MatthewVanitas
Member
I've only seen this happen a few times, but thought I'd see if anyone has any ideas.
Maybe three times while coaching newbies at the UT range, I've had new shooters shriek loudly and spazz out after firing their first shot. In all cases, it was a small female shooter.
One girl, who seemed pretty peppy and assertive otherwise, fired a shot from a .22 (we only have .22), jumped a foot off the ground. At the same time, I lunged forward to grab her hands to keep her from turning to the side, which she was beginning to do. A few days later I had a very similar girl shooting for the first time, so I was ready to grab, but she simply jerked but didn't turn.
Note: I do generally avoid touching a student without asking, but I'd argue it's definitely appropriate if someone is moving in an unsafe way.
I've taken to having jumpy-seeming shooters load a mag with just one round for their first shot, to prevent an ND on the second round. Is this the only way to deal with the issue? Do some male shooters do this too, or is this mainly a female pschological trait?
Have had no real problem with female shooters in general: a few have trouble with slide operation, and a handful have had zero clue how to use sights and shot _over_ the target. I now go over sight alignment during each brief, though 90% of shooters know it from video games or simply intuition.
Male shooters usually just have trouble shutting up and listening to instruction, and taking correction for unsafe behavior.
Any other techniques I should try with the especially skittish? Perhaps firing one or two rounds myself, telling them "okay, now we'll hear what a gun going off sounds like. Just relax and listen to it, nothing's going to happen."
Having a .22-only range diminishes the problem, but doesn't eliminate it. Thanks for any info,
-MV
Maybe three times while coaching newbies at the UT range, I've had new shooters shriek loudly and spazz out after firing their first shot. In all cases, it was a small female shooter.
One girl, who seemed pretty peppy and assertive otherwise, fired a shot from a .22 (we only have .22), jumped a foot off the ground. At the same time, I lunged forward to grab her hands to keep her from turning to the side, which she was beginning to do. A few days later I had a very similar girl shooting for the first time, so I was ready to grab, but she simply jerked but didn't turn.
Note: I do generally avoid touching a student without asking, but I'd argue it's definitely appropriate if someone is moving in an unsafe way.
I've taken to having jumpy-seeming shooters load a mag with just one round for their first shot, to prevent an ND on the second round. Is this the only way to deal with the issue? Do some male shooters do this too, or is this mainly a female pschological trait?
Have had no real problem with female shooters in general: a few have trouble with slide operation, and a handful have had zero clue how to use sights and shot _over_ the target. I now go over sight alignment during each brief, though 90% of shooters know it from video games or simply intuition.
Male shooters usually just have trouble shutting up and listening to instruction, and taking correction for unsafe behavior.
Any other techniques I should try with the especially skittish? Perhaps firing one or two rounds myself, telling them "okay, now we'll hear what a gun going off sounds like. Just relax and listen to it, nothing's going to happen."
Having a .22-only range diminishes the problem, but doesn't eliminate it. Thanks for any info,
-MV