Taking a Friend to the Range Advice

[bennadatto]

This weekend I'll be taking a friend who has never fired a handgun to the range. We'll be shooting a Glock 19, S&W .38, and Colt SA clone. Other than the 4 rules, what are some general safety rules I should teach him, and what safety issues should I look out for while he is shooting.

Thanks as always for the great advice!

 

[MartinS]

With a handgun, during handling, that muzzle can be pointing all over the solar system.
Don't over teach, keep it simple and intuitive.
You are doing a good thing.

 

[Tom488]

Start him out with some light target loads, if possible. Explain to him ahead of time about the safety rules, and also that should you need to yell at him, not to take it personally. As an example, I took a friend to the range for his first time, and he was shooting my S&W 686. I watched as he loaded the cylinder, closed it up, aimed at the target, cocked the hammer.... then decided that he needed to adjust his earmuffs. A quick, and rather loud, "STOP!!!" caught his attention, and he realized what he had done.

Stand right behind your friend, and be prepared to re-direct his muzzle back downrange. The number of first-time shooters that turn in excitement after firing their first shot (either, "Wow!", or, "Look - I hit it!") is quite high. A good technique is to start off with, "load one, shoot one".

 

[Telumehtar]

Can someone point me to the 4 Rules? I'd wager I could figure them out, but when doing a search on the forums for them, I get literally hundreds of threads where "4 Rules" or "Four Rules" are referenced but not laid out.

 

[Lonestar49]

...

If the gun misfires while he's shooting, tell him to keep it pointing downrange maintaining a tight 2-hand grip for a min of 10 secs, then you step in and help solve the problem.


Ls

 

[CountGlockula]

My pet peeve, make sure the newbie doesn't hold the gun like this:

Also, show the newb safe gun handling at home before going to the range. It's good to prep them. You'll have to yell the instructions while teaching at the firing line, because of other shooters-if any.

The NRA 4 Rules of Gun Safety:

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.

2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

4. Know your target and what is beyond.

 

[K5mitch]

Go over safety procedures prior to leaving for the range.


Try to pick a time where there won't be as many people at the range.

Bring reactive targets if allowed, they're the best for getting someone "hooked"! I've used potatoes for teaching new shooters on a .22 and shotgun with great success.

 

[Treo]

FOUR RULES

1. Treat every gun as loaded ( not as if as)

2. Always keep the weapon pointed in a safe direction

3. Never point a weapon at anything you don't want to shoot

4. Do not put your finger on the trigger till your sights are on the target.

If you're taking a GLOCK make sure your freind throughly understands how it operates before turning him loose W/ it.

 

[Guns and more]

I took a neighbor. He once owned a revolver, but hadn't shot for years. I started with, "I really don't want to tell your wife that you've been shot, so..........". We discussed safety. Then I made sure I loaded the gun and set it facing in the proper direction. "It's ready to shoot". After he had shot 50 rounds or so, I let him do more with the gun. I think he had a good time, and we traded guns for a while so he could shoot different guns.
I had asked him to bring a hat, a shirt with a tight fitting collar, and I supplied everything else. Glasses, and muffs.

He knows I have a collection of firearms and I wanted him to know I was a responsible gun owner.

 

[Bennett Prescott]

Count Glockula,

What exactly is peeving you about the hand hold you indicate?

 

[CountGlockula]

Bennett Prescott-"cupping" the grip with the weak had doesn't give full security/stability when holding a pistol, therefore exposes the gun's grip. The more "meat" on the grip, the better.

A lot of shooters holding this way and encourage others to do the same, are actually causing more harm than good. Results are malfunctions and improper hold/stance.

Bottom line: Training helps.

 

[longrifleman]

Can someone point me to the 4 Rules?

Cooper's version. My favorite.

http://thehighroad.org/library/safetyrules.html

 

[Bennett Prescott]

Count Clockula -

I understand what you're saying, and hold my semi-autos with both hands on the grip, thumbs overlapping (can't shoot them well without that hold anyway). I have the .454 version of that gun, however, and find that the grip is too large to comfortably and securely hold in the traditional manner, and that furthermore when attempting to hold the gun with both hands in a "fist" around the grip I too often check my support hand to find some part of it uncomfortably close to or in front of the barrel/cylinder gap. Therefore, for that revolver only, I often use a weak support hand hold.

 

[BamBam-31]

The four rules are:

Rule #1

Treat all guns as if they are loaded.
Unloaded guns cause the more accidents than loaded ones. Always treat all guns as if they are loaded.

Rule # 2

Never let the muzzle of a gun point at anything you do not want to destroy or kill.
This rule is especially important for those supervising novice shooters. When a child holds a rifle for example, if he hears a noise to the side, and turns his head, the weapon tends to follow. Similarly, if you make a great shot, and look back to brag to your friends, don't let the weapon follow your gaze.

Rule # 3

Keep your finger straight and off the trigger.

At all times you must keep your trigger finger straight, and off the trigger. Only once you have aimed and have your target in the sights should you permit your finger to gently rest on the trigger. This prevents accidental discharges should you stumble, trip, or be subjected to some unexpected event.

Rule # 4

Be absolutely sure of your target, and what is behind it.

Hitting a target even under the best conditions is a very challenging thing. If TV and movies were real, the good guys would kill far more innocent bystanders than bad guys. Bullets tends to miss, ricochet, penetrate through, and fall from the sky at velocities just as deadly as when the bullet left the barrel. If your bullet misses that deer or shoots over the top of that hill, you can't bring it back.

Dead is a forever deal. Once a bullet leaves the muzzle, you can't bring it back. You must read, and follow these rules ALWAYS!

Also, this bears repeating:

Stand right behind your friend, and be prepared to re-direct his muzzle back downrange. The number of first-time shooters that turn in excitement after firing their first shot (either, "Wow!", or, "Look - I hit it!") is quite high. A good technique is to start off with, "load one, shoot one".

My sister did just that w/ a fully loaded G19. Thank God I was fast enough to get out of the way and disarm her quickly.

In addition to general gun safety (which should be taught BEFORE going to the range), you should also go over general range procedures (line breaks, safe gun handling areas, etc.).

For newbies, I'd concentrate on .22's. I'd also have them double up on hearing protection. Don't have them shoot too far--7yds. would be good. Being safe is good, being good is fun. Fun and safe will bring them back next time.

Good luck.

 

[icecorps]

Never fired a handgun, or never fired any gun?

If they have fired guns before, you might want to focus on the difference between shoulder-fired guns and handguns.

It's also nice to go over the basics before going to the range, where there is no hurry to start shooting, nobody is wearing ear protection, nobody else around, etc.

 

[DaleA]

+1 for what K5mitch said about reactive targets. Immediate feedback is a good training technique plus they're WAY more fun.

+1 also for the snug shirt collar mentioned by guns and more. Hot brass between clothes and skin is definitely a bad thing.

Make sure you have them practice holding the guns before you go to the range.

On the revolver make sure they do NOT have any part of their hands in front of the cylinder. Burning hot gas and shavings of lead may come out gap between the cylinder and barrel.

On the semi-automatic make sure they don't have their hand behind the slide. Emphasis to them the slide is going to be coming back when they shoot.

Make sure you tell them you can have a lot of fun shooting even if you don't hit anything as long as you have a safe day.

CountGlockula - that is a really nice picture. Clear, well-exposed and most importantly, large enough to show what you mean.

 

[jak67429]

For the autos especially I suggest loading only 1 round at a time. a lot safer if they turn or drop the pistol also discourages rapid fire.

 

[VegasOPM]

Teach the safety rules before any ammo is loaded.
Dry firing practice for 10 minutes before loading any rounds. Reinforce good habits during that time.
Start out close to the target- 5 yards or so.
I try not to overwhelm my students with too much info to begin with. At 5 yards, the front sight is ALL that matters. Sight alignment becomes more critical with distance, but focusing on the front sight is the most basic tenet of shooting well.

My most basic drill is to get the new shooters at 5 yards. Point in at the target, focusing on the front sight only. Make sure that the front sight is crystal clear and the bullseye is just a blur in the background. I have the student pull the trigger back on my 5 count. So far, there has been a good hit on the first shot from EVERY student that I have trained this way. That makes it fun and gives them the confidence to keep it up.

 

[Guns and more]

My pet peeve, make sure the newbie doesn't hold the gun like this:

Other than the grip seems a little weak, I don't have a problem with this. "Cup and saucer", I was taught by a former NYC cop and it helped my shooting. I previously had my left thumb over and behind my right thumb to the point where I left a red mark. All my shots were low and left.
I'm no expert, but I don't see a big problem, what is it you, CountGlockula suggest? I can stand to learn.

 

[Walkalong]

Talk to him about the basics of gun safety, but don't lecture. Make sure he has FUN.

Don't try to make him an expert overnight, and don't show him up too bad. Encourage him.

 

[GigaBuist]

Start easy. Pistols at 7 yards and rifles at 25 yards.

Do not show them where the safety is on the gun. There's no reason for them to engage it and folks often think the engagement of a safety magically renders it as inert as a Nerf gun then do stupid stuff with it.

If it malfunctions, or they get confused, they should just set it down for you to take care of.

If you're going to let them shoot a semi-automatic pistol have them hold it with the slide locked back for a while. Let them learn how to grip it in a manner that makes it impossible for them to put any flesh behind the slide.

I like to bring some bottled water if it's summer time.

 

[JackBurtonJr]

Emphasis to him that the Rangemaster is a proxy for God Almighty and should be obeyed in every aspect immediatly. And that YOU are, for the purpose of training, the Assistant God.

 

[Soybomb]

I think the most important thing is to have safe fun. Don't try to turn into a shooting coach with all sorts of pointers on stance, grip, etc. They're not trying to learn to be a competition shooter, they're just trying to shoot. Other than the 4 rules watch the shooter for little safety problems like a bad grip that might cause their hand to be bitten by the slide. Start them off with just 1 round in the gun so no matter what they do the gun will be empty after they pull the trigger. They might want to turn around with gun in hand after the first shot to check for approval, they might be startled by the shot and drop the gun, let the gun be empty for it. If they do alright then they can load more in for next time. Maybe encourage them to take their target home.

 

[Bartkowski]

When you hold a gun like the picture countglockula put up, the gun will also tend to whip up and back, not just straight back into the shooter.

 

[CountGlockula]

This way will help...

Guns and more - not to get too technical, but here's the correct way; photos originally taken from box o truth website:

Using isometric pressure, this will allow a firm grip and support by the off-hand:

To each his own, but that's what's great about shooting: Continual learning and try to limit bad habits.