meathammer
Member
Last Saturday I took my girlfriend to the range. It was her first time. I gave her some foam earplugs and my muffs to put over them. I know how loud indoor ranges can get, one of my buddies developed a flinch until he got proper hearing protection.
I didn't want her scared of the noise right off the bat. She admitted guns made her nervous when we first started dating. That's what I wanted to remedy.
I went over the 4 rules, stressing finger off the trigger and muzzle always downrange. Then I let her hold the pistol (Ruger 22/45) unloaded, just to get a feel for it. I also showed her how to grip, load and operate it.
I put a target up and fired a few shots to show her what a .22 is like. I helped her load the first magazine, and let her have at it. Not bad at all. She was pulling shots a little to the left, but they were grouping, not all over the paper. On her second box (50 rd) she hit the bullseye a few times.
Most importantly, she never once put her finger inside the trigger guard until she was going to shoot. She kept the muzzle pointed down range, and when finished, engaged the safety and placed the pistol down properly. This made me very happy.
I fired my 1911 a few times to show her what that was like. She seemed interested, so I asked her if she wanted to try. She hesitated a little so I said maybe when you're a little more comfortable with the .22. She agreed.
I think she kind of liked it. She didn't do cartwheels or anything, but she had a grin. I told her to keep the target (you have to keep your first one!).
The most important thing that came out of this experience is that she said that guns don't make her as nervous/uncomfortable anymore.
I am a happy boyfriend!
I didn't want her scared of the noise right off the bat. She admitted guns made her nervous when we first started dating. That's what I wanted to remedy.
I went over the 4 rules, stressing finger off the trigger and muzzle always downrange. Then I let her hold the pistol (Ruger 22/45) unloaded, just to get a feel for it. I also showed her how to grip, load and operate it.
I put a target up and fired a few shots to show her what a .22 is like. I helped her load the first magazine, and let her have at it. Not bad at all. She was pulling shots a little to the left, but they were grouping, not all over the paper. On her second box (50 rd) she hit the bullseye a few times.
Most importantly, she never once put her finger inside the trigger guard until she was going to shoot. She kept the muzzle pointed down range, and when finished, engaged the safety and placed the pistol down properly. This made me very happy.
I fired my 1911 a few times to show her what that was like. She seemed interested, so I asked her if she wanted to try. She hesitated a little so I said maybe when you're a little more comfortable with the .22. She agreed.
I think she kind of liked it. She didn't do cartwheels or anything, but she had a grin. I told her to keep the target (you have to keep your first one!).
The most important thing that came out of this experience is that she said that guns don't make her as nervous/uncomfortable anymore.
I am a happy boyfriend!