How to coach new or untrained shooters?

[cutter]

Hey,

I took a friend and his girlfriend out to the range for a couple of hours of informal instruction. I had 3 goals. #1, Be Safe. #2, Teach good methods. #3, Have fun!

Had two problems that I am looking for some suggestions on how to coach them out of. The guy was all over the paper and never got a consistent grouping. I know for Basic Rifle Marksmanship I would be going back to a review of all of the fundamentals.

The girl's problem I think i have a handle on. All we had were 45 ACP pistols and when she was shooting her boyfriend's double stack pistols her left hand grip would break and she would be all over the paper. When I let her shoot my 1911 with it's single stack grips, she was able to start getting some consistent groupings. I was really happy with her as she weighed a little over 100 lbs and was able to load and unload unassisted and didn't get afraid of the gun. Think the answer to this one is get a 22 pistol or 22 conversion kit for the 1911.

Goal #1 was met. Both the boyfriend and the first time shooter girlfriend had a good time. I'm not satisfied with #2, as I would like to had them both shooting consistent groupings in the black before they left. Any suggestions on drills, books or articles on how to coach a spanking new shooter would be appreciated.

[David Armstrong]

When I have them shooting all over the place I like to go to a bench or table. Tha reduces some of the variables and lets me focus on things like sight picture grip, and trigger pull. After we get those all lined up and working right then move on to unsupported firing. Watch for flinch. Moving down to a .22 is often helpful for new shooters.

[JeffJ]

Have him dry fire a few times and watch the front site. This will help see what's going on (for both of you) and, in my very limited experience, can lead to a better understanding of what they should be focusing on. FWIW, I find myself stopping and dry firing during my own practice pretty often - I think many people forget/discount the value of dry fire when at the range.

[beltjones]

Hey,

I took a friend and his girlfriend out to the range for a couple of hours of informal instruction. I had 3 goals. #1, Be Safe. #2, Teach good methods. #3, Have fun!

Had two problems that I am looking for some suggestions on how to coach them out of. The guy was all over the paper and never got a consistent grouping. I know for Basic Rifle Marksmanship I would be going back to a review of all of the fundamentals.

The girl's problem I think i have a handle on. All we had were 45 ACP pistols and when she was shooting her boyfriend's double stack pistols her left hand grip would break and she would be all over the paper. When I let her shoot my 1911 with it's single stack grips, she was able to start getting some consistent groupings. I was really happy with her as she weighed a little over 100 lbs and was able to load and unload unassisted and didn't get afraid of the gun. Think the answer to this one is get a 22 pistol or 22 conversion kit for the 1911.

Goal #1 was met. Both the boyfriend and the first time shooter girlfriend had a good time. I'm not satisfied with #2, as I would like to had them both shooting consistent groupings in the black before they left. Any suggestions on drills, books or articles on how to coach a spanking new shooter would be appreciated.

I'm not a professional instructor, but I've taken a lot of green shooters to the range. Here are my thoughts:

First, I never go to the range straight away. Communicating with people on a public range is nearly impossible. I find it's much better to describe the fundamentals of grip, stance, sight alignment, trigger control, basic manipulations, etc off the range. I find I can get them comfortable in 15 minutes or so.

After that we head to the range where I first demonstrate all the things we discussed off the range. I shoot a few rounds, then let them take the pistol. I have them dry fire a couple of times and remember the keys of marksmanship. Then we load one round at a time, and they get used to that. Ultimately they will build up to five rounds at a time.

The whole time I focus on the very basics that everyone seems to forget; meaning, clear front sight focus and perfect trigger pull. Any problems on the paper can be traced to one of those things anyway. Every couple of rounds I might have to gently remind them about grip, posture, or whatever, but for the most part I'm talking them through not focusing on the target, not shifting the focal plane, remaining on the front sight, and not trying to time the "wobble" with their trigger pull. Back at the house we will have already discussed recoil, and inevitably I'll have to remind them that recoil isn't something they can change, so they shouldn't let it effect their front sight focus or trigger pull.

Just keeping it simple like the above, of the 12 or 15 green shooters I've taken to the range, maybe all but one shot better than anyone else at the range.

I've also found that trying to get too technical, like finding the perfect place for them to place their finger on the trigger, or minute improvements to the grip, isn't helpful. When you're constantly jumping in with ideas to "help" them, instead of gently talking them through a perfect sight picture and trigger pull, they also tend to get pretty frustrated.

Basically I make very clear what they can expect, how the "right" technique looks and feels, and what elements are under their control (and not under their control). I also let them know what skills everyone just has to develop over time, and that they shouldn't worry about for the time being.

[JHC]

.22 rimfire. Repeat. Dry fire centerfire. Shoot centerfire. Corrections. Shoot centerfire. Corrections. .22 rimfire. Repeat. Back to centerfire.

Correcting obvious flaws along the way.

And 1st time out, maybe first couple of times out, keep it close against a big target. I see this noob coaching being done offhand on our 25 yard bullseye range frequently. I can't imagine.

[cutter]

Thanks for the ideas. beltjones, your methods track pretty close to what I do. I took about 20 or so minutes at the start to go over the 4 rules, nomenclature, load/unload with dummy rounds, grip and stance, sight picture and some dry fire.

My ulterior motive was that I wanted to get the girlfriend to outshoot her boyfriend. I bet if we had a 9mm that fit her hands she would have done it.

[CDR_Glock]

I took my realtor out to shoot, with his son.

I emailed them links about safe handling of firearms from the NRA Website. The few days before.

First thing I briefed them on was safety. Reiterating the important and basic rules of firearms handling. Then I went through the motor skills of safety showing how to handle the gun, point it down range and away from anyone, at all times. Then I had them dry fire a revolver, in single and double action, after showing them two stances (Weaver and Isoceles), proper grip, trigger control, eye dominance, and balance. After that, I started them on a Walther P22. Once they were familiar with the mechanics of recoil, and marksmanship, shooting at a distance of 3, 5, 7 yards, I handed them my Colt Python. They shot 38s, in single action and progressed to double action. Lastly, I let them try my Glock 30 (45 ACP), Python in 357 (125 grain).

I had brought a 9mm but the range washout of ammo.

---
Idid something similar with my father in law, but all I had was a Colt Python, AR-15 and a Mossberg 930SPX. He shot the Python in single action, followed by double action, followed by the AR. He had no desire to try the 12 gauge, and I don't blame him.

----

Both groups were very happy afterwards and would go out again.


iPad/Tapatalk

[Lomshek]

My method is similar to what the others have said. Routine goes like this.

1) Super emphasize safety, especially muzzle awareness and trigger finger location.
When firing I will always stay in a position that will allow me to stop the shooter from breaking the 180 degree line in case they forget. Ahead of time I tell them that I will be reminding them to take their finger off the trigger if they forget and do that by calmly saying "trigger" when they forget to remove their finger from the trigger.

2) Always start with a .22 handgun. I have a Ruger 22/45 that is perfect. Light trigger, common controls, zero recoil and very accurate.
I emphasize sight alignment, recoil recovery and trigger follow through/reset. I usually let them fire a few magazines with no target (just pointed at the berm) so they can learn to focus on and watch the front sight move and re-align during the firing cycle (without being distracted by trying to focus on the target), learn to not let their finger fly off the trigger and maintain a good grip. Initial targets are always very close (3-5 yards) then we move further out to a max of 10-15 yards (wherever they can keep most of their rounds in the A-zone).

3) When they're ready for a centerfire I break out one of the full size 9mm's so they can try it and see how they do vs. the .22 at the same distances. Just so they can learn to diagnose themselves I'll do some ball & dummy with them (telling them ahead of time what we are doing). It's always fun seeing the lights go on as they learn how to shoot properly and begin to self correct.

A few rules I follow. Safety first, do a few mags of .22 on each learning segment, don't show off but do some slow motion demonstrations so they see the "right" way to do something. Frequently ask them if they have had enough or want to keep shooting. Explain to them why you are doing something (staying close to them, holding the gun a certain way, resetting the trigger, whatever). Especially with women don't turn staying close for safety control into Macking on the woman.

Most newbies have had enough after 300 or so rounds of rimfire and 50 - 100 of centerfire. Most women will shoot less than men initially because their shoulders will tire faster. Don't let men over do it because of their ego, especially with kids ask frequently if they are tired.

[peterb]

I've found that trying to keep sights aligned with a target can be distracting. Using a large white target - large paper plates on cardboard work well -- and have them focus on sight alignment during the trigger squeeze without worrying about a specific aiming point.

[peterb]

He had no desire to try the 12 gauge, and I don't blame him.

If you're introducing someone to the shotgun, start with the lightest loads you can find. For a 12 gauge, target loads of 1 ounce or less are good. Winchester makes low noise/low recoil WinLite target loads in 12 and 20 gauge, and Fiocchi makes a 20LITE 20-gauge training load.

If the range is slug-only, there are reduced-recoil slugs, but even they might be too much for a new shooter. The lightest I've tried in 12 gauge is the 7/8 ounce Fiocchi Aero.