How do you have "A Day at the range"?

[Shorts]

I'm involved in our squadron's OSC (Officer's Spouses Club). Last night at the meeting it was announced that I enjoy shooting and member of the gun club. Ther was a pretty good interest and responses(offers to stay over when guys are on deployment), plus some wives have been shooting with their husbands before. Telling my husband about the meeting, he suggested we/I do a Range Day for the ladies. Assuming I drum up enough interest and get tmes and dates down, how do I go about getting this thing off the round? I would have this at our gun club, which I am a member of and free use of anytime. I am considering asking our Handgun Director to help me schedule this so we can be sure lanes are open, plus have him give the instruction on safety and proper use. I can also do that, but since he's the pro, I figured the girls would get some real info from this and take it seriously (not that they are goofs, just adds to professionalism and "realness" of learning, especially for newbies).

My concerns are with hearing/eye protection and ammo supply.

Ears: I have my own stuff, but if newbies come out, how do we get them prepped? Have them bring their own? I have bunches of foamy inners, but I don't think those are enough protection.

Eyes: Again, we have our own, should participants bring their own?

Ammo: The most expensive item. I figured I'd take three pistols: Ruger 22/45, Beretta Cheetah 86, and SA GI.45. I can also bring along the HiPoint Carbine and Marlin .22lr. Getting the ammo isn't a problem, just go down to walmart and get some, but paying for it...blah. Should I ask participants to pay say $5 each or $8 to help cover ammo costs?

What have you fellas done to make sure all bases are covered? I know some of you have taken groups out, how do you handle them? I figure smaller groups are much easier to deal with logistically, plus that means people will have more time on a gun/lane and just aren't milling around too much and not having fun.

 

[Greg L]

Ask if the club would be willing to help out. I've been involved/asked to help at a couple such "days". Most everyone asked was agreeable to bringing a selection of pistols/ammo for the ladies to try out (at no cost to them) along with extra eye/hearing protection. If there is enough interest from the members you SHOULD have an instructor/tutor per lane.

Above all else though make sure that the ones who are helping out aren't the condescending gun store commando types "Here little darlin', let's start you out with something small like this titanium .44 magnum - BOOOOM - Har har har" . It should be an enjoyable experience for them & not something that turns them into anti's.

 

[Sam]

If you are having it at the base R&G Club, have the sq 1st Sgt talk with the 1st Sgt at Services. Sometime you can get them to subsidize it. It is good for thier business. You can also talk with the Family Support Center. You could get a bit of extra participation through them and they would know who you could hit up for some cash.

Sam

PM me if you need more.

 

[Shorts]

Sam, I hadn't considered using the base services but I will look into that as well. That's a good idea.

GregL, good thinking on asking the gun club for help as an event. Our club is pretty active and I bet there would be some interest.

 

[Poodleshooter]

Try to have 1 guide per 2 classroom educated newbies at minimum.
Your gun club should have ear and eye protection available. If not, see if you can arrange to buy and donate to the club for future use, or split the costs with the club, or take up a collection/fee from those attending and use it for eyes,ears and ammo.

 

[Shorts]

Our club does not have extra ears, although they do have a little bucket full of the inner foamies in the skeet/trap shack. That did cross my mind. I should go rummage in there and see if there are pairs of muffs. The main clubhouse is just a building with the kitchen and tables/meeting area, tv etc. I didn't see any extra equipment.

 

[Eskimo Jim]

Shorts,
Well done organizing a trip to the range. I've introduced a couple of people to the shooting sports. Here's my suggestions:

1) talk to the head range officer or club officer at your club to make the arrangements. Most clubs and public ranges are ok about setting aside a couple of lanes or a range for specific use as long as the time isn't excessive. See if they have a small room you could use to go through a brief introduction to safety and operation of each firearm. Maybe a range officer could help you out so that the ratio of experienced to inexperienced shooter would be lower.

2) Buy the foam ear plugs and perhaps suggest to your guests that they buy their own at Wal Mart or some other place. Do you have a discount store near you? A real discount store that gets overstock and slightly damaged goods. There is one near me and they had ear muffs for something like $3 a pair. They were the same ones that some other store carried for $15 or so. I picked up a couple of spare sets. Also, try a safety store or large commercial construction supplier for the foam ear plugs. they come in a huge box for relatively little money.

3) I'd suggest about 100-150 rnds for 22lr and then about 25-50 rounds per person for any additional calibers. Is there a gun shop near you that sells good reloaded ammunition? This might be cheaper than Wal Mart stuff.

I hope that this helps.

Good luck.

-Jim

 

[yesterdaysyouth]

here's how i did it... and whenever i do this it is always one on one....

"meet me at the walmart after work"

once there i started pointing, "you need that, that, this and plenty of these".. now newbie knows what he needs to go shooting and where to get it, and how much it's gonna cost him...

"now lets go get the ammo" i tell newbie what he needs and how much, he swipes his card, and we leave...

once at the range we talk about safety and nomenclature of the weapons we will fire today... newbie always starts with the .22 auto, i show him how to load mags, and he loads them .. i then take the mag and weapon show newbie the manual of arms and fire.. newbie then repeats what he just saw... then newbie reloads the mags, and fires until he has decided he's ready to move up.... during this time i will usually start shooting myself, you've got to learn how to deal flying brass sometime

once newbie is ready to move on he will goto a revolver in .38sp. we discuss differences in revolvers and how they work. i load a cylinder and then fire it. once newbie has picked up i will assist him through 4-5 cylinders then i go back to shooting... once newbie is ready we'll move up again, usually a fullsize auto... and repeat the process...

most important points of a first range trip include...
muzzle control, "where's that trigger finger?", "it won't fire if there's not one in the chamber", "is it unloaded?", and my favorite...

"is it alright if we leave with the same amount of holes we came with?"

hitting the target is far down the list on the first range trip, we will usually shoot at the same target...

evertime newbie always wants to come back, so i ask "do you know what to get?"... newbie usually has already bought everything and more ammo... before long newbie asks "I have a buddy....." i ask newbie, "do you know what to get?" and the circle continues...

eventually newbie will ask about the evil rifles... then the fun begins...

if you can find the right people to help you out, then it should be a huge success... if not you'll have to do it one at a time, like me...

 

[c_yeager]

The foam plugs actually offer pretty good protection by themselves. If you arent going to be shooting anything too unreasonable then I think you should be OK with them. I would suggest having them bring their own though since the ones at the range may be of dubious quality.

 

[Sam]

Shorts,
Every one of those GI's has been issued hearing protection.
Have the spouses borrow it for the day.

Sam

 

[dghboy315]

i've done a bunch of these intro to new shooters. it'a actually much harder than taking one person out to shoot. for you first time, keep the group as small as you can. it really is like teaching a class, so plan everything out before hand. i don't recommend handeling more than 3-4 people by yourself for the first time you teach. the most i've have instructed is 10 students w/ 2 instructors. this took a lot of time, since only 2 shooters could be on the line at any one time. but we still had a lot of fun and got the shooters into some head to head competition.

project confidence and knowledge, most new shooters are scared to death. also, plan your time carefully. safety and handgun manipulation takes a lot longer than most people think. keep to attitude light and fun so everyone has agood time, but always be maintain control of the group. this is usu. easier w/ women. when you say "stop", them must know to freeze.

hearing protection: ear plugs are good enough for outdoor shooting, but not really for indoor, esp for new shooters who are afraid of the noise already.

eye protection: for outdoor shooting, i just tell people to bring sunglasses. for indoor, you will have to buy cheap plastic googles from walmart and sell it to them. going to walmart before the shoot is a good idea, but not practical for a large group.

money: keep it straight and upfront on how muchthings will cost. it is just more professional that way.

time: make sure you tell people exactly what the time commitment are. some people think they can just learn to shoot in 1 hour. remember to factor in travel time and tardiness.

legal issues: depending on who well you know all these people, inform everyone about the safety issues and responsible handling of firearms up front. legal issues never really matter until something goes wrong.

be alert: new shooters do the craziest things. you gotta watch them like a hawk


i'm sure i've forgotten some stuff, but all the info here will get you started. it really is a lot of work, but as responsible gun owners, i think it is our duty to share our sport. plus, teaching is its own reward.