SMSgtRod
Professional
Been years ago..... guess you could do auto as a single shot. Rack the slide manually.
I'll have to take a look at it.
Getting a newby into shooting when they're scared of guns
- Thread starter benstt
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I'll have to take a look at it.
Peglegjoe
Professional
I've read this thread and I think most are missing the point here. The original post said she's "terrified of guns", and that's because of an accident involving friends. Media and popular opinion these days only stokes those fears - the Left does their best to villify an inanimate object because it's "black and scary and military-looking". They want to indoctrinate the ignorant based on their ignorance - the best way for us to combat that, is to help defeat the ignorance. We need to teach, we need to explain, and we need to encourage.
I would NOT have her fire a weapon anytime soon.
She isn't (if I'm reading the post correctly) afraid of SHOOTING; she's afraid of the OBJECT. Again - see today's mainstream media for why the object is so "scary" and "evil".
Spend time with her, at home (an environment she knows and is comfortable in), explaining your guns. Show her safe practice. Teach her how to inspect. Clear. Handle. Clean. How to do it all SAFELY. Through that, she will start to see that the object itself is not evil, and any danger can be mitigated by safe handling. Respect is required, make that clear, and the danger still exists if she isn't careful, but also let her learn that the gun won't do bad things unless the person makes a mistake. The gun only does what you tell it to; the more she handles them, the more she'll come to realize that.
As you see her comfort level grow, start mentioning when you're making future trips to the range, to practice. Give a couple days' notice, so she can think about it. Do not invite her or make her feel any pressure to go. Wait for her to say "hey, can I go with you?". Let her watch. Let her ASK to shoot. Let her ask questions about how you're shooting, and why you do certain things.
Eventually, comfort plus curiosity will turn into "let me try that". But you have to let her build the comfort first.
I would NOT have her fire a weapon anytime soon.
She isn't (if I'm reading the post correctly) afraid of SHOOTING; she's afraid of the OBJECT. Again - see today's mainstream media for why the object is so "scary" and "evil".
Spend time with her, at home (an environment she knows and is comfortable in), explaining your guns. Show her safe practice. Teach her how to inspect. Clear. Handle. Clean. How to do it all SAFELY. Through that, she will start to see that the object itself is not evil, and any danger can be mitigated by safe handling. Respect is required, make that clear, and the danger still exists if she isn't careful, but also let her learn that the gun won't do bad things unless the person makes a mistake. The gun only does what you tell it to; the more she handles them, the more she'll come to realize that.
As you see her comfort level grow, start mentioning when you're making future trips to the range, to practice. Give a couple days' notice, so she can think about it. Do not invite her or make her feel any pressure to go. Wait for her to say "hey, can I go with you?". Let her watch. Let her ASK to shoot. Let her ask questions about how you're shooting, and why you do certain things.
Eventually, comfort plus curiosity will turn into "let me try that". But you have to let her build the comfort first.
^ Agreed.
For benstt's specific case, I think that he needs to first "re-frame" the firearm for his girlfriend:
Because of this event, his girlfriend currently has a very negative experience with firearms - the first thing to do should absolutely be to show her that the tool can - and should - be handled safely (as many here have brought up in previous posts) and with care: and let that respect naturally blossom to enjoyment, without the overt pressure of "let's go to the range."
Work to transform her negative experience into at least a neutral, if not positive one, by giving her positive associations with firearms in your home. She's neither a pet nor a child - but the same techniques will work to help her replace/erase that negative.
If she recalls the noise of the unintentional discharge, she'll likely be a little weary of muzzle blast and concussion as well - so again remove the original stimulus, and take her to an outdoor range to start (preferably one where you do not need to stand in an enclosed shooting stall of any kind, even a simple overhang for an otherwise open-air station will cause both the sound and concussion to "bounce," whereas in an open area, that energy will simply dissipate) when she's finally ready to shoot. Before you go, demonstrate to her the effectiveness of proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), that with quality ear-protection, her hearing will be unaffected.
Starting with sub-caliber trainers, again as many others have suggested. Airguns and airsoft (the reciprocating slide of a Gas Blow Back or "GBB" airsoft pistol can further help) can be a very good way to bridge her into .22LR firearms, which in-turn can be very quiet (compared to centerfire) and offer minimal muzzle blast as well as recoil.
If she is up for it, talking about how modern safety protocols recommends that we equip ourselves with "blow-out kits" to handle hemorrhage from gunshot wounds - and show her how to use the tourniquet that you carry as a part of your EDC and/or range kit.
I've always believed that knowledge obliterates fear, and I've been successful (so far!) with this one, who is of-course bombarded by mass-media and other anti-gun sensibilities each and every day:
^ 2017 - She was 11, then, and even the flyweight S&W M&P 15-22 would get too heavy for freestye head-shots at 65 yards.
You'll also note that as with some kids, she's afraid of the heat from spent cases - those "compression arm-sleeves" work great, and are cool enough even for a hot summer day.
We make safety a BIG part of every one of our range sessions, and you can see that she has a C-A-T on an OC-Tactical CAT Trap, strapped to her RCS Sonny rig.
^ Fast-forward 3 years to this winter, and she's hot-dogging a smiley-face on that same steel, freestyle unsupported.
Oh, and when the time comes, @benstt , let her pick out her own gear. Just as you wouldn't want to be told how to dress, don't cramp her style, either. Let her pick, with your guidance, so that she feels good in what she goes out to the range with, while knowing with your help that it's going to keep her safe.
You can see that my little one is somewhat hung-up on Resident Evil, and that cap both keeps cases from dropping between her face and her glasses as well as helps her feel like the bad-ass heroines in those stories - same with her morale patches (you can't see it, but there's a limited-edition Wonder Woman in the first pic, on her Sonny rig, and in the second, there's a limited-edition etched-metal San (Princess Mononoke).
Gloves are her pick, too - the latest Cold Weather PIGs from SKD Tac. A girl's gotta get her style on, ya know?
For benstt's specific case, I think that he needs to first "re-frame" the firearm for his girlfriend:
Because of this event, his girlfriend currently has a very negative experience with firearms - the first thing to do should absolutely be to show her that the tool can - and should - be handled safely (as many here have brought up in previous posts) and with care: and let that respect naturally blossom to enjoyment, without the overt pressure of "let's go to the range."
Work to transform her negative experience into at least a neutral, if not positive one, by giving her positive associations with firearms in your home. She's neither a pet nor a child - but the same techniques will work to help her replace/erase that negative.
If she recalls the noise of the unintentional discharge, she'll likely be a little weary of muzzle blast and concussion as well - so again remove the original stimulus, and take her to an outdoor range to start (preferably one where you do not need to stand in an enclosed shooting stall of any kind, even a simple overhang for an otherwise open-air station will cause both the sound and concussion to "bounce," whereas in an open area, that energy will simply dissipate) when she's finally ready to shoot. Before you go, demonstrate to her the effectiveness of proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), that with quality ear-protection, her hearing will be unaffected.
Starting with sub-caliber trainers, again as many others have suggested. Airguns and airsoft (the reciprocating slide of a Gas Blow Back or "GBB" airsoft pistol can further help) can be a very good way to bridge her into .22LR firearms, which in-turn can be very quiet (compared to centerfire) and offer minimal muzzle blast as well as recoil.
If she is up for it, talking about how modern safety protocols recommends that we equip ourselves with "blow-out kits" to handle hemorrhage from gunshot wounds - and show her how to use the tourniquet that you carry as a part of your EDC and/or range kit.
I've always believed that knowledge obliterates fear, and I've been successful (so far!) with this one, who is of-course bombarded by mass-media and other anti-gun sensibilities each and every day:
^ 2017 - She was 11, then, and even the flyweight S&W M&P 15-22 would get too heavy for freestye head-shots at 65 yards.
You'll also note that as with some kids, she's afraid of the heat from spent cases - those "compression arm-sleeves" work great, and are cool enough even for a hot summer day.We make safety a BIG part of every one of our range sessions, and you can see that she has a C-A-T on an OC-Tactical CAT Trap, strapped to her RCS Sonny rig.
^ Fast-forward 3 years to this winter, and she's hot-dogging a smiley-face on that same steel, freestyle unsupported.
Oh, and when the time comes, @benstt , let her pick out her own gear. Just as you wouldn't want to be told how to dress, don't cramp her style, either. Let her pick, with your guidance, so that she feels good in what she goes out to the range with, while knowing with your help that it's going to keep her safe.
You can see that my little one is somewhat hung-up on Resident Evil, and that cap both keeps cases from dropping between her face and her glasses as well as helps her feel like the bad-ass heroines in those stories - same with her morale patches (you can't see it, but there's a limited-edition Wonder Woman in the first pic, on her Sonny rig, and in the second, there's a limited-edition etched-metal San (Princess Mononoke).
Gloves are her pick, too - the latest Cold Weather PIGs from SKD Tac. A girl's gotta get her style on, ya know?
^ Yeah, that local public outdoor range has always been a bit of a mess......
Super friendly people and low hourly prices, but it is sadly a bit of a dump as folks just don't clean up after themselves as they should - but that said, there's also no RSOs, so the blame lies both ways.
The baton has been passed to the next generation of owners there, so we'll see what they make of it. The previous generation really fixed up the trap/club-house and got the 200-yard range going (previously it was only outdoor "pistol" bays (three: 20, 35, and 65 yards) with a 100 yard rifle range and an open "tactical" range that was available for rentals - and also took care of the materials hazards. But in the last year or so, I think due to declining health of the main caretaker, two of the pistol bays (20 and 35 yard) became unusable while the third saw a reduction in usable distance, and the back "tactical" range is now indefinitely shut down.
I hope the current generation - who are my age (late-30s to early-40s) - will get things spun up again.
Take what I can get, right?
That said, I've also been looking for a "better" members-only range in my area.
Super friendly people and low hourly prices, but it is sadly a bit of a dump as folks just don't clean up after themselves as they should - but that said, there's also no RSOs, so the blame lies both ways.
The baton has been passed to the next generation of owners there, so we'll see what they make of it. The previous generation really fixed up the trap/club-house and got the 200-yard range going (previously it was only outdoor "pistol" bays (three: 20, 35, and 65 yards) with a 100 yard rifle range and an open "tactical" range that was available for rentals - and also took care of the materials hazards. But in the last year or so, I think due to declining health of the main caretaker, two of the pistol bays (20 and 35 yard) became unusable while the third saw a reduction in usable distance, and the back "tactical" range is now indefinitely shut down.
I hope the current generation - who are my age (late-30s to early-40s) - will get things spun up again.
Take what I can get, right?
That said, I've also been looking for a "better" members-only range in my area.
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