I'd like an honest answer Ladies

[Gil_MKiii]

[faris1984]

Mistake #1 : you took her to indoor range.
Just live with it and buy more guns for yourself and let her buy shoes and purses .

[Bainter1212]

Yep, you need to back off a bit until she is ready to go again......then take her to BLM land where you will be alone.

Hell, make it romantic. A little shooting, then a picnic, some wine, some blanket time.......

[Charybdis]

I had children. You see thing differently when you're not just looking out for yourself. I still don't "like" guns or shooting. But I force myself to be proficient and well-trained. It is a tool.

You will never make someone do it, and certainly not make them enjoy it. Male or female.

Shooting was never stress relief for me, I found it to be extremely stressful for a long time. At first because it was so dangerous, I was afraid of mistakes. Later it was stressful because I wanted to shoot well and was frustrated when I didn't. Now it's not stressful, but still not completely pleasant, I don't think I'd even call it fun.

If she's still willing to go with you, that's a start. She's probably mostly trying to be supportive for you. Have her double up on ear protection and keep it simple.

[savannah]

Intimidation and fear was the number one reason I wanted nothing to do with firearms. My son's however, ended up being avid hunters. I did not want guns in my house when I had kids. I had five kids, three of which were curious boys. So fear really was my biggest enemy.

What changed things for me was my son joining a private gun range. I went out to check it out one day and he convinced me to try trap shooting. Not wanting to be a baby, I decided to give it a try. It only took one clay break to get me hooked.

My husband wanted to buy a shotgun after that and I was not opposed, but nervous about saftey. We negotiated a deal and he agreed to take a firearm saftey class with me. That turned out to be a bit more difficult. Every class I looked into was filled with big burly men. More intimidation. I finally found a woman who was an NRA instructor that did the safety class in her rural home and then did hands on shooting in her back 40. We turned out to be the only students that day. We had a safety class, lunch on her deck and then we shot every gun she owned from shotguns to rifles to hand guns. One week later I bought my first hand gun. My husband and I went out to check out the local public trap, skeet and sporting clays club. Everyone there was very nice and offered to let us shoot. I didn't, but I watched. We talked to the owners and they hooked us up with a female trap instructor. We stupidly just bought a used shotgun and went out to take a lesson. From there, it was all uphill. I entually bought a shotgun that fit me.

Today I have been taking sporting clay lessons from a master class instructor who has become a great friend. I take lessons once a week and have been doing this for over three years. I am hooked! I love shooting clays. Not much of a trap fan, but love the challenge of sporting clays. I shoot no less than twice a week, more if I can fit it in to my schedule.

Take it slow with your girlfriend. Take her to an outdoor competition where females are shooting as well as men. Just watch, don't shoot. Find a female instructor if she shows interest or better yet, let her find a class she feels comfortable with if she decides she want to do a class. Take it with her even if you don't feel you need it. Make it fun and entertaining first. She may get interested if she sees other women shooting. She has to want to try. You can't force it.

[Gil_MKiii]

Mistake #1 : you took her to indoor range.
Just live with it and buy more guns for yourself and let her buy shoes and purses .

It was outdoor range, sort of (Oak Tree) I knew not to go indoor because it would have been worse.

[Barang]

The more you force it, the more you put her off.

[Gil_MKiii]

The more you force it, the more you put her off.

I know, this happened summer last year. I haven't brought up taking her anywhere to shoot in the last few months. I might have come off sounding like I try something every day or week to try to persuade her. I know not to push, been together 7 awesome years to not know any better. Just wanted to know what the reason some have changed their position on the matter.

[Gil_MKiii]

Intimidation and fear was the number one reason I wanted nothing to do with firearms. My son's however, ended up being avid hunters. I did not want guns in my house when I had kids. I had five kids, three of which were curious boys. So fear really was my biggest enemy.

What changed things for me was my son joining a private gun range. I went out to check it out one day and he convinced me to try trap shooting. Not wanting to be a baby, I decided to give it a try. It only took one clay break to get me hooked.

My husband wanted to buy a shotgun after that and I was not opposed, but nervous about saftey. We negotiated a deal and he agreed to take a firearm saftey class with me. That turned out to be a bit more difficult. Every class I looked into was filled with big burly men. More intimidation. I finally found a woman who was an NRA instructor that did the safety class in her rural home and then did hands on shooting in her back 40. We turned out to be the only students that day. We had a safety class, lunch on her deck and then we shot every gun she owned from shotguns to rifles to hand guns. One week later I bought my first hand gun. My husband and I went out to check out the local public trap, skeet and sporting clays club. Everyone there was very nice and offered to let us shoot. I didn't, but I watched. We talked to the owners and they hooked us up with a female trap instructor. We stupidly just bought a used shotgun and went out to take a lesson. From there, it was all uphill. I entually bought a shotgun that fit me.

Today I have been taking sporting clay lessons from a master class instructor who has become a great friend. I take lessons once a week and have been doing this for over three years. I am hooked! I love shooting clays. Not much of a trap fan, but love the challenge of sporting clays. I shoot no less than twice a week, more if I can fit it in to my schedule.

Take it slow with your girlfriend. Take her to an outdoor competition where females are shooting as well as men. Just watch, don't shoot. Find a female instructor if she shows interest or better yet, let her find a class she feels comfortable with if she decides she want to do a class. Take it with her even if you don't feel you need it. Make it fun and entertaining first. She may get interested if she sees other women shooting. She has to want to try. You can't force it.

Thanks for the encouraging words.

[jeremiah12]

I have been married 32 years and have known my wife for 38 years. I grew up with guns. Since the age of 11, I always had a loaded rifle in the closet in my room. I was the oldest of 5.

My wife was not comfortable having guns around and when we married, shooting was not a thing we did together, so I kept my rifle hidden away from her.

Years later, and with a 17 year old son, things had changed a lot. For many reasons I got back into shooting. During the intervening years I discovered my wife had changed her mind and did not want any guns in the house. She had given my rifle to her dad for safe keeping. Upset did not begin to describe her attitude when I drove to her parent's house to retrieve my rifle and made it clear to her dad that if he did not hand it over I would call the police and file a theft report. I got it back.

Then when my son turned 18, I bought two .22 cal rifles and proceeded to teach him how to shoot. I then bought a couple of 9 mm handguns and gifted him one. I tried everything to get my wife to go shooting with me. All that happened was she got more upset and reached the point of threatening divorce. When that came I said there is the door, I am not giving up guns unless you give up knitting and going to your knitting group twice a week. My going to the gun range twice a month provides the same stress relief as your knitting group does for you. Our son is an adult and makes his own decisions and wants to spend time with me shooting and I will do that. So you will be the one to explain to him why the divorce.

She did not leave and I never talked to her about guns again. I got the advice on how to deal with my wife from a lady Calgunner here.

That was 2 years ago. Since then she has come to learn that my guns are only dangerous to the paper targets and anyone that tries to harm her or our son.

Understand, when you first met, neither of you were into guns. For long term relationships to survive, both people have to accept that hobbies and interests change. One will take up new interests that the other does not have any interest in. Over time, the other might be drawn to try the new thing but the chances of that happening will be slim if you push it.

A few rules, a significant other is not the one to teach the GF/wife how to shoot. Emotions and egos get in the way. Many men think there is only one right or best way to do something. Many women do much better with a woman instructor. Look into Women on Target. My LGR holds women's only classes that have become very popular. Spouses and significant others are not allowed to be in viewing distance of the range.

For now, if she is okay with you shooting alone and having your guns at home, you are good. As she sees you are safe with them she may eventually ask for you to take her to the range.

My wife has come to the range a couple of times with me. She still has not shot, she brings her knitting and sits in a chair under a shade tree and knits. She likes being outside and does watch other women shooting. She has asked me questions and noticed the women's shooting classes. She has also started to tell me how stupid some of the proposed laws are because it does not stop criminals who do not care what the laws say. She has also watched me clean my guns many times and has seen how safe I am and heard me rant about the stupidity of people in the news who have an accident with an empty gun.

Accept that she may never be a shooter. If you want a GF or wife that is a shooter, you will have to leave her and find one that is. If this one is a keeper, she was not a shooter when you first met, so you cannot expect her to become one now just because you have.

[22CaliBear]

Firearms scare me. I find them exceedingly dangerous, I don't like the loud bang, and I hate the recoil of a handgun because it feels like it's going to jump out of my hand.

I tried taking a basic handgun class a couple of times, but quit during the field portion of the class because I was too scared. A very wise instructor saw my great fear and gently suggested I try his light rifle class. In the light rifle class we shot .22 caliber bolt action rifles, 50 rounds, loading only ONE ROUND AT A TIME. That I could handle.

I took the light rifle class over and over again for many months. Finally, one day, I didn't jump out of my skin anymore when I heard the bang. Then, one day, I decided I wanted my own rifle and bought a 10/22.

Personally, I find rifles a lot less intimidating than handguns. I do shoot handguns now, but still prefer rifles.

With a new firearm, I always start off one round at a time until I get a sense of what the firearm is like before I load a full magazine. It helps me feel in control. With the 9 mm handgun, for example, I had to do the one-round exercise over many visits to the range. It is a very S-L-O-W process for me, but I eventually get there.

I agree with what everyone else has said, especially the part about not forcing her.

I wish you the best.

[Charybdis]

When I began to show interest, my husband bombarded me with questions and trying to encourage me to different pistols. Shopping was horrible, I knew nothing. But I quickly determined what I didn't like, which helped narrow the field. The "woman guns" like the shield and p238 didn't appeal to me and it's basically all anyone would recommend. Too much funny business on them. Too many steps, too many things to remember. The common mistake of thinking a "woman's gun" is the same as a "starter gun" is part of the problem couples might face.

[Teachu2]

My wife was raised to be afraid of handguns - her father didn't want the kids to mess with his. She did not object to me having guns (former LEO) but showed zero interest in them. We'd been married about 23 years when a new indoor range opened up and started having monthly matches. I entered the first one and got hooked. About the third or fourth, she came to watch. She saw a bunch of guys and a few women shooting safely, and it made a good impression. I decided to get my CCW (I'd let it go when we lived in town that wouldn't issue, but we moved) and had no problem getting one. She took comfort in my carrying. Over time, I mentioned casually that if something bad happened and I was incapacitated, it might be wise for her to know how to use whatever I was carrying. That seed sprouted, and she decided that I should teach her to shoot. I explained that it would be much better to get another instructor, but she dug her heels in - me or nobody. So I taught her. She now owns three handguns, just renewed her permit and took an additional defensive pistol class.
For her first pistol, she wanted a Ruger LC-9. She liked the feel in her hand, but had never shot one. Huge mistake - it was painful for her to shoot. Three rounds and she was done. Grip sleeve didn't help enough. I realized that I needed to be extremely supportive, so I rented every 9mm the range had available - and she really liked the M&P 9c. So we bought one and sold the LC-9. I was carrying a G26, but wanted something slimmer for summer carry. I bought a Shield 9. She tried it, but still preferred her 9c. Then she got her permit, and suddenly wanted another try on the Shield. Fifty rounds later, she wanted one. Two weeks later, she got one for her birthday.
Then, while SSE was still in effect, I bought a RIA 9mm 1911 Tactical. I liked it so much that I wanted two more, so she and I SSE'd a pair together. Since she owned it, she figured she ought to try it out...and was amazed. She'd shot my 1911s in 45, but the 9mm is perfect for her. It's now her range favorite.
Now she thinks it's great when I order 5000 rounds of 9mm at a time. She asks "Is it enough?" and means it!

[faris1984]

It was outdoor range, sort of (Oak Tree) I knew not to go indoor because it would have been worse.

Damn man , live with it.

[mosinnagantm9130]

The more you force it, the more you put her off.

This, and that's not just for women either.

Go over the safety rules and safe handling away from the range first.