Why do guys do this????

[Insignificant bill]

First I went over the four rules of fire arms. Then how to hold and proper stance. Them how to load and unload, then how disassemble and reassemble. Then lots of dry fire. Then went over what to expect at the range. The rest is up to her

 

[94045]

I thought it was funny when I was watching a YouTube Video and the instructor had her dry firing a .45 Colt Blackhawk and substituted a live round for the snap caps (she was warned this would happen). Pow! Right dead center. Maybe this stuff ain't as complicated as we make it.

 

[Ignition Override]

"GBExpat". To add to your comment "...critical thinking with their small heads" reminds me of a bumper sticker on a car:

"God bless John Wayne", as if he had taken part in the settling of the frontier in the 1800s. Many men might just get their initial "knowledge" of gun shooting from the movies and tv shows.

 

[If1HitU]

Accidents do happen to the best of us.

 

[Pat Riot]

Way too often I have seen guys “teaching” their wives or girlfriends to shoot and making silly mistakes while doing so. Stories abound.

For the past year, since I moved back to California, I have been a member at an indoor shooting that’s locate in a beach city. Every weekend I see guys showing up with girls that appear to be “trophy girlfriends” to “teach” them to shoot. Nearly every time I witness this I also witness the guys that run the range going through a lengthy discussion on safety with the couples.

Initially I thought it was because these guys bringing their girls to the range didn’t know range and safety rules themselves. I asked one of the range staff about this one day and he said that they want to make sure the girl, if she is inexperienced, knows the rules and knows about the safe handling of firearms. They also do it so the guy now knows that she now knows the rules. They also keep a close eye on those couples to ensure they are safe. They also will not allow anyone to “teach” a newcomer with guns a newcomer shouldn’t be exposed to, like unwieldy large handguns or magnums.

Another trend that I am happy about are the number of women I see shooting at this range that go there in their own or with other women. There are a lot more ladies learnt to shoot these days.

 

[DeepSouth]

Rather than speculate on the poor decisions of a man I’ve never meet, I’ll simply remind everyone that we’ve all made stupid decisions that we later look back on and think, “what was I thinking? I knew better!”

Theirs only ever been one perfect person.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

That manlet must have baby soft skin and a bad case of little guy syndrome. Never saw a slide slice anyone, maybe scratch or scrape but slicing sounds serious. That's worth a laugh. She could probably out shoot the guy with 10 minutes of proper instruction. If the woman isn't mature enough to hold the gun herself by his estimation then they should both just go home.

I've seen the toughest hands get sliced and bleed pretty good.

I agree with the rest of the post though

 

[94045]

I saw a guy at the range go chasing after his shotgun after attempting to load it. Might be the worse case of trigger discipline I ever saw. For reference if you attempt to load a shotgun without a disconnecter (Ithaca 37) it might be a good idea to release the trigger.

On the plus side at least he had good muzzle discipline.

 

[wally]

Novice shooters, especially if they expect large recoil. almost always instinctively grip a pistol with offhand thumb over strong hand web which leads to a bloody mess when the gun is fired if its an autoloader. This is the "normal" revolver grip.

Its something you always need to be alert for with new (or "rusty") shooters.

 

[kmw1954]

For the past year, since I moved back to California, I have been a member at an indoor shooting that’s locate in a beach city. Every weekend I see guys showing up with girls that appear to be “trophy girlfriends” to “teach” them to shoot. Nearly every time I witness this I also witness the guys that run the range going through a lengthy discussion on safety with the couples.

Initially I thought it was because these guys bringing their girls to the range didn’t know range and safety rules themselves. I asked one of the range staff about this one day and he said that they want to make sure the girl, if she is inexperienced, knows the rules and knows about the safe handling of firearms. .

A couple things about this post. First question would be if I and my wife showed up there for the first time are we going to get this treatment? They don't know either of us so how do they know who the experienced person is or if either is? Hate to say this but to me it sounds as if those people have very sexist attitudes. Sounds more like they are just trying to get into position to Oogle the "Trophy Girlfriend".

 

[rust collector]

A couple things about this post. First question would be if I and my wife showed up there for the first time are we going to get this treatment? They don't know either of us so how do they know who the experienced person is or if either is? Hate to say this but to me it sounds as if those people have very sexist attitudes. Sounds more like they are just trying to get into position to Oogle the "Trophy Girlfriend".

I don't mind having my motives questioned. I'd much rather do what I can to keep things safe. Not all males engage in stupid human tricks if there is a female present, but in my experience the odds go up dramatically.

There are many women out there who know their way around a handgun, but a safety review isn't likely to offend them.

 

[kmw1954]

There are many women out there who know their way around a handgun, but a safety review isn't likely to offend them.

I can name 4 females that I would rather shoot with then a good number of guys I know. Honestly, I would feel safer knowing my wife was at my back then my own brother!

 

[straightshooterjake]

A couple things about this post. First question would be if I and my wife showed up there for the first time are we going to get this treatment? They don't know either of us so how do they know who the experienced person is or if either is? Hate to say this but to me it sounds as if those people have very sexist attitudes. Sounds more like they are just trying to get into position to Oogle the "Trophy Girlfriend".

You may be right, but I will offer a different perspective. I have been a Range Safety Officer for a private club for a bunch of years. I can usually tell what is going on by how people walk onto the range and unpack their range bag. If an inexperienced person has brought a guest who has never shot before, or if a man is trying to impress his partner, it is usually visible from a distance in less than 60 seconds.

Depending on how things proceed, I may or may not get involved. My only role is to avoid predictable types of safety problems. If there are no problems, I give everyone lots of space. But if there are issues, I need to address them early and effectively.

As far as "oogling the girlfriend," that would not be tolerated at my range.

 

[George P]

The man probably didn't know much more than his wife. Just because he is a male doesn't mean he is Mr. Expert.

Ain't THTA the truth! The worst person to teach your wife is you. After you BOTH The CorneredCat.com, then you get the wife (preferably) a female instructor.........

 

[kmw1954]

I have been a Range Safety Officer for a private club for a bunch of years. I can usually tell what is going on by how people walk onto the range and unpack their range bag. If an inexperienced person has brought a guest who has never shot before, it is usually visible from a distance in less than 60 seconds.

My only role is to avoid predictable types of safety problems. If there are no problems, I give everyone lots of space. But if there are issues, I need to address them early and effectively.

As far as "oogling the girlfriend," that would not be tolerated at my range.

To someone like yourself I can fully understand your experience and perspective of a situation. There are always" tells" or just plain demeanor. All one needs to do is observe and get a pretty clear picture. Whether it be like you say to interact to prevent a dangerous situation or to stand off and let people enjoy themselves or the "Other type" that will interject themselves to show their superiority or the "pigs" that do step in to oogle. I see that everywhere and not just at the range.

As to husbands or boyfriends teaching. My feeling is that some shouldn't even be shooting let alone teaching. In my case I felt confident in teaching and not instructing my wife how to safely handle and the fire a gun. I know my wife and I know how she learns things and how to explain things w/o mansplaining. I also know how to make her feel relaxed and comfortable and can read her as to when she doesn't feel comfortable.

In our case it actually took 3 trips to the range before she started to feel fully comfortable. As I stated earlier the first trip was a complete disaster so we left and I didn't try to force the issue and did try to reassure her that what she felt was acceptable. It was 2 weeks before she was ready to try again. After that she asked to go again 2 weeks later. She now does fine and I'd have her behind my back anytime.

I felt comfortable doing this because I spent my working life in a position of doing this sort of thing. Everyone learns differently and take being taught differently. Through my experience and can judge pretty well when someone isn't understanding what I am saying or even when they lost interest and are ignoring what I'm saying. It's all part of paying attention to the person your are teaching. In 2000 OSHA come out and mandated anyone driving a powered industrial truck had to have company provided training. That trainer in our company became me. Not only that but at the time I was also the Receiving/warehouse Supervisor so my responsibility was also in training new employees. I was also the company maintenance mechanic and ran a small production room. Again more instruction and dealing with people on a daily basis. So I am not unfamiliar with teaching. In all fairness though I don't know that I'd want to try and teach someone else how to shoot and handle a gun.

 

[LaneP]

When my kids were small they all learned on Ruger semi-auto .22's. My wife was Marine avionics so she had already shot the M16 before I met her but no real familiarity with handguns. Most of the people at my local range (private) are competent and follow all common sense safety rules, can't be sure the same can be said for public/rental type ranges.

 

[Lycidas Janwor]

First I went over the four rules of fire arms. Then how to hold and proper stance. Them how to load and unload, then how disassemble and reassemble. Then lots of dry fire. Then went over what to expect at the range. The rest is up to her

Yep, I did all this with my wife before firing the gun at the range (except for field stripping), especially the safety part. She now understands how to fire my EDC and all the safety stuff I regularly practice when handling my guns. She's not ignorant about gun safety nor my love of my second amendment rights. That said, she is not a gun person, but she respects my position.

When ever we are watching movies or shows with gun action and/or violence, sometimes I point out all the mistakes that are happening and how Hollywood is completely clueless on how guns actually function (outside of pulling trigger and going bang) and now she understands what I'm talking about.

 

[Pat Riot]

A couple things about this post. First question would be if I and my wife showed up there for the first time are we going to get this treatment? They don't know either of us so how do they know who the experienced person is or if either is? Hate to say this but to me it sounds as if those people have very sexist attitudes. Sounds more like they are just trying to get into position to Oogle the "Trophy Girlfriend".

Like I said, guys bring their girls there to shoot. Reread my post. The guys claim to have experience so the range staff talks to them both to make sure they are safe, the girls in particular, as they act and answer questions as if they are inexperienced.
There is nothing sexist or untoward in their actions...unless of course you’re trying to find a sexist bent in things and then quite often your expectations will be met.

 

[CopperFouling]

I've taught six people to shoot handguns, including my wife, with instruction on safety, parts of the firearm, grip, and stance before handing them a .22. The most common mistake I see people making when introducing others to shooting is handing someone a firearm and assuming that any other instruction is unnecessary.

 

[kmw1954]

Like I said, guys bring their girls there to shoot. Reread my post. The guys claim to have experience so the range staff talks to them both to make sure they are safe, the girls in particular, as they act and answer questions as if they are inexperienced.
There is nothing sexist or untoward in their actions...unless of course you’re trying to find a sexist bent in things and then quite often your expectations will be met.

I have read your post and have re-read it; " Every weekend I see guys showing up with girls that appear to be “trophy girlfriends” to “teach” them to shoot. Nearly every time I witness this I also witness the guys that run the range going through a lengthy discussion on safety with the couples." ...

Maybe just the way it was written or the way I interpreted it but the way it is written you make it sound as if every time these "Trophy Girlfriends" show up the range guys Flock around them, go out of their way as it were, to give Personal Attention.

Which again I will ask, if my wife and I show up will we be given this same Attention? Asked the same questions and given the same advice?

 

[Pat Riot]

Which again I will ask, if my wife and I show up will we be given this same Attention? Asked the same questions and given the same advice?

How would I know? Do you plan to come to California to shoot at this range? If so, you can see for yourself. I will give you the address.
If not, what do you care? It’s not that important to me. I made some observations and commented about them. My goal in going to the range is not searching out and addressing someone else’s perceived social injustices,