Scottsdale Gun Club

Golf - bah!  When in Scottsdale, there are two things to do: shoot guns and go horseback riding!  The number one attraction has to be the Scottsdale Gun Club.  If you're 12 or over, you can rent a machine gun!  The facilities are great, the staff are friendly, the range masters are helpful, and the club members are welcoming!  I took our son there today, and in addition to renting a number of 9mm handguns to try, he got to shoot a Ruger 22 that "felt like it was molded to fit my body" that another shooter had on the line when we were there.

We had a great time, and 150 rounds later, here are the results.

With the CZ 75 Compact 9mm, which was so light that the kick was a bit hard for a 9 year old to handle, we shot the Smiley Face:

With the Heckler & Koch P2000, he shot two bullseyes from 21 feet (7 yards), and dumped a bunch of rounds onto the paper with 3 FTEs.  I was surprised by the FTEs on the HK, as he has shot an HK 45 a number of times without a failure, but he was nervous in the range environment.  It's a lot different shooting inside a building with a very loud Mauser rifle letting go next to you when compared to shooting outside in "Manland" with no such distractions.

Finally, here's what he did with the Ruger 22 rifle.  Honestly, as the Range Master told me more than once, a 9 year old should stick to .22 caliber guns, as the heavier rounds only encourage bad habits since the weapons are too heavy for a kid his age...but since he came in to fire a machine gun, and didn't qualify, I let him pick what he wanted off of the handgun rack, and it turned out to be the HK and CZ 9mm...maybe we'll stick to .22 tomorrow!

Here's the full monty:

Once we'd finished shooting guns, it was time to ride horses!  We went to Cave Creek Outfitters, and while the ride was not really a "trail ride", but more of a ride through what remains of the desert after Troon North Golf Club has carved it up into overpriced houses with no water or sewer, we still had a great time.  The environment is only half the fun when riding, the battle between son and horse is at least as amusing, if not moreso!

We mounted up, and headed out into the junterlands.

The sun was blazing.

Every plant we passed had numerous thorns and pokey bits that would have stymied my love life had I fallen off of the horse.

These "jumping cactus" below are particulary nasty, with barbed spines that must be cut out.

We endeavored to persevere.

...but I was left wondering why my wife got the big, frisky horse.

Once we turned for home, the horses actually stepped up their pace (at lease mine and our son's did, my wife's horse had to be held back the whole ride).

...despite the quickened pace, the land mines still appeared with disconcerting frequency.

Our son picked a path through the cacti like a Mongol warrior...

...and both the riders and horses smiled when we came within sight of the stables on the homeward journey.

There's nothing that can't be fixed by a hot tub!