taking some newbies shooting, need input

[kalbos]

I was asked by my church Campus leader to have range day at Burro Canyon.

There will two to three experienced shooters with me. I have a 20ga & a 12ga semi, a 12ga pump, an AR-15, and a Hi Point 4595.

Do you think that we should get a private range or use the open range?

I am also doing a safety class before we go.

Here are some points that I plan to cover

1) Assume a firearm is loaded and handle it appropriately
2) When if doubt, assume a firearm is loaded
3) Always point the muzzle down range
4) Keep your finger off of the trigger until you are ready to shoot
5) Safety and how it works for each firearm
6) Never hand a person a loaded firearm unless you inform them that it's loaded
7) Always listen to the range officer
8) Never have 20ga ammo near the 12ga ammo.

anything else that I need to cover?

Thanks for the input

BW

[KWalkerM]

Know what is behind the target.
Keep finger off the trigger till ready to fire
Safety is a mechanical device and cant be trusted
Dont be afraid to bench someone being unsafe.
Make sure they all know the basic rules of firearms

I reccomend only having 1 person shoot per experienced shooter watching till they can be trusted

[Steelplate45]

Be sure to have a live instructors meeting before the shoot. I have met 'experienced' shooters who are poor with muzzle direction and finger control.

Keep the groups small.
NO ONE is to touch a firearm while people are down range setting targets.
Keep the targets simple. New shooters have fun when they can hit something.

[OldShooter32]

Get a private range -- control is much easier ergo safer.

[alfred1222]

Be sure to have a live instructors meeting before the shoot. I have met 'experienced' shooters who are poor with muzzle direction and finger control.

Keep the groups small.
NO ONE is to touch a firearm while people are down range setting targets.
Keep the targets simple. New shooters have fun when they can hit something.

This exactly, IMO sometimes the "experienced" shooters are more of a hazard to peoples health and safety than the new shooters. Also, keep it simple. regardless of group size, have one instructor per new shooter, and just teach the fundamentals and get ready to grab the gun.

[kalbos]

Thanks for the replies, keep em coning

[BRANCHER]

1st thought... can you get any 22LR rifles / pistols? Low recoil to get proficient.

2nd - Go over range and handling rules. Never hurts to give a handout.

3rd - Make sure to understand what they want. Don't hand a new shooter a 44mag and laugh. Not cool. Calm and nice.

4th - After going over how to handle each weapon with my new shooter. I load them with only 1 round. See how they do then load 2-3 rounds. Then you can go fully loaded.

5th - And have someone watching each new shooter. Yes you may not get to shoot until they stop (or at all). Remember this is for them more than you.

6th - Be patient and remember to be firm and nice when giving instruction. You are trying to convert someone to becoming a shooter (or at least anti-gun). We need as many as possible to turn the stereo types the media places on us all.

[kalbos]

1st thought... can you get any 22LR rifles / pistols? Low recoil to get proficient.

I have a tac solution 22 upper that I can put onto the AR.

Also the Hi Point 45 carbine has really light kick. It also has a, laser/flashlight combo, a front vertical grip with a bipod and a BSA 4X scope. Looks uber tacticool

The AR-22 upper is sighted in for 50 yard and has a red dot reflex sight. Really easy to bust the clay discs.

The 20ga semi also kicks really light.

I like your suggestion to put one round and see how they do.

Time to get some snap caps and get them familiar with loading and cycling each firearm.

BW

[DannyInSoCal]

Wear a vest...

[Beetle Bailey]

If possible get a private range. Make reservations ASAP since it's usually over a month wait.

[Supertac916]

Here are a few things I learned working at a range for a few years to add.

- Make sure you watch and tell them not to point a semi- auto handgun to the person on their left during a mag change or if the firearm mis-fires. For some reason most beginners need to see the mag release because its not natural to them yet.

- Don't wrap your thumb behind the slide on a semi-auto because they'll end up with stitches or a broken thumb.

- Tell all the women to dress appreciate for a day outdoors. No low cut shirts or high heels. I know we like low cut shirts on our women, but if you want to see someone dance around with a loaded gun. Just see what they do when a hot piece of brass lands between those god given gifts. I almost got shot once by that same scenario. Luckily I grabbed her wrist and got control before she shot me or another person on the range.

Hope this helps, but this relates mostly to handguns, but your peers maybe bringing handguns.

[Merc1138]

Do a live(live as in with the guns, not the ammo) safety demo at home with them. You won't be rushed and burning up range time, so they have plenty of time to ask all of the questions they feel like asking. Yes, they'll probably forget half of it by the time they get to the range, but you can go over muzzle control and basic operation(inserting a magazine, dropping a magazine, how to chamber a round, how to release a slide/bolt, what the sights look like, etc.) so they have some idea of what's going on without being distracted by other shooters at the range.

[SocomM4]

HSC

[voiceofreason]

If possible get a private range. Make reservations ASAP since it's usually over a month wait.

+1

I was up at Burro yesterday.

Try to keep them on .22s if at all possible until the end of the session. Switch over to 9mm/.223 at the very end. Cheaper and easier.

Would be worth it to buy the .22 guns and save money by shooting mostly .22 ammo.

Do most of the safety and instruction in a classroom, not on the range. Most people don't have electronic ears, so they will miss most of what is said on the range. If your range has people actively shooting at the range next to it, going without ears will not be an option.

Make it clear at the classroom portion that if they are not following directions, they WILL be done for the day.

Limit the # of children in the class, or have them 1-on-1 with instructors while shooting. They learn well, but forget easily.

Don't OVERteach. You may have a ton of knowledge, but you're better off getting a few key points through clearly than 50 concepts thrown at them and having nothing stick.

No more than 2 shooters per instructor. You can expand this after they've demonstrated safe handling for a bit.

[voiceofreason]

oh, and teach them how to deal with hot brass in their shirt, down the neck, etc.

very important