Articles about bringing new shooters to the range.

[straightshooterjake]

I have posted two articles on my blog about bringing new shooters to the range. These articles are intended to provide guidance for anyone who is taking people to the range for the first time.

The articles are here:

Bringing New Shooters to the Range
Making a Lesson Plan for New Shooters

As background, I am a range safety officer at a range which allows members to bring guests. Over the years, I have seen many issues arise when members bring guests who have never shot before. At the same time, those first time shooters represent the future of shooting sports, so I am eager to make their first experience a good one. These articles provide a framework to help experienced shooters plan the first day range day for beginning shooters.

I will be interested in any feedback and criticism on these articles. My goal is for these articles to reach an audience that finds them useful. Before writing these articles, I searched for existing similar content, and I have not found other material with the same approach and depth that I have provided.

I am hesitant to make this post which is promoting my blog content, but I have put an effort into writing articles which will benefit the shooting community, and the material is only useful if it finds an audience.

I want to thank you in advance for your consideration and comments.

Disclosure: There is no advertising or monetization on my blog. I am not compensated for any clicks on these links. Blogspot.com is Google's blogging platform.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

It's a nice write up and I applaud you but it's really stuff most on here, or most that would take someone to a range for the first time, already knows.

To be honest, I get more worried at the range when I see a group come in that just wants "to try guns out" for an hour who have never fired a gun, and have no intention of having anything to do with them (guns) afterward.

 

[straightshooterjake]

Good Ol' Boy, thanks for the feedback. I would agree that many people are familiar with the material in these articles. But in my experience, some people who want to bring new shooters to the range aren't sure how to help others get started. Sometimes that happens because it has been so long since the teachers were beginners themselves.

If anyone else has thoughts on these articles I would be eager to hear them. Thanks.

 

[Ed Ames]

It is all very subjective. I would never have written that the way you did, but that doesn't mean what you did was wrong.

Structurally, I'd like to see it presented in four parts.

1. Preparing yourself
2. Preparing the new shooter
3. Going shooting
4. Following up

I think that matches the process of actually introducing a new person to shooting. Anyone who finds your article(s) through a search is probably in the "preparing yourself" stage. It will also help the reader see the process from different perspectives. That's important because while the mentor has goals, the new shooter probably has different goals, and everything will go better if the mentor keeps those in mind...but separated. I think it also helps with organization in general. You have info scattered around and I think it would be easier to digest if it was grouped functionally.

The first part should include everything about what it means to mentor, deciding if you are the right mentor for a specific person, important equipment, resources, and so on. Mentor goals go here.

The second part should begin with understanding the motivation and goals of the new shooter. Physical limitations should also be discussed. Mentoring someone who wants to understand the Gun Culture the media keeps talking about is different than mentoring someone who wants to become a hunter, which is different than mentoring someone who saw a video of Keanu blasting away at a range in preparation for a movie shoot and thought it looked cool.

Third part should be something a person could have ready on their phone (or printed out) as a reference. Reinforce the 4 rules, have useful diagrams if needed, provide a checklist of things to bring and things to leave at home...

The fourth part is a "where do we go from here..." refrain. How (and whether) to advise people who want to continue shooting. How to gracefully accept that some people won't. Resources that can be passed on to new shooters, all with an eye for easy digestion.

Speaking of ease of digestion...there are several places where you state opinions. I think you need to look at each one with an eye towards "do I gain anything by saying this?" and "is that gain worth losing readers?" Most readers will accept a few things they disagree with and then they stop reading. So when you say for example that "instructor implies formal certification" (which is your opinion but factually incorrect) you spend a bit of your credit and make it a bit more likely that people will move on. Ask yourself if imparting each opinion actually furthers your goals. I'm not saying don't offer opinions, but for example that instructor opinion is completely irrelevant to the subject of bringing new shooters to the range so why risk losing even one reader over it?

I could offer increasingly concrete notes but those boil down to differences of opinion (I have a more nuanced view of the best first gun to start with, based on my experiences taking shooters out and having them get bored quickly because they have preconceived notions about revolvers, for example) on the subject matter.

 

[straightshooterjake]

Ed Ames, thank you for your comments. These articles have been read by a number of my friends, as well as other people, and your comments are one of the most helpful responses I have received.

I have not been completely satisfied with the organization of these articles. But your comments have convinced me that a substantial rewrite may be in order. I am trying to complete some other projects first, so I can't do it right away. But I will plan to spend more time on this material.

If you have further thoughts, I would be happy to hear them. But what you have already provided is well thought out and much appreciated. Thank you.

If anyone else has thoughts, I would be happy to hear them before I do the rewrite.