My daughter who turned 18 last month has had pretty much zero interest in guns/shooting. She was never opposed to them and knew there were guns in the house but was very "neutral" towards the idea of actually shooting one. On top of that she has battled a pretty serious anxiety issue for years now and has made amazing progress (she went from not being able to leave the house (at times) a few years ago to recently starring in a school play and killing it.

A short time ago she asked me if i would take her to the range and today I did...I wanted to not overwhelm her so I had her watch a safety video online and we discussed the basics at home. When we go to the range she was noticeably intimidated but said she wanted to go in. I got her in a lane, handed her a loaded Ruger .22 and after some very minor adjustments she shot damn near shot out the entire center of the target...All while a guy with a hand cannon was shooting on one side and a couple of guys with AR's were at it on the other.

When we left I told her how proud I was of her and she admitted it was fun but she would like to go to an outdoor range next time.

Congrats to both of you and good to know she is taking a big step to conquer her fears.

Congratulations on getting her ready to take the first step, and being there for her when the time was right.

I do have one minor piece of advice. I've never felt comfortable handing someone a loaded weapon. If she is not comfortable loading and chambering it herself, then do it for her and place it on the bench for her to pick up.

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Originally posted by RichN:
Congratulations on getting her ready to take the first step, and being there for her when the time was right.

I do have one minor piece of advice. I've never felt comfortable handing someone a loaded weapon. If she is not comfortable loading and chambering it herself, then do it for her and place it on the bench for her to pick up.

Yes, i did think of that and the reason I did it for her the first couple times was to get her more comfortable, after that I showed and let her do it herself

quote:

she admitted it was fun but she would like to go to an outdoor range next time.

If it is an option, outdoors is always best for new shooters, especially if you can go somewhere where there is few or no other shooters.

Glad she enjoyed it!

Very nice. There's also the bonus that shooting skills can help build self confidence, and that will help with anxiety issues too.

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Originally posted by Skins2881:

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she admitted it was fun but she would like to go to an outdoor range next time.

If it is an option, outdoors is always best for new shooters, especially if you can go somewhere where there is few or no other shooters.

Glad she enjoyed it!

Yep... it can be intimidating indoors, with people shooting really loud guns in the lane next to you.
I'm also glad she enjoyed it!

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

she admitted it was fun but she would like to go to an outdoor range next time.

If it is an option, outdoors is always best for new shooters, especially if you can go somewhere where there is few or no other shooters.

Glad she enjoyed it!

There is a nice (large) outdoor range just north of me and given her light school schedule for her final semester I am going to try to sneak up there with her at an off time

Congratulations to you both! Did you take any pictures? Did she squint and sneer while shooting?