How do you teach a newbie to shoot?

[john l]

Got thinking about this subject for a while now. I would like to know what you guys do when this happens. I have been lucky enough to introduce a handful of "gunvirgins" to the range. Here's some things that I do:
1 safety first. after this, there is no particular order.
2. find out their dominant eye. Have them shoot with their dom. eye the whole time, even if they are cross dominant, it is a new skill for them and using their right or left side will seem foreign anyway.
3. I ALWAYS have a new shooter shoot a .22lr pistol and or rifle first, with me demonstrating all the necessary things. 22s are cheap to feed, and non-threatening noisemakers and recoillers.
4. eye and ear protection always no exceptions.
5. put the targets close, like 3 to 5 yards away, so they can see where they are hitting.
6. Who cares if they use the sights? I won't turn them into annie oakley this session.
7. reassure them that it doesn't matter if their groups are small, and they are doing great.
8. keep hands off trigger until ready to fire.
9. change targets often, give them to the newbie to keep. this is more true for adolecents and kids than say, your mom or boss.
10. give suggestions in a friendly way ONLY when they bring up something that bothers them about their shooting. Don't be bossy and overbearing. If they are happy with 15 inch groups at 3 yards and don't care, why should you?
11. Make their trip fun and emphasize that is the point. If they are fustrated, then you say, "Great, that gives us a reason to go to the range again".
12. Guns like 9mms 45 autos, AR15s, AKs are great to pull out if the shooter seems to be getting bored with 22s. Keep their interest going, let them choose what they wanna shoot next.
13. Shoot for only about an hour to an hour and a half. leave them wanting to come back. a four-hour shooting session is not logical.

Any points that you guys can add or critique?
john l

 

[Typhoon]

I don't.

All I provide is an opportunity to let them pull the trigger a few times to get the "feel" and then I refer them to someone who knows far more than me.

I know just enough to make myself shoot OK. I am not anywhere close to being an instructor.

However, I like your emphasis on safety.

 

[Justin]

John l- I like your style.

When teaching a newbie I always start off with a safety meeting, either at their place or mine. We go over the four rules, and talk about the various guns that will be going to the range and how to safely handle them.

On the way to the range the discussion continues.

Once at the range I start them shooting a .22 from the bench at about 10 yards. If they can keep a safe group on the paper I'll let them shoot standing.

Other than that, anything I do would just be a copy and paste of what John posted.

When taking a newbie to the range I only have two goals:

1)They are safe.
2)They have fun.

 

[Black Majik]

I usually break it down to 2 segments: Safety instruction before heading to the range. I explain to them range courtesies also such as not sweeping fellow shooters and always checking the chamber of the gun when picking up a gun etc....

The range session consists of starting off with a Colt Government with a .22 Marvel top end. Pros to this is gun is manual safety and easy to use. Cons to using this gun would be the slide not locking back after the last round.

Next would be shooting the 9mm when comfortable. I usually stop it there, but I have my Kimber .45 if they want to try at the end of the range session and show good gun safety.

New shooters are a lot of fun to take. They usually always listen to everything you have to say, and oddly enough, the girls shoot somewhat better than the guys in my experience (assuming both are first time shooters)

 

[Amish_Bill]

Pretty close. If at all possible, I like to have a basic orientation at home. (theirs or mine - no real difference) If this is a day or so before the range trip, so much the better. Let the feel of the gun sink into their subconcious a little.

I also like to show them the sights and draw a little picture of how the front, rear and target should be lined up. You don't know the weird sight pictures I've had some people tell me that they thought were proper.

At the range, I always start them out with a .22lr. Nomatter what it is, I make a big show out of only putting one bullet in the gun. I tell them that nomatter how they might goof up, it will not be able to go BANG more than once. I find it lowers the tension a bit if they know that it will not (and cannot) 'go wild' on them.

When that first shot is done, I'll walk them through reloading with two rounds. I'll also tell them exactly how it will be different with another bullet being immediately ready to go. From there I'll ask them how many they'd like in the next magazine. (yes, it's almost always a 22/45 that I use - no better teaching pistol) I usually suggest 5 if they look at me blankly here.

When letting them move to a bigger caliber, I do the 1 round thing again. It seems to take away some fear if they know that even if this bigger, badder cartridge manages to rip the gun out of their hand or fail in some cataclysmic manner, that there will be no more bullets left for someone else to get hit by.

I always cring when I see a new shooter taking their first shots with a full 15 rounds of 9mm or 13 rounds of .40sw. (or actually anything bigger than a .22) The whole goal is to ease them into it. Show them in as happy a way posible that they are up to the task, not to stack fears & trepidations on each other.

I also try to stay as close as I can without actually being in their personal space. If they look scared or hesitant, or the gun does something unexpected, I can talk them through it or reach out and do what's needed. As they get better and more comfortable, I back off. It's sort of like training wheels.

Note - Yes, you need to speak up to be heard at the range, but keep your voice as smooth and low as possible. Often, the newbie shooter has a handfull of unfamilar fear in front of them. Your job is to calm them and smooth the learning process - not to practice your DI skills.

Basically, I treat them like a puppy. A cute, cuddly puppy... with a gun

 

[Waitone]

Other than a quick familarization (bullets, brass, trigger, sights, etc.) I don't.

I send 'em to a qualified firearms instructor for the fundamentals. Once past the fundamentals I'll shoot all day with them.

 

[GigaBuist]

Been almost a month since I did this, but the last 3 people I took out want to go again. Pitty I have to cancel on the guy Thursday for a company meeting after hours.

Definately safety first. They come over to my place and I give them a briefing on the things we'll be taking out. I'd certainly let them pick but frankly they have NO idea what they're picking out so I just gather up some handguns and some rifles. I may (okay will) change this so that I bring along a shotgun from now on so they know what a shotgun is and how the pellets work.

I'm a geek so I have a whiteboard at my place. I show them the different sights they'll deal with just so they have a rough idea what they want to see in relation to the target.

God help me but I don't own a .22LR rifle and I haven't taken new shooters out since I got a .22LR handgun. They are a DEFINATE must with new shooters and I'm kicking myself for not getting on the .22LR bandwagon sooner.

Since I lack a .22LR rifle the rifle everybody starts out with (and I start them with a rifle) is the AR-15. I explain that yes, it's scarey looking, but it's very very docile. Loud, but it doesn't kick. I break it down and show them the recoil spring and start pushing it in letting them know that THIS thing is sucking up the recoil and it will not kick much. If they ask "how much" I tap them on the shoulder rather gently.

I am never again going to SHOW the person that shooting doesn't hurt though or how to do it. I'm thinking that they should be the 1st one on the line. Thankfully my outdoor range is very unpopulated so it's likely that their first shot will be the first time they hear a gun discharge up close. The noise scares some people -- but it's not so noticable when you're behind the rifle. Shockwaves and all that.

I own two sets of decent ear muffs. If I bring 2 guests they get the muffs and I go with plugs. After shooting with crappy ear plugs I'll never subject a newbie to that. The four extra Db that (cheap) muffs provide in protection is certainly noticable!

I always load the mags unless they want to try it. It's frustrating your first time trying to load a magazine and there's no reason to teach them their 1st time out unless they want to try it.

I do not bother with showing them how to work the safety on a weapon. Open to criticism here. I hand them them mag, they load it, they chamber it, and they fire until dry. That is it. They're instructed that if anything goes wrong they should lay it down and let me clear the jam. If I put their hand on their shoulder they should lower the weapon for my inspection and to clear it for them. This doesn't really happen often at all. I let a newbie try my KelTec .380 and it did occur though. Muzzle was in a safe direction the whole time and it was not a problem. I warned him before hand that it was likely to happen with that particular pistol.

What else?

Oh, rifle shooting starts at 25 yards. I'm sure as heck not tossing targets out to 100 yards for newbies.

FWIW I've seen guys shoot nice little groups at 25 yards their first time that are a little high or low at 25 yards. Well, it's not a GOOD group for us, but they're all on target in one general direction away from the bullseye. I just let 'em know that the irons are tuned -MY- perception of center and that might not be entirely accurate. A few more mags and they're correcting and feeling happy about it.

With the "pressure" of bystanders my pistol groups to to heck and back. I can dial in eventually but by the end of the session me and the newbies have turned the pistol targets into shotgun looking patterns. Fine by me!

The ride home (which is at least 30 minutes from my outdoor range) is usually filled with a discussion of gun laws. At the indoor range which is so close and in town I usually invite the fellow out for a beer afterwards. At any rate they get a good talking to about gun laws. Very receptive in my experience, but nobody I take out is a total stranger to me. They sorta start asking questions about how that AR-15 or AK clone was legal and such and I explain them.

From here on out my typical load-out for a newbie will be:

.22LR rifle (once I get one!)
AR-15 -- big boom, scary looking, but docile as all get out and accurate.
.22LR pistol (Walther P22)
.410 Saiga (Surprisngly people don't understand what the "shot" of a "shotgun" is until they see it happen)

Optional at their request;
9mm CZ-75B. The last two women I took out loved shooting it.
An AK. I mean 'cmon -- if they want to say they've shot an AK who am I to object?

 

[OF]

Good thread. I've taught alot of newbies to shoot, both in structured classes (NRA) and informally. A couple things I've found that might not be obvious but help out alot:

- Keep it simple: They are going to be on information overload pretty much right out of the gate, so keep it reaaaaal simple. Keep the safety stuff especially simple. The Four Rules are great, but you might want to go over the four and then pare it down to two: keep your finger off the trigger, don't point the gun at anybody.

- Keep it fun: This means keep the targets big and close. Let them hit something. Don't be a drill instructor. Be happy. Be having fun, but

- Be in charge: Have fun, but don't slack off. Someone clearly in charge puts people at ease - especially in unfamiliar situations.

- Pay attention 100% of the time to your student. If you have more than one student, it pays to have electronic ears so you can hear people picking up guns behind you when they're not supposed to be.

- Watch for mounting panic: If you teach enough newbies, eventually you'll get someone who is just not cut out for guns. They will show signs of mounting panic. Be in tune and watch. Ask your student if they are enjoying themselves or if there is something else they'd like to try. just pay attention.

- Start with dryfire: let them dryfire the gun a bit first. Just a couple to see that they can pull the trigger and the gun fits OK.

- Very important: Don't put more than one round in the gun for the first few shots. Until they get over the 'HOLY CRAP' stage. Let them dispel myths and get overly excited with an empty gun after that first round goes off. Don't forget this.

- Build up to a full magazine...if you ever get that far. Go from 1 round to 3. Then to 6. Fatigue will set in quickly for a new shooter, both physically and mentally. Don't let it, take small breaks to check the target, etc. Don't have them blasting off a 13 round string until alot later.

- Know your student: watch them react and try to anticipate not only any safety problems, but what they like and don't like. If they're having fun or not. What kind of person they are, how they react in unfamiliar environments.

- An excited shooter will sometimes want to turn around, usually to their strong side, towards you. Keep a hand non-chalantly up by their shoulderblade to push their shoulder if they start to turn around on you with a gun in their hand.

- The most important thing a new shooter can learn re: marksmanship is the relationship between the sight picture and the trigger pull. If they're shotgun-patterning the target, have them hold the gun on target while you pull the trigger for them. This can be a real eye opener for a new shooter.

- I don't think it's necessary to start with a .22 Nothing wrong with it, for sure, but I've started lots of people on bigger guns and they seem to do fine. Don't get them going on something too 'advanced', like a .44 or anything, but a 9mm or even a mild .40 or all-steel .45 never hurt anyone. If you're going to be using wheelguns, stick to lighter loads. .38, etc. The 6-shooters kick more sharply and I've noticed that people shy off that more easily. Different strokes, though. Best to let them try a bunch of stuff and see what feels right for them.


That's all I can think of right now. I love taking new people to the range. Tons of fun.

- Gabe

 

[Hardtarget]

I'm glad to see this tonight. My wife has a co-worker that would like to try his hand with a pistol. I've read some good ideas on how to ease him into shooting. I'm looking foreward to the outing...and I'll keep the "safe and fun" part in mind at all times.
Mark

 

[Amish_Bill]

Burnout - A real problem.

Even if they appear calm, their adrenaline level will be spiked. Don't drag it out too long.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Safety instruction before heading to the range.

Amen! Those who don't pay full attention get to stay home.

 

[GunGeek]

9. change targets often, give them to the newbie to keep. this is more true for adolecents and kids than say, your mom or boss.

The last Boss I tought to shoot wanted to keep her target, and my Mom actually had her first target hanging up on the outside of her bedroom door and pointed it out to every visitor she had for 3 months!

I love teaching both new and experianced shooters, and I was lucky enough to have the Marines send me to formal training to be a marksmanship instructor.

 

[TechBrute]

Watch out for information overload. They can't handle information like the fact that your S&W 625 shoots a .45ACP cartridge that was designed for an autopistol. For complete newbies, I try to bring two pistols at the most. One is a .22LR and the other is something larger. This keeps it simple and keeps the excess questions to a minimum.

 

[chink]

I haven’t really taught anyone how to shoot. I just give people the opportunity to fire a gun show why I like them so much and that they aren’t evil. I typically give a quick run down of the 4 rules and ask if they have any questions. Show them the way the firearm we are using works (AR-15 is we are outdoors, some 22lr pistol if we are at the indoor range) load 5 rds in to the magazine, instruct them that if there is a problem just put the firearm down and I will fix the problem and let them go under my watchful eye. If that experience was good for them then I go into more stuff like sight picture, loading the magazine etc.

I like the ar-15 as a rifle to start with, because it is easy to shoot, mine is quite reliable and quite accurate. My 10/22 shoots all over the place and I think the bolt action is to much for a first timer to deal with. Of course. I never had anyone teach me to shoot. My first rifle was an AR-15 that was an impulse buy and I learned to shoot pistols with a 1911 I bought myself as a 21st b-day present. Which would probably explain a lot of things about me

 

[BamBam-31]

GRD brings up GREAT points. Worth a re-read.