Good first trip to the range- Politeness pays off

[Apple a Day]

Yesterday I took my sister in law to the shooting range for the first time. She had shot a rifle once before but that was the extent of her shooting experience. My brother, her husband, has a pistol and she wanted to know how to shoot it. He is not that much of a shooter so she asked me to help her out. I'm no expert but I went over the basics, then took her to the range.
She had a really good experience. There were two other shooters there, in the lane next to us. She was a bit put off by them blasting away with a small, .45 Glock of some flavor but the guys turned out to be very polite. I was obviously coaching her, helping her out, so they paused to let her shoot without distractions from time to time. I really think that made a lot of difference. I let one guy put a cylinder through my Taurus, chatted a little. Everyone was friendly, which helped put her at ease.
Yesterday's trip really brought home the fact that being polite and relaxed around new shooters/ semi-non-gun people can REALLY make a difference on their future attitudes. De-mystifying guns and gun-PEOPLE brings more voters into our camp and just being nice, going a step out of our way to be accomodating makes a real impact, especially in today's society where everything is " with attitude".
I don't want to sound preachy but I wanted to reinforce good habits with a good experience. I think before yesterday she was on the fence about guns. On the way home she was all smiles and questions about carrying, showing off her targets. I think we both did pretty well.

By the time we finished, my sis in law could recite the 4 Rules from memory. She has small hands and is still working on a comfortable grip but knows about breathing, finger position, sight picture, basic functions of pistols versus revolvers, how to clear a jam... I hope I didn't forget anything.
We started off with a Ruger MkII, then a .22 revolver, a .32ACP, then a .38spl. My brother wanted me to load a couple of .357 magnums into the cylinder but my sister in law was a little leery of the .38s. I didn't want to overwhelm her; She's very petite and didn't like the noise of the .45 in the next lane. She told me ahead of time she was nervous and didn't want anything too big.
She shot pretty well, especially with the .22s. I gave her plenty of positive feedback every chance I got. When she got fatigued I didn't push. She had a lot of fun and said she is looking forward to shooting again. When I visit Atlanta in a few months I'll probably drag a couple of guns along so we can all go out and have more fun.

 

[SDC]

Great news! I make it a point to invite new people shooting whenever I can, so they can see for themselves that gun-owners don't perform ritualistic human sacrifices before they fire their first shot

 

[El Tejon]

Good job, Apple!

 

[Amish_Bill]

Your sister is in Atlanta?

Drop me a line when you get down this way. Schedules permitting, I can bring along some other fun things for her to try.

 

[Kilroy]

Your brother sounds like a real piece of work and if he puts those magnum rounds into a revolver that she shoots, he'll undo all your hard work. He obviously has some issues here and exemplifies the reason why women should not learn to shoot from a significant other.

 

[fiVe]

Good on you, Apple.

 

[Norton]

Apple raises a great point about being sensitive to new shooters being around. I know that the politeness and willingness to help made a big difference to me when I was first getting into shooting. If I had run into a bunch of jerks my first time at the range, I may have decided that guns weren't for me afterall

 

[spartacus2002]

I can't tell you how many times I've heard nonshooters say "I went to the range once, and my brother in law Bubba Junior handed me a .44 Magnum and said 'here, shoot a real big'un' and it scared me so badly that I'm too scared to shoot anything ever again."

 

[Amish_Bill]

Yep... You can't expect a non-shooter to jump in with both feet and do a perfect breast-stroke. You've gotta start them small. That's most of the reason I have a stainless Ruger 22/45. First, it's shiny and pretty. Second, it has next to no recoil and blast. It's the perfect training pistol.

 

[Apple a Day]

Amish Bill,
They live WAY on the north side of Atlanta. I may be that way around spring time.
I think my brother's suggestion about loading a few magnums into the cylinder was for the "neato" factor of the flames and noise rather than flipping her backwards with the recoil. Sometimes I think he forgets that not everyone is 6+ feet and lifts weights for fun. When we were kids we had a grand time playing with fireworks and making cannons out of steel cans. I reckon we just grew up (sorta) and moved on to bigger booms.

Another thing I am learning the hard way is that, for new shooters, you don't really have to completely load magazines to capacity. It may be the one time that five rounds is actually better than ten. It was just something I took for granted; loading as many rounds as possible.
Does anyone else half-load magazines for new folks? Any reasons NOT to?

 

[P95Carry]

Apple .... good result!! It does show too that yeah ... this approach works well.

Keep up the good work guys .... just wish i could find more round here to take to the range.

 

[Amish_Bill]

Half the time I load MY mags randomly between 3 and 7. I figure shooting practice is good, but mag swap practice is even more important.

For new shooters, I almost always underload the mag. They tend to get TOO much of an adrenaline high if you let then shoot too many in a string. I've found that if you let a new shooter build up too much adrenaline, they get shaky and unsteady. You have to look for this and give them the opportunity to rest now & again. I've also seen that new shooters burn out on adrenaline much faster than we do. We might be able to run half a case of ammo before we get tired. A new shooter can hit the wall much sooner. They burn out even faster if you let/make them shoot full 15 round mags through everything. I tend to let them shoot a mag or two, then wait while someone else does. Rotating them on and off evens things out.

If it's their first time ever, or their first time with a new weapon, I'll start them off with one round in the mag. I walk them through the steps to load, shoot and eject the mag. (It seems that when they know it cannot go BANG again, they are more comfortable) Then I have them shoot a mag of two or three to see how the autoloader feature works. Once they have a feel for the gun I load a few with 5 or 6, after that I let them load the mags themselves.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Well done!

I like to make a point of letting newbies know they're doing well, and assure them recoil seems considerably less forceful with practice.

 

[anapex]

He obviously has some issues here and exemplifies the reason why women should not learn to shoot from a significant other.

My wife learned from me and she's doing just fine. It doesn't depend on who teaches you, just in how they teach you. They also have to be a willing student, if their mind isn't set on learning they won't. Start small, start simple and you'll do just fine. The under loaded is a good idea too, I find myself doing that whenever I get a new pistol. 5 in a magazine until I get used to it.

 

[MrKandiyohi]

When I take a newbie to the range, I always start them out with my 7-shot Iver Johnson .22 revolver loaded with .22CBs. It's pretty much a capgun in terms of recoil. Then it's on to .22lr semi-auto, .38 revolver, 9mm and then, maybe the .45ACP or .357.

Get them involved in the reloading which gives them a break from shooting. I also shoot occasionally which also gives them a break.

Make the outing relaxed - don't rush it.

You sound like you did it right.

 

[Quartus]

Good job, good advice.

If we win their hearts and their minds, their votes will follow.

 

[spartacus2002]

Next time, take a reporter shooting. Best way to win their hearts and minds is to offer them the opportunity to actually shoot those beastly guns they despise.

 

[Monkeyleg]

You did a good deed. Congratulations!

As for the caliber issue, it's a personal thing. The first time I took my wife shooting, I let her use my Ruger .22. After a few rounds she said it was ok, but she wanted to try the .357. She likes the blast.

 

[Balog]

Sounds like you did great. Thanks for bringing another voter into the fold!

Re loading mags. I'd think it would be a good idea to load fewer rounds. I'd also think it wise to vary the number of rounds to see if flinching is occuring. Although this is probably more important when introducing someone to the larger calibers.

 

[Amish_Bill]

The best way to work on flinch, IMHO, is to use a revolver with 1 or more empty chambers.

 

[Balog]

I suppose it would depend on if the autoloader locked the slide after the last round or not. Revolvers are probably still better, tho.

 

[Sisco]

perform ritualistic human sacrifices before they fire their first shot

Aren't new shooter supposed to rip out the heart of their first silhouette target and eat it?

 

[RVSinOK]

I agree with the idea of not loading to capacity for practice. My main HD gun is a S&W 686+, 7 shot .357. A good amount of my time at the range is spent loading only 5 rounds. It just seems to me that I learn more when I only shoot five and then take a look to see what I need to change. YMMV!

 

[JShirley]

Good going, Apple.

If you can shoot with Amish Bill, I recommend it.

 

[Amish_Bill]