New shooter's - your opinion's
- Thread starter cupar1
- Start date
Keep it light and fun. This is just an introduction after all.
A hearty "DITTO!" to having them wear high neckline shirt or blouse. Or at least bring along such a shirt or light jacket for the shooting even if they take it off after to go out for dinner.
The .22's will be fine and lovely to start. By all means stress the safety aspects. The two biggies and only ones I'd bother with being "keep it pointed THAT way all the time" and "don't put your finger in here until pointed at the target. For me part of the "keep it pointed THAT way..." includes showing how to roll the gun in my hands to look at the sides or top as needed while pointing downrange all the time. It's not a natural sort of action but it's easy to show. Otherwise the natural reaction is to pull the gun in close and turn it to point sideways to look at anything at all. And that's not a good way to handle the hand guns.
9mm always makes new shooters jump out of their skin all over again after the .22. So be ready for that and perhaps just load one round for their first shot. Same with the .44. After that they should be fine with full mags.
With the semi autos be constantly watchful for that support hand thumb wanting to sneak over the top behind the slide. Even after you remind them a few times it'll still be just way to natural a motion and it'll creep in on you when you figure it's all good. In particular since when you show them how to hold and shoot the revolver it DOES involve the crossed over thumb. When they go back to semi auto after that thumb will figure it's got all the right in the world to sneak back into the path of the slide.....
If you've got some .44Spl or download some of your .44Mag loads to .44Spl they'll be just fine after the 9mm. And in fact I'd not be surprised that they like it the most. I would not be afraid to bring along a few full power .44Mag as well. They might just be willing to try them by the end of the session. And by that time they'll be more than able to understand the difference and not be totally put off.
I was in a position of helping out a local range on their regular Ladies' Nights and I got to introduce quite a few girls to shooting. Many had never seen or held a real gun at all. If they were not put off shooting by the first shot of a .22 I found that they were quite willing to learn and were quite accepting of the noise and recoil. Of course there was the occasional "princess" but for the most part they did well. In fact more than a few of them outshot their "skilled" boyfriends by quite a good margin....
My best ever "conquest" was a couple of small Asian ladies. They split a box of .22 for a Ruger Mk II. I half jokingly said that now they had to try the pump shotgun. They asked what a shotgun was and by coincidence right behind me I heard the unmistakable sound of a pump being cycled and just pointed over my shoulder and said "That..." and then the guy pulled the trigger. It was like a pure setup of timing They giggled and said "oh no... we couldn't do that...". I offerred up that by showing them how to stand and shoulder the gun that they push hard but won't hurt. They were game and so I got the stuff. The big one was telling them "you need to feel all of the surface of this recoil pad right in here (showing them the area just under the collar bone) and then lean down into it and it'll push but not smack". The first girl held it in the usual "girly" fashion. All I did was ask if she could feel the whole recoil pad pressing evenly. She said "no" and I told her to alter her stance until she did. An lo and behold after a try or two she was down into a proper ERT style pose asking "is this right?".. I assured her it looked right and proper and she pulled the trigger.... the smile she gave to her friend was electric. I even showed them with the last few rounds how to shoot "Arny style" from the hip and they took to that like ducks to water. Three weeks later they were back JUST to shoot the shotgun. I still feel it was one of my best introductions/conversions to shooting ever.
A hearty "DITTO!" to having them wear high neckline shirt or blouse. Or at least bring along such a shirt or light jacket for the shooting even if they take it off after to go out for dinner.
The .22's will be fine and lovely to start. By all means stress the safety aspects. The two biggies and only ones I'd bother with being "keep it pointed THAT way all the time" and "don't put your finger in here until pointed at the target. For me part of the "keep it pointed THAT way..." includes showing how to roll the gun in my hands to look at the sides or top as needed while pointing downrange all the time. It's not a natural sort of action but it's easy to show. Otherwise the natural reaction is to pull the gun in close and turn it to point sideways to look at anything at all. And that's not a good way to handle the hand guns.
9mm always makes new shooters jump out of their skin all over again after the .22. So be ready for that and perhaps just load one round for their first shot. Same with the .44. After that they should be fine with full mags.
With the semi autos be constantly watchful for that support hand thumb wanting to sneak over the top behind the slide. Even after you remind them a few times it'll still be just way to natural a motion and it'll creep in on you when you figure it's all good. In particular since when you show them how to hold and shoot the revolver it DOES involve the crossed over thumb. When they go back to semi auto after that thumb will figure it's got all the right in the world to sneak back into the path of the slide.....
If you've got some .44Spl or download some of your .44Mag loads to .44Spl they'll be just fine after the 9mm. And in fact I'd not be surprised that they like it the most. I would not be afraid to bring along a few full power .44Mag as well. They might just be willing to try them by the end of the session. And by that time they'll be more than able to understand the difference and not be totally put off.
I was in a position of helping out a local range on their regular Ladies' Nights and I got to introduce quite a few girls to shooting. Many had never seen or held a real gun at all. If they were not put off shooting by the first shot of a .22 I found that they were quite willing to learn and were quite accepting of the noise and recoil. Of course there was the occasional "princess" but for the most part they did well. In fact more than a few of them outshot their "skilled" boyfriends by quite a good margin....
My best ever "conquest" was a couple of small Asian ladies. They split a box of .22 for a Ruger Mk II. I half jokingly said that now they had to try the pump shotgun. They asked what a shotgun was and by coincidence right behind me I heard the unmistakable sound of a pump being cycled and just pointed over my shoulder and said "That..." and then the guy pulled the trigger. It was like a pure setup of timing
They giggled and said "oh no... we couldn't do that...". I offerred up that by showing them how to stand and shoulder the gun that they push hard but won't hurt. They were game and so I got the stuff. The big one was telling them "you need to feel all of the surface of this recoil pad right in here (showing them the area just under the collar bone) and then lean down into it and it'll push but not smack". The first girl held it in the usual "girly" fashion. All I did was ask if she could feel the whole recoil pad pressing evenly. She said "no" and I told her to alter her stance until she did. An lo and behold after a try or two she was down into a proper ERT style pose asking "is this right?".. I assured her it looked right and proper and she pulled the trigger.... the smile she gave to her friend was electric. I even showed them with the last few rounds how to shoot "Arny style" from the hip and they took to that like ducks to water. Three weeks later they were back JUST to shoot the shotgun. I still feel it was one of my best introductions/conversions to shooting ever.
since this is canada and you have to wait on the cfo that's not an option, also not made of money... actually thinking of selling off some rifles
yeah, budget is everything. For the CFO, 3 days transfert for the last restrict, not bad.
Lots of a good advice here particularly about doubling up on hearing protection and protecting against hot brass.
Having introduced many people to shooting I only allow ONE round at a time for their first few shots particularly if there are two newbies and we are shooting handguns. After the first shot they may wheel and turn to have a "Wow did you see that!" moment with their friend. Stand beside and behind them close enough to prevent the gun from being pointed in the wrong direction.
As they get more comfortable you can put more rounds in the magazine but always keep a locked focus on the muzzle and be prepared to step in if required.
I've found with new shooters less is more. If they are getting tired call it a day.
Leave the .44 at home. The .22 and 9mm will be more than enough. The other thing to keep in mind is that this is their visit not yours. Typically with new people I rarely shoot and let them have all the fun.
Having introduced many people to shooting I only allow ONE round at a time for their first few shots particularly if there are two newbies and we are shooting handguns. After the first shot they may wheel and turn to have a "Wow did you see that!" moment with their friend. Stand beside and behind them close enough to prevent the gun from being pointed in the wrong direction.
As they get more comfortable you can put more rounds in the magazine but always keep a locked focus on the muzzle and be prepared to step in if required.
I've found with new shooters less is more. If they are getting tired call it a day.
Leave the .44 at home. The .22 and 9mm will be more than enough. The other thing to keep in mind is that this is their visit not yours. Typically with new people I rarely shoot and let them have all the fun.
- Location
- West Quebec
^^^^ exactly what I did on several occasions for friends.. a much calmer experience and less tension all around
First off, good on you for introducing new shooters to our sport and I agree with your last statement.
I think the .44 would be ok for a new shooter when chambered with the specials. Magnums you would have to judge for yourself and the shooter if they would be turned off.
Generally speaking, I'll show new shooters how to hold, load, aim, operate the action, then I'll shoot a few on target. This gives the new shooter a fairly complete understanding of what to expect, and how the mechanisms work.
Then I put the guns on the mat, ammo in front of them and let them 'have at it' with the occasional gentle direction from yours truly. "Huh, .357 eh? You've been shooting .38 special so you will notice quite a bit of a difference ok? Those are spicy."
...or..."ah, .45 acp. You'll like that one, it's my favorite. Some folks say it's a man's caliber or a big boy gun but you'll find that's an exaggeration. It's big, you'll have to hold on, but nothing you can't handle."It's all about positive reinforcement, find something positive that they're doing and remark on it. New shooters round slams into the ground 15 feet in front of the target, but she made improvements to her two hand hold or stance, praise her on that, then mention sight lines and target acquisition and ensure her that she will get there. What we take for granted and what we have to remember is that what we instinctively do is actually quite a lot, and can be mentally taxing for some new shooters. Some of whom, may have never seen, let alone held a real live gun before and the anxiety of something going terribly wrong is up front on their minds. Then you further burden a stressed mind with range rules, new people, firing line disciplines, loud noises...it really can be quite a bit for a newbie to take in.
Oh, and one final thing. Take pics, we wanna see!
^^^This. I don't do it as much as Gatehouse, but I bring new shooters almost monthly, male and female. I find they will keep moving up in calibre/bang factor as they get comfortable and when they go too far for their own comfort, they will go back to the one they liked the best. No pressure, let them progress at their own pace.
As far as the model 29 goes, it depends on the .44 SPL. I haven't shot that but for sure .44 magnum is a lot for most new shooters. I took a couple out and I brought my 586. The woman liked that the best. The rounds were .38 SPL so it wasn't too much. I did demonstrate my .460V. I had them go away a few lanes so it wouldn't smack them in the chest. They enjoyed it but had no desire to shoot it.
Good to move up slowly like you suggest, OP.
Good to move up slowly like you suggest, OP.
Lonesome Donkey
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Central Alberta
I would very much agree.
Also, a revolver is much safer in the hands of a complete newbie. Once it has fired, it requires a very deliberate action to fire the next shot, unlike a semi-automatic pistol, which is instantly ready to fire the next shot with a light press on the trigger.
Oh, and one final thing. Take pics, we wanna see!
will do
if nothing else they probably will want a pic of them with the model 29 it's a ###y gun. 6.5" blued barrel with wood grips.the 44 spc is just remington 180grn target load it isn't a SD round by any means it also happened to be at the calgary shooting center so bagers can't be choosers when there's only 1 box for sale in calgary. I checked cabelas, bass pro, and shooting edge first not in that order, would have checked wholesale but csc had it.
- Location
- West Quebec
^^^^ Especially with new shooters who are not used to handling firearms
The 22 is the way to start out new shooters. I actually prefer to start them out on 22 rifles, preferably single shot or bolt action guns. When doing handgun I start off with the 22 revolver, but if handguns are what you have and those are self loaders, well you use what you have. I'll suggest you do start with but a single round in the magazine.
As to the Model 29, I fully agree with the use of 44 Specials, I have both Ruger's Redhawk and a Model 29 and shoot Specials in them far more often than magnums. Here may be the bigger trouble with the Model 29, it is built on the S&W N-frame and with the Magna stocks it might be too ;arge for them to get a comfortable grip on. Which of course can lead to a bad shooting experience.
Went to the range today, one of the ladies had to drive to medicine hat and didn't end up coming.
Had one scare today when we switched from the 22 to the 9mm she pointed at the front sight which had a painted white dot and had her fingers very close to the muzzle of a loaded gun, they didn't ever go in front thankfully. We shot 22 and she liked it, we shot my walther 9mm and I hate that gun and she didn't like it, Then she shot the model 29 44 speacil and it turned out to be her favorite of the guns. I need to start reloading because she shot 39 44spc and 1 44 mag round. The only reason she stopped shooting was because the gun was heavy Very successful range trip.
beretta 22lr
Walther 9mm
Smith & Wesson 44mag (actually got this picture right after she shot her 1 44 mag, face says it all)
Had one scare today when we switched from the 22 to the 9mm she pointed at the front sight which had a painted white dot and had her fingers very close to the muzzle of a loaded gun, they didn't ever go in front thankfully. We shot 22 and she liked it, we shot my walther 9mm and I hate that gun and she didn't like it, Then she shot the model 29 44 speacil and it turned out to be her favorite of the guns. I need to start reloading because she shot 39 44spc and 1 44 mag round. The only reason she stopped shooting was because the gun was heavy
Very successful range trip.beretta 22lr
Walther 9mm
Smith & Wesson 44mag (actually got this picture right after she shot her 1 44 mag, face says it all)
- Location
- West Quebec
She needs help with her grip and stance..
Awesome! Seems like you did good.
We need way more ladies out shooting.
The most frustrating mistake I see is people underestimating women because they are women.
They are just like any new shooter.
Teach just enough to be safe. Who cares if technique isn't great. First day goal is to have fun.
Only one round in the gun for any new shooter until they prove they can control it.
have also learned that people in relationships can't teach each other $h!t.
Sometimes it's better to have someone else coach.
So when is the next range day?
You still have one more friend who needs a range trip.
We need way more ladies out shooting.
The most frustrating mistake I see is people underestimating women because they are women.
They are just like any new shooter.
Teach just enough to be safe. Who cares if technique isn't great. First day goal is to have fun.
Only one round in the gun for any new shooter until they prove they can control it.
have also learned that people in relationships can't teach each other $h!t.
Sometimes it's better to have someone else coach.
So when is the next range day?
You still have one more friend who needs a range trip.
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