Finally got her to go with me! Now I need advice

H

HukeOKC

New member
I have finally talked my wife into going to the range with me so I can get her familiar with "her" handgun. It's a 32 H&R Mag Revolver. I am not worried about this gun kicking too much and scaring her (she has fired a 12 gauge before) so I think that part will go well. I grew up handling "guns" and in April 99 just ETS'd from the Army after 7 years of handling "weapons" so I'm sure I have passed on a knowledge of gun safety already. I know there are some female members and guys who have "been there, done that" and I would like to know if there are some more things I can tell her to prepare her for what to expect. She never grew up around guns and is not really comfortable handling them yet. I work with her at the house as far as just being familiar with handling her gun and having her dry-fire it so she'll know what to do if she ever needs it. I've never had to introduce a person to guns and I remember how I used to get nervous at the range with my dad, so if you all could just give me some ideas on ways to get her on and off the line without making her a basket-case I would really appreciate it.

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Until the antis put a sign in their front yard that says they don't own guns, they are riding on the shirt-tail of the safety that we provide by owning them.
 
First a question: What kind of range are you going to? Will there be other shooters 3 feet away, or is there an area where you 2 can be alone? I would strongly suggest finding the latter if possible.
Let her know that she can stop shooting at any time for any reason that she cares to. This is critical. She will know that she has control of the situation.
If you have some, I would suggest letting her wear the electronic ear muffs. Makes giving instructions much more pleasant.
Do what ever you can to make it fun for her. Instead of re-typing it, you might read my post in the General forum titled "My weekend - Newbies at the range and more".
I'm sure there's more, and others will help.
Good luck,
Bill
 
Thanks Bill, I meant to add that, it is an indoor range and yes there will be others there and at least 3 feet away. I don't have any electronic ear protection but the range may rent them. I was thinking that most of my instruction part would be outside the actual range room. And we couild just go in and out of the room if we needed to to talk and handle questions. I had read your post previously and it sounded like your pupils were a little more enthusiastic about it than my wife is. But I liked your ideas.

[This message has been edited by HukeOKC (edited March 28, 2000).]
 
Huke,

If your range rents guns, I would STRONGLY suggest that you start off by renting a .22 revolver. The surprise at firing is a lot less dramatic to a newbie.

Try going to the range at a non-busy time of day if you can.

Yes, by all means tell her in no uncertain terms that if she feels uncomfortable after firing even one shot, that she is free to walk away. Hopefully, with compassion and understanding on your part this won't be necessary! ;)

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Remember, just because you are not paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get you!
 
22s are a lot of fun and it's also cheap to blast away--if she's like my fiance she'll want something less intimidating, but she'll want to shoot a LOT of it . . . .

Did you pick out this .32? If she didn't pick it herself, be careful not to force it on her.
 
Definatly pick a time of day when there aren't many people. I have seen too many guys standing outside the range with a woman just sitting there crying next to them. Start with a .22, and try to take up 2 lanes. some places charge you if you shoot or not, so if they do take up both lanes. Watch around you for the a** that thinks it is funny to shoot of the 50AE next to you because he wants to watch you jump. Lucky for me my wife just commented he was a jerk and kept on shooting. Take time to show her how it works. I realize it is a revolver, but take a moment outside of the range and go over the action, and all the parts. How to load it and eject rounds etc. My wife was pissed the first few times at the range because she didnt remember these how to's and she thought some of the other guys there were laughing at her.
 
Only things I can add:

This is her time, not yours. Let her do the shooting, and just be there to answer any questions. Don't hover over her shoulder, and don't try to impress her.

Make plans to go somewhere after the range, preferably to a quiet spot for coffee or a meal. If she enjoys it, she's going to want to talk about it. Something about a smokeless high is as much fun later as during the actual range time.

Keep the targets pretty close. 10 FEET to 20 FEET. Build confidence the first few times, furthrer distances will come later. Use big targets, and try different colors. My wife prefers orange or red to black. Being the tightwad she is, she collects my old targets and spends a few hours putting her "custom construction paper bullseyes" on them.

It may be sterotypical, but girls like pretty things. My wife really got into things when she got her own range bag, and blue ear protectors plus some pewter pins of dogs that reminded her of our 2 *goofballs* to stick on the bag. It added a personal touch to things.

Good point on the gun. Is it hers by choice? The .32 mag is a decent starter, as well as a decent midrange loading.

Try to make it seem like a "date". (Not much of a stretch for myself, I mean, I don't have to try at all. Lotsa fun to take my main squeeze to the range, lotsa hand holding and icky stuff. Thought about going *parking*, but decided after 18 years of marriage it didn't quite fit ;) )
 
I observed such a situation similar to yours while at the range last week. A guy was introducing his girl friend to the world of shooting. He kept the target close 10-15ft. She did very well and he kept commenting on how good her shooting was and that she should try entering competions in the future. She sure looked confident and was booming with pride.
 
Whenever I take newbies to the range, I ALWAYS go over the 4 rules of gun safety, then we go over the gun, I explain how it works and I show them the parts they will be operating and teach them the nomenclature. THEN we go over the difference between "sight alignment" and sight picture. I take a blue gun along and have them point it at my eye and practice proper sight picture...when they have the proper sight picture, you are looking at the straight line created by the front sight lined up with the rear sight and their iris is covered. You can immediately tell if they are aiming too low or if they are looking at the target, not the front sight. After that, I touch on the 4 rules again. We make sure the newbie doesn't have any questions then we start at 3 yards. I like to start out close because it goes a long way towards building immediate confidence.
 
I have taught quitw a few women to shoot. In my experience the average woman is somewhat more sensitive to noise and recoil than the average man. So I would say:
a) be sure she has good ear protection
b) start with a gun with low to moderate recoil. No magnums or +P lpads
If you take these precautions, most women do fine and find that they like shppting. As feminists like to sai, it "empowers" them.

Good lugk, Hard Ball
 
Thank you everyone for your replys. We WERE gonna go on a Saturday night ciuse we already had a sitter lined up, but now I'm gonna wait til the week night about an hour before they close or so. It should be quieter anyways I'm hoping but I'm gonna call the range and see when the best time is or if they can set something up for us. They rent guns so I'll get a 22 pistol from them. And I already told her that she can quit when she's ready and i know in my head that I just have to stay supportive and just be there for her. Good idea on the quiet drink afterwards. Thank s again and I'll let you all know how it went.
smile.gif
 
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