taking some newbies shooting, need input

[kalbos]

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

very important

LOL.

I deal with this almost everything I shoot indoors.

I shoot ambi so when I switch to the right, I forget to move over a little to the left. my 22 likes to richocet the brass off the lane wall and down my shirt. Nursing a couple of en right now.

Lots of fun.

[spookie]

When I was new I had a bad habit of muzzle sweeping, make a point that others around you may not know if its unloaded or not.

[17+1]

Mainly you just need to make it a fun experience and teach them to be safe.

Personally, I don't know if I'd take a group of new people. 2-3 might not be too bad though. One-on-one coaching is probably best, if possible. You'll find that new shooters have different goals. I've had some concerned with shooting the X ring out. Others just want to make noise and look cool. Depends on the personality I guess. The younger you can get them started shooting(within reason), the better.

[SunkenShadow]

To add....

1. ALWAYS assume that the gun is loaded, so chamber check, even though there is a claim that the chamber is empty.
2. Teach how to handle misfires. I.e. goes pop instead of bang/boom or just click with a live round.
3. Basic firearm operations?
4. The best 'safety' is your finger
5. NEVER mix ammo. It'll be tragic :-/

[jyo]

Bring a 22 rifle to start them with---I use an old semi-auto Remingtom Nylon 66---probably taught 100s of people to shoot with that rifle.

[emptybottle151]

Be carful with new shooters with 20 ga and 12 ga. Took a new shooter out once and she loaded my ak mag 7.62x39 with .223, luckily I caught her before she loaded it in the rifle. Should have known better putting Wolf 7.62x39 next to Wolf .223

[SilverTauron]

If its possible have the new person try a gun with an active safety.

I know we all like our Glocks and M&P's, but I was REAL glad my old Ruger SR9 had an external safety the day I took an inexperienced pal up to the mountain for some shooting. I saw him violate Rules #3 and #4 while walking from the loading area to the firing line. I don't know if his trigger pressure would have fired the gun, but the safety being engaged beforehand potentially spared us both a hasty trip to the hospital.

When going with a different set of people, I loaded and kept a different gun pointed downrange before flipping up the slide mounted safety. Nothing wrong with following the 4 rules, but even the best screw up sometimes.

[SilverTauron]

Be carful with new shooters with 20 ga and 12 ga. Took a new shooter out once and she loaded my ak mag 7.62x39 with .223, luckily I caught her before she loaded it in the rifle. Should have known better putting Wolf 7.62x39 next to Wolf .223

I did that once with a 9mm PT92 Taurus and a .40 S&W Beretta . I was wondering why my .40 caliber mag wouldn't seat properly until I noticed the top round had "9mm Luger" stamped on the case.Two very similiar shaped black magazines and one distracted loader =

[kalbos]

Be carful with new shooters with 20 ga and 12 ga. Took a new shooter out once and she loaded my ak mag 7.62x39 with .223, luckily I caught her before she loaded it in the rifle. Should have known better putting Wolf 7.62x39 next to Wolf .223

Agreed.

All of my 12ga ammo has red shells and the 20 has yellow. I do plan to keep em on separate benches.

BW

[sparrow]

Wouldn’t hurt to print up a firearms safety pamphlet for home study and a couple classroom style safety sessions. This as well as a follow up written test before range day will give you a good idea on where each student stands as far as previous experience and abilities.

[SWalt]

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.

^^^^This would do wonders to any new shooter. It will take some of the nervousness away and will give you time to try to beat into their minds the 4 basic safety rules.

1) treat every gun as if its loaded
2) never point a gun at anything your not willing to kill or destroy.
3) keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4) know your target and whats beyond it.

muzzle control is most important it is to be kept pointed downrange at all times. explain why this is so .

Go over range commands and what they mean. What to expect is key. If one of them crosses over the safety line during cease fire and gets yelled at for trying to grab a cell phone or something, they will know why.

My idea would do everything with a sense of seriousness but fun too. Its important to get them into safe practices and habits early and not let bad habits form. If you can do all this before you go that would be best.

My 2 cents...

[NoHeavyHitter]

When you take new shooters out, always bring extra pairs of safety glasses and foam ear plugs. They are cheap to have on hand and besides - someone always forgets to bring theirs along.

Also, stress using adequate hearing protection. I know that most folks can wind up with a flinch from a round that's too loud and not necessarily high-recoil. Beside, dealing with ringing ears after shooting cancels out a lot of the fun. And - Thanks for being someone who goes out of their way to safely promote shooting sports. I've seen a lot of newer shooters won over to the idea of shooting for recreation.

[y3kspoo]

Designate a Range master, actually appoint someone and make sure everyone knows who to listen to. Make sure that everyone knows to stop whatever they are doing when they hear the whistle, even if they don't understand hwy the whistle was blown.
I was taught this on the Jr rifle team 40 years ago and it seems more and more important as time goes on. Shoot safe!

[LeadTalker]

For precision shots, (not shotugun) remind them how to breathe.
BRASS.

[Saym14]

I would only let one person shoot at a time. Also double check all guns are unloaded, except when the one Is shooting. Make sure gun gets cleared when they are done