Perro Del Diablo Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I am having a lady friend out to the range today, she has never fired a gun and is afraid of them. I hope to calm her fears and get her hooked on the shooting style of life. Wildman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Wishing you the best of luck on your endeavor. I offer some friendly advice, don't overload the lady with the big artillery until she has had a chance to test the water. If she has an inherent fear of firearms, big boom might scare her off for good. But I am sure you already knew that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtwater Doc 17941 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. I. Tarpicker, SASS #998 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Start her with a .22, and BE SURE she has eye and ear protection! -- GIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Emily SASS #73673 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Rifles are also good starters but if it is a '73 make sure she is wearing a hat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I am having a lady friend out to the range today, she has never fired a gun and is afraid of them. I hope to calm her fears and get her hooked on the shooting style of life. Wildman I took a girl out to the desert a little over 14 years...she was a liberal and die hard anti-gun (actually scared of them)....now we are married and she has become conservative with a strong pro-gun stance. GG ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Good luck, and thank you. As others have said, start her off with something light. A .22 revolver is a good first choice. I would love to hear the back story of how you got a lady friend out to the range today, (who has) never fired a gun and is afraid of them. to go out to the range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubborn Dutchman, SASS # 61363 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Good Luck. I second the use of .22's to break the ice. .38 spcl is a good next step. Start her up close to the target, so she can see her hits, and use BIG targets. The more positive an experience she gets this time will mean a second trip to the range is more than a possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Good Luck. I second the use of .22's to break the ice. .38 spcl is a good next step. Start her up close to the target, so she can see her hits, and use BIG targets. The more positive an experience she gets this time will mean a second trip to the range is more than a possibility. Good GREAT idea! Maybe some of the 8" Shoot n Sees at about 5 yards. I did that for one young lady who was being miserable with her boyfriends .40 S&W at 25 yards, so while he was "teaching" another young lady, I brought her over to my station, put a big Shoot n See on a big sheet of paper at about 4 or 5 yards, then put a .22 in her hands, and coached her through each shot. The smile on her face when she saw that she could hit the target and the gun wasn't punishing her was great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 ...also...keep SAFETY a priority! Teach her the proper methods of checking and clearing the firearm and all the basics of handling - I'm sure you already thought of that, but just wanted to emphasize seeing it hasn't been mentioned yet. HAVE FUN! GG ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Howdy Pard, Motivation is 99.99999% of getting her to shoot. If she is motivated, she will overcome. I decided I wanted to do CAS and had MINIMAL experience shooting. Hubby took me to an indoor range (it was February) four times. I shook just loading the gun and didn't hit much. We went to an outdoor range and I shot all guns like would be done at a match. I still shook; but was determined. It took a while and Propranolol before I quit shaking and actually started improving. It was really fun to improve. Now, 12+ years later and some physical issues, I don't win much other than last in my category. I still enjoy shooting, hitting the targets, dressing up, hanging out with friends... If you can just get her motivated to come to matches for any reason, you and she will have great fun. Regards, Allie Mo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perro Del Diablo Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Success she had a great time. Bearcat. 22 and Buckmark .22 at about 4 4hours yards and 8I inch paper plate to start. Even with others shooting small artillery few lanes over she did overcome some fears. She also had better group on a shoot n see than many seasoned shooters I've seen. Short back story for you Subdeacon she is a coworker and it is no secret of my passion for shooting sports so one day she asked what she should get for home defense and was not long before she informed me about her fears and never shot before. So I decided to invite her out to get her introduced. As an NRA instructor the great advice given here was a great choice. Also since my wife and daughter are also instructors having females working with her really helped. Thanks for all your well wishes. Wildman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Success she had a great time. Bearcat. 22 and Buckmark .22 at about 4 4hours yards and 8I inch paper plate to start. Even with others shooting small artillery few lanes over she did overcome some fears. She also had better group on a shoot n see than many seasoned shooters I've seen. Short back story for you Subdeacon she is a coworker and it is no secret of my passion for shooting sports so one day she asked what she should get for home defense and was not long before she informed me about her fears and never shot before. So I decided to invite her out to get her introduced. As an NRA instructor the great advice given here was a great choice. Also since my wife and daughter are also instructors having females working with her really helped. Thanks for all your well wishes. Wildman That's fantastic! Thanks for the back story. Amazing how guns and gun owners are evil incarnate, until an anti sees a need for a gun. Good on you for keeping it fun for her. And great that your wife and daughter were able to help out. That really helps break the ice. Do you have another "date" lined up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I work part time at a gun shop/range. I can't tell ya how many guys bring their girfriends or wives to shoot. When we HIGHLY suggest starting them with a .22 pistol or revolver they insist on having them shoot their .40 or 9mm or .357 or .45. It always scares the crap out of them and they're turned off on shooting. If they would only listen! For the record this applies not only to women but guys too. If they've never shot before a .22 is THE gun to start with. Good luck to ya and be safe. Rye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perro Del Diablo Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 After Country Wildman talked to her and started her with the 22great bearcat and she shot a few cylinders, I introduced her to the 22 browning buckmark. Country prev removed the scope which was a good thing for this lady to start with iron sights. She liked the semi over the revolver becuz of size of grip. After practicing with that the range officer lcame and asked her if she would like to try a 380 and she said yes. I explains the pistol to her a lil, she asked me to shoot it first so I did then she shot that. She wanted to try my lady smith 9mm so I she tried it but thought it was loud and heavier recoil. She wanted to go back to buckmaster so I said let's now make it fun and stuck a neon color splatter target. She shot 20 and in a 2-3 inch area. She thought that was a lot of fun! Country Rose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 After Country Wildman talked to her and started her with the 22great bearcat and she shot a few cylinders, I introduced her to the 22 browning buckmark. Country prev removed the scope which was a good thing for this lady to start with iron sights. She liked the semi over the revolver becuz of size of grip. After practicing with that the range officer lcame and asked her if she would like to try a 380 and she said yes. I explains the pistol to her a lil, she asked me to shoot it first so I did then she shot that. She wanted to try my lady smith 9mm so I she tried it but thought it was loud and heavier recoil. She wanted to go back to buckmaster so I said let's now make it fun and stuck a neon color splatter target. She shot 20 and in a 2-3 inch area. She thought that was a lot of fun! Country Rose + a whole bunch. It is great how the shooting community comes together to help the beginners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheriff Oso, SASS #57788L Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Wildman & Rose, My hat is off to you both for helping tear down the negative stereotype. If every shooter could take the opportunity to introduce a "novice" to firearms, a lot of the "fear factor" would go away! Being in TeeVee for about a million years, I have taken many "I don't like guns" folk to the range. The transformation at the range is wonderful to see, but even better is when they carry that new insight into the station! They stop using the worn out "gunman, gunned down, shooting spree" cliche's and start using factual words (like KILLER, MURDERER, CRIMINAL, etc.) They learn a gun is tool in a person's hand and the responsibility for the use or abuse of the tool belongs to the PERSON holding it! So, again, Good for ALL of you who have done your part to educate the ignorant and help "shoot holes" in their misconceptions (I couldn't resist using at ONE cliche' !!! TeeVee'll do that to ya!) FWIW..YMMV..SOso Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 They learn a gun is tool in a person's hand and the responsibility for the use or abuse of the tool belongs to the PERSON holding it! That's about what Cicero wrote: “The sword is not a killer, it is only a tool in the hands of a killer.” About 400 years later, St. John Chrysostom expanded on it: “For men of understanding do not say that the sword is to blame for murder, nor wine for drunkenness, nor strength for outrage, nor courage for foolhardiness, but they lay the blame on those who make an improper use of the gifts which have been bestowed upon them by God, and punish them accordingly.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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