Took my girlfriend to the range for the first time today...

[cosermann]

Sounds like marriage material to me.

 

[indyjoe]

Sounds like marriage material to me.

Unfortunately, you can't legally marry a Henry rifle in the state of Indiana. Sad but true.

 

[jimbo-indy]

Agree with jennybird. Her stance is fine for .22 but that stance will give you trouble with things that really kick. It may be very solid for small bore competition but I wouldn't want to use that position with my 45-70 or similar. If you don't mind using different stances with different guns then I guess it's alright. Personally, I'd rather perfect a single stance for all long guns. Just an old gray hair's 2 cents.

 

[JByer323]

Sounds like marriage material to me.

I think we have a little time before we're at that point.

Unfortunately, you can't legally marry a Henry rifle in the state of Indiana. Sad but true.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

The important thing is you got her out shooting. We can work on her elbow positioning and her stance later.

Yes, women often lean away from the weapon, because 1) weight of the firearm (they lean to counterbalance it), 2) new shooters can be intimidated by the weapon.

Class is an excellent idea. Remember, she has to WANT to go or it will be feckless waste of money.

Teach her to firm up that stance and rotate around to face the threat, lean into the weapon and get that right elbow up for greater control of the weapon. Professional instruction and a desire to learn--you better behave, buddy.

Is it my imagination or does she not have eye protection? Don't let her get hurt.

 

[public servant]

Wow....so did I....then I thought I saw the wife pull up....OMG....

Just kidding!!!! I have this fear of being castrated!!!

 

[Pami]

+1 on the center of gravity, balance, and upper body strength issues.

 

[mospeada]

Lucky you, I'm jealous.

 

[JByer323]

Is it my imagination or does she not have eye protection? Don't let her get hurt.

Yeah, good catch, she had them clipped onto her back pocket for a five shot string and neither of us caught it, which just so happened to be when I was lieing to her about not taking pictures. The rest of the time though both of us had glasses on.

 

[IndyGunSafety]

That's great man! Women do really well in my classes. I had a similar experience recently where a friend's daughter wanted nothing to do with ANY gun... PERIOD! Out of the blue she asked to take my Basic Pistol class. At the range her first shot was high and right, off the "plate" but on the paper at ECPR. The next 15 were all on the plate with 4 in the bull. Now she can't wait to go and bugs me about it. We hope to get her involved in IDPA this summer.

One of the things that is most incredible about teaching new shooters is to watch them start to self correct... proper stance, breath control, etc. She is small for age 13, but handles a .380 just fine. We started her out on a P22. I've created a monster!

 

[kludge]

One more thought... a youth model might help.

(Not a Crickett or Savage Cub size, but one meant for a 11-15 y.o. boy, which on average will have a frame similar in size to a grown woman.)

One of the ladies (she's old enough to be my mother) just got a new CZ youth model .22LR for our silhouette matches, and she loves it.

 

[Jezebel]

Thanks for the tips kludge!!

 

[slamer283]

ya. your girl is hot.

 

[Joe Williams]

She shoots like my daughter. Leans back away from the target!

Lots of women do that. I don't know why. Wish I did.

Nice report, to the OP! Sounds like you did a great job introducing her to the sport

 

[Buckaroo]

Good for you taking her out to shoot. I bet she will out shoot you before long if she really enjoys it. My wife's first target (from a class) is very impressive.

I took my two youngest daughters to the range today and my 9 year old finally is learning to lean into the rifle. Like Jennybird said, she will need to do so when shooting a higher powered weapon.

My 9 year old also shot her first center fire today. I picked up a Bersa .380 and she tried it out. She did not mind the recoil but hated the trigger (it is a DA/SA). Wish I had a Striker Fired .380 for her to shoot!

As for the marrying. My wife and I dated for 5 1/2 years before we got married. Don't need to rush a good thing. We have been happily married for 20+ years now.

Buckaroo

 

[Wabatuckian]

About leaning back from the target:

That's a friggin' target stance folks.

Gunny from Mail Call uses that stance when he's target shooting.

I use that stance when I can't brace against something and I have a relatively long shot on small game.

It's much more accurate. It's just not as fast to recover from recoil, and for that reason I do not use it on my combat long arms. It's to long arms what the traditional isosceles stance is to pistol shooting: Accurate as hell, but your whole body absorbs the recoil.

This is why so many folks are going to the modified isosceles in pistol shooting: it absorbs recoil and is extremely accurate.

Same thing with rifles: Study how people shoot submachine guns, full auto. They lean into the recoil quite a bit. This is how I use my long arms.

Just a target thing vs a combat thing, is all.

Oh, and women are naturally better shooters than guys. It's a hand/eye thing. Every woman who I've known, who likes guns, can out shoot me. I stay in constant practice, while these ladies hardly ever shot.

Hell, even my mother can out shoot me, and she doesn't even like guns.

Try it sometime folks: Give your girl, wife, daughter, whoever, some basic instruction, and compare her results to yours. If she's not intimidated by the gun, she'll out shoot you. Seen it many times... with many guys walking away red in the face LOL

Josh <><

 

[jmiller676]

OH MY GOSH!! My girlfriend and I have dated a little over a year now and she said she is scared of guns...no particular reasons just because they're guns.(typical liberal influenced idea in our age.) We were recently on spring break and wanted her to shoot. I asked her and she actually agreed. I started her out with my little Benjamin Air Rifle and went through the four cardinal rules and basic tips. She stood the exact same way. After about 20 pellets through a milk jug at 15 yds. I was surprised to see about 1/4th in the 2 inch circle. It seems we keep having similar stories and gfs having the same stance... I was extremely excited and hope one day she will shoot my 1917 Eddystone .30-06...one day