so, my female friend wants to learn how to shoot

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mr.trooper

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we were in the car today, and got to talking about politics, and guns came up.

So she says that she wants to learn how to shoot, and eventually get a gun of her own. Iv grown up around every type of gun, have been shooting all my life, and she knows i have guns.

She is going into international business, and is smart enough to know that the world can be a dangerous place. I could set her up with anything she would likely encounter: from Enfields to AKs, but I think its better if we start small.

We have a free outdoor DNR range a short drive away, and its usually deserted on weekdays, so i think thats where i will take her. We have an indoor range in town, but it costs money, its usually busy....and we get some yahoos in there from time to time. I'm just planning on explaining the basics of gun safety, and how to load and fire a weapon at close range target; If she wants to know more, I'll be glad to oblige her.

My P-22 has over 4K rounds through it now, and its still running strong, So i figure thats a good gun to show her basic pistol operation. I'm planning on taking a Savage bolt action, with a red dot scope to show her long gun use.

I will probably take my 9mm CZ-75, and .410 Mossberg just in case she is feeling adventurous, but I'm not planning on pushing the issue.

Obviously ill be sure to have hearing protection, and plenty of non-alcoholic drinks to make sure it stays fun. Maybe ill take some clays to shoot at as well.

Is there anything else i should be considering? :)
 
A full range of supports for various shooting positions? A new rifle seems a whole lot more manageable when there's something to put it on.
 
I always like it when new shooters emerge from hiding!

My wife and I just met up with an old friend of ours from college tonight... I've known this gal for many years now (longer than I've even known my wife), and she's always been on the liberal end of the spectrum. We both knew her from a mountaineering club, which was a very hippie-like place to hang out. She's the type of person who always sees the glass as half full, and believes that everyone is a good person.

Anyway, tonight she tells me that she is thinking of buying a gun, but wants to learn to use one first... so that it wouldn't be used against her if she ever had to defend herself.

The whole situation just made me smile. Almost makes me misty-eyed to see a near-pacifist come over to the "prepared" side of the fence! :)

I'm always glad to see another gun on the right side of the law...
 
i'm with you kevin

when i got my first handgun my spousal unit was really apprehensive but i got her to shoot some .38 spls from my then s&w mod 13 .357 magnum... her dad was a town cop here and she inherited his colt det spl snubbie in .38 spl... she likes to shoot it and i load mild loads for her... my s&w mod 27 6" is a little big for her to handle well but it is nice to get her to go shooting with me and know it's a GOOD thing!
 
I started my GF with .22 rifles. They are as gentle as it gets and rifles are usually easier to get hits with than pistols. My GF is now pretty comfortable with my M&P9 and is about to the point that I think she'd be competent going to a range by herself.
The P-22 is a good idea too but she may get discouraged if she continally misses - I know it took me A LOT OF ROUNDS when I first started to get anywhere near competent with a handgun.
The .410 is a good starter - that's what I use mine for.
And she may suprise you with the CZ as well.

I also taught a good friend from college how to shoot right at the end of this semester with my 10/22. Within 20 minutes she was hitting 9" balloons with it at nearly 100 yards.
I was impressed!
 
My friends adore my P22. One of these days I'm going to bite the bullet and get a suppressor for it.

Let her go at her own pace:
1. Caliber: start with .22lr and then maybe have .38, 9mm, and even .45 available as she desires
2. Distance: start at about five feet with a large target and let her move the target out as she feels comfortable
3. Start her off with one bullet in the magazine or cylinder the first time, then add as many as she feels comfortable with.
4. Bring revolvers and semis if possible.
5. Target: None of my friends have had a problem with silhouettes of people (and my range doesn't allow actual pictures), but bullseyes might be good to have on hand. Targets that leave a bright mark are good, too.

Remind her to a shirt without a low neckline and a hat/visor. Maybe even long sleeves, if it's not too hot.

Safety: Get some disposable earplugs (unless she's a close friend or a girlfriend, in which case you splurge on reusable ones) and have her wear both those and earmuffs. Warn her not to fiddle with the eyes and ears; I've had friends do both after I told them not to.
 
Ditto on both a wide range of guns (I'm jealous that my DD is going to get to fire a .45 in her Basic Pistol class when I didn't get to in mine), and to the brass down the bra warning.

In fact specify a crew neck shirt because the one time I had that problem the V-neck shirt was not low-cut but rather perfectly suitable for church picnics in a small-town. ;)
 
Can you shoot water bottles on your outdoor range?
Shoot-N-C targets are a good idea and something I make sure to bring along whenever introducing people to shooting.

I started my GF on a .22 but her favorite gun quickly became a 6" S&W 14 with .38 wad cutters for a couple reasons.
- It's easier to understand how the revolver works and confirm it's unloaded, so she considers it safer and is thus more comfortable with it.
- The WCs cut large holes which make groups appear smaller, even if center to center she shoots as well with a .22. (the sound and recoil are also much more impressive :D)
- The gun is lighter than a fully loaded high cap 9mm so she doesn't get tired as quickly.
- It's much easier to cock the hammer on a revolver than rack the slide against an 18lb recoil spring and 32lb mainspring.
- Finally, the grips can be a little smaller and allow her to get a more comfortable grip.

edit: Oh yeah! I want to third the hot brass in the bra warning. After a burn from a Ruger MKII my GF is even more enamored with revolvers.
 
Many novice women shooters tend to always lean back with their arms extended when pistol shooting. I don't know if the reason is to distance themselves from the gun or what.

My suggestion is that you stand close behind her with your hands wrapped around hers while you lean your body forward against hers. If anything good comes from this (shooting or otherwise) you owe me a beer ;)
 
Over the last year I have had the privilege of introducing two young ladies to our fine sport. Neither was anti-gun to begin with, but rather they were just very indifferent to gun.

Many of the above comments are right on the mark. I found that it took a couple of range trips with multiple weapons to find ones they enjoyed and were comfortable with.

Reactive targets are the most enjoyable. Clay pigeons work great as do any water filled bottles. Messy, but fun if you can do this, are the miniature cans of soda you can buy now. Rootbeer seems to contain a great explosive quality.

When you introduce them, don't get all caught up in the mechanics, ballistics, you know, the "cool" stuff we all like. It just won't mean much to the average beginning shooter. Drill into them the four gun rules and how the particular weapon they are firing works and go at it.

Teach proper form. They will be more accurate and comfortable.

Don't shoot too much with them...I learned this the hard way. What a new shooter needs is to be praised for doing good and then more praise for the improvements they are making. What they don't need is someone looking at their groups and then saying, "Oh yeah, well look at what I can do!" I usually put on an autoloader, a couple spare mags and only shoot when instructing or when asked to.

Have fun! If you don't make it fun, that will be one more shooter we don't get.
 
Try to take a 38 revolver, my wife got past the P22 quick, then fell in love with the 686.

Aslo as said before Shoot & C targets are a must.
 
I think the leaning back is not so much an attempt to get away from the noise and blast as simply a natural way of balancing the body when holding a weight out forward at arms length. Although it takes a little more muscle to hold the weight out forward and lean into it, it works better, so that's one of the first recommendations I make to new shooters who are leaning back.
 
Disagree on the wide range of guns business. You will just get her confused. Two would be enough, one should be a .22. The other a centerfire with LIGHT loads. .38 Special wadcutter or "cowboy" loads is good. If you have one, a .45 that will run with the 185-200 gr at 700 fps load common for bullseye shooting is a great beginner gun. It doesn't have much recoil or noise but it makes a great big hole in the target. 9mms are not much fun for beginners.

Ear plugs under muffs are good, noise is a component of felt recoil.
 
JIM WATSON - "Disagree on the wide range of guns business. You will just get her confused. Two would be enough, one should be a .22."
Click to expand...

Jim W. is 100% correct.

Anyone who is just starting to learn to shoot needs to start on a .22 L.R. Just teaching fundamentals of safety, gun handling, accuracy, and the experience of shooting unfamilar firearms, is confusing enough. No one is going to learn to shoot well by starting out on rip roaring, snappy recoiling firearms.

Introducing a bunch of other firearms in the same session is guaranteed to confuse the new shooter.

Stick with the .22 until the above has been firmly implanted in the shooter's mind. Then pratice a bunch with (cheap) .22s until the shooting skill is very familiar. THEN, move that person up to heavier calibers.

More new shooters are ruined when some idiot hands them a .44 Mag., etc., etc., and says, "Here ya go, sweetheart, give this baby a try or two! Hahahahah!" :mad:

My take on training new shooters.

L.W.
 
My female friend gets bored with 22. She likes the 45 pistol and 9mm carbine the best. Things that explode/break up really heighten the effect.
 
I'd expand on Jim's approach a little...

Ruger 10/22 rifle. Get her used to sight picture, pulling trigger, hole appearing.

.38/.357 6" revolver. Start her with wadcutters. Maybe a few hotter .38s...

1911 with .22 upper. Get her used to the slide moving around.

.357 with light loads. She should be grinning by now...

1911 with .45 upper. BIG grin.
 
I'm in a similar situation. Story in development, range report and pics to follow in separate thread, stay tuned.
 
Reactive targets are a must but I recommend having a piece of paper behind them so you can tell where the misses are going. She might get frustrated missing clay pigeons or get bored punching holes in paper (new shooters are funny that way) so bring both worlds together.
 
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