Intoducing a new shooter

[kmw1954]

Looking for some practical advise on introducing someone that has never fired a gun before.

My wife had never fired a gun before Sunday and was afraid of them until recently. Didn't even want to handle one. Which is changing.

Sunday for her 1st experience it was not a good one. We arrived at the range and it was very crowded which I immediately knew wasn't going to be good. This was an outdoor range and we couldn't see the pistol range from the clubhouse otherwise I would have left and waited for a better time.

So what happened is we took our position and I fired a mag thru the gun so she could see the reaction and hear the sound. I could tell she was apprehensive but still willing to try. She has been dry firing this gun for a couple months and even disassembling it so she is at least now comfortable handling it.

She took her position on the line and I had loaded a mag with just one round in it. She loaded the mag, cycled the slide and took aim. Just about that time the guy next to her let loose and was dropping spent cases all over her. She took the one shot and said she was done. She was physically and emotionally upset and un-nerved.

I calmed her down and helped her move off the line. I then finished what I had loaded and we left with no argument from me..

On the trip home she was still upset and part of it was because she gave up so quickly. Yes she was upset with herself.

I tried to reassure her that it was OK and that the conditions were terrible and we shouldn't have tried it then. We have talked and she still wants to try again. Have since talked with one of the indoor ranges close by to see if I could find out when a good off-time period would be for us to come by when it wouldn't be so crowded.

BTW the one shot she did take was 1" directly above the Bullseye.

So how can I help her relax and build confidence. Oh and overcome her fear?

[K_Mac]

Figure out how to get her somewhere with less commotion. Sounds like she did pretty well under the circumstances. She was already uncomfortable and could have told you that she wasn't interested. That she fired a round is a testimony to her willingness to try. Good luck.

FWIW, I am not much more willing to shoot in those conditions than your wife.

[DaleA]

Goodness, I think you already nailed the problem and will figure out what to do about it. And like K_Mac, I too don't really like shooting under those conditions. I try to go when I know the range will be at least half empty.

That said, I'll be Captain Obvious here and give you some information you already know about.

Double up on the ear protection, muffs and plugs.
A hat with a brim, i.e. baseball cap or a cowboy hat to keep the empties from hitting you.
A turtle neck top so no empties fall down between you and your shirt.
A reactive target to give instant feed back as to if you hit or not. Probably not possible unless the range already has 'em.

Good luck. Your wife sounds like a good sport for trying it again.
P.S. Now days most ranges have ladies only days and classes.

[kmw1954]

Thanks guys, trying to be supportive and not overbearing. She is self-conscious of people watching her. After leaving Sunday I was getting the impression she was also upset because she was thinking she let me down and let herself down. I also assured her that I wasn't very comfortable under those conditions as well.

We were using Dirty Bird Targets so the hit showed up very well. Actually I was surprised that she hit as close as she did.

Have also told her that I am not going to push her and when she's had enough just say so and we'll stop. She can go at her own pace and comfort level.

When we go again if she only fires one again I will be fine with that. But I don't think she will do that.

Yes she's even picked out her own hearing and eye protection and the other day came home with a new range bag to replace the old beat up one I had.

[Evan Thomas]

Our own pax, Kathy Jackson, has a fine website for women shooters, The Cornered Cat, with much advice and information for those new to firearms. Your wife might like to browse it.

[Frank Ettin]

Originally Posted by kmw1954

....So how can I help her relax and build confidence. Oh and overcome her fear?

You might want to consider finding her a good instructor or basic class. Often these things work better when the instruction comes from a neutral, non-involved person.

I'm with a group of instructors putting on a monthly NRA Basic Handgun class. Probably 80% to 90% of our students had never touched a real gun before. Our class enrollment runs 20% to 40% female. We have students of all ages from early 20s to us more seasoned types. We've had entire families attend together. Most of our student show varying levels of anxiety at handling real guns.

We try to address this by bringing them through the course material in a step-by-step, measured and supportive way.

In addition to the core lectures, the first of which is on safety, we do a lot of "hands-on" work with the students. The students handle a variety of revolvers and semi-autos under direct supervision, one-on-one, of an instructor. They use dummy rounds to load and unload the guns, dry fire and generally learn how things work and feel, and they get continual safety reinforcement.

These initial hands-on exercises help students get familiar with handling gun and lay a foundation for safe gun handling habits. The students begin to realize that although guns can be dangerous they can learn how to handle them safely and that safety is in their hands.

Then in preparation for live fire, and after talking about how to actually shoot (grip, stance, sight alignment, trigger press, surprise break, focus on the front sight, and eye dominance), we work one-on-one with students on grip and stance using "blue" inert training guns.

Before going to live fire with .22s, the students shoot airsoft (the quality type) in the classroom so they can get a feel for sight alignment and trigger control (and reset) without the noise and intimidation factor (for beginners) of firing real ammunition.

After the students fire their 25 rounds of .22 (working one-on-one with an instructor), we put out a variety of guns from 9mm to .44 Magnum so the students can get the experience of firing the larger calibers. Shooting the centerfire guns is at each student's option. Most fire them all, but some choose not to.

When someone has gone through our program, it's not uncommon for her/him to be shooting 1.5 to 2.0 inch groups at seven yards with the heavy calibers. A few months ago, a petite young woman who had never fired any type of gun before out shot everyone, including her husband, with the .44 Magnum -- putting three rounds into about an inch at 7 yards.

Going through our process most students shed a good deal of their initial anxiety. Some remain anxious to a degree but still manage to master their anxiety and perform well. In the last several years only one or two (out of perhaps a couple of hundred) could not complete the class.

This group (six rounds at seven yards) was fired during the last part of the live fire period at one of our Basic Handgun classes. It was fired by a middle aged woman who attended our class with her two adult daughters. She had never fired a handgun before our class; she had fired a rifle only a few times. It was fired with a Ruger Red Hawk -- three rounds in .44 Special and three in .44 Magnum.

And here is one of her daughters looking with an instructor at a group of six shots she had just fired at seven yards with a Colt Python (three rounds of .38 Special and three of .357 Magnum). She had never fired a gun before.

[kmw1954]

Again thank you for the advice.

Would love to be able to have her go to a professional unfortunately that isn't in the budget right now as she has just changed jobs and I am recently out of the hospital. So we are kind of on our own.

Evan we both will go to that site and hopefully learn something.

I can agree with the neutral instructor as I have been involved with a lot of industrial training over the past 20 years, from safety to machine operation to procedural operations. A good instructor makes a world of difference and communication is a big part of that.

[849ACSO]

Find a friend with a farm/land.

Even if it's quite a drive, go there, be alone.

Pack a picnic lunch. Go shoot at your own pace. There's no one there to disrupt her or decrease the comfort level. Make a day of it.

If nothing else, she will appreciate getting away to have some alone time and a nice lunch with you. When she sees that you took the time to make sure she had an enjoyable experience, she will be happy. After a while she will associate shooting with an enjoyable experience.

After SHE'S comfortable, then broach the pro instructor idea. You're who she's comfortable with, so you make a "good" introduction, and see where it goes from there.

Not calling your wife a dog, but Pavlov's Dog comes into play here........ There's a reason pain is associated with "bad" things, and likewise, happiness with "good" things.

[Pahoo]

I teach new shooters all the time and there is always a degree of stress. Most of our classes deal with multiple students and you can really feel the tension and fear. Once taught a Outdoor Women' class. One of the ladies started getting very emotional after she had shot. .....

If you belong to a private range, you might get one of it's members to assist you. Gun guys are always willing to help. If you go to a public range, find a buddy that you trust too assist you. Either way, pick a better time when the range is not so busy. .....

Be Safe !!!

[dstryr]

and, give her ample opportunity to handle the firearm before you're at the range, take it apart, put it together, show her its not made of glass, pull the trigger, a lot, drop the mag, put it back, get used to picking it up and putting it down... seems silly for an experienced shooter maybe but when she sees it as a tool as opposed to a scary object then the mindset changes immeasurably. You know when we've done it before, we usually act like we've done it before and the self-consciousness fades... $.02

[kmw1954]

Once again thank you everyone.

Before we purchased the gun we have now my brother came to visit one day and brought his 4 handguns with. We sat at the dining room table and went over all of them. A S&W model 15, Taurus PT111 G2, Ruger SR9 and a small 25cal.

We explained the differences and allowed her to handle them all. She looked and listened very intently.

When I bought a Taurus PT92C she was with to pick it up from the shop. When we arrived home she did handle it. I showed her how to clear it to know it was empty and safe. How to remove and replace the mag. How to grip it and then a few dry fires in both SA and DA.

Next I showed her how to disassemble and reassemble it and then had her do it a few times.

She is now comfortable handling it just not firing it. She also talks about having her own and has interest in a XD Mod2 that she's seen and handled at the shop.

I think now she just needs range time to build confidence and overcome the fear factor. She does still practice dry fire.

[straightshooterjake]

OP, based on your description, it sounds like you have avoided all the common problems that occur with bringing new shooters to the range. I am an RSO at a private club, and I get to see a lot of problems when our members bring guests. I always recommend that new shooters do dry fire practice before coming to the range and that new shooters should start with only one round in the magazine. You did both of those things, and that clearly shows that you have an organized plan.

It sounds like the only problem is the overcrowded situation at the range. As other shooters have mentioned, I would not like that either. I think when you are able to get on the range at a less busy time, then things will go well.

I will make one other comment, but it may not be relevant to you. If it is really your wife's first time shooting, it would be good if you had a .22 caliber handgun available. Some people do OK starting out with a 9mm, but other people need to shoot a .22 first to become accustomed to shooting handguns.

[FITASC]

I will make one other comment, but it may not be relevant to you. If it is really your wife's first time shooting, it would be good if you had a .22 caliber handgun available

Absolutely! Starting someone off with a 9mm, especially someone who is afraid of guns, is a very bad idea. Read Pax's CorneredCat.com.