I'm taking a group of Canadians to the range,,,

A

aarondhgraham

New member
I'm taking a group of Canadians to the range,,,
We'll be going this coming Sunday.

A close friend of mine,,,
Told me that the in-laws of her boyfriends daughter,,,
Are traveling to Oklahoma and Texas for an extended visit with their son.

She said that they specifically asked her,,,
If they could somehow get to shoot some guns.


I'm trying to decide what types of handguns to take,,,
Should I keep it simple and take revolvers?,,,
Or should I be daring and take semi's.

There will be four adults,,,
Apparently none have ever fired a handgun before.

I'm thinking I'll take:
One SA revolver in .22 LR (Colt Frontier Scout)
One SA revolver in .357 magnum (Dakota SAA Clone)
One SA/DA revolver in .22 LR (S&W Model 18)
One SA/DA revolver in .38 Special (S&W Model 15)

I'll also take The Harem:
S&W Model 63, Model 67, Model 686, Model 629.

This is the largest group I've ever taken,,,
I think it will go much smoother with wheel guns.

I'm going to buy new ear-plugs for each of them,,,
And print up a small card with the 4-rules for each of them.

I'm thinking that I'll not take many semi's,,,
That's if I take any semi's at all.

Oh, I'll probably toss the CZ-75B and the CZ-75B Kadet in the bag,,,
In case anyone just has to shoot a bottom feeder,,,
I'll have those and the LC9 I carry.

I'm excited about this,,,
My opportunity to be an International Ambassador. :rolleyes:

Aarond

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I think you're choosing good weapons & calibers... but don't be surprised if the CZ-75 gets shot the most... last time I had a group of newbies out, I had some seriously interesting revolvers, & the only thing they wanted to shoot was the autos ( which I hate dragging out, as I don't always get all my brass back )... seems lots of newbies only see the revolver as outdated, & all want to shoot the "new" stuff... of course once in a while you run into someone looking for the "cowboy experience" & perhaps with your location, they'll be expecting to shoot cowboy guns ???
 
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Those folks will probably not have decent eye protection. Take a couple of pairs of shooting glasses. Don't want any bad experiences. Good luck and safe shooting.
 
KISS

I would take one revolver, one semi-auto, and a shotgun. All major calibers.

Give them the safety lecture and the procedure lesson for a particular weapon. Let each one fire several rounds, while the others watch and take notes. Then switch to the next weapon.

I would also try to have some reactive targets available (tennis balls, steel plates. etc.).

You are the teacher/expert to a bunch of beginners. Keep it safe, simple, and fun. Give them time to think before and after they shoot.
 
OK, they weren't Canadians but New Yorkers that I took to the range several months ago. I took a whole bunch of different pistols, they wanted to shoot the semi-automatics more at first, but after watching me hit cans at 50 yards with the revolvers they burned through all my .41 magnum loads and .357 loads.

I think for people who are not at all familiar with firearms they think they want to shoot what they see on TV, but when they get a taste of accurate revolver shooting at distance they see another side of handgunning, one that is not ever shown on TV or in the movies

David
 
Should be a fun day for all. Safety is paramount, a good idea is to enlist one of them as your assistant range safety officer, keeping an eye on things with you.

One thing about Canadians, they are even more law-abiding than Americans, the law-abiding ones, I mean. Wearing camo and 'Kill 'Em All' t-shirts is probably not a good fashion choice for the day.

If you have an AR-15, Mini-14, that kind of thing, let 'em try that, too.

And a Long Branch Lee-Enfield. They are as much in awe of their WWII generation as we are.
 
I am another who would take more semis. I had a somewhat similar experience last fall, when a friend of my daughter visited her for a couple of months. The young lady was born and raised in Belgium, and now lives in Germany. (She speaks Flemish, French, German, and English. She said English was her second-worst language after Flemish, but it was quite good, accented but with a wide vocabulary and better grammar than a lot of North Americans.) After dinner out one night, my wife and I told her we were going shooting the next morning and asked if she would like to try it. She quickly accepted (she was game to try pretty much anything new) so we brought her to our house the next morning for an orientation (safety and familiarization), then took her to a local indoor range.

She got the hang of things quickly enough to make me jealous. We started her out with .22LR at just 10 feet. That was no challenge at all, so we moved the target gradually out to 30 feet and when she was filling up the black, we let her have a go with my Beretta 92FS and darn if she wasn't popping some tight well-centered groups with that, too. She went on to shoot a Glock 9 mm and a pocket .380 (Sig 238) a little, then went back to the .22LR when we told her she could finish up with her favorite. She plays volleyball at a fairly high level, so she is athletic and accustomed to receiving coaching, and she is also extremely bright, so all that probably combined to help her take to shooting pretty quickly.

All of that is to make the points that beginners can have plenty of success with semis, and that a receptive person can make some pretty fast progress in shooting.

I know they are in good hands, Aarond, for you are one of our sports' best ambassadors.
 
When I do these familiarization outings....I've evolved into this list...( my grandson's fraternity brothers / adult business associates of my boys especially if they're from overseas India, England, etc. / wive's of some buddy's that want some introduction...

a. .22 semi-auto and a revolver ( Sig 226 conversion kit / S&W model 617 )

b. Pair of revolvers .357 mag ...2 1/2" & 4" S&W model 66's

c. pair of 9mm ...( 1911 (5") and a Sig 226 )

For each shooter : a box of .22 ammo / a box of .357 Mag / a box of 9mm ( and they can buy more at the range ..if they want). I'll usually put one box of .38's in my bag too.
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If they have some interest...and want to go a 2nd time...or ask specifically about other guns the 2nd time....I'll consider the single action revolvers, semi-autos in .45 acp or maybe revolvers in .44 mag.../ but too much too soon gets too confusing. This way you've only got 3 calibers...
 
My first time shooting was right about a year ago, and I believe I was fortunate in how it went.

First, safety instruction.

Then stance, grip, and sighting instruction. Nothing so detailed it put me off, but enough I hit the target at 10' and was encouraged.

Started with .22 revolver, then shot 2 .380 semis. After that a .38 revolver. Then a couple of 9 mm semis, and finally a .45. By the end of the session I had a good overview and enough of one to realize for instance all .380's or all 9 mm's aren't the same. The .380s I shot were a Sig P238 and a Bodyguard, for instance. The 9s were a Sig P938 and 2 Glocks.
 
I'm going to keep it minimal,,,

After reading your posts,,,
And thinking of what worked for me in the past,,,
I've decided to keep it simple and only take a few guns.



Colt Frontier Scout in .22 and a Dakota SAA in .357,,,
For the old west style experience.

S&W Model 34, S&W Model 18, S&W Model 15,,,
For the modern revolver experience.

Two Beretta NEOS pistols and the NEOS Carbine in .22 LR,,,
These are easy to shoot, reliable, and fun.

CZ-75B in 9mm and a Bersa Thunder 9 UC,,,
To demonstrate modern semi's.

S&W 629 because it's the biggest Loudenboomer I have,,,
I'll bet money that everyone shoots it at least once.

I've printed 4x6 cards with the four safety rules,,,
We'll cover those before any guns come out.

I have foam earplugs for everyone,,,
And two pairs of ear muffs for two people,,,
That's all I will have shooting at any one point in time.

I'll also have purchased new shooting glasses for the two shooters on the line,,,
Those waiting to shoot can wear some old scratched ones I have.

This should be enough for everyone to have a good time with,,,
I'm afraid that if I take too many guns,,,
It will be too much to control.

I'll provide plenty of 6" splatter targets for easy visibility,,,
And keep the distance to no more than 10 yards.

This is my first time taking a group,,,
I'm a little nervous about it.

Aarond

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you'll do fine...

as long as you only keep 2 shooting & maintain order

did anyone tell you thanks lately for being a great shooting sports representative ??? :cool:
 
That handgun herd looks so good, I'd like to invite myself.

Were they only interested in handguns? An AR is a big drawing card for some folks.

Looking forward to the after action report.
 
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