Wife's First time at the Range

[Doublehelix]

She did pretty well, I have to give her that. She was nervous, and wanted to quite after about 3-4 rounds. I encouraged her to to keep at it, and she did pretty well. She shot three 15-shot magazines (and I shot 3) in 30 minutes. Afterwards, she was still nervous, had butterflies in her stomach, and she said her arms hurt. She was pretty tense with the pistol, and very slow and deliberate with her shots, and by the end of the 3rd magazine, she was shooting pretty well.

I would not say she was overly excited afterwards, but she did promise me she would come back at least 2 more times (I asked her to give me three sessions before she makes a decision one way or another).

How normal is this? I see other posts around here where the wife/gf was thrilled, excited etc., and guys that could not pry their guns out of their wife/gf's hands. She is pretty nervous, and it took her a while and a margarita to calm down afterwards.

Any suggestions to make her feel more at ease, less tense? She was gripping the gun like her hands were around the neck of a rattler that about to attack her!

Thanks.

James

 

[foszoe]

Maybe a lesson without you there? I mean th a t in the nicest way possible.

 

[Bfish]

Hey James, I am happy your wife is going to the range with you! I do have a question though, what do you have her shooting?? I think you should get her on a 22 asap! A 10/22 is a first time shooters best friend!

 

[Bigdog357]

I agree with Bfish, start her on the small caliber stuff and work her up from there. My wife likes to shoot but she prefers less boom and recoil.

 

[nettinyahoo]

Is the range crowded? Maybe a less crowded, quieter time would help her relax. Also, I would only put 5 rounds in the mag to make her turn shorter.

 

[Doublehelix]

Thanks folks, all GREAT suggestions, every one!

1. Lessons (The range I go to has lessons for women only, taught by a woman)
2. Get (or rent) her a .22 plinker (she was shooting my 9mm)
3. Pick quiet times at the range
4. Minimize the magazine capacity for each turn at the window

Very helpful. I will work on this and report back...

James

 

[looney2ns]

As someone else suggested, someone besides you show her the ropes. A complete stranger to her for best effect.
Keep your bacon hole shut while said stranger is showing her how to shoot.

Quiet time at HOME safely dry firing and practicing handling the gun and getting accustomed to it.
A ton can be accomplished without ever firing a shot.

If this is an indoor range, double up the ear protection. Make sure it is fitting her correctly, long hair can be detrimental to ear muffs in sealing out the noise properly.

Don't give her a full bore Dirty Harry 44mag to shoot.

 

[LoriW]

She can attend up to 2 meetings of The Well Armed Woman (the chapter I'm leaving and the chapter I'm going to be leading will do 2 visits for new ladies) without joining. A room full of women with all experience levels can make a lady very comfortable.

 

[Hawkwind2112]

What? You didn't start her out shooting a 500 Smith & Wesson?

Seriously, It is great to see someone concerned with bringing their wife into the fold in a proper manner. I have seen many videos of idiots giving some mule kicking weapon to a girl for her first time shooting and then laughing at the disastrous result. Not only have you most likely created an anti-gun person but you could have got someone injured or worse in the process.

 

[CTS]

I've never liked indoor ranges for first time shooters. The noise level and percussion from other shooters is just too amplified for first timers who are jittery. Her nervousness is probably from a lack of real familiarity about how firearms work in general. Pay for an NRA Basic Pistol class from a good instructor, it will do wonders. Some people just aren't into guns though, so be prepared for that if it happens.

 

[Doublehelix]

I've never liked indoor ranges for first time shooters. The noise level and percussion from other shooters is just too amplified for first timers who are jittery. Her nervousness is probably from a lack of real familiarity about how firearms work in general. Pay for an NRA Basic Pistol class from a good instructor, it will do wonders. Some people just aren't into guns though, so be prepared for that if it happens.

Actually, this is the not the first time we have shot together. A couple of weeks earlier we were at an outdoor site, which was the first time she has ever fired a gun. We were shooting through a couple of Glock .40 S&W as well as a S&W .38 special wheel gun. She did pretty well, but only fired about 15-20 round total. You are right however, she was much more comfortable at an outdoor range, and I did not make the connection until you mentioned it. Thanks for the great suggestion.

 

[Doublehelix]

It is amazing how many great suggestions have come from this thread, things that seem somewhat obvious now that I hear them, but things that I would not have thought have since I am too close to the situation.

OK, so far, we have:

1. Lessons (The range I go to has lessons for women only, taught by a woman)
2. Get (or rent) her a .22 plinker (she was shooting my 9mm)
3. Pick quiet times at the range
4. Minimize the magazine capacity for each turn at the window

5. Get a complete stranger to instruct her
6. Dry fire at home
7. Double up on the ear protection
8. Attend a couple of "The Well Armed Woman" meetings
9. Start with outdoor ranges​

What a great place this is! Thanks to one and all for taking the time to respond.

James

 

[mildot1]

The best advice you got here was get a "good" instructor to train her. Nothing worse than pissing off your S.O. trying to train her! I would try BFT. He is on here a lot, high school coach and probably can break it down for her so she gets the most bang for her buck.

 

[mildot1]

His user name is "Coach" if that helps you find him.

 

[Coach]

Home Page

 

[SSGSAD]

It is amazing how many great suggestions have come from this thread, things that seem somewhat obvious now that I hear them, but things that I would not have thought have since I am too close to the situation.

OK, so far, we have:

5. Get a complete stranger to instruct her
6. Dry fire at home
7. Double up on the ear protection
8. Attend a couple of "The Well Armed Woman" meetings
9. Start with outdoor ranges​

What a great place this is! Thanks to one and all for taking the time to respond.

James

I am NOT an instructor, but would be more than happy, to accompany BOTH of you, to a range, IN, or OUT ..... let me know .....

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

Home Page

Link isn't working (at least for me...on my phone)

 

[Coach]

Link isn't working (at least for me...on my phone)

Must be your phone. Opens for me.

 

[DIRTROAD]

Started my wife out on a 22 , lots of handling the fire arm at home so when we went to range she knew how to load unload check to make sure fire arm was unloaded , we have a M&P 22 so when she shoot my M&P 9 everything feels the same just go slow