Fiancée & firearms

[Brains]

I wouldn't say I taught my wife so much as I provided her with the basic information she needed to be proficient, and she took it from there.

Kinda like you really can't teach someone to drive a stick. You make sure they understand its operation, and they learn the rest by feel.

 

[Charlie]

If one "doesn't" want their wife to shoot (for whatever reason), have her shoot a Ruger Birdshead grip 45 Colt with the 3" barrel and heavy duty ammo! That should do it!
ETA: Of course the divorce might cost you a great deal!

 

[m5215]

Good suggestions and concerns from everyone. Thanks!

My fiancée is a very unique lady as she spent most of her life in Zambia over in Africa before she immigrated over to the US not too long ago. The culture, values, and traditions are different there from here and this is part of the reason why we work out so great for each other. Because of this many of the typical issues and ego conflicts that couples have here in the US both before and during marriage will very likely not be a concern. She will have no problem with me helping her and it also helps a lot that I am a pretty humble and easygoing person so the "training" will be fine. Also I have professionally trained people successfully so I have that going for me as well.

P.S. Been married twice before so I have a pretty good idea on how to do it right this time around. LOL.

 

[m5215]

In shooting games where strength for recoil control is not a factor, the normal distribution of body weight of females gives them a base potential to be better precision pistol shooters than men. Back when the international shooting sports folks tried fully integrating the men and women, the experiment was ended when the women started embarrassing the men on a regular basis.

So, yeah. "Get ready to be out-shot" is exactly right.

She is very healthy and exercises regularly and is 5'10" tall. If she does not lose interest in shooting I have a feeling she will end up doing better then me. If she does that well than its fine by me.

 

[Moonpie]

I taught my wife to swing a frying pan.





At me.

 

[Charlie]

I taught my wife to swing a frying pan.





At me.

You just made her practice with the frying pan better!

 

[Dad_Roman]

That she'll quickly surpass.
Then you haz a nice .22 pistola.

9mm mid to full size for real shooting.

Like maybe a....I dont know...M&P Compact .22?

Then she graduates up through a buncha 9mm's....

....and ends up taking the XDM 45 away that she bought for you a few Xmas's ago?

Sounds like a plan! <Dont ask me how I know>



Seriously though, my boys taught my wife.....it was a good thing.

.

 

[Moonpie]

If OP words this right he will be the proud owner of a S&W Model 41.

Do not fail us young padawhan.

 

[benenglish]

many of the typical issues and ego conflicts that couples have here in the US both before and during marriage will very likely not be a concern.

You're either very lucky or you chose well. Either way, congrats.

 

[Sublime]

.

I’d suggest that might be a little deep in the weeds for a non-shooter to start with, but my idea and your idea of a weekend SD class may not be the same.

If I was in this situation , I’d ask my wife to look into a variety of offerings for new shooters, whether it’s a basic pistol course, a female-oriented course, or a full on weekend course and let her make the decision with my full support.

I dunno. Wife went to a 1 day class that covered nomenclature, basic marksmanship, and some SD concepts and did fine. It is a starting point and not the ending point to either of those points.

Also, when you don't have any preconceived notions and are open to learning, it is much easier to teach those concepts. The issue with spouses is two fold. Some guys think they have a solid understanding of shooting and safety when they don't and women are more apt to listen to a male stranger instructor than their husband. That is simply the truth.

I went to a Safariland sponsored class and i can't remember the guy's name. World champion shooter but terrible teacher.

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[Moonpie]

Not being a formally trained instructor I try to go about it in two stages(which is not always possible of course).
This may not be the "correct" way but its worked for me.

1.) sit down at a quiet relaxed place without any live ammo before range day.
Let the trainee see/handle/snap/ask about/and-yes-play with the guns.
Use colored snap caps to demonstrate loading/unloading.
If you have one of those laser chamber inserts that's even better. Do some dry fire on the wall.
This is the perfect time to discuss the safety rules/do&don'ts/etc.
No stress helps them to absorb the info.


2.) On the firing line.
Many newby trainees are quite nervous at the line.
Other shooters firing away makes for an intense experience.
Dumping a crap load of rules, gun handling techniques, and non-applicable gun data at this time can be overwhelming. Often leaving them bewildered and upset they've forgotten a rule or some shit. Keep it simple as possible.
This is supposed to be fun. Don't drown them with extraneous info.
Be relaxed and smooth. They read your body language.
If your all tensed up, nervous, and agitated they will be too.

 

[deemus]

Maybe have her become fairly proficient with one before mixing her up with others...

Really good advice.

 

[Kar98]

She is not going to be into any collecting as I am ....

Bwhahahahaha! That's what I thought.

 

[toddnjoyce]

I dunno. Wife went to a 1 day class that covered nomenclature, basic marksmanship, and some SD concepts and did fine. It is a starting point and not the ending point to either of those points...

That is squarely what I meant by your idea of a SD class and mine may not be the same. I’d lump that into a beginner pistol course.

 

[jrbfishn]

I can agree with that. Of course, the overwhelming majority of people have no idea how to teach anything.

I've heard world champion shooters speak with great respect of other shooters who are mediocre marksmen but great coaches. OTOH, we all know what happened when Chapman opened his shooting school; he was a world champion but he couldn't teach his way out of a paper bag.

Knowing how to do something and knowing how to teach it are completely different skills.

This, 100%!
Plus, family members tend not to take coaching from family members well.
When I coached youth bowling years ago, all the coaches quickly learned the stupidity of trying to coach our own kids most of the time.

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[grumper]

.22LR
Suppressed .22LR
Suppressed 9mm

The gun won't explode, shoot a gigantic ball of fire out the front, or try to jump out of her hands.

Makes shooting for the first time less intimidating in my opinion.

 

[Inspector43]

It's great that she knows whats up with guns, but are you sure you want her involved in your hobby?

My wife has had her CHL since I got mine. We live in way back Texas. She likes to go out back and shoot with me. It can be a good time together.

 

[F350-6]

Most of the teaching should take place before a live round is ever fired. Something I've always done to the females I've taught to shoot (started them off with a Hi-Power) is a little bit of reverse psychology. When it finally came time to fire a live round, I would stand behind/over them with my arms reached around with one hand trying to brace their arm and the other hand held up as if to catch the gun when the recoil sent it flying back up into their face. Lean into them slightly as if they're preparing to fire one of those movie guns that can throw people off their feet.

They get nervous, then after they fire they ask, "That's it?"

That becomes their perception of felt recoil for a standard handgun. Drop to a 22 and it's just for fun. Shoot a small pocket pistol, well that has more recoil, but it's because of the size. They seem to adjust better if their first experience is a relief not a punishment and they don't have to worry about building up to something bigger.

But that's just my opinion.

 

[Wildcat Diva]

Am I going to be the only one going to recommend letting a female work with her? Men and women have different strength levels, size of hands, ways of relating, etc.

Sign her up for “A Girl and A Gun League” if there’s a chapter near you. My AGAG leader is also an NRA instructor. She helped me undo all my bad habits I picked up from my husband and I learning to shoot together on our own.

 

[baboon]

My wife has had her CHL since I got mine. We live in way back Texas. She likes to go out back and shoot with me. It can be a good time together.

On of the guys I hunted in Africa with had a very young hot trophy wife. Her deciding she wanted to hunt ruined it for him. Sometimes it good for that away time.