Introducing Your “Other” to Shooting Guide

Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar: You’re at the range when you look over and see some guy walk in with his girlfriend/fiancee/spouse/sister/mother. She is sometimes wearing an outfit that isn’t exactly a good idea to wear to a range (low cut shirt, high heels, etc). The guy then pulls out a big, heavy, large caliber gun and hands it to the girl. With little to no instruction he points her in the direction of the target and tells her to aim and shoot. The gun goes off, the recoil scares the heck out of the poor girl and almost knocks the gun out of her hand. If she’s really unlucky, a spent casing goes right into the cleavage. The guy laughs as do a couple of other people standing nearby. The girl is shaking and angry by the end.

It’s a VERY safe bet that when they get back in the car the girl says something to the effect of “I’m never doing that again. I can’t see why you like going to the range”.

That guy has just shot himself in the foot. Why? Because now she has no understanding of firearms and how much fun they can be. If he talks about wanting another gun, she rolls her eyes and says the money could be more useful elsewhere. He wants to go to the range, she would rather go to the mall.

What if he had done things differently? What could he have done differently? Let’s explore this a bit, shall we?

I have witnessed the earlier scenario more times than I want to think about. Heck, YouTube is practically filled with videos showing that exact scenario (just replace “gun range” with “large empty field”). It’s a very sad display. What happens when you go about introducing an “other” to shooting in a better, more gentle way?

After giving advice to friends as well as going through my methods on my own lady friend, I can attest to the following:

1. The girl doesn’t mind going to the gun store. In fact, she looks forward to going and usually gets to the counter before you can.
2. When you talk about a gun you want, she says “If you get a GUN-A then can I get a GUN-B after that?” Bonus: you get to play with more guns because you can use hers on occasion (although if she’s anything like mine then you will have to swallow some pride to shoot the Beretta with the custom pink grips)
3. She won’t complain when you say you want to get up early and go to the range tomorrow…as long as you take her too.
4. The other guys at the range will envy you for having a lady friend that shoots as good as you (if not better). You will be a GOD to them. Plus you get that bit of pride watching your “other” outshoot most of the guys down the line. Trust me, she will eventually get that good. It’s a “girl power” thing. You wouldn’t understand. I sure as heck don’t.

I’m well aware that many guys use shooting as an excuse to get away from their “other”. That’s fine. I would still recommend following my method. Trust me, your life will be easier if she’s interested in what you do. Only the most psychotically clingy women would fault you for saying “do you mind if I go the range solo today?” on occasion. In the end, she still won’t mind when you stop off at the gun shop.

It’s actually quite simple. It’s so simple, in fact, that most people don’t even realize it.

Let’s get this said straight away. First and foremost, above all else, and no matter what: DO NOT LAUGH AT HER! There is nothing that will instantly ruin any attempts to do things the right way than laughing at her. Even if she starts dancing around the place like a hyperactive turkey because a hot casing went down her cleavage, keep a straight face. Your diligence will be rewarded.

Next, start her off on a small caliber. A 9mm would be good. A .22 would be even better. If the only gun you own is a S&W Magnum 500 then find a range that rents out guns (or buy a .22 pistol. It’ll be worth it because they’re fun as hell). This introduces her to shooting in the gentlest way possible. It gives her a good idea of what recoil is going to do and lets her get used to the site picture.

Next, make sure she wears the appropriate clothing. Explain to her why: “your boobies will get burnt” or something to that effect. If all she owns is low cut blouses then hey! Shopping Trip! I challenge you to find a girl that would turn that down.

Make sure you explain to her basic gun safety. Do a quick run-through of The Commandments at the very least. You can focus on them more later once she’s hooked.

Finally, don’t just say “Line it up and pull the trigger. Have fun!” then go to your own lane. I hate to say it but you’re probably not going to get much shooting of your own done on this trip. Show her how the site picture lines up. Show her with some dry firing what the trigger is going to do and how to squeeze it instead of jerking the trigger. Load the magazine for her. Let her take her first shot. Give her some gentle feed back. Most of all: be encouraging. No matter how bad (or good) she shoots with her first magazine, tell her she did better than your first time out. Setting aside your ego for an hour or so will pay off ten fold.

Inevitably, if she shoots the small caliber gun for a bit, she’s going to want to try something beefier. This is a vital point. She’s right on the edge of being hooked. You’re almost home free. What happens next can make or break you. Explain to her that the larger caliber gun is going to kick bigger and be a lot louder. In short: prepare her for what is about to happen.

When you’re all out of ammo, you’ll have a good idea of how she felt about the experience. See if she wants to look at some of the guns in the store (if the range is attached to one). Keep her excited about it as long as possible.

Nothing that I have suggested is difficult. There are some exceptions, mind you, and you’ll have to feel things out a bit as you go along. I have also, rarely but enough to take note of, seen girls that insist on shooting the .45 or .44 Magnum right off the bat and love it from the first shot (those women are referred to as “keepers”).

Now, I realize there’s some people from women’s shooter forums that would cringe at my suggestion of starting your “other” off with a .22 but I look at it like this: I would rather err on the side of caution by setting aside the girl power thing than risk turning her off from guns all together. Like I said though, if she says “I don’t want that pea shooter, hand me the Desert Eagle” then by all means, go for it.

In the end, a little uncharacteristic sensitivity goes a long way. Your patience and effort will be rewarded.