How much work is it to teach new shooters?

Joined
Jul 14, 2020
Messages
819
in my family , i am the gun nut. with all the interesting things going on these days ,i have many extended family members buying new firearms. of course they would like me to teach them how to use them.

So how much work is it to teach brand new gun people? on a gun competency scale i would would rate myself a 7 out of 10 . so those who have taught others , how hard was it?
 
I would have them take a gun safety course on their own first to instill exactly how guns should be treated. After they successfully pass the course, "then" you could safely show them how to aim at their target. I would do the same thing if any of my family wanted me to show them how to shoot. Safety First.
 
I've always found it best for family to be taught by non-family. Seems the information is better retained, especially when it comes to safety. When I take my wife to the range, I have one of our other instructors mentor her.
 
First question: Can you trust them to use the firearms with good judgment? (both in a recreational manner as well as for self defense or justified situations)

I have been around some shooters who frankly had no business ever owning a gun. But do not take this to mean I believe only certain people should be able to own guns!

Heck the CCW class I took some 10 years ago was mostly people who appeared to have never shot a gun before, didn't understand how to aim down the sights, were apparently partially blind, or were doing the class because someone told them it was a good idea (and thus had no interest themselves). The qualifying test was to put 10 rounds into center mass at a cardboard silhouette 7 yards away and yikes... just yikes... literal "spray and pray" for some people despite most people taking the class with service sized revolvers or modern polymer 9s.
 
in my family , i am the gun nut. with all the interesting things going on these days ,i have many extended family members buying new firearms. of course they would like me to teach them how to use them.

So how much work is it to teach brand new gun people? on a gun competency scale i would would rate myself a 7 out of 10 . so those who have taught others , how hard was it?


What are the age groups.

Different age groups require different starting arms and approaches.
 
First question: Can you trust them to use the firearms with good judgment? (both in a recreational manner as well as for self defense or justified situations)

I have been around some shooters who frankly had no business ever owning a gun. But do not take this to mean I believe only certain people should be able to own guns!

Heck the CCW class I took some 10 years ago was mostly people who appeared to have never shot a gun before, didn't understand how to aim down the sights, were apparently partially blind, or were doing the class because someone told them it was a good idea (and thus had no interest themselves). The qualifying test was to put 10 rounds into center mass at a cardboard silhouette 7 yards away and yikes... just yikes... literal "spray and pray" for some people despite most people taking the class with service sized revolvers or modern polymer 9s.
can i trust them? i hope they use them wisely, but can't be sure. i will advise them of the ramifications of deadly force etc.

yeah . i have been to a ccw course where the folks were clueless about even how to operate their weapon.
 
It depends. Are they really nervous? How many bad habits do they arrive with? How big is their ego and can they follow instructions?
no idea. never been shooting with them. i would say they are a 0 with guns. They bought them , like many others now to protect themselves
 
What are the age groups.

Different age groups require different starting arms and approaches.
40 to 60. Husband and wife and a few others. all white collar folks. they are literally novices. I tell everyone new to guns that buys a gun to get some kind of training.

i am fortunate though to have access to shooting bays so i can give them one on one instructions
 
I am currently teaching my 8-1/2 year old grandson to shoot. We basically work with a single shot .22 rifle (a Cricket I bought for him) and a Ruger Single Action .22 revolver. We spend a lot of time of safety and taking him to the range, he has learned a lot about range safety and etiquette. I have allowed him to fire some other rifles to to teach him about recoil. This learning process will go on for years but I hope that I have developed in him a basic love for the shooting sports and eventually hunting. It does take a lot of patience.

I served as the range officer for my sportsman's club for about ten years before we moved away. The worst type of instruction I ever saw was between family members where, for some reason, tempers flared quickly. "i TOLD you not to do that" sometimes followed by expletives. If that is the way you feel you need to teach and control somebody, your are FAR better off having a dispassionate third party do the instruction.
 
in my family , i am the gun nut. with all the interesting things going on these days ,i have many extended family members buying new firearms. of course they would like me to teach them how to use them.

So how much work is it to teach brand new gun people? on a gun competency scale i would would rate myself a 7 out of 10 . so those who have taught others , how hard was it?

2 ways to look at this and it really depends on how "new" they are to weapons. (I wouldn't apply this to the "parent teaching the child hunting/shooting" scenario but adults)

They are 'family" and accept and acknowledge your " more knowledge than them" position- that question begs the question are you fully competent to train them on the entry level aspects of firearm ownership ( you self rate at 7 out of 10)

Depending on the above is #2.

Familiarity breeds contempt and there s often a stigma when people "close" to you try to teach or assume a position of authority in a given area.

If this is initial instruction, you might want to consider a 3rd party professional, if this is just "range guidance" then go for it.
 
I was a firearms instructor for a Federal agency and taught at the national Law Enforcement Training Center occasionally.

First make sure they understand proper gun safety, and your state's laws on self defense. As far as teaching new shooters, I found that they were usually easier to teach as long as they had no inordinate fear of firearms to overcome. Students who had been shooters before often had bad habits and pre-conceived notions to overcome. When teaching to shoot a handgun: sight alignment, trigger control, and grip. As an instructor learn to read groups on the students target to be able to tell what they are doing wrong (jerking the trigger, milking the grip, sight alignment, etc.)

Some of the easiest shooters to teach were young females. They took instruction very well. Some of the worst were good ol' boys who thought they were the world's best shot and knew better than me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ws6
Also, if teaching a shooter who intends to hunt, stress the importance of being sure you know what you are shooting at and what is downrange from your target. Along with negligent discharges, not following those rules are the cause of most hunting accidents.
 
in my family , i am the gun nut. with all the interesting things going on these days ,i have many extended family members buying new firearms. of course they would like me to teach them how to use them.

So how much work is it to teach brand new gun people? on a gun competency scale i would would rate myself a 7 out of 10 . so those who have taught others , how hard was it?
It depends on the student as well as your teaching ability. I've had people that were effortless to teach and then I could begin training them, and people I couldnt even teach.
 
I've always found it best for family to be taught by non-family. Seems the information is better retained, especially when it comes to safety. When I take my wife to the range, I have one of our other instructors mentor her.
I have trained significant others. It is extremely difficult for both parties, and depends heavily on their mindsets. I agree with you in most cases it is necessary to seek external training, and it is ALWAYS preferable when possible.
 
NRA Range Safety Officer (RSO) here, when teaching any studentsafety is always first and instilling shooter confidence is second. Just remember, start small (caliber), slow (one round in the gun at a time), and close (targets).

If your family members are brand new to shooting or are quite rusty at it, start them off with a .22 LR, with a single round in the gun at a time, with a target that is nice and close (
Many new gun owners that have never shot anything before will show up to the range with their brand new .40 S&W or .45 ACP and will shoot horribly and often, unsafely. Resist the owner’s desire to just load up a full mag and start shooting. Again, start small, slow, and close.

When in doubt, don’t feel nervous about asking your friendly neighborhood RSO for assistance with instruction. Many of us show up with a car full of smaller caliber pistols and rifles for this exact purpose.
 
As with teaching any skill it depends on two things, the teacher and the student. Some people can't teach, and others can't learn. Then you have the possible mixing of the two combinations. I've taught people to shoot trap, and some picked it up instantly as if they were naturals. Others had a hard time, but improved with lots of practice. As a teacher patience is a must.
 
At 18 and joined the Marine corps.
Never shot any weapon up to this point.
Two weeks on the rifle range and I could put 7 of 10 rounds in the center of the target from 500 yards in the prone position with the M14 iron sights.
Not that hard with intense training.
 
I was a firearms instructor for a Federal agency and taught at the national Law Enforcement Training Center occasionally.

First make sure they understand proper gun safety, and your state's laws on self defense. As far as teaching new shooters, I found that they were usually easier to teach as long as they had no inordinate fear of firearms to overcome. Students who had been shooters before often had bad habits and pre-conceived notions to overcome. When teaching to shoot a handgun: sight alignment, trigger control, and grip. As an instructor learn to read groups on the students target to be able to tell what they are doing wrong (jerking the trigger, milking the grip, sight alignment, etc.)

Some of the easiest shooters to teach were young females. They took instruction very well. Some of the worst were good ol' boys who thought they were the world's best shot and knew better than me.

15 Years LE instructor. I agree 100%. I was often assigned female officers who failed qualifications. They were so easy to teach. They simply listened!! And applied what they were told. They had already had basic safety skill set. Instruction started with no ammo. We were using Glock 40's that have a snappy recoil and a grip angle that if the weapon wasn't held correctly would lead to functioning issues.

Squeeze tennis ball and hold as long as you could. 15x's a tour.
Dryfire 10x's a day taking a full minute for each slow pull; focused on front sight.
After a few days of this it's time for the real deal. Most often the corrections required were slouched neck leaning over the sights; trigger slap; and inappropriate strong arm grip.

My advice to training new shooters is to ensure they have a basic safety skill set before using any live ammunition. Shooters at this level are best to instruct one-on-one basis. Removes a lot of the "I know it all" and takes away the pressures new shooters often feel that those instructing often overlook. Just take them slow down the correct path of target acquisition. Move along to double tapp's and proper use of target ID, cover, and shooting to end the threat. From what the OP has written I would not move on to shooting and moving techniques. Whole different animal.

For family, it might be beneficial to do some drill in the dark (verified unloaded) with the proper flashlight in their homes so they are familiar with navigating the home in the dark.

Good luck and happy shooting!
 
Just one thing to add to the excellent responses above. Watch anyone with a two hand grip on a semi-auto very carefully. The first time that thumb web gets behind the slide will be their last. If the slide doesn't get them, the hammer will!
 
Back
Top