Taking some newbies shooting

[SB1964]

I enjoy taking new shooters out. I will only take one at a time, they learn more, get to shoot more & I feel safer. Normally it's a newer friend or G/F. The safety is taught in my home, without ammo, just the basics, before we go. I will no longer go in groups, even on a double date, without very experienced shooters. I opted not to go to an invite with 19 people a few months ago. Sure enough one of them had a ND with a borrowed handgun.

[Steve_In_29]

Shoot-n-c targets at fairly close ranges so they don't get discouraged. Making hits on a 12" target is more motivating then missing the 5" one, even though their groups are the same overall size on the cardboard.

DON'T start them off with your biggest caliber, let them get used to the whole thing with .22s.

[SB1964]

^good advice, just let them shoot & gain confidence. No long distances, keep it simple.

[hermosabeach]

You read my mind

I always bring new shooters (very first timers) to my house and have them dry fire and practice picking up the sights. Now that I have the Laser Lyte trainer and reactive target, that will add another tool to teach people. I also always bring snap caps to the range with me to put into mags randomly.

And try to not show them up. Let them shoot paper at 21', but stick to the 100yd steel yourself so you dont discourage your guests

I do the same. I plan on 1 1/2 hours, but tell them 45 min to go over basics.

I ask them to tell their gun story. Any experience with a gun and ask them how they felt?

I disassemble a Glock and the. Show them how to do the same

Take the mystery out of the firearm. Let them get surprised when hitting the slide lock. Dry practice after grip, stance, trigger control, etc

Tell them it is unnatural to hold a weight out and that it is ok to shoot a few and set the gun down to shake out the as at the range

When I shoot I do shoot very very slowly 5-10 seconds per shot.


Flip a target around backwards and draw a dot with a sharpie.

Much easier to see hits on the back side of a target. Two new shooters max

Ear plugs and electronic hearing muffs.

Try to go to the range when it is not busy. (Loud)

Teach some basic clearance drills- how to fix a malfunction.

If they are good, bring a whistle.

Have them start turned away from a target with 2 bullseyes

Blow the wistle, they turn around, pick up a loaded gun from the bench and shoot the first target once and then the second once with a stop watch.

Simple fun drills.

It is ok to stop shooting with ammo left over for another trip.

Don't let them shoot until tired or bored.

Go for food after and talk about the experience.

[hermosabeach]

If you don't have the basic NRA pistol book, it is a good resource to use to come up with a pre shoot and shoot lesson plan.

Things to cover.

[Teeko]

Don't forget ear pro!

[sirgiles]

i would bring them here:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=379875

and watch the pros teach newbies or attend a class yourself and impart what you learned from that class.

[repomanNWP]

Turns out I did this last week (taking a new shooter out) without even realizing it. My 18yr old daughter, took her trap shooting. The night before we went through gun safety, basic operation of her shotgun, and a little bit about what to expect. The next day, she went through a trap clinic that repeated much of the safety instructions (a good thing) and she got to live fire with 1:1 instruction. She did fantastic. It was only later on that I realized she had never gone shooting with me before (I take my kids and many of their friends shooting all the time, so its hard to keep track). She's going with me again tomorrow, so I must have done something right. It was only afterward that I also realized shotgun's are a pretty good way to do a first shoot, as long as you have something that doesn't overwhelm the shooter with recoil. My daughter shot a Remington 870 in 20gauge with very light target loads, and had absolutely no problem with recoil, and she's only 5'4" and 102lbs

I think its a great thing to get new shooters started off right, and I salute you for having this as a personal goal this year. Safety has to be job 1, comfort and creating an environment where the shooter can ask questions without feeling dumb is my #2. Fun is #3, and achieving all of those should be the goal.

[afteractionreport]

Emphazise safety!... I cannot stress this enough!...make sure they understand that it is not a toy but with responsibility it cab b a fun hobbie/ home defense tool... (Oh and make sure to have fun)

[bigbearbear]

Turns out I did this last week (taking a new shooter out) without even realizing it. My 18yr old daughter, took her trap shooting. The night before we went through gun safety, basic operation of her shotgun, and a little bit about what to expect. The next day, she went through a trap clinic that repeated much of the safety instructions (a good thing) and she got to live fire with 1:1 instruction. She did fantastic. It was only later on that I realized she had never gone shooting with me before (I take my kids and many of their friends shooting all the time, so its hard to keep track). She's going with me again tomorrow, so I must have done something right. It was only afterward that I also realized shotgun's are a pretty good way to do a first shoot, as long as you have something that doesn't overwhelm the shooter with recoil. My daughter shot a Remington 870 in 20gauge with very light target loads, and had absolutely no problem with recoil, and she's only 5'4" and 102lbs

I think its a great thing to get new shooters started off right, and I salute you for having this as a personal goal this year. Safety has to be job 1, comfort and creating an environment where the shooter can ask questions without feeling dumb is my #2. Fun is #3, and achieving all of those should be the goal.

Although it sounds weird, shotguns are a great way to introduce newbies to firearms. I organized a shoot for my team of engineers last year, 2 of them are not gun owners and 1 who is a gun owner has never shot trap before. We shot rifles, pistols and shotguns, and among all the firearms, everyone agreed the shotgun was the most fun.

We used the manual trap launchers at Los Altos and it was great, because it is easier to shoot and everyone manages to score hits which raised their interests even more.

So if you are able to, try manual trap shooting with shotguns for newbies.

[Teeko]

Yeah shotguns are how I started

[PaintItBlack]

First time shooting my Dad gave me a 357 snub nose, only after I could handle that and was pretty accurate with it we shot his 22 revolver.
So when I hear people say start slow or start with a 22lr
But to each his own I suppose.