Took another new shooter to the range

My buddy Jeff had never fired a gun- today, after talking about it for nearly 10 years we finally made it happen. Jeff is an old friend from HS, and we've stayed in touch since then. He is now an engineer living in a marginal (read: shitty and crime-ridden) part of town.

my usual introduction gun- the Ruger Mk II

Now seemed like the time to really make an effort to get him acquainted with firearms and their safe handling.

We focused on handguns, with only 1 long gun on the scene today. I didn't want to overload him with too much information, and he expressed his interests as being primarily in pistols anyway.

As per my prior positive results, I start new shooters off with a 22 LR handgun after a thorough safety talk. Jeff enjoyed shooting the little Ruger, and showed some aptitude with it.  By the end of the day, groups at 10 yards could be covered with the bottom rim of a coffee mug. I was very pleased with that level of performance from a new shooter after only a few hours of exposure to firearms.

After that, Jeff tried my S&W Model 10, a Glock 17, a Glock 23, and my American Classic 1911. He did his best work with the g23 in 40SW, and thought it might be an ideal option for his needs. Once he had tried every handgun I had brought along, I stood back and let him choose what he wanted to shoot more of.

I fear that too often when introducing new shooters to our sport that we [the gun community] - in an attempt to genuinely share knowledge and be friendly - come across  too strongly with opinions on defensive firearms. If Jeff had selected the 22 lr handgun, then I would have supported that decision.  I believe comfort is paramount to power when it comes to encouraging responsible gun ownership amongst new shooters. A gun that is comfortable to shoot, will be shot more. Proficiency will be the natural result of that progression. Overgunning a new shooter only inhibits their chance of developing strong fundamentals and shooting ability. As is fairly obvious from the above description, I don't bring pocket guns on first time range visits.

In my opinion, they have no purpose in the arsenal of any casual non gun owning novice (I know this sounds weird but hang in there, I realize non gun owners don't own guns). I will hedge my bets here though and say that I believe that for me when it comes to preliminary introductions to guns. If a new shooter decides to purchase a compact gun as their first purchase- that is their decision. However, as long as they are 'borrowing' their shooty goodness from my arsenal - I strongly urge them away from the small stuff until they have some experience and comfort with the bigger, more forgiving models. Larger guns are inherently more forgiving. They have a longer sight radius, often with more comfortable grips, and additional weight to help absorb recoil.  I have always been a proponent of giving a new shooter the heaviest gun they can comfortably maneuver, in the smallest caliber I can access, to allow them a comfortable, gentle familiarization period.

At the end of the visit, we fired a good bit through my 9mm AR- which is running like a top. That gun is singly responsible for the huge decrease in my 9mm ammo stores.  It feeds anything I stuff in it (and I have shot some ridiculous ammo through it- including some home brew stuff with reddot and a 148 gr LSWCHP which I will not share data for). That gun continues to prove itself as accurate and reliable- while being an unbelievable amount of fun.

All in all- another great day at the range. Jeff is currently in the pistol permit process, and will probably impulse buy a long gun shortly. Our other range buddy for the day, Justin- is also navigating his way (slowly) through the convoluted NYS pistol permit process. Though he is a fairly longtime gun owner, his interest in handguns has only recently gained enough intensity to make him willing to jump through the hoops.

Final thoughts:

1- when bringing new shooters to the range, I cannot overstate the value of a 22lr firearm.
2- don't be pushy with gun and caliber selection as to what the shooter should 'try next'
3- do try to encourage only full sized options up front. the more forgiving elements of the full sized gun will make the experience better for everyone.
4- bring a lot of ammo. Shooting stuff is always pretty awesome.