Helping out a friend in shooting.

[K-Minus]

I have friend whom I work for on weekends at the resturaunt she owns.
She a very sweet lady and a good friend to my family.

Last saturday,the conversation went to guns and she mentioned that she a
S&W 38spl she bought 7 years ago for home defense.

The problem is that she's never shot it and knows little to nothing about
guns,gun safety and general self defense.

Upon hearing from various people on my knowledge about guns,she decided
she wanted me to teach her about how to use her's.

I agreed.

so is there any advice you guys care to give?

[Silvanus]

If she has problems with recoil (although .38 is not bad at all) let her start with some WC rounds. And if the gun is for self defence, try to teach her to shoot it in the DA mode. A lot of people tend to cock the hammer on DA revolver before every shot if they are at the range, but it's not a good idea for SD.

[45_Shooter]

The first thing to teach are the rules of gun safety, before even going to the range.

Then teach her how the weapon works, be sure to go over how to use the sights and load and unload safely. Teach her proper grip, trigger manipulation and stance (I've noticed women tend to stand goofy shooting guns sometimes, kinda like leaning backwards).

Then make sure she doesn't develop a flinch, so leave the magnums at home. Maybe start her off shooting single action until she gets used to the noise and recoil, then start her on DA. .38's are excellent training tools for the inexperienced.

[ronc0011]

I think one of the first things you should do is get ear protection. The noise of a decent caliber pistol is kind of startling to the uninitiated and in many cases can defeat them before they ever get started. Then with ear protection in hand go to the range. If the range you frequent is such that you can observe other shooters for a while, this would probably be a good idea. Give her some time to settle into the whole gun / loud noise reality. You know, buy a coke, stand around and watch for a while. Also spend some time before you ever go to the range just going through the drills with the pistol ( double and triple check that it is empty )

I is not uncommon for me to spend a couple of weeks with a new gun just handling it and dry firing it taking it through the various motions, cocking it, uncocking it, picking it up with out putting my finger on the trigger. Generally just spending as much time as I can with the pistol in my hand so that it feels comfortable in my hand rather than some alien and unfamiliar chunk of steel. This gets you used to the balance of the pistol and teaches your muscles where everything is and how the gun should feel. All of this goes a very long way toward alleviating the abrupt impression of the first actual fired shot. It also goes a long way toward instilling confidence and not feeling out of control. To regular shooters we don’t even think about these things but to the person who has never fired a firearm of any significant caliber these are going to be big issues and the more you can do to deal with them before that first shot is ringing in her ears the better off you both will be.


BTW all those drills I spoke of, I would do that in the evening while lying on the couch or in bed watching TV. Typically for a week or two before I ever bought any ammunition for the thing. The object is to build familiarity with the gun and to build good habits so that you do them when you don’t have time to think about what you are doing. In about two weeks that pistol will feel like a part of you as natural as writing your name.


Well those are just some first thoughts on the task. Obviously there a lot of other things that will need to be addressed and I know you will get a lot of good ideas and advice from other members on this board.

[BillCA]

First: Find some instructional materials online or via the NRA's site. You want materials she can easily read and you can review with her. These materials should include an overview of the revolver (parts, function, safety). It should also include basic range-safety instructions.
See: NRA Guide to the Basics of Personal protection in the home.
#ES 26828 ISBN 0-935998-99-3

Second: Review the materials with her and answer her questions. Determine any items needed for shooting. Set a date to go to the range.

Needed items: (Can be loaned by instructor)
- Ear protection
- Eye protection
- Compact cleaning kit, with patches & oil
- Sight screwdriver (for adjustable sight guns)
- Target pasters (white & black)
- Ammunition

Third: At the range, start off slow. When I've taught novices, I do the following;
1. Review range safety rules (muzzle downrange, trigger discipline, etc.)
2. Grip & basic balanced stance.
3. Sight picture through trigger squeeze.
4. Breathing & trigger squeeze
5. Load one round & shoot - accuracy not an issue. Correct faults
6. Load 2 rounds & fire. Coach between shots.
... (Repeat this step as necessary until basics are in hand)
7. Load 6 rounds & fire. Coach between shots if necessary.
8. <break> (patch target)
9. Load 6 rounds. Coach: Relaxed, Sight picture, breathing, trigger squeeze.
10. Analyze target: Grouping or not? Flinch evident? take corrective measures.
11. Repeat 9 & 10 as needed.

Ammuntion:
148 gr Wadcutter or 130g FMJ Generic ammo
A few rounds of 125g JHP (non +P) for comparison.
A few rounds of 158g JHP +P (If suitable to the gun)

Note: For shooters who aren't seriously recoil shy but are flinching with low powered ammo, allowing them to fire a slightly more powerful gun (or ammo from their gun) allows them to see the low powered stuff as much milder. Slightly more powerful means just that, not substituting a full-bore .357 Magnum!

Note2: When one coaches, avoid terms like "you're doing it wrong" or "Don't jerk the trigger". Instead, tell them what they are doing wrong and how to correct it.

Especially when dealing with a woman, keep your hands to yourself except when making a specific correction - and then do it with a minimum of touching.

[Atticus Thraxx]

All excellent advice. I'm thinking though she may do well to seek professional training from a professional instructor. Her life may depend on what she learns...or what she does not. My two cents.

[davlandrum]

I'm thinking though she may do well to seek professional training

+1

But a little friendly help may get her confident to do just that. Most of us don't start out with professional training, rather add it as we progress.

[Evan Thomas]

There's good information for someone new to helping friends learn to shoot here: http://www.corneredcat.com/Teaching/newshooter.aspx

And a nice piece for your "trainee" to read, ahead of time, here:
http://toolazytofail.com/2007/06/14/...-me-read-this/

I read both of these articles recently, when thinking about whether I wanted to try teaching someone else to shoot -- I found them helpful in clarifying my own thinking about this...

[B.N.Real]

Tell her if she never shoots,when she finally needed it,she could fire all five rounds and miss everytime,the bad guy.

She very definitely needs to get to a range and practice at sven yards then fifteen yards if practical.

Buying any handgun and just putting away like it will jump out and save you one day will get you killed,usually with your own weapon.

[Webleymkv]

Start out a moderate distance from the target. Rather than sitting her down at the 25-yard range start her off about 3 yards away and slowly move back.

[DWARREN123]

Start with safety/safety equipment and getting use to the firearm. Be gentle in how you talk, calm voice and go over everything. Make sure there is something to drink and a restroom. Start out loading one round at a time then have her do it. Always go over safety. Start at close ranges and use lower power rounds.
Most is just getting use to the firearm and getting familiar with its operation. Have plenty of stop time to talk over what you have gone over and ask her questions and listen to what she says, it will give you ideas on which way to go with the training.
At the end of the session (keep it fairly short) go over everything and ask questions again and listen to what she says.
If she is agreeable make an appointment for another range session soon so she doesn't forget or have time to get frightened of the firearm.
Be professional and gentlemanly and always tell her first if you are going to touch her so it will not surprise her, many people do not like to touched without giving consent.
Have a burger or something after to instill a sense of friendship/reality check after the range session.

I am not an firearms instructor but was a Drill Sereant and taught many female soldiers.

Good Luck!

[Majic]

She asks you for help and you turn around and ask us for advise. Sounds like you should steer her to a competent teacher.

[threegun]

Once the basics are taught my biggest suggestion would be for you to get her to handle and dry fire the revolver daily. The biggest thing I have noticed as a range officer is that newbies or infrequent shooters handle the weapon as if not sure how to. Kinda nervous like. They seem to be forced to apply so much thought to simple gun handling skills that accepting instructions is virtually impossible. A daily regimen of proper gun handling and manipulation will remove in short order any nerves or apprehension with respect to gun handling. This will allow the shooter to advance much more quickly.

[threegun]

Majic, Even the "competent" teacher started somewhere on someone.