Westfield wrote:My wife is afraid of guns. She has no issue at all with me carrying and in fact she feels comfortable knowing I carry. She just does not like to shoot. I tried to teach her...Taught her the correct posture and stance and how to properly hold the handgun and pull the trigger and what to expect. She just did not like the outcome...Too much bang !
Whenever I am introducing a novice to shooting my handguns I do two things.
Explain how the gun works and what will happen
Explain the 4 rules. That safety is always first.
Don't push.
Let them shoot a full size gun with standard target ammo.
Don't over coach stance or grip the first shots. Let the shooter try to shoot what is natural for them. We can work on this stuff later.
Set up a 9yard target. Give em a chance to hit something.
Insist and use a good ear protection
My favorite gun to introduce to a new shooter is my p92. easy to aim, and recoil is mild, and to the novice its a real professionals gun. If the first time they pull the trigger is an unpleasant experience. You could turn them off to enjoying something that has given the rest of us years of enjoyment.
Liberty''s Blog
"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom." John F. Kennedy
Everyone is different. My wife wasn't fond of even the amount of recoil out of a 22/45, but she actually enjoyed shooting .38s out of my Marlin .357 lever gun.
So handguns are out, but if she has to, I know she can grab the Marlin and pull the trigger.
I think it is harder for most women to "wrap a brain around" the terminal aspect of shooting someone. We are taught to be nurturers, caretakers and are in the reproductive cycle the life givers. So in a sense learning to and carrying a gun for defensive purposes goes against our very nature.
The other thing I have found talking with other women; a few of them have their CHL but do not carry, they would be more likely to respond with deadly force to defend their children rather than themselves. Kind of a mother bear reaction I guess.
I thank my Dad often for teaching me to respect the amazing tool that a gun is, and to enjoy using them for sport. He taught me to hunt and fish, and while I do not enjoy taking the life of a living thing, I am confident that I can should I need to to feed myself or my family. I wish I had gotten my CHL while he was alive, I think he would have taken comfort in knowing that I had a choice to not be a defenseless victim.
I am grateful to my husband for working with me to encourage and nurture the mindset in our daughters that we respect all life, and guns are tools to be used responsibly and appropriately. ETA - Both of the girls really enjoy shooting for sport, and are often with me at defensive pistol classes - they make me proud!
Sorry for the ramble - just go slow with the women in your life in regards to the gun thing - we are just wired differently, and it is NOT for everyone.
JMPHO
Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; Psalm 144:1-2
CHL - 2010; NRA RSO - 2011, NRA Chief RSO - 2014
NRA Pistol Instructor -2013, NRA Refuse To Be A Victim Instructor - 2015
Lifetime NRA Member - 2013
Westfield wrote:My wife is afraid of guns. She has no issue at all with me carrying and in fact she feels comfortable knowing I carry. She just does not like to shoot. I tried to teach her...Taught her the correct posture and stance and how to properly hold the handgun and pull the trigger and what to expect. She just did not like the outcome...Too much bang !
Here's an example, may not be a good one but here goes....There is no way in heck I am going to learn parachuting and jumping from a plane. Some of my friends have tried to get me to jump but there is no way ! At least my wife gave it a try with a handgun but I won't jump out of a plane !
Try a .22. Yes, I know that it isn't a defensive gun but if you can get her to shoot a .22 pistol and enjoy it, it might lead to her being willing to try a heavier caliber. I have a Hi-Standard and took my wife to the range to use it. She enjoyed shooting it but wasn't willing to try one of mine. I figure I've won if she is willing to go back to the range and shoot the .22 again. Baby steps.....
Better yet, get someone else to teach her. It often seems to be the case that women who are afraid of guns but want to learn to shoot will feel the pressures of various performance anxieties/nervousness (whatever you want to call it) when their husband or significant other is trying to teach them to shoot; and those anxieties will go right out the window when the teacher is someone to whom she is not emotionally connected.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
Just my way-
Start with 22LR ONLY.
(indoor w/ motorized targets helps greatly)
Slowly go over all the basics, safety and actual shooting, several times, then,- IF all is comfy- Explore different types of pistols/revolvers- Go to the short barrels (stub nose) so they personally learn that a short sight separation REALLY is far more difficult to get accuracy, BUT can do OK with practice.
They will love it switching to 5-6 inch Ruger etc. Use different distances to target with each weapon
Take breaks often, say 15 minute intervals, at first.
Be very carefull to NOT push them, Some learn fast, some slower paced is better.
Go for 2 'bricks' (1000 rounds) so they have covered everything and are REAL comfy with it all around.
(Yes 1000, goes fast if someone helps with reloading.)
ONLY then move up in caliber. (Recoil,Muzzle blast) A mild .38 is good first step. Repeat most of the .22LR practice. (Abbreviated of course due to high cost of centerfire ammo)
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Vary the speed of firing often to learn good accuracy fast or slow. Vary target distance too.
Etc.
22LR is Purr-fect for training.
(Check with range for best time with low number of shooters if possible, and take a break if some jerk sets up next lane with his blunderbuss .44. ( move to other end of lanes if possible)
( Take the ladys to dinner afterward, they like that sort of stuff.)
Wysiwyg101 wrote:When I first started my quest to own and possibly carry (still haven't taken the class and gotten the CHL yet) my wife was adamant that she didn't want a gun in the house. I kept talking about it and researching it and one day she made a comment about how she knew it was going to happen bu she was still fighting it. Finally, I got one and she hates it. She doesn't want to have anything to do with it still. Kinda funny, I took her 14 yr old to the range for her 15th birthday the other day and let her fire about a 100 rds thru it and she absolutely loved it. She fired my 9mm like a champ. With more practice, which she wants, I think she will be a great shooter. She also signed up for Krav Maga lessons. Gonna be one tough little gal before she reaches adulthood.
Too bad my wife is so against it.
Seems to me she isn't all that much against it if you're not in a major battle over teaching her 15 year old daughter to shoot. My wife has no problems with having guns in the house but she has no interest at all in shooting.
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