Need advice for taking my wife shooting for the first *successful* time?

[Brewguyver]

Hi All - first time poster and need some advice.

I'm looking to get my wife into shooting sports (or at least from fearful->respectful and safe).

She grew up in a vegetarian, new agey household and rarely never saw guns except for on TV. They grew up in a dicey area of Akron which reinforced the "guns are bad, um-Kay" stereotype. She's always been an avid meat eater (even bribing kids for their baloney or spam) and pretty adventurous - definitely NOT a hippy, so there's hope!

I screwed up attempt 1 last year by taking her to a clostrophobic concrete bunker of a range outside Pittsburgh. They had a lax front desk (surprised they didn't do an orientation with a new shooter like her - or even offer - and didn't even ask if I knew what I was doing). The .50 cal going off next to us did her in ... although she did stay through me shooting most of a box of 9mm before going to the car and crying.

Yea - I suck. I should have known better, but was so excited that I jumped the gun (pun intended).

She's decided to give me another chance - as long as it's only an hour and an *outdoor* range. I figured we'd go up to Wexford with a 22 SA revolver and bolt gun and put holes in paper ... Maybe bring my 9mm ruger revolver as well in case she wants to try another gun. I'm planning to do the safety and handling walk through at home first, with snap caps, before we go out. I may also drag along a couple we're friends with who she trusts (and she knows have been shooting longer than she's been alive).


In summary, there's a good opportunity here to get her more familiar with firearms (which is crucial with guns in the house), and I don't want to screw it up. Am I overlooking something? Would I be better off going to something like the weekly public trap meeting at the Ambridge club? Suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Inigoes]

Instead of teaching her yourself, why not try an NRA program called "Women on Target"?

It's instructed by woman for women.

http://women.nra.org/womens-instruct...-near-you.aspx
Click on the state (center bottom), there are 11 clinics in Pennsylvania coming up fairly soon.

[JoshIronshaft]

Remove yourself from the situation. That's the best advice I can give you.

[QuackXP]

Bringing in another couple is probably the best thing you can do (assuming they are safe and competent). I don't know the psychology behind it but even when the spouse is a good teacher there always seems to be extra friction when teaching your spouse how to do something, especially if they are hesitant about it.

My wife learned better being taught by someone else even though I have taught others and gotten positive results and feedback.

I taught my friends future wife how to drive because she never learned until her mid 20's and when my friend tried to teach her it did not go well.

[kirk2022]

Pull your self out of the situation! Getting her involved with Firearms is good. But the best thing you can do would be to find A instructor to work with her. Look for A intro to shooting for women course. You both will be better off and it will A whole lot less stressful for both of you.

[jeepin]

I sorta second pulling yourself out of the situation

By allowing her to take a class like the NRA introduction she will be put into a situation with instructors, and fellow rookies that is going to be more comfortable for her. You could even take the class with her. You are never too old to learn a few new tricks yourself.

[Brewguyver]

There's a lot of good points here - backs up my thought that I should approach this like I'd approach teaching my wife anything else - have her take lessons on her own. I was overruled on the first ski trip ... You can imagine how that worked out.

If she's amenable to doing a class without me (maybe with a few of the girls from the office) I'll encourage that. Otherwise I'll wait until my godson's parents come up in July. His father is an old buddy of ours and he taught me to shoot - wife trusts him implicitly and would probably enjoy going to the range with him.

[Emptymag]

Here's a good, affordable option that is local, and geared toward what (I think) you are seeking.
I took this One Day Handgun Clinic a few years ago even thought I've been shooting since I was ten.
I learned a few things and it was enjoyable. No pressure, or "tactical" mindset and the class was small enough for each participant to get attention and direction as needed.

F.I.R.E. Institute
One Day Handgun Clinic
($75)

One Day Hand Gun - sessions on June 18, August 27 and October 8.

The One Day Hand Gun courses are designed for people with no previous formal instruction in the use of hand guns, and cover universal safety rules, basic skills and concepts pertaining to gun handling and marksmanship (stance, trip, sight alignment, sight picture and trigger manipulation). The Course is designed to give a novice shooter experience with the concepts introduced in the program, including live fire exercises.

[Misery Loves Shotguns]

I taught my wife to shoot with a bb gun. I built a target stand for the backyard, put splatter targets on it so she could see where she hit and set up thoroughly shaken cans of soda. She had tons of fun doing that and it eventually turned into shooting real guns. We joined PMSC, she has since decided that my AR-15 is hers and today I bought her her first pistol. Walther PPQ. She loves it.

[Gunowner99]

Good luck buddy.