What do you take to teach new shooters?

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Cool looking EBR type guns.

Reactive targets.

.22 pistol

Reactive targets.

9mm handgun for after they get the hang of the .22.

Reactive targets.



Did I mention reactive targets that fun to shoot, that either splatter, blow up, and make some kind of noise when hit?
 
Two platforms that both my oldest daughter (started her around age 12) and my wife enjoyed from the start were .223 rifles (both bolt-action and semi-auto) and full-sized 9mm semiauto pistols. They also enjoyed shooting .45 ACP JHPs (from 1911s -- granted, you may want to work newer shooters slowly up to this) at plastic gallon milk jugs filled with (food coloring tinted) water. My youngest daughter never wanted to go shooting until just last summer, when she was 18 ... she took right to 9mm pistols and .45s ...

A bag of potatoes (and maybe a can of int'l orange spray paint to make 'em really visible) makes fun targets. Bowling pins and steel plates, in my experience, produce much enjoyment for beginning shooters.
 
Since we normally go to indoor ranges that can be a little noisy I'll usually go over the safety stuff at my house with the person/people we are taking. I'll also go over the basic functions and what to expect when we get to the range.

As to what I bring? It all depends on the person and what they feel like. I've started some off real slow with some .22s, because they were nervous and that was fine for them. Other friends would never think of going to the range with me if thats what they were going to have to fire. That's fine too and they have since been back many times and are looking to purchase a handgun and rifle of their own now.
 
I always start with my Remington 511-x 22lr.

Then I will let them sample my Beretta Neos 22lr.

If they are doing good and want to try it I wll let them shoot my 223. If the still want more I have do barrow a buddies Tarus 9mm. It is shiny and has gizmos on it so it is always a favorite.

If I am lucky another nice shooter will let them shoot his ar-15.

The last boy I took was having a blast then the guy next to us said here you wanna shoot this. The boy was a little scared of it at first. But once he got going it took him about 5 minutes to burn up 75 rounds of 223 I had on hand.

He did not stop smiling for 4 or 5 days.

You have to be safe and make it fun. I like to have them shoot at reactive targets that spin blow up or do something other than just shooting paper targets.
 
.22 Semi-auto because one shot is often enough to get them wanting more.
.32 S&W Long revolver because it's centerfire and shoots a nice clean hole.
.38 SPL Revolver, a 3 Inch barreled J-Frame.
9MM CZ-75 or S&W 3913.
XD 45

I don't have a .40 S&W and don't personally care for the round.
 
Single Six

Took my MKII semi-auto ONCE...a nu-b somehow flinched, pointed it sort of upward, and punched 3 holes in the ceiling tiles.....

Rangemaster was NOT happy.
 
New to shotguns:

Depends on student, age, level of firearm experience and the like.

i.e
4 year young lady has a mat, with foot prints she can put her feet into correct stance.
Her "shotgun" is a old wooden one pc .22 stock, with PVC for a barrel.
With an adult assisting she will get on her mat, and mount gun to face just like adults.


BB Guns and even .22 rifles with the sights busted off are used, to have folks shoot ping pong balls.

Variety of Shotguns for folks to try for fit.
I and mine do correct gun fit, and correct basic fundamentals to student with bone stock shotguns. The worst thing one can do is to learn how to shoot shotguns with anything other than a bone stock shotgun.

28 gauge guns are the best to teach shotgunning, period, end of story.
Some of us have been doing this before some were a itch in daddy's britches.

Primer only loads, then light loads, including pop corn kernels.

Do not let me catch someone sticking a heavy recoil load in a shotgun, shoving that shotgun into someone's hands that has not been taught a thing about shotguns and they slap trigger and that person gets hurt, and the person laughs and tells all his/her buddies.
Don't.
I and mine will have a little discussion about how the cow ate the cabbage.
One never wants to hear this discussion by the way...

Still we have gotten folks up to speed rather fast, had a lot of fun in doing so.
One of the 9 year olds went 9/9 at low 7.

4 year old broke her first low 7 with a 28 ga with a really mild load.
*neat*
 
I tend to start folks off on a light .38 Special load. After a few rounds fired we drop down to a .22LR to learn serious trigger work.

It's worked well for me because to someone who has never shot before -any- kick (even a .22LR) is a surprise since they have no comparison. So a few mild .38 rounds (nothing that will start them flinching and such) and then the .22lr seems like nothing and they seem to concentrate better because they "know" that the .22 has no real kick. Pure psychology but it does seem to work.
 
I used to start with a .22 and clay pigeons on the berm. Breaking things seems to be more fun than putting holes in paper.

I've switched to a suppressed .22, since breaking things quietly seems to be more enjoyable.

Although it isn't the way I learned, I also like to start off with a scoped gun off the bench. It leads to quick success, and lets them know that hitting the target is possible. After that becomes boringly easy, we move to field positions and iron sights, and then increase the range.

Depending on the mood of the shooter, a soft recoiling AR usually comes out next.

Loud noise and recoil seem to be the biggest concerns to many new shooters. I've seen people who have never hald a gun flinch when dry firing, because they think it is going to hurt. Anything to avoid that is a plus in my opinion.
 
I start them with a .22lr bolt action rifle just to see if they have the basic concept down. I have both paper and a metal spinner target available so there are options. I obviously am paying very close attention to how they are doing so I just play it by ear. One guy shot over 100 rounds with the .22lr before he went to a centerfire and one girl shot maybe 20 shots out of the same rifle and was ready to move on. I try to be as flexible as possible.

Next is either an AR-15 National Match rifle or a scoped Savage 10FP sniper rifle (both in .223 rem). The target is a big steel plate at 100 yards. From the bench, it's an easy shot and they know they got a hit because the plate shakes and they can hear the ringing gong noise. That particular AR has been the first centerfire rifle ever for half a dozen people so far.

Then I bring out a milsurp like an M1 Garand, Lee Enfield, Mosin Nagant, or Mauser. Oh, and a recoil pad. With the Garand, I sometimes load the rifle for them because I don't want them to end the day early with a bloody thumb. Whatever the milsurp, I always tell 'em what movies or TV shows it's been in. Anyways, the target is the same: the big steel plate at 100 yards. They always have the option to go back to shooting the same paper as in the beginning, but nobody ever choses that option :D.

For handguns, I start them with a Ruger 22/45. Paper at 7 yards and/or steel plates at 35 yards. For the paper, I use "shoot-n-c" targets so they can instantly see the hits. Again, I try to keep the excitement level high and move on to a couple of 9mm pistols, which right now are a CZ75B and a Glock 17. I haven't replaced my .45 auto, but when I do then that would be an option also. Sometimes I want to buy a .44 magnum for situations like this, just in case someone wants to end the day with a big bang :D.

For shotguns, I only have 12 gauge pumps, so I just make it a point to pick up some low recoil ammo for trap shooting. Or they can just blast away if they want - as long as they are safe. Thanks to Hollywood, sometimes people think a shotgun is a claymore and the only way to dispel that idea is to let them see for themselves. If I ever do pick up a 20 gauge, that would be a nice option.

I've recently picked up a Ruger Single-Six and a Marlin 39 TDS, so those would be great little .22lr guns as well.

sm great idea to give out prizes and make it into a game :cool:. I'll have to try that next time.
 
Depends on the newb. Know your audience. Try to find out what they are interested in and pander.

There is one constant... just pulling a trigger isn't much fun even with loud noises attached. I know, this goes against the experience of slot machine operators the world over but it's true... the thrill of trigger actuation will quickly pale whether the trigger is attached to a single shot .22 or a full auto .50.

People like games and challenges... they like recognition too. Many are competitive but even the least competitive gets a thrill when they overcome a challenge and get something right. That thrill is amplified by acknowledgement.

So....bring the fun.

Bring the challenge, the sport, maybe the competition but certainly the victory. Maybe it's spinner target competition to decide who buys lunch, maybe it's saving off their best paper target (even if it's a 7 yard target with a group you'd consider big at 25 yards) or the shell of the first rifle round they ever fired for them to take home.

The gun isn't the fun... especially not to a newb. We enthusiasts get that wrong sometimes. We think of a .22lr as boring and a .88 magnum as exciting. That's wrong. They are both just as capable of boring a new shooter. Trigger actuation is not fun. The games we play -- and the challenges and rewards of playing -- are fun.

That's what impresses me about shooting at clays with a shotgun. It is challenging, immediately rewarding, and FUN. Reactive and dynamic targets are cool that way. Another fun shotgun variant would be box racing... each shooter puts a cardboard box (like a clay box) on the (flat) ground maybe 10 yards from the firing line and sees how far they can push it away in 10, 20, however many shots. The shooter whose box has moved the farthest wins.

In the rifle/handgun world... push the can/shotgun shell/golf ball, count the holes, blow up the reactive targets... games games games.

Nobody obsesses about what tennis racket to have for introducing new people to tennis, or what pool cue to keep on hand for introducing new people to billiards. You use whatever you've got lying around because the racket isn't fun, the cue isn't fun... the game is fun.
 
My wife and I actually do this more often than we thought we would since moving to the countryside; mostly ends up being a Sunday afternoon coffee and familiarization for assorted .mil dependants whose spouses are downrange so they can get a feel for "that icky gun-thing he bought at the pawn shop for emergencies."

(Quick tip: guys, don't expect her to be impressed with your manly mastery of the might .44 Magnum, or .50 AE Deagle wit da Beamz. She'll never shoot it a second time. You'll be better off with a small, light, simple .38 revolver)


We start with the 4 Rules safety brief, then move on to

- Daisy 880 BB/Pellet rifle with a funky little ded-dot sight

- .22s: Scoped Marlin 60 and a 317 S&W revolver (and about a gazillion rounds; always the favorites)

- .38 Spl in a S&W 19

- GI .45 1911a1

- Stevens 311 SxS 12 gauge with Aguila Mini shells

We've found that a bag o' balloons, el cheap-o store brand sodas (shaken), some sort of shoot and see targets and a zip-lock baggie with 1ea. caliber empty shells for sooveneers, sharpie markers, camera, sun block, spare sun glasses, multi-tool, ears (hearing protection), a command voice, and patience are good to have.


Take care
 
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