Professional shooting competitor Julie Golob has a post up on her blog that talks about how to take a new shooter to the range. It includes a helpful list of DO and DON’T items that improve your safety and your ability to have fun with the newcomer.
Although enthusiasm is important (vital, even!) when introducing a new person to the joys of shooting, it’s equally important to get them off to a good start. That requires a commitment to safety and a certain amount of know-how to back up your enthusiasm. Go read Julie’s whole post, then step over to the the Cornered Cat article here for more ideas and a detailed plan of action.
Hat tip to ToddG of Pistol-Training.com.
Julie’s post is great, and something we all need to concentrate on.
Three points:
1. RUTHLESSLY evaluate your ability as a first-shots instructor for THIS STUDENT. I’ve been married 43 years. I’ve been teaching people to shoot for 30 years. If my wife wants a shooting lesson I know who I’m sending her to.
2. Teach gun terms before you teach safety rules. First, your student needs to know what the “muzzle” is before you get to that rule. Second, it gives your student several minutes watching you competently handle a firearm, and allows them to get over any OMG HE’S HOLDING A GUN reaction before you start in on the rules.
3. When teaching safety, emphasize the positive. Shooting is about the safest sport around. Make that point, then teach the rules we follow to keep it that way. I sat in on an instructor once who brought a whole box of blown barrels to a class, passed them around, and told each disaster story. By the time he finished everyone was wondering how many guns they would see blow up on a typical range visit. Ouch.