My Fiancee Wants to Learn How to Shoot

[BuffCyclist]

I've been with my Fiancee for almost 2 years now, and have tried to convince her to let me take her shooting. The answer was always "No", so I stopped pushing it, figuring that she'd come to me when she was ready.

That day came when I was on my last work shift. She called me to talk. Long story short, there is a guy at work (student) who has been stalking and harassing her for months now and after reporting him to her supervisor, he stayed away. Then one day, out of the blue he showed up to tell her that he's got asbergers and probably has sociopathic tendencies as well, that he doesn't feel emotion. But he was still hitting on her and trying to be close to her (she kept having to back up away from him). And, living in a small town, it would be pretty easy for him to find out where we live and find out that I go on work shifts where she's home alone.

When she called, she said she wanted to learn how to shoot. I was flabbergasted! I knew she'd ask eventually, but thought it would be years from now!

Once I got home from what work shift, I field stripped my glock and gave her just the frame (as she was scared of it with the barrel in, saying that even knowing it was unloaded and seeing it, she still thinks its loaded, which I said is the first rule of gun safety!). We went over the firearm laws, the basics of a firearm, then I put the frame away and showed her the barrel, slide and magazine.

It may not seem like much, but thats a HUGE step in my opinion! Now I just have to find a nice weekend and get her to the actual range, which even if she doesn't shoot the first time but just watches me, I'm okay with that. She told me that once she gets over that initial fear of shooting a gun for the first time, she's probably going to love it and will want to master it.

Thought a .22 pistol would be best to start her on, but after talking agreed that 9mm would be a good start (already have the lone wolf 40-9 conversion barrel for my Glock 23) and if its too much, she'd get over the recoil quickly.

Any other tips for introducing someone to shooting for the first time?

[02ducky]

Safety glasses and I would double up on the ear protection, a lot of new shooters hate the "bang". Take it slow, encourage her and have fun with it.

[BuffCyclist]

Safety glasses were a given, but I didn't think about doubling up on the ears. Thanks!

A friend also told me to only load 1 round at a time until she gets more used to the feel of the recoil and the trigger. Makes sense, in that she won't have to fear losing control, dropping it and being shot.

[gos]

When my wife first learned to shoot, we did the 1-round-at-a-time thing. It took about 10 minutes for her to say "screw that" and want nothing but full mags she could send down-range.

I couldn't load fast enough, and she shot ~300 rounds in an hour or so.

[Trigger Time 23]

My wife loves to shoot. Gets mad if I go without her. .22's are really great to start out and teach fundamentals with. No recoil, low noise can't go wrong with a new shooter.

[glock21]

Let me come hang out for a week. He wont come around anymore.

[FARM]

Comfort is the key to starting out, not only in the weapon but also the safety equipment. Spend the money on electronic ear protection so when she talks the hearing is "normal" and then when she shoots it automatically protects her. My wife hated learning with ear plugs once I bought some electronic she loves it. We started out with 22's and now she has her own 9mm and has shot everything up to my 357.

[BuffCyclist]

Comfort is the key to starting out, not only in the weapon but also the safety equipment. Spend the money on electronic ear protection so when she talks the hearing is "normal" and then when she shoots it automatically protects her. My wife hated learning with ear plugs once I bought some electronic she loves it. We started out with 22's and now she has her own 9mm and has shot everything up to my 357.

Thanks, I'll have to look into the electronic ears. I've seen them but hadn't ever really given them much consideration mostly because of the cost and not knowing anyone that has used them.

[Mazin]

Start her on a .22, P22, Sig, whatever but let her get use to firing a gun and learining the basics before introducing a bigger caliber with mor felt recoil. Congrats once she falls in love with it (and she will) you will have just doubled your gun related expenses...Ask me how I know lol

[JohnnyEgo]

Only problem with starting with a .22 is that there is no way to go down if she doesn't care for it. With adults who haven't shot before, I like to start with a 6" .357 loaded with .38 wadcutter. Very mild recoil, and sets a reasonable expectation of every other caliber to come. Once she has gotten over the initial sound and fury, you can go to the .22 to practice fundamentals.

Only other piece of advice I have is to take a mutual friend or someone else with you, and let them offer advice and correction. Your only function should be to offer encouragement and support. Otherwise, couples tend to bring too much baggage into instruction, which is both dangerous and counter productive.