Went To The Range With First Time Shooters On Sunday

[Pugs]

This is an entry from my blog. Since an XD was used, I figured I'd copy and paste it here. It's a long read...

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How did all of you celebrate the Fourth?

I spent the long weekend going to Chicago to celebrate my mother's and brother-in-law's birthdays; going to a "Redneck Party"; hanging out on S------'s veranda; and spending Sunday morning/afternoon going over gun-safety and putting holes in paper at the Range with R---, K----, S-------, and B---. B--- has, of course, been shooting before, but for the other three, it was their first time.

We started the morning with coffee, bagels, and coffee-cake at our house before adjourning to the basement for a quick lesson on basic gun-safety and handling. K---- joined us for that portion. She's a teacher and I rather like the idea that she'd be able to unload and make safe a weapon found in school.

We started with the four rules of gun safety:

• Treat every weapon as if it is loaded, even if you know it isn’t
• Never point the weapon at something you aren’t willing to shoot
• Keep your finger off the trigger and out of the trigger guard until you’re ready to engage the target
• Know your target and what is beyond it

Safety was the primary focus and we reiterated that it was going to be stressed above everything else at the range. As part of that safety emphasis, after showing everyone and letting them handle examples of real bullets, all live ammunition was removed from the room. Part of the reason for showing them and allowing them to handle live ammunition was to allow everyone to see and feel the difference between the live and the dummy rounds that we were going to use for the safety and handling lessons.

Basic safety was followed by how to unload a weapon and make it safe. It my seem intuitive go in order and talk about loading a weapon before covering unloading it, but with safety being the primary focus, we felt that discussing making a weapon safe should be addressed first. Also, Karen, the teacher, who was the most interested in that portion had to leave early.

To unload a weapon (we only had semi-auto pistols to demonstrate with):

1. Remove the magazine
   • On most pistols the magazine release is on the grip where the trigger-guard meets the grip
   • For most pistols, this will be located on the left side of the grip so that it can be reached by the left thumb; a few are lefty only or have the magazine release on both sides
   • A few will have the magazine release located on the bottom of the grip or some other esoteric location
2. Lock the slide to the rear
   • Push up on the slide stop (it doesn't require a lot of pressure)
     • The slide stop is generally located where the slide and the frame meet; if you're holding the weapon with a proper grip in the right hand, it will be right in line with the right thumb (though a few will have a slide stop lever on both sides)
3. Pull the slide firmly all the way to the rear (this may require a lot of pressure); the slide should stay locked to the rear and if there was a round in the chamber it should have been ejected with this procedure
   
4. With the magazine remvoed and the slide locked back, visually inspect that the magazine well and the chamber are empty
   
5. As an added safety measure, stick your finger in the magwell and the chamber to physically verify that both are empty
   
6. Find a pen, pencil, or other stick-type thing and insert it into the ejection port
   
7. Let the slide close on the stick-type thing such that the stick-type thing is visibly sticking out showing that the weapon is unloaded and unuseable ('cause it's got a freakin' stick stuck in it!)
   • To close the slide on the stick-type thing either:
     1. Press down on the slide stop to disengage it
        or
     2. Pull back on the slide and release it, allowing it to close

The weapon is now safe with visible proof of that unuseable condition.

After allowing everyone the opportunity to practice unloading and making the weapon safe, we moved onto loading the weapon. Loading the weapon is simply:

1. Inserting loaded magazine into the magazine well in the base of the gun's grip; this should be done firmly to make sure that it is seated properly
2. Racking the slide by pulling it firmly all the way to the rear and letting it go so that it slams forward on its own; or, if the slide is already locked to the rear, releasing the slide to let it slam forward on its own by releasing the slide stop lever, or by pulling back on the slide and letting go

Racking the slide can be difficult as it requires a good amount of hand and arm strength. There are several techniques for racking the slide, but the two that I generally find most effective for people are:

• The Push-Pull Technique:
  1. Get a firm proper grip on the butt of the gun with your strong hand (finger off the trigger!)
  2. Hold the weapon "gangsta" style so that it is horizontal with your palm facing down
  3. Grasp the slide with your weak hand; the more of your palm and fingers you can get on the slide, the firmer your grip will be
  4. Lock your arms out perfectly straight
  5. With your arms locked, rotate your shoulders so that your strong hand pushes the weapon forward and your weak hand pulls the slide towards you
  6. When the slide is all the way to the rear, let go with weak hand and let the slide slam forward on its own
• The Push-Push Technique:
  1. Get a firm proper grip on the butt of the gun with your strong hand (finger off the trigger!)
  2. Hold the weapon in front of your chest (make sure that the muzzle is still pointed in a safe direction!)
  3. Grasp the slide firmly with your weak hand; your hand should be on top of the slide, palm facing down, again getting as much palm and finger contact as you can
  4. Push both hands inward
  5. When the slide is all the way to the rear, let go with weak hand and let the slide slam forward on its own

The weapon is now loaded and ready to fire. Always, but in this state especially, pay attention to and absolutely follow the four rules of gun-safety. The rules are there so that if any of them get violated, the others will keep you and those around you safe.

Again, everyone got to practice loading the weapon as well.


(continued in the next post)

[Pugs]

After the basic handling and safety portion, we covered the basics of grip and stance (which I won't reiterate here as it is covered in a previous blog entry). We followed grip and stance with basic principles of marksmanship using the old B.R.A.S.S. approach:

1. Breathe
   • Make sure that you're breathing normally and evenly
2. Relax
   • Your body should be relaxed; your grip firm, but not tight
   • Remember to breathe
3. Aim
   • Look at your target
   • Line the sights up
   • You're still breathing and remaining relaxed
4. Sight
   • With everything lined up, focus on the front sight of the weapon
   • Make sure that front sight is in perfect focus but the target and rear sights are a little blurry
   • The front sight is centered on the point you want to hit
   • The front sight is lined up perfectly in the notch of the rear sight
   • You're still breathing
   • Your body is still relaxed
   • Your point of aim is the same
5. Squeeze
   • Now that you're ready to fire, put your finger on the trigger and gently squeeze
   • Keep your breathing steady and even as you squeeze
   • Stay relaxed as you squeeze
   • Maintain your point of aim as you squeeze
   • Focus on your front sight as you squeeze
   • BANG! The shot should surprise you when it goes off because you are focused on the previous steps as you squeeze

Everyone had a turn at practicing the B.R.A.S.S. technique with dummy rounds and then we piled into the CR-V's and headed off to Waukesha to pick up my buddy P---- (who's in town for the week with his girlfriend visiting her family) and then on to the range. The range for this outing was McMiller Sports Center out in Eagle, WI.

P---- got set up in one lane with my XD45 while R---, K----, S-------, and B--- got setup in two other lanes with the .22 I borrowed from a friend and B---'s Smith & Wesson M&P .45. We had them squeeze off a few with B---'s .45 first. Normally, the thinking is that you start with a smaller caliber like the .22 and then move up to the larger, louder, more recoil calibers like the .45. My thinking was that if they could handle the noise and recoil of the .45, even if it intimidated them a bit, the .22 would be that much more comfortable in comparison.

I am so proud of everyone! They all stepped up and were able to handle the .45 and were then able to get some decent groupings with the .22. Though all of them preferred the .22, they were all willing to keep going back to the .45 to give it another try. B---, having had prior experience, was able to handle both with relative ease.

As for me, I spent most of my time watching the first-time shooters for safety (I'm proud to say, that NONE of them required any safety reminders!) and coaching them through the shooting process. They all did remarkably well for their first time handling and firing a firearm!

I, however, was a bit disappointed with my performance when I did do some shooting after the ladies were done. I found myself jerking the trigger and flinching, sending most of my shots low and to the right (I'm a lefty). I'm definitely gonna have to spend some more time at the range working those kinks out.

All in all, it was a really great day!

[kayl]

I'm glad you guys had fun! How did the Buckmark shoot? I forgot to tell you that the sights might not have been zeroed in very well...hopefully it worked for you

[DeltaV]

I took my girlfriend out on Saturday for her first time shooting--she shot my Ruger 22/45 very well (I was really impressed actually...very accurate even out at 15 yards). Her hands are too small, though, for the XD45--though she seems interested in shopping for something which would fit her well.

[Pugs]

Originally Posted by kayl

I'm glad you guys had fun! How did the Buckmark shoot? I forgot to tell you that the sights might not have been zeroed in very well...hopefully it worked for you

Buckmark shot well. I didn't shoot it, but the girls seemed to be getting reasonably tight groups with it. I'd chalk their groups up to it being their first time more than the gun, though.

What was cool about the experience is that all of the newbies are very liberal women who tend toward the anti-gun side. One of them in particular told me that she physically felt a bit ill when she held the bullets I passed around for them to look at before the safety lesson.

They all walked away having had a good a time. I doubt any of them will ever take up shooting as a hobby, but they definitely are on the road to getting past their innate fear of guns.

[Pugs]

Originally Posted by DeltaV

I took my girlfriend out on Saturday for her first time shooting--she shot my Ruger 22/45 very well (I was really impressed actually...very accurate even out at 15 yards). Her hands are too small, though, for the XD45--though she seems interested in shopping for something which would fit her well.

My XD is too large for my wife's hands. We ended up getting her a Smith & Wesson M&P .45. With the smallest backstrap it fits her hand great.