Help me train a newbie...

[Edmond]

I'm trying to train my friend to be a better shooter. We've been shooting many times before and we go through the safety things again and again because I'm anal about it.

Her problem is that she'll flinch and point the 9mm (G26) down in anticipation of recoil.

If she corrects the flinching, she'll do something else wrong like limp wrist.

I tell her to not focus on the sights; that she should focus on the target.

How can I correct those habits? I've thought about using an eye patch because I thought it would be easier using one eye at first and then we can use both eyes.

We've tried both the weaver and iso stance. She seems more comfortable with the weaver so we may stick with that.

Any tips for me?

I think one of her problems is a lack of concentration.

How about some kind of wrist band to keep her wrist straight?

 

[Blackhawk 6]

Dry-fire should correct the flinch and help prevent the limp-wristing.

I always had more success focusing on the front sight vs. the target. YMMV.

 

[Jim March]

One of the things people don't realize is how weak some modern folks' wrists are. Esp. the ladies.

A G26 even in "lowly" 9mm may be just too much gun to start out with.

Time for a 22.

My first real gun was a Rossi 357, basically the same heft/size class as a 3" barrel K-Frame. I did fine, no flinching or similar, but as a biker I already had the wrist strength. Crappy gun though (kept breaking hammer-mounted firing pins) so it had to go.

 

[Edmond]

One of the things people don't realize is how weak some modern folks' wrists are. Esp. the ladies.

A G26 even in "lowly" 9mm may be just too much gun to start out with.

Time for a 22.

Jim,

I am taking your advice; I have managed to borrow a .22 revolver. I've never shot one but I'm just going to try and get the flinching down. I'm also going to try and get the recoil anticipation down so she won't push the gun down before squeezing the trigger.

 

[Shootcraps]

I agree with Jim. I never start a newbie out on an auto. Too much going on with all that stuff moving around and things flying out.

A .22 revolver is great for starters. A four inch .357M with 38s is also a great revolver to start with. Those 38s won't buck much and the 4 incher balances almost perfectly in the hand.

 

[SpiderJohn]

I just went through this with someone. Use a wheel gun, and load the gun yourself. Put a few empty cases in the cylinder. Two or so. Tell them, so there is no panic at a FTF. Hand it to the person shooting. It is enough of a surprise that they will be able to see the situation themselves. Once they pull the trigger on an empty shell, the lightbulb goes off right over their head. You will see drastic improvement if you work through a whole box dropping in two or three empties every time.

 

[Hemicuda]

umm... as said - the empty cartridge or dud bullet in an auto... but ALSO as said - FRONT SIGHT... you SHOULD see the FRONT SIGHT clearly, and the rear sight and target should be fuzzy...

 

[mattx109]

The other suggestions are spot on.

Start with a .22 revovler. I've always started with a .22 rifle myself, because really, who's going to jump at that?

Plant a few empties in the cylinder to illustrate flinching.

Front sight focus.

Also:

Have her experiment with stances. Find the one with which she's most comfortable (and can hold correctly) and start with that.

Try to shoot at times when the range is free of big booms. Trying to teach her to shoot .22 correctly while the guy next to you is blazing with a .454 is going to have a negative effect.

Make sure her finger is contacting the trigger correctly, and that she's pushing it back rather than jerking. Take double-action pulls slow and watch for signs of anticipation.

Once things are getting steady, try the analysis target from makarov.com to determine areas in need of work.

Good luck!

 

[Shootcraps]

Another exercise to help with flinching is to put a dime on top of the barrel right behind the front sight while dry firing. If there's a flat spot to put it on.

 

[MrChicken]

For many people, probably most even, it isnt the kick, it's the BANG!

Double her up on hearing protection, plugs and muffs and see how it goes.
Home Depot has a pack of 100 29DB NR plugs for about 10 bucks,

She should focus on the front sight, if the front sight isnt on target, the shot wont be either. Tell her that after the shot she should be looking through the sights and they should be on target again after the recoil. That will give her the mental image of keeping the gun on target, and fight the subconscious urge to push the gun down. It's what she should be doing anyway, two sight pictures for each shot, one before and one after.

Get her a grip strength device. There is one that has seperate springs for each finger, she can hold the M/R/P fingers tight while practicing trigger finger control.

Have her shoot targets up close, at ~3 feet so the shot spread is close even when she flinches. That way she wont get discouraged and give up. Lots of praise for good shots, and praise for trying even on the bad ones. Always praise, no negatives or she'll probably just get worse.

Good luck....

 

[Waitone]

Double up on hearing protection.

.22LR good move.

Shake hands with her. If it is a typical female style of hand shake introduce her to a firm style. What she may consider firm may be completely unacceptable for handguns.

For the first few boxes ignore the target. Let her point and fire. Shows the handgun will not jump out of her hand and run off down the road to rob a Circle K.

Good luck.

 

[Ivy Mike]

A drill my boss taught me goes kinda like this.

With an empty weapon
Place a wooden dowel (about 16 inches) in the barrel of the weapon.
Next, try to keep the dowel from touching the edges of a ring about 2" in diameter(the base of a styrofoam cup) while dry firing.

The other drill is to coat the end of the same dowel with paint and just "touch" it to a target. If the mark on paper is the same as the end of the dowel, your grip and trigger technique is good. If the dot smears or is oblong, your technique needs work.

 

[mete]

Get a copy of Teaching Women to Shoot by Vicki Farnam. Men and women are different and need different training methods. Always start out a new shooter with a 22 to learn sight picture and trigger control without having to deal with recoil.

 

[Ankeny]

Send her to Gunsite. Better yet, take the basic class together.

 

[SiG Lady]

It didn't take me long...

I'll admit to starting with a Ruger Mark II Government Model .22LR pistol but quickly advanced to 9mm, 40S&W then very quickly to reloading my own .45ACP in the Kimber. We have .22 League competitions here at our indoor range, so the .22 is still really important--moreover the Mark II is heavy in weight and a good strength-builder and training pistol.

I, myself, never had much trouble with sighting, limp wrists, flinching and so forth, but sometimes made the mistake (and still do) of NOT isolating my trigger finger... which leads to jerking down.

I'd say isolating the trigger finger and concentrating on the front sight are the two pieces of advice I'm going to offer here. Both of those require focusing on the SHOOTING and not on the NOISE or any other element. Perhaps she needs to shift focus away from the bang and onto the brain. It is, after all, a largely MENTAL game.

Good luck to both of you. I actively support the promotion of females in the shooting sport both in the community here and online.

Go for it!