Have you done this before?  If not, it's important to have a little "safety discussion" first--before any guns are uncased.  If you go over the basics of safety and are serious about the whole thing it will show the newbies you are safe, and they will be safe--which puts their mind at ease.  If you then arrange for them to have success--close-in paper targets (which they will want to keep, especially after you praise them heartily for "taking to this naturally, and being FAR above average"   ) and then shoot gallon jugs of water, which always go over well with newbies, the day will be a huge success.  Absolutely don't take your eyes off of them when they have a firearm in their hands.  I still shudder over the story a couple of years ago where a guy's girlfriend was trying to figure out how to shoot him with the .22 when he was downrange setting up targets.  The only thing that saved him was the fact she couldn't figure out how to load it.  She thought it would be funny as hell to shoot him "with the BB gun one."  

Oh, PLEASE don't hand them something with mucho recoil because it's "funny" to watch a newbie get knocked backward.  They will automatically be apprehensive over "the kick" so perhaps you can shoot the first round to show them how mild your .22 pistol or 10/22 is.  Assure them there will be nothing unpleasant--and mean it.  Show them proper grip and stance, trigger control, sight picture, etc.  Also, double (plugs and muffs) hearing protection is HIGHLY recommended, as well as eye protection--and discuss the HUGE importance of both, but not in a way that scares them and makes them think they are engaging in something dangerous.

Good luck--have fun and report back.    

Your wife is one of the most beautiful women I've seen on this board.

PLEASE take pics and share them



*drool*...redheads... *drool*

beetle.....

try to get her to the nov 5th shoot. she can get some GREAT instruction.

Quoted: Beekeeper, Is 5.56 a decent round for first rifle shots?  I don't think it has much recoil, but I will ask the hive minder, erm, mind. I will probably be doing something similar in the future. G

Absolutely!  It's the best!  If you shoot gallon jugs of water at 50 yards (or whatever distance it takes to hit them) they make a HUGE impression on newbies.  Usually there is a little trepidation because it "looks scary" but that is easily overcome.  Once they shoot it and hit a few jugs you will probably have to wrestle it away from them.  

Quoted: Quoted: *drool*...redheads... *drool* Agreed Oh, and Beerslayer - there's no way she will come to that

then PLEASE emphasize that if she decides to buy a firearm for home or personal defense that she needs some instruction. send her to ATI or FOP in bham. we can get it for her for free if she will come to the shoot.

way to go BB, we have to teach our people to defend themselves.

Read a terrifying book last week



If those women in the book only knew how to handle a gun

It's hard to convince a new shooter that eye protection is "important" if it's not important enough to drive twenty minutes back for.  

I'm glad everything went well, but frankly that is no way to start beginners off.  At our club we had a guy take a "bounced back" .45 slug on the lens of his shooting glasses just a few weeks ago.  It whipped his head back but did absolutely NOTHING to him--but only because he was wearing quality protective glasses.  

ETA:  My wife and I keep a range bag crammed with extra muffs, plugs and about six pairs of protective glasses--so we ALWAYS have them with us.