Slightly OT - Getting my wife to shoot

[shooter]

My wife has acquired several guns since we married. She never shot very much before, only on one or two occasions. Well, I've got her interested in shooting, but she's very particular about what she will shoot. She really only likes her .38 special, .22's, and she will occasionally shoot her Mossberg 20 gauge. She's interested in hunting, but she doesn't even like to shoot my .243. I think it's mainly the noise that bothers her more than the recoil. Do any of y'all have any suggestions as to how to get her used to the noise?

I can kinda sympathize with her. I get kinda jumpy when I occasionally shoot something like a .300 mag. If I don't shoot one regularly (and I don't), it takes me a couple shots to get used to the noise and muzzle blast before I can settle down and be comfortable with one. The difference is, after she gets uncomfortable, she won't shoot that gun anymore.

[dr walker]

My wife uses earplugs with muffs over top of them. We make a habit of not attending crowded public ranges. It is very difficult to properly practice when the guy 3 feet away from you is blasting through a half case of ammo with his short barrel AR-15.

[AJMD429]

+1 on

• starting with the .22 LR's
  always using excellent hearing protection (i.e. muffs PLUS plugs)
  shooting when others aren't around to distract, be intimidated by, or annoy her

Consider (seriously)

• Getting a 'big bore' gun suppressed, so she could get used to recoil first, THEN noise. You can't use a suppressor when hunting in most places, and eventually she'd need to practice without it, but a suppressed .45-70 Handi-rifle would not be a bad gun to have, anyway.

Dunno if this post will be any help at all, but here's the course of fire we use to get 'newbies' up to speed and they ALL seem so far to enjoy even the 'big' guns at the end of the four hours or so.

Newbie course of fire - http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=16312

Part of the success of our course is the first three items listed above, and most of the women have specifically said they appreciated being able to learn to shoot without being at a 'public' range, and I usually have my daughter or other kid around who will shoot just a bit to let them know even a 'kid' can shoot all the guns comfortably (but they don't shoot enough to show off), and we don't shoot but just a round or two of the hard-kickers, before going back to the .22 LR's for more confidence-building.

We DO try to blast an emptied gallon-paint-can full of water (with the lid on) from 25 yards with a .45-70 - or a 5 gallon bucket full of water (if we have an old one) from 50 yards with a .44 Mag revolver, which I think gives a resounding sense of the POWER wielded at the bullet-end, which helps offset the otherwise 'empty' feeling of making a slightly bigger hole in a piece of paper, but getting punched in the shoulder really hard in the process.

ALSO (nearly forgot), we use a SOLID REST for pretty much ALL the rifle shooting, UNTIL the student his/herself requests "can I shoot this one standing up?" That may seem bad for hard-kickers, but it assures they'll HIT what they are aiming at (again, the positive reinforcement to offset the recoil), and our rest is a home-made ($30 maybe?) version of the "Lead-Sled", so recoil becomes a non-issue.

Get used to Confidence, Noise, and Recoil separately if possible:

• Getting confidence without noise or recoil - .22 LR's off a rest
  Getting used to noise without recoil - .357 Mag rifles, 243's, etc. off a rest
  Getting used to recoil alone - progressively stout .45-70 loads in a long-barrel gun

I guess also, realize that shot placement trumps velocity and power, so a HIT with a 'marginal' cartridge firearm will earn her a harvested animal, but a miss with an 'adequate' cartridge firearm will disappoint her or wound an animal, likely causing her to be done with hunting forever at that point. Figure out what you think she'd find rewarding/interesting/fun to hunt (freezing in a duck blind or deer stand isn't 'fun' for most people, but perhaps shooting squirrels with a .22 LR would be, or groundhogs, or whatever). Even if it is something like whitetail deer, use the longest-barrel .357 Mag rifle she can hold steady enough to hit with, and even shoot .38 Specials in it at first if needed. As she gains confidence with a real 'hunting' gun, transition to hotter loads appropriate for hunting.

According to the gun magazines, nothing short of an M1 Abrams tank will take down a large deer, but the .357 Mag leverguns are more powerful than the .32-20's many of our grandparents used quite successfully for deer.

If she really insists on hunting truly large game, consider a long-barreled .45-70, with 'classic' loads (not 'Ruger' ones), and if needed, she can use a set of shooting sticks (many kinds out there) so she doesn't have to hold the large and heavy gun and try to hit with it. I know we who like to shoot kind of 'dis' the blackpowder-era .45-70 vs. the 'modern loads' for it, but they did (and do) make really large holes in vital organs of really large animals, and those loads in those long-barrel guns don't make the really harsh 'crack' or 'ping' of the .300 Magnums.

[Dave]

Have you considered getting her a suppressor? They are legal to hunt with in my state. I am not sure about TX. More and more people use muffs when they hunt. The kind that filter loud noises and let the rest through. One guy I know just puts on his regular muffs when he first sees a deer he might shoot.

[olyinaz]

Don't shoot under a cover at the range if you have an option (much louder than open skies). A longer barrel will help. Plugs and muffs. Consider active noise canceling muffs. Have her stand behind you when you shoot - not next to you.

Just a few suggestions that come to mind.

Best,
Oly

[HEAD0001]

"DON"T DO IT". I taught my wife how to shoot. Then I had to move 500 miles away!!!! Tom.

[azzhandler]

take her the local bingo hall for about 3 days straight, she will probably gladly rather go to the gun range