Teaching Your Wife to Shoot

I have to say I started all wrong.  On my first realyou do not intend to destroy.c.Keep your handgun on
date with my wife, I took her out to go shooting.  Nowsafe until you are ready to fire.d.Keep your finger
my wife did not know where we were going and hadstraight and off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
not really seen me since I had left for the Marines.  3.Start with a simple, small caliber firearm.  Explain and
We dated a few times in high school but never reallyshow the basic operating principles of the firearm you
hit it off. Imagine how she felt when I surprised her byuse.  For teaching long guns, I like either a .22 semi
pulling into the local gravel pit and pulling out a trunk fullauto like a Ruger 10/22, or a single shot break action
of guns, literally!.410.  If I am teaching pistol use I prefer a .22 or a .38
She took it pretty well, especially how I kept giving herrevolver.  Make sure that if you start with a magazine
new guns to shoot with many "tips" on why she wasfed firearm, you keep a ready supply of loaded
not hitting anything and amazingly enough, we latermagazines.
married.  I took some courses to learn how to teach4.Do not use humanoid targets.  If it's an outdoor
and not just shoot.  Unfortunately, my wife was stillrange and we are using long guns, I like stale cookies. 
not very comfortable with me having or carryingThey break in a satisfying way and are
guns.  It was not until an incident at the local Wal-Mart,biodegradable.  For pistols, a regular target turned
where my wife felt we were being followed by a guyaround with a paper plate stapled to the center gives
that had paid just a little too much attention to our kida large non-threatening target.
that she started to think maybe carrying guns wasn't5.Last but not least, go slow.  Answer any questions
such a bad idea.simply without going into a long technological lecture. 
I convinced her to give me another chance at theThe point of the first few sessions is to allay fears and
range, and we tried again.  This time I looked at itallow your wife to become accustomed to shooting.  
from a new perspective, and not only did my wife doYou will find, as I have, if you make her feel secure,
well, she actually enjoyed her time on the range. allow her to go at her own pace and do not pressure
From this experience, I have created a set ofher, she will rapidly begin to enjoy this sport.  My wife
guidelines to use when teaching someone how totook to shooting like a natural, and now she gets better
shoot.  range scores than I do.  She is also slowly getting
1.Do not pressure her.  This is not boot camp; you willinvolved into the gun culture, working on becoming an
find that high-pressure tactics are counterproductive. instructor, and reading and subscribing to firearm
Trying to pressure your wife to do something shemagazines.  When this started, I was all for it.  When
does not want to do will only ensure she will nevermy wife started telling me which guns she wanted all
accept it.for her own, I was ecstatic. There are drawbacks to
2.Have the appropriate safety gear.  Having eye andinvolving your wife into your hobby.  The last four
ear protection ready and explaining their use will helpguns we bought are hers, so is the last range bag and
allay any fears.  Also, before the firearms areall the ammo.  I have half of an AR-15 in the closet
introduced, go over the four basic firearm safetythat I have never been able to finish because as soon
rules:a.Every handgun is loaded, even if it isas I get ready to buy my last set of parts, somebody
disassembled.  b.Never point your handgun at anythingcomes out with a "pretty" gun...