How to?: Fun Shoot with Friends and Fam

[mwsenoj]

Have been trying to organize a couples shoot with the purpose of having fun and giving some gun education to my wife and my buddies' wives. While I have been around gun safety since I was a little kid, my brain is not very good at making lists. I wanted to pique you HighRoaders' brains and see if you could help me out with 2 lists: 1st, a safety checklist to go over with the new shooters and 2nd some fun but not too intense scenarios to play with. I have plans to have only one firearm shared by all shooters (maybe 6 or 8) and we will be shooting a little 22lr Ruger. For targets, I have some steel plates and I can shoot paper but only if it is highly recommended (it is a pain to setup) We will be shooting at a personal range with appropriate backstop. Looking forward to hearing what you all have to say.

Thanks!

 

[Legionnaire]

List 1.

Four rules.
How the/each firearm functions.
Four rules.
How to verify the weapon is unloaded each time it changes hands.
Four rules.
Matching ammunition to the firearm.
Four rules.

I'm not being flip. Review the four rules often throughout the instruction and they will be remembered.

 

[MrCleanOK]

Add to the above list:
-What to do in the event of a misfire/malfunction.

And remember that some people like to figure things out on their own, like my wife. She knows that she can ask for help, or tips (and she does when she wants to), but I only interject if there is a safety issue that needs correcting. While a new shooter is on the fence, the only two things that matter are safety and having fun. Marksmanship can come later when/if they are hooked.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk

 

[hermannr]

I think one of the most fun exercises we do as a family is the dualing tree. The ones for .22 only are not expensive. We also have 1/5 size steel flip silouettes for the mexican game.... chicken, boar, turkey and ram. At 1/5 scale, you also need less room. Everything can be done within 25 meters.

You can shoot the silouettes with one gun, but you need two of the same (or simular) guns for the dualing tree.

Friendly compitition is always a good way to keep interest up when their are several people involved.

#1! That gun is ALWAYS loaded....I don't care if the slide is back....treat it as such....build from there.

 

[Serenity]

Have them repeat the four rules back to you a lot.

 

[mwsenoj]

Thanks for the responses so far I forgot to mention that the Ruger is a pistol.

Anymore fun ideas? The next time we organize this shoot I wanted to move to something a little bigger, maybe a 38spl revolver match and finally end up with my bedside glock so that my wife would feel comfortable protecting herself with it if I weren't around.

 

[mwsenoj]

Legionnaire, isn't that only three rules? Or is "4 rules" one of the rules?

 

[Magoo]

Four rules:
1) Always assume a gun is loaded.
2) Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction
3) Know your target and what is beyond it
4) Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to fire

That's the short of it. Of course each can be expanded some. Since you're going to be teaching, google "four rules" so you can find some wordings that will work for you and your crowd.

For targets, steel is great but "blowing stuff up" is always gratifying. Here's a link to a thread with four pages of ideas of fun stuff to shoot:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=564262&highlight=targets

Edit: Here's the search result that found that thread. Lots of threads on fun targets. http://www.thehighroad.org/search.php?searchid=9649435

 

[Legionnaire]

Magoo has it. I use the following form:

1. Treat every gun as if it is loaded.
2. Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

As far as what to shoot at, reactive targets are great for beginners. Be careful shooting steel. I like Shoot'N See targets, knock-down wooden blocks, and shaken cans of cheap soda (with careful cleanup afterwards).

 

[forindooruseonly]

As a suggestion beyond the basics of safety, function and more safety, here is what I'd suggest:

1. - Don't worry about accuracy. Paper targets emphasize groups, and that will bore new shooters. If at a firing range, put the targets close enough to where they will hit them. Along with this goes positive reinforcement only. Don't turn off new shooters because they can't hit anything. If on a private or public range that allows it, old junk can be an interesting time for new shooters. Just be sure to clean stuff up. If possible, shooting steel with .22 is great fun, but I find new shooters occasionally have problems with steel because you need to be a safe distance back. Ain't fun if you don't hit it. That challenge comes later.

2. - Don't push them to shoot something they are uncomfortable with. There are plenty of videos of new shooters getting ambushed by some idiot who thinks it would be funny to give them a .500 or whatever. Don't do that. That is another way to ruin a new shooter. Start them on .22s, or a big .357 or .38 loaded with very mild loads. Personally, I always found the .32 S&W Long to be a great introduction to centerfires.

3. - Don't be overbearing. Supervise, keep things safe, but don't micromanage.

4. - Have fun! If you clearly enjoy shooting them and helping them, it puts them at ease.

That's just my experience from helping new shooters for the past fifteen years or so. I learned a lot myself, but everyone I've helped is still an active shooter so something went right.

 

[dexter]

if your not worried about a ricochet going over your backstop,golf balls are fun to shoot at.