 1 mile, they would setup targets at 1,000 and 1 target at 1 mile. People who wanted to try it had to pay for my ammo(brother would grab a full ammo can form me) that got used, not a cheap rifle to shoot with! Most would try 2 shots just to say they shot 1,000 yards. The Savage is pretty accurate so most could get on target pretty easy. The few who tried 1 mile were always amazed if they hit.

The range time was recorded and played back at church to show cooperation and teaching as a virtue so I got to listen to the guys reaction to their first intro to long range shooting.

[Idaho45guy]

Back from the Retreat!

Unfortunately, there was no range time. The Boy Scouts had a troop there, and apparently, they are so woke now, that we were told firearms were too frightening to the little boys and girls.

It was sad to see all the kids and their parents walking around a camp, with masks on.

So, no range time, but we did get to pull our guns out and let each other admire them. The Henry Black was the most drooled over.

[tommag]

Firearms are too frightening for the boy scouts! What is this world coming to?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Back from the Retreat!

Unfortunately, there was no range time. The Boy Scouts had a troop there, and apparently, they are so woke now, that we were told firearms were too frightening to the little boys and girls.

It was sad to see all the kids and their parents walking around a camp, with masks on.

So, no range time, but we did get to pull our guns out and let each other admire them. The Henry Black was the most drooled over.

Now that is depressing.

[Thumbcocker]

Are there still rifle and shotgun merit badges?

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Pump shotgun and clay thrower.

[BJK]

What is this world coming to?

Now they let girly men weenie puffers be troop leaders, does that answer your question?

Everything is being corrupted by evil today and the powers that be allow it. That's grounds to remove and change the powers that be.

[popper]

BSA management is like NRA management.