Young ladies at the range

[dan765]

So it was decided at church to take the yound ladies (age 12-18) of the congregation to the range to learn how to handle a gun. We thought it a bad idea at first but after thinking about, we decided to do it.

For those who have taken yound ladies to the range for the first time, what should I do/tell them in order to maintain proper handling and safety?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[ExactlyMyPoint]

The four rules is always good.
NO CELL PHONES on. (Calls, texting, etc.)
Pay attention to the range officer.
ANYONE GOOFING AROUND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE ASKED TO LEAVE.
Keep you attention on the range officer, not the cute guy walking behind you.

[gilraen]

The first rule is : "Don't talk; LISTEN!" Try to keep their chatter and giggling to a minimum. It's very normal for them (and me when I was young), but it distracts from their concentration on your teachings.

Keep a positive attitude.
Be firm but not rude or dismissive.
Don't talk down to them; talk with them.
Listen to their concerns and address them.

Have fun.

[phreddy]

no low neck lines.

[cammo]

No kidding on the low necklines.

Tell them even if they don't intend to shoot as a hobby or sport, they may find themselves around a gun one day in a thousand different scenarios and they should at least know the basic safety aspects of handling them as it could save lives.

That's my 2 cents, and I think it's a great idea. It is going to be a trained instructor, right?

[andr0id]

no low neck lines.

Along with:

No sandals
No boot with open tops that hot round can fall into.

[JonInNY]

I was going to be funny, but I decided against that. As mentioned before, emphasize the four rules.

Practice with an VERIFIED empty firearm something like this: Have them point the gun downrange as if ready to fire. The call their name from behind or the side. If they swing around with the gun up, you've identified a major problem to be solved before any other training.

[ccw9mm]

... emphasize the four rules.

Practice with an VERIFIED empty firearm ...

Very important, until they show some basic sensibilities and competency with handling. So long as you're seeing "muzzle mayhem," you know they're not quite ready.

If the group is extremely new with firearms, as in fearful first-timers, it might be worth having one safety/range person for every two people in the group. That way, you can run many of the drills in a "buddy system" type arrangement.

For example, in order to make clear and show safe, you can: have the one person with the gun do the steps; have the second person monitor the first person; have both speak out loud the safety steps as they are performed; have the second person physically show clear after the first person has done so; and have both of them follow the commands of the safety person as they go. For the Four Rules of safety, for readying a weapon and for showing clear, this can work fairly well.

You can go through an initial coverage of the range rules, the Four Rules of safety and other similar basics using a "blue" training gun. Ideally, you could have one of these for every two people, so they could get a lot of handling time prior to actually handling a real firearm. You can catch a lot of mistakes early on, that way, before live guns are in play.

You can also go with single-shot guns for the first few turns at shooting. Or, at least, load the magazines with only a single round. This way, you can help minimize risk of "muzzle mayhem," with giggling teens failing to pay attention where multiple muzzles are pointing.

If you've done much training previously, you'll know all the rest. But those are a few pointers that I have seen well-used for introducing complete newbies to firearms.
Seems to work well, in terms of added precautions.

Good luck, have fun, and be safe.

[dukalmighty]

Might have a safety class before ever going to the range,emphasis on gun safety and proper weapon handling

[oneshot]

Might have a safety class before ever going to the range,emphasis on gun safety and proper weapon handling

^^And use this opportunity to do/use dryfire/snapcap excersise^^^


Ok, so what's the speed of dark?

[SIGguy229]

+1 on the safety class before departing for the range, reviewing the rules for firearm safety.

Definitely address the dress and appearance issue well in advance (as stated above).

I also assume you have parental permission?

I would also have several firearm-savvy adults present (including a few female shooters) for one-on-one supervision...with one adult watching the line, explaining/teaching what is going on.

Eyes and ears for everyone?

Make time for pictures....everyone loves pictures at the range...especially newbies....

Does the range you are going to know you are coming?? Is it expected to be busy at the time of day/day of the week you will be going?...maybe make arrangements to get a couple of lanes together?

Just some random thoughts.

[greenLED]

If they drop the gun, DON'T try to grab it!!!

[longtrain58]

I look forward to taking the ladies to the range and always bring a camera to capture the huge smiles. I find the ladies better students and extremely safe gun handlers. If my wife finds I'm going to the gun club, she will be waiting for me in the truck with her range bag at her side. Nothing has to be said. My youngest daughter wanted her CHL when she turned 21, that one worries me owning a gun. She has a Charter Arms Pink Lady.

I have a bulletin board with dozens of pictures of women at the range for their first time and one thing is constant...the big smile. I find the ladies love shooting sports. I think they surprise themselves and wonder why they didn't try it much sooner.

[alexcantslee]

Ive done this very thing, Im an associate advisor for a Venture Crew which is co-ed scouting for young men and women ages 14-20. We took them pistol, rifle and shotgun shooting last summer as one of their activities.

We spent two evenings at a regular meeting going over gun safety, types of guns like how a revolver works and is different than a Semi-auto, more gun safety, tips and techniques. They had to know the four rules of gun safety.

When it was time to shoot we had four lanes open and each youth had one adult assigned to them as well as an additional adult as range master. If the range master was going to shoot or coach another adult was immediately made range master so at all times everyone knew there was one person and only one person who was announcing when it was safe to fire.


Many of these kids had never fired a gun before. So they each loaded a gun. When they all had loaded permission was given to shoot. They all shot. Then they all unloaded, placed the guns down and then picked up brass where applicable.

It was time consuming but each kid had a adult right there with them and they had a different "coach" each time.

No cell phones at any time.

Everyone had to have the "eyes and ears" on.

Rifle was only 22 and done the same way.

The shotgun range was one kid at a time.

The outcome?

Some of those kids could really shoot! One girl who was 17 at the time was especially good with a 20 gauge. She had never shot before and was just powdering those clay pigeons! I was very impressed.

The girls did as well as the boys in safety and performance and I'd take them again in a second. A couple of them didn't much care for it but were good sports about it anyway. None inquired about the NRA or anything but it took a lot of mystique out of guns for them, they weren't these terrifying machines of death TV makes them out to be.

Kids can do amazing stuff if you give them some good guide rails to run between.

Alex!

[MinistrMalic]

The advice is all solid. I would advise you to make the experience a good one, so that they want to come back for more!