a range story

[DMK]

It's sad Diane, but I've seen that scene payed out a number of times at my range. Sometimes it's a wife/girlfriend, sometimes it's one of the kids.

Another thing that bothers me is when toughboy is the only one wearing the ear protection. I've handed out more of those disposable earplugs than I can count and usually get dirty looks for my concern.

 

[The_Antibubba]

The Antis are watching

I always roll my eyes when an Anti talks about "phallic compensation".

Unfortunately, these are the guys they are referring to.

I'm going to have to get a .22 for the range.

 

[shep854]

While having lunch with some friends and their Granpa yesterday, the talk came around to guns. Tara told how her ex had wanted to teach her how to shoot, but a lady at a gun store suggested that she not do it if it was just because Hubby wanted her to. Tara took the advice. Yesterday, though, she indicated an interest now. Gramps was waxing eloquent about the self-defence side, but I wish I had thought to talk up the fun factor :banghead:. One think is set in stone, though; I will NOT take them both to the range at the same time.

Also, if I get the privilege to teach Tara how to shoot, I will NOT be the sort of jerk described above. I've done enough teaching to know that such conduct is counterproductive.

 

[entropy]

I've taught several women how to shoot, including my wife. Unfortunately, her brothers thought it would be fun to hand their little sister a shotgun and say "Here, shoot this." , with no instruction on proper hold, or stock mount. She will shoot pistols, however. I find it ironic that she will shoot a .44 Magnum revolver, but will not touch a .22 rifle. I still hold it against her brothers.
I also taught several female officers to shoot while in the Army. Most were scared poopless of the M1911's, and needed much reassurance and practice before being able to hit the silhouettes. ( In all fairness, so did some of the men, including our BN commander, who was issued .38's up to that point in his carreer.) When we were issued the 9's, everyones scores went up, including mine. (From 38/40 to 40/40. )
It's a shame that you had to witness that ,Diane, with guys like that on our side, who needs Feinswine and Chucky Schumer.:banghead:

manwithout a home, same deal, but I'll bet his jaw dropped!

mattf7184, whatever it takes to get her trained! I'd say she's a keeper.

Guess I'll have to upgrade .22 pistols. All I currently have is a POS Iver Johnson that spits lead, not a good beginners gun, although my son likes to shoot it. Almost bought a P22 yesterday, bit high on the $$ than I can do right now. But I like the gun!

 

[bela]

Range

Of course it is of no use to treat a beginner with strong loads.
A .22 or - eventually .38 sp wadcutter is the maximum what a beginner bears. With super-loads the newcomer will be terrified away..
By the way; if on my range a shooter would turn with the ( shut ) gun in his hand ( as in the photo ) he would be invited to leave the range...
Turning with weapon in hand is a NO-NO here...

friendly greetings bela

 

[spacemanspiff]

i wish i knew how to tactfully tell the guy whos showing his g/f or wife or whatever how to shoot that hes teaching them all wrong.

most recently it was a pair of girls with some dude shooting some 12 guage. the girls seemed to do most of the shooting, and they had their weight on their back foot, backs arched with the shottie shouldered in what looked like a terribly uncomfortable position, and each shot moved them back a step.
i wanted so badly to tell them to simply shift thier weight forward to their front foot, and lean forwards at the waist. but i didnt. i just dont feel comfortable telling other shooters how to shoot better if they dont ask.

another time i watched as a girl was shooting a glock with her man-friend, and her stance was kind of weaver-ish, but her elbows were bent and the gun was pulled closer to her face. she kept hitting the ground in front of the target that was 7 yards away. all she needed to do was straighten her arms and lift her head and she'd be on target.

 

[manwithoutahome]

His jaw did drop, but I think that is why he got even more pissed. Some fag telling him how to be a man .

I have 5 .22's and have at lease one with me at the range. If I run out of high cal. ammo (9mm, .357, .45, etc..) and I still wish to fire then I have the .22 and a full box of ammo.

I started out with a .17 pellet gun then a .22. Then I had to buy my own stuff from there. I always enjoyed shooting the .22, was like the pellet gun but with a louder boom. I then made my shot better and took my time, enjoying it all.

Sure, I could have given over my higher powered pistols that I had on me but what's the point? Start them out as you would your 8 year old and then let them build up to the higher powered stuff.

Giving a revolver (.44mag or higher) to a shooter to watch his face when it goes "KABOOM" (high powered load) is funny. Doing the same to a newbie is stupid.

What's the old saying, "baby steps".... advice to be learned.

Wayne

 

[XLMiguel]

If no one else has said so yet, welcome, Diane.

I can only hope that the lady will see the light and find a new boyfriend toot sweet. A bit of dating advice that I was given that has turned out to be remarkably accurate is to watch how your date treats the waitstaff at a nice restraunt when you're out to eat, as that is how they'll be treating you in 6 months.

I've taught a lot of different skills to a lot of different people, but yelling has never been part of the deal (except maybe yelling some encouragement ) Everyone starts at square one at some point. Everyone.

BTW, my compliments in your fine taste in handguns (P228). I, too, am a SIG fan. (got a P22, too.)

 

[Bullet]

I would like to mention For beginners adults or kids. I think you should shoot at distances (close) where the new shooter will have a better chance to hit their target. Also I think new shooters should have big targets to start with. It is alot more fun to hit your target than miss. You can increase distance and decrease target size as they improve. I also agree to start with a .22 and go up in caliber (recoil) as they can handle it. When my son was 9 years old all he wanted to do was blast away. To make him concentrate on hitting what he was aming at I taped a dime to the target and told him to see if he could hit it. I told him if he did we could see if we could find it and see what it did to it. He began to concentrate on hitting that dime and after awhile he did. This was at 25 yards and dimes became to expensive because we couldn't always find them so we switched to pennys. Balloons make good targets for new shooters just staple them to your target backboard. When you get tired of blowing up balloons tell them they are to good for balloons and go to paper targets. Give new shooters fun with shooting and they will like it.

 

[macman37]

This happens all too often...

I've seen it several times... If I can do so without looking like a busybody I will try to politely offer suggestions. But you'll never help the ubermacho jerks. They will have none of it.

The mentality of someone who would just hand a 12 guage shotgun or even a full power 9mm or .45 handgun to someone without helping manage their expectations never ceases to amaze me. They'd rather laugh at someone wincing than help that person become a solid shooter who will enjoy the sport.

 

[mattf7184]

Thank you entropy

Now I got her into a gungho pro-gun shooter lol Only bad thing is she wants my guns

 

[Black Majik]

That is too sad to hear...

usually the girls are better shots than the guys on their first times out (its true! ). I usually start new shooters out with the Colt Government with a Marvel .22 Conversion kit. You gotta have the Marvel kit since the more accurate conversion will put the holes near the bullseye more (shameless plug! ).

After they learn the basics of how to fire a weapon properly, slowly move them up. Since the Government is a semi-auto, I move them up to the 9mm. Let them get used to it and how a semi-auto works. I show them the revolver and let them shoot .38's out of the gun. Next come the Kimber .45 and lastly is the S&W 686 .357.

This is all of course on their own pace. If they show any incompetance or scared of the gun them I stick to what they're shooting until the get comfortable with it or move back to the .22 for basics.

Having a .22 is very worthy. Going back to basics is a key fundamental to learning out to shoot straight/accurately.

Everyone I've taken so far has asked me to take them again, and everyone so far has shown more interest after shooting a gun, and even start to talk about it more and open up to the idea than before.

Shooting's great.

 

[blue86buick]

BRING EXTRA MUFFS!!

That's what I consider to be (one of) the most important details. When out at the range, too often have I seen a guy with his g/f, or just a female of some relationship to them, and neither of them seem to have earmuffs or any sort of ear protection. Aside from the obvious benefit (necessity!) of protecting the only hearing you'll ever have, the girls are a LOT more comfortable when they don't have to deal with the booms anymore. My last trip was the first time I actually loaned someone my spare muffs, but the guys didn't seem to mind my offering, and she really appreciated it. I'm sure the guys would like it too, but I only brought the two pairs.

Only problem with this idea, is making sure you get them back when you/they leave!

 

[Kharn]

I'm with almost everyone else: Never teach your girlfriend to shoot, get someone else to do it.

Sadly, one of my friends wont listen to my advice and is insisting on teaching his girlfriend (she's here for the summer from Kali, so I think a positive experience is extra important) himself, when the range he frequents offers free lessons to newbies. :banghead:

Kharn

 

[Tom Servo]

I once taught an ex to shoot. She's now a better shot than I am :banghead:

That said, there's a certain mindset you need to have going into it. I'm teaching a friend to shoot at the moment, and here's what works for me.

1) Have a good long talk, preferably over lunch or something about the rules of safety and WHY they're important. Make sure they understand completely before even touching a gun.

2) Anticipate nervousness. When you show up to the range, they're going to cringe reflexively when they hear shots being fired. Give them time to relax and acclimate to it.

3) Show them how the gun works, but do not fire it yet. This is important.

4) Once they understand the workings, go through safety again with the gun in your hand.

5) Fire one or two shots only. Do it quickly and don't go for accuracy. You're simply demonstrating stance and grip. There's no need to pull a 1" group at 20 yards. They'll only be intimidated by this. You don't want them to compare their shooting to yours. This will only lead to frustration and disappointment. It's their day, not yours.

6) One or two shots at a time only, with plenty of breaks in between. Stress repeatedly that accuracy is not important at this stage. They're simply learning how to operate it. Stand several steps away so they don't feel crowded. They shouldn't feel like they're being scrutinized or criticized. Use big targets, preferably something unmarked. At this point, they shouldn't be trying to hit the 10-ring, they should just be trying to hit the paper.

7) Admit it, you didn't do any better the first time you shot Tell them this repeatedly. Give frequent praise for good trigger discipline and correct stance. Nudge, don't push.

8) This should be fun. Don't discuss self-defense or stopping-power. Refrain from such words as "tactical" and "scenario."

As with teaching anything, you should point out that you're no different or more naturally gifted than they are. The only difference is time and practice. This is (hopefully) a lifelong hobby, not a one-day crash-course, and you're only guiding their first few steps into it.

 

[BeLikeTrey]

Diane & Momto4luvs

Gals,
I never thought I'd have to say this but my G/F is very against having or seeing a gun. The ray of hope is that she understands the need for them and that it is a "right". She just doesn't want to be around them. I have gotten a concession that she won't mind me carrying one in the woods where there is "danger". Of course, the concrete jungle seems to be another matter and no danger there. I have approached her with the thought of dispelling her personal fears with a trip to the range but she vehemently declines, so I let the subject drop. I have noticed that she wasn't taken back with seeing my grandfather's Remington 760 (which I now own). She was however taken back and downright refused to be in the same room as my Evil Black Rifle the 10-22 in a bullpup stock. Strange, Really strange.... Any thoughts to dispelling fears and gettting her to the range eventually?

--edited to add a welcome to the newbies

 

[Diane]

First off, thanks Mike in VA & Be Like Trey for the welcome! As I've said, I don't post often, but I do read the forums cause you can learn from them.
I didn't realize that I would get so many responses for this thread! I really thought what I witnessed was a rare moment, but obviously, there are a lot of short tempered so-called 'instructors' out there. What I can't understand is that if you're taking the time to bring a person to shoot for the first time, why make it unpleasant? Just doesn't make any sense. Trey, I was a lot like your gf. I was afraid of guns, mostly cause I was ignorant about them. Guns kill. Period. My former friend & I debated the pros & cons of owning guns for quite awhile until he actually took me to shoot and I thoroughly enjoyed it, much to my surprise and his. I shoot purely for fun. I'm no Annie Oakley! If I hit the target, anywhere, I'm happy!! Have your gf read the forums. You can learn so much from other peoples experiences, then take her out. Hopefully she'll enjoy it as much as I did. If you think it would help, she can email me at [email protected] and I'll give her the female point of view.

Diane

 

[STW]

About 9-10 years ago I knew, in passing, a little red headed truck mechanic on Camp Pendleton who joined the USMC just to shoot. Her father had been on the USMC rifle team and she wanted to follow his foot steps. The year after she maid the team (pun intended) she won at Camp Perry and the commendant promoted her. I understand she upset a whole bunch of people. If she enjoyed teaching others to shoot half as much as she enjoyed dressing (off base) to get a reaction, she had a lot of fun at Quantico.

 

[BeLikeTrey]

Thanks Diane!

Good idea! I think I'll have her read the forums. I have been trying to desensitize her to firearms by leaving catalogues around the apartment in plain view. (about 2 or 3 per room and YES I mean ALL the rooms ) Hopefully, constant low key exposure will help her dispell her fears.
I also really appreciate the offer to give her the girl's side. If after perusing this forum, she expresses an interest I think I'll take you up un that. Thanks again!

 

[Diane]

Be Like Trey,

She can contact me anytime.

Good Luck!

Diane