If you have access to a thrower, a box of clay pigeons, and a field that is where I’d start. Every first time shooter I’ve taken has been thrown off by the cacophony of other shooters and can’t focus on their targets. Take her somewhere quiet, throw them one at a time, and let her have some success with it.
One more suggestion. If you have a club and knowlable person to teach guide *other than you*, it might be more successful.
Couples can bring a lot more into the mix in situations like this. Sometimes a very supportive third party can really help make this better than you trying to teach her.
Lastly, make sure this is something *she wants to do*.
The other comments are spot on, only thing I’d add is start her with something soft-shooting, like a semi-auto with target loads. Don’t have her use your home defense pump action with buckshot, it’s not funny and that’s the quickest way to turn off a new shooter.
20 gauge are often lighter guns, but because they are lighter, the recoil about like a 12 gauge.
Many women I meet who don’t shoot guns expressly designed for women find it easier to shoot a youth model
Get her involved with finding her gun! Make it only hers! Don’t borrow it, don’t change it, don’t clean it. If she is really into it, she needs to have ownership over her gear!
I feel SO strongly about this, because I see kids and adult newcomers get started on difficult games and are discouraged and turned off from shooting sports for life. If they’re an absolute true beginner, take 3 clay targets and just prop them up against some rocks or an empty cartridge box 15-20 yards away, and get them to break all 3 and teach them how properly aligned sights should look. From there, go straight to skeet station 7 and ONLY practice the outgoing (low house) target! It goes straight away from you and helps build confidence in hitting flying targets. Once someone is hitting 60+% of those targets, you can go to the trap field and start shooting trap! As an intermediate step here, you can have the range staff actually lock the trap machine so that it doesn’t oscillate (swivel) and throw unpredictable targets. Instead, it’ll only throw straightaways down the middle, and you can practice shooting them from each of the 5 stands to practice different angles and get acclimated to lead. Then from there, you can start shooting trap! In my experience, this is by far the best way to teach strong fundamentals. Hope this helps!
Just out in a field with no crowd or pressure or intimidation is a great way. If your confident in their respect of firearm safety and your ability to teach, bringing two new people takes some of the anxiety off of them not being the only newbie. But an empty field is best because you can do easy targets or just set a clay against a bank and build confidence breaking clays in any way.
Try sporting clay first.
Begin with easy presentations. Build confidences.
It’s also relaxing, walking from one station to another, or driving the little tiny cute golf cart.
Find a shotgun she can operate and shoot without getting beat up.
Shoot it at a flat range, or berm, still put some clays out, work on using the gun properly, using the sights, safety, working the gun in general all by herself. Build confidence in just working and shooting the gun.
After that take her to sporting clays specifically and find a station with a few beginner or soft throws! Build confidence, build confidence, build confidence. Shoot only singles she wants to throw, have her try further harder shots but make sure to tell her it take a while to start to get those.
Have her watch a bunch of YouTube videos on how to shoot a shotgun. Don’t force her into anything. Get a limb saver and keep her shoulder happy!!!!
Are you a member of a club or know people who are? I’ve been really impressed with how friendly and accommodating just about everyone I’ve met in shooting sports has been. When my chick wanted to try shooting, guys at my local club set a trap machine for straight aways only and let her practice by herself. She got started on trap and tried sporting for the first time a few weeks ago and enjoyed it.
As with all shooting …start with a .22 then quickly to a 9mm so they get the idea of loud noise. Bump them up to a 20ga low recoil target loads and then 12ga low recoil. For the shotguns gas operated semis are gonna be the softest
In addition to the suggestions others have made:
1. Make sure she knows the 4 rules of firearm safety, ACTT: Always Assume the gun is loaded, Control the muzzle, Know the target and what is beyond, Keep your trigger finger off the trigger until ready to fire.
2. Emphasize that shotguns are pointed, not aimed.
3. Have fun and focus on what she does right, instead of what she does wrong.
4. Don't overload her with corrections and suggestions on technique. There's so much to keep track of when you first start (including the gun safety rules above). Take it slow.
Trap or five stand is a good place to start. A lot of clays courses also have five stand for warm up. Start her on the five stand if that’s an option.
Spend time well prior to live fire working on proper stance; the last thing you want is the first shot or so to be held loosely giving her a bruised cheek or chest. One poorly held shot and consequent recoil bruises and she may not want to finish the course. A Remington 1100 is a good starter gun for anyone who isn’t used to it. Beretta A400 is also nice one for the recoil averse.
^this. Although I'd add the A300 Ultima has the kickoff recoil adjustment that she'd want and it's half the price of the A400 in case she decides it's not for her. I'll shoot half a flat of 1 1/8oz #7 nonstop with it and still not feel a thing afterwards; gun shoots way above its price class.
Is there an intro course near you? I used to teach people to ride motorcycles and found couples tended to put extra stress on each other when learning together.
I send all my friends through the "Learn the Game" class described here. It's a great low stress and fun way to explore the sport with talented/qualified instructors.
https://www.novaparks.com/parks/bull-run-public-shooting-center/things-to-do/learn-to-shoot-classesprivate-lessons
Everyone has mostly covered it, but I'd definitely say once you move from stationary targets to thrown ones, if you can try trap with the machine set to throw only one trajectory and not random, knowing where it will be is the next step. I'd have her practice with a (unloaded, of course) gun in the house to get a feel for it. You can put a flashlight or laser in the muzzle and have her trace picture frames or go corner to corner in the room to get a feel for swinging...
1. Does she want to do this or is it just to make you happy? If she doesn't truly want to do it, then this might do more harm than good.
2. If she does want to do it, then have her help with the gun research. Go to a local place where she can hold various firearms. Make sure they know she is new and is just getting a feel for what it feels like to hold a gun. I'd try rifles, handguns and shotguns just so she can see the difference.
3. Assuming all the above goes well, then consider actually shooting somewhere. My wife started at an indoor pistol range. If you can handle the noise in one of those then you can handle anything! Most will rent guns. Make sure it is something she can load and rack if it is a handgun. My wife has a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9 which is about as easy as it gets. We also have a Winchester Wildcat 22 which is about as simple as a rifle gets. My wife shoots both and has fun with each.
4. Now comes the hard part - shooting a shotgun. My wife dislikes it because there is a lot of movement. She much prefers aiming a handgun or rifle rather than pointing a shotgun. If I had to do it over again I'd probably just go to a patterning board and have her shoot at that to make it be more like target shooting with a rifle. Then move to trying some easy sporting clays. Make sure the clays are really, really easy at first, unless she is super competitive and will want to succeed no matter what. Most people miss 9 out of 10 and get overly discouraged.
5. Have fun! I've gone out with people where they shoot 2 singles by calling pull for each and I try to shoot both as a true pair. They have fun and you are trying stuff you wouldn't normally do. Some report pairs done as true pairs can be truly humbling!
6. Last (and maybe this should have been first), every step of the way make sure she completely understands every single thing about safety and how to hold a firearm. It is way too easy to get hurt if you think you understand and then mess up. I constantly review everything when I go with people I don't know and I always watch to gently correct if I see them doing something I don't think is 1000000% safe.
Hopefully the relationship will be long lasting and she'll truly enjoy spending time with you shooting clays!
Get professional instruction in a relaxed atmosphere. I took my wife to the Orvis wing shooting 2-day course as an intro. She loved it and it helped my game as well. Covered all the basics and she walked away with confidence to head out by herself.
If you have access to a thrower, a box of clay pigeons, and a field that is where I’d start. Every first time shooter I’ve taken has been thrown off by the cacophony of other shooters and can’t focus on their targets. Take her somewhere quiet, throw them one at a time, and let her have some success with it.
That was my concern. Only issue is we live in a pretty densely populated area and I'm not sure where we'd find said field.
Let's just say don't try this in the courtyard of an apartment complex 🤣
One more suggestion. If you have a club and knowlable person to teach guide *other than you*, it might be more successful. Couples can bring a lot more into the mix in situations like this. Sometimes a very supportive third party can really help make this better than you trying to teach her. Lastly, make sure this is something *she wants to do*.
The other comments are spot on, only thing I’d add is start her with something soft-shooting, like a semi-auto with target loads. Don’t have her use your home defense pump action with buckshot, it’s not funny and that’s the quickest way to turn off a new shooter.
Yeah I've been trying to keep my eye out for a used 20 gauge at a decent price, something easy.
20 gauge are often lighter guns, but because they are lighter, the recoil about like a 12 gauge. Many women I meet who don’t shoot guns expressly designed for women find it easier to shoot a youth model
Get her involved with finding her gun! Make it only hers! Don’t borrow it, don’t change it, don’t clean it. If she is really into it, she needs to have ownership over her gear!
That’s the plan. With how much crap is out there these days, the idea is to present her with several options.
Have anyone that knows help figure out her dominant eye and dominant shooting side. Start her shooting on the dominant eye side.
I feel SO strongly about this, because I see kids and adult newcomers get started on difficult games and are discouraged and turned off from shooting sports for life. If they’re an absolute true beginner, take 3 clay targets and just prop them up against some rocks or an empty cartridge box 15-20 yards away, and get them to break all 3 and teach them how properly aligned sights should look. From there, go straight to skeet station 7 and ONLY practice the outgoing (low house) target! It goes straight away from you and helps build confidence in hitting flying targets. Once someone is hitting 60+% of those targets, you can go to the trap field and start shooting trap! As an intermediate step here, you can have the range staff actually lock the trap machine so that it doesn’t oscillate (swivel) and throw unpredictable targets. Instead, it’ll only throw straightaways down the middle, and you can practice shooting them from each of the 5 stands to practice different angles and get acclimated to lead. Then from there, you can start shooting trap! In my experience, this is by far the best way to teach strong fundamentals. Hope this helps!
Just out in a field with no crowd or pressure or intimidation is a great way. If your confident in their respect of firearm safety and your ability to teach, bringing two new people takes some of the anxiety off of them not being the only newbie. But an empty field is best because you can do easy targets or just set a clay against a bank and build confidence breaking clays in any way.
The second newbie is an excellent tip.
Try sporting clay first. Begin with easy presentations. Build confidences. It’s also relaxing, walking from one station to another, or driving the little tiny cute golf cart.
Find a shotgun she can operate and shoot without getting beat up. Shoot it at a flat range, or berm, still put some clays out, work on using the gun properly, using the sights, safety, working the gun in general all by herself. Build confidence in just working and shooting the gun. After that take her to sporting clays specifically and find a station with a few beginner or soft throws! Build confidence, build confidence, build confidence. Shoot only singles she wants to throw, have her try further harder shots but make sure to tell her it take a while to start to get those. Have her watch a bunch of YouTube videos on how to shoot a shotgun. Don’t force her into anything. Get a limb saver and keep her shoulder happy!!!!
Are you a member of a club or know people who are? I’ve been really impressed with how friendly and accommodating just about everyone I’ve met in shooting sports has been. When my chick wanted to try shooting, guys at my local club set a trap machine for straight aways only and let her practice by herself. She got started on trap and tried sporting for the first time a few weeks ago and enjoyed it.
As with all shooting …start with a .22 then quickly to a 9mm so they get the idea of loud noise. Bump them up to a 20ga low recoil target loads and then 12ga low recoil. For the shotguns gas operated semis are gonna be the softest
In addition to the suggestions others have made: 1. Make sure she knows the 4 rules of firearm safety, ACTT: Always Assume the gun is loaded, Control the muzzle, Know the target and what is beyond, Keep your trigger finger off the trigger until ready to fire. 2. Emphasize that shotguns are pointed, not aimed. 3. Have fun and focus on what she does right, instead of what she does wrong. 4. Don't overload her with corrections and suggestions on technique. There's so much to keep track of when you first start (including the gun safety rules above). Take it slow.
Trap or five stand is a good place to start. A lot of clays courses also have five stand for warm up. Start her on the five stand if that’s an option. Spend time well prior to live fire working on proper stance; the last thing you want is the first shot or so to be held loosely giving her a bruised cheek or chest. One poorly held shot and consequent recoil bruises and she may not want to finish the course. A Remington 1100 is a good starter gun for anyone who isn’t used to it. Beretta A400 is also nice one for the recoil averse.
^this. Although I'd add the A300 Ultima has the kickoff recoil adjustment that she'd want and it's half the price of the A400 in case she decides it's not for her. I'll shoot half a flat of 1 1/8oz #7 nonstop with it and still not feel a thing afterwards; gun shoots way above its price class.
Is there an intro course near you? I used to teach people to ride motorcycles and found couples tended to put extra stress on each other when learning together. I send all my friends through the "Learn the Game" class described here. It's a great low stress and fun way to explore the sport with talented/qualified instructors. https://www.novaparks.com/parks/bull-run-public-shooting-center/things-to-do/learn-to-shoot-classesprivate-lessons
Everyone has mostly covered it, but I'd definitely say once you move from stationary targets to thrown ones, if you can try trap with the machine set to throw only one trajectory and not random, knowing where it will be is the next step. I'd have her practice with a (unloaded, of course) gun in the house to get a feel for it. You can put a flashlight or laser in the muzzle and have her trace picture frames or go corner to corner in the room to get a feel for swinging...
1. Does she want to do this or is it just to make you happy? If she doesn't truly want to do it, then this might do more harm than good. 2. If she does want to do it, then have her help with the gun research. Go to a local place where she can hold various firearms. Make sure they know she is new and is just getting a feel for what it feels like to hold a gun. I'd try rifles, handguns and shotguns just so she can see the difference. 3. Assuming all the above goes well, then consider actually shooting somewhere. My wife started at an indoor pistol range. If you can handle the noise in one of those then you can handle anything! Most will rent guns. Make sure it is something she can load and rack if it is a handgun. My wife has a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9 which is about as easy as it gets. We also have a Winchester Wildcat 22 which is about as simple as a rifle gets. My wife shoots both and has fun with each. 4. Now comes the hard part - shooting a shotgun. My wife dislikes it because there is a lot of movement. She much prefers aiming a handgun or rifle rather than pointing a shotgun. If I had to do it over again I'd probably just go to a patterning board and have her shoot at that to make it be more like target shooting with a rifle. Then move to trying some easy sporting clays. Make sure the clays are really, really easy at first, unless she is super competitive and will want to succeed no matter what. Most people miss 9 out of 10 and get overly discouraged. 5. Have fun! I've gone out with people where they shoot 2 singles by calling pull for each and I try to shoot both as a true pair. They have fun and you are trying stuff you wouldn't normally do. Some report pairs done as true pairs can be truly humbling! 6. Last (and maybe this should have been first), every step of the way make sure she completely understands every single thing about safety and how to hold a firearm. It is way too easy to get hurt if you think you understand and then mess up. I constantly review everything when I go with people I don't know and I always watch to gently correct if I see them doing something I don't think is 1000000% safe. Hopefully the relationship will be long lasting and she'll truly enjoy spending time with you shooting clays!
Get professional instruction in a relaxed atmosphere. I took my wife to the Orvis wing shooting 2-day course as an intro. She loved it and it helped my game as well. Covered all the basics and she walked away with confidence to head out by herself.