NEED TIPS! Taking my wife to the range today! YAY!

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Nightwing

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Ok. had part of a day off! Taking my wife to shoot for the first time!
What are a few tips I can give her to help her have the best time possible?
I want to not ruin her first experience and I don't want to be overbearing on her fun! I just wanna be able to give her a few safety tips, and some advice to help her, and let her go!
Leaving in a few minutes. if you have anything to offer, let me know now!
THANKS GUYS!
 
No shooting coaching. No "use this grip, lean forward, this foot forward, your aim is too low." Be sure the 4 rules aren't broken and her thumb isn't behind the slide. Let the new shooter get comfortable with just shooting a gun and you can worry about grouping later. A .22 is always nice to start.
 
one big one i use with all new shooters... "if you feel someone tap on your shoulder... immediately set the gun down" that way you arent trying to yell at someone that has ear plugs in, and the tendency is for them to turn around when you yell... thats a bad thing with a gun in the persons hand
 
Go over the four rules and do a bit of dryfiring at home where you can actually hear each other easily. I'd give a few quick tips on stance and grip, mention the muzzle and trigger safety stuff again, then go have fun!

Safety is number one. And making sure she is familiar enough with the weapons to be comfortable will let her have more fun. That's why I think it's best to go over this stuff before you get to the range. Make sure you explain to her that if you give a curt, "Finger," or, "Muzzle," at the range it is just for everybody's safety and you aren't yelling at her. :)

Have fun!
 
Keep it safe, keep it light hearted, keep it fun, pay attention to when SHE's done and leave then (even if you want to keep shooting).

Most important; never at any point say anything that can be in any way twisted to be criticism (unless safety ABSOLUTELY demands it).
 
Here's what has worked for me with noobs before.

Don't dump her on the range and have her start blasting. Get her familiar with the equipment beforehand.

Ask her to wear a hat, long sleeves, shoes (not sandals), and nothing that can't get burned. Warn her about hot brass.

Don't give her a 10mm to shoot first, use a .22.

Try to go when the lanes aren't completely packed, and warn her about the noise. Tell her beforehand that it's not like TV. Tell her that there's concussion, and that she's going to feel the guns going off.

Tell her that she will probably be completely freaked the *^&$# out for the first five minutes. Tell her this is normal. Tell her it happens to everyone. Tell her that it's ok if she's shaking for a while, but that she should get used to it.

If she doesn't get used to it, don't push. Leave. Try again some other time.

Don't have her use big stuff until she's happy putting .22 holes in paper.

Work on grip and stance while she's shooting .22. Don't let her develop bad habits and then give her a hand cannon.

If she doesn't take correction well from you normally, work on that before you go to the range.

Oh, here's the problem I have with my wife: she gets upset with herself when she doesn't shoot as well as everyone else. Make sure your wife knows that hitting the paper at all is more than some people can do.

And read that cornered cat article again.

http://www.corneredcat.com/Men/wifehateguns.aspx
 
In addition to the aboven mentioned start her on a .22, safety first, etc etc. I would recommend taking her to a range (if at all possible) where you don't have to shoot just paper and get some sort of reactive target, this can be cans of soda, bowling pins, or even phone books or computer parts (ask first about computer parts....some ranges that allow other stuff don't like computer parts) and get her to shoot those ....infact if you can avoid shooting any kind of paper or target on the first outting I would highly recommend it.

There is nothing greater to see than an ENORMOUS grin from someone that just splattered a shookup can of soda or knocked over a bowling pin. Even now for me I prefer (and have more fun) to have SOMETHING besides paper to shoot if at all possible (again even if its just some bowling pins that the range provides).
 
^going to see a local band and get dinner afterwards.

what kind of stance should I teach her?
I'm not an expert myself. Don't want the blind leading the blind.

I am renting a reuger 22 target pistol for her. Definitely not gonna put a 9mm or a .40cal in her hands yet.
 
for stance on a first range trip, honestly all I tell people is stand comfortably and don't lean away from guns, I teach them the "Nose Over Toes" mantra.....stance, perfect grip, etc etc all this is secondary to getting people to have SAFE FUN first....worry about the details on the third or so trip.
 
Teach her correct handgun gripping:

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No Charlie's Angel's style!!!
 
http://www.corneredcat.com/TOC.aspx#Teaching

Focus on the 4 rules. Do not feed her more information than she can process. Use reactive targets if possible. Be supportive. Be responsive to her particular wants/needs. Provide proper personal protective equipment. Make sure she is properly prepared for the weather/shooting conditions: proper eyewear (shaded?); hat; gloves; footwear (mud, cement, etc); insect repellant; sunscreen; etc. Do not subject her to recoil that will discourage her. Let her know this trip is for her, so she should feel free to be open about what she wants out of the trip. When she has had enough, pack it up.
 
I think the "pick up the child" stance works well.
Tell her to pretend like she's going to pick up a small child, with legs bent-
then, without standing up straight, have her tilt her head up and point her arms forward.

It makes less of a difference with .22. I was thinking more along the lines of getting her grip right, so if you go to something bigger it's not going to jump right out of her hand.
 
Is there anyone else who can do the "teaching" portion of the trip? Anyone?

My last choice of a teacher is my spouse, and my last choice of a student is my spouse. For some things it works well, for shooting it works less well. My teachers have been guys I've run into at the range, my cousins, and an old friend. My husband and I enjoy shooting together when we can, but I don't think I would've reacted well to him teaching me the basics. And we both like guns--they aren't a source of conflict for us. Get a friend to go along to show her a few things.

And actually, I think it's fine to bring the 9 and the .40 along for her to try once to she gets comfortable with the .22--if she wants to. But have them available. My first day handgunning I shot a .22, but then shot a 9 and a .357. The variety was the most fun part. When you're just starting out, you don't have anything really to work on--you haven't starting working on stance or grip or anything yet. Trying several guns made it much more fun the first time out.
 
Single ear protection is OK for .22s on a first timer. Double up (muffs and plugs) for anything bigger than .22 on a first timer, child, or anyone thats particularly recoil sensitive.

Also, keep in mind this trip is about HER so regardless of it being a good idea, if she wants to shoot something besides a .22 this trip LET HER but don't push her to it or even try and discourage it if she asks.

edit: Delta9 my first time shooting EVER was a full bore .357, second time 00buck in a 12guage....I didn't get to experience a .22 until my third time ever.....sometimes I wish it had been the other way around (sometimes got flinchy when I first started really shooting handguns) but most of the time not b/c man one of the most fun times I've ever had shooting was ripping up soda cans with that .357
 
"Ground school" first. 4 rules, name parts of gun, safe handling, un-loaded handling for familiarization, disassemble/assemble, what to expect on the range. Familiarization with the round, explain the science behind what happens when pulling the trigger on a loaded chamber. discuss sight picture, dominant eye, target alignment, safe handling when "hot". Dry run through commands, and what actions you expect.
Use buzz words and phrases, like "Keep the muzzle up, and pointed down range (Up and down range), "Safety on, clear and ground your weapon".

for you: Watch the gun hand, not the target. Stand just behind and to the right of the shooter. Speak calmly and only loud enough to be heard over the hearing pro. Shoot only the 22, and work through first a mag with only one round until she has it down, then go to two rounds, and when she is confident move up to a full mag.
eventually move to double taps, and rapid fire, etc. In between visits to the range, keep drilling on 4 rules, handling, etc.
 
1. Always be nice to the wife...
2. Always be nice to the wife...
3. Always... you know...

My wife was pretty intimidated at first. I explained the rules thoroughly before we went, and then just encouraged her once we were there.
 
"Ground school" first. 4 rules, name parts of gun, safe handling, un-loaded handling for familiarization, disassemble/assemble, what to expect on the range. Familiarization with the round, explain the science behind what happens when pulling the trigger on a loaded chamber. discuss sight picture, dominant eye, target alignment, safe handling when "hot". Dry run through commands, and what actions you expect.
Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. This is very good advice for the willing and eager student of an expert instructor, when the student is planning on learning advanced skills and spending a lot of time on it. It's also very mechanistic and focuses on the gun and the round rather than on the shooter.

It is not suited to someone who does not like guns, such as Nightwing's wife; she needs to have her concerns about guns addressed and hopefully replaced with things like fun and excitement. It is not suited to someone who may not make a second trip if she doesn't enjoy the first one, such as Nightwing's wife.

It is not suited to someone who is a little nervous around guns, like Nightwing's wife. For that kind of student, simplicity is the most important thing. She needs to know, as the other posters have emphasized, that she will likely be dealing with body-rattling levels of adrenalin. She needs to know that it's ok to screw up, as long as she does it safely--by obeying the four rules. She needs to know that someone will be right behind her to help with any problems as they occur.

People only remember a few things at a time, and her retention capacity will be limited by the stress of her first time shooting. It is much more important that she remember to keep the muzzle pointed downrange than which part is the slide and which part is the mag release. Therefore, it is not, imho, important to do more on naming parts than simply demonstrating function. The rest will come with time.

Extensive pre-shooting lecturing, and demanding that she demonstrate a level of proficiency before shooting will likely result in her not bothering with the shooting part. Especially with her husband teaching her, he *absolutely* should place an absolute *minimum* number of requirements on her and let her call as many of the shots as possible--she decides how many rounds in a mad, she decides what calibers. She decides if/when she wants to know about alignment, sight picture, stance etc. The four rules and enough on grip that she won't get hit in the face is just about perfect.
 
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Single ear protection is OK for .22s on a first timer. Double up (muffs and plugs) for anything bigger than .22 on a first timer, child, or anyone thats particularly recoil sensitive.
Click to expand...

If you go to a public range (especially an indoor one), double up no matter what you shoot! Chances are someone will show up with .500 or some other loudenboomer
I have had someone shooting 5 lanes over and the concussion from one of these caused me to flinch while wearing double protection.

If outdoors and permitted take reactive targets (empty cans, clay pigeons, spinner targets etc) punching holes in paper can get boring .
 
Or even just paper reactive targets--those stick-on ones that get a big splash of neon. Much easier to see where she is hitting, and more fun.
 
Congradulations. This answers some of the questions that are going on in your thread in non-firearms. Since yoy have already left, I have nothing to offer, except I hope things went well. Let us know how it went.
 
If you go to a public range (especially an indoor one), double up no matter what you shoot! Chances are someone will show up with .500 or some other loudenboomer
Click to expand...

Good point, I hadn't considered this (probably b/c I hate indoor ranges and try to avoid them if I can).
 
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