Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals! Encounter with a newbie at the range.

[Racer88]

I went to the pistol range today. A group of 4 showed up. 3 guys and a woman (all appeared to be in their 20s - 30s). It quickly became clear that NONE of them really knew what they were doing.

Two of the guys were in the lane to my right. One was "instructing" the other. And to be honest, it was a case of the "blind leading the blind." The "instructor" seemed well enough versed in safety and loading and operating a pistol. But what he was teaching his brother (as I found out), in terms of technique, was literally ALL wrong. Grip, stance, etc... everything... all wrong! Like really really wrong!

Also, they were shooting one of these targets at 10 yards. The instructor shot the target a few times - seemingly randomly. And then he turned it over to his brother, the newbie.

The newbie had no idea where he was shooting. His "instructor" was telling him, "Try the 1st target on the third row," and so on. Oy! This was the wrong kind of target, and it was at 10 yards!

And the grip being taught was the proverbial "tea cup" grip. Aaaaaagh!

The stance he was being taught was a "running stance" with one foot in front of the other. Aaaaaagh, again!

It's no wonder he was missing the paper completely and had no idea where he was shooting. No control of recoil either.

Finally, I could take it no longer. I'm often hesitant to interject myself, because egos are fragile.

So, I asked the newbie, "First time shooting?" (yeah, duh!) He said yes.

Then directing my next question to both the newbie and his 'instructor'.... "Do you mind if I give you some pointers?"

Fortunately, both said yes. The newbie (pointing to my target) said, "I want to shoot like that!"

I invited them over to my lane where I had a SIRT laser pistol standing by. I showed him a proper grip and mentioned that the "tea cup" they were using is "pure Hollywood." I also showed them a proper stance (feet, knees, shoulders, back, etc). I let them both try it with my SIRT laser pistol and observe the green laser "impact" dot on the target.

I gave him one my bigger targets, and set it up at 10 yards (their lane could not be moved up to 5 yards, which I would have preferred for a newbie).

"OK... give that a try now with your gun."

The newbie picked up their gun (I didn't pay attention to which kind of gun it was, but it was 9mm). As he was getting in position and taking aim, he was vocally repeating what I had just taught him.... "Feet square and shoulder width apart. Shoulders forward...."

He squared up and took his first shot with his newly-learned grip and stance and freakin' DRILLED the center of the bullseye! It was like magic!

I whooped and said, "THAT'S what I'm talking about!" I don't know if I was happier for him or for me! LOL! Gave him a high-five, too. He had a big grin on his face.

I then told him he should quit and go home after that single shot. Everyone laughed. He took several more shots and all of them were on the target with a few more bullseyes.

It's amazing what just a bit of knowledge of the fundamentals can do for a shooter. It's also amazing how a MAJORITY of shooters you see at the range are doing it ALL WRONG. The blind leading the blind.

I also strongly recommended to him that he take some one-on-one lessons with a professional instructor.

 

[Bobster]

We get a lot of noobs on Public Day at my range where I RSO. I'm usually assigned the pistol range because I am particularly good at it. I'll ask if they've ever been to our range before if I don't recognize them. If not, I'll explain the procedures for cold and hot ranges. And I tell them don't mind the guys in red shirts looking at them because it's for everyone's safety.

When the range goes hot I watch them like a hawk. Experienced are easy to spot so I'll devote my attention to someone obviously inexperienced. I don't necessarily give a lesson if they are doing the right things. But I can't count the number of times I've kept someone from getting slide bite by showing the proper grip. If they aren't hitting the paper (at 21') I'll go over sights and alignment. I don't over-correct because I believe people need to learn by doing.

Occasionally I'll give pointers on stance as many have a habit of leaning against the bench. One of the biggest issues is getting them to lock the slide back when we go cold because many pistols are oversprung and have tiny slide releases. The main point is they drop the mag and at least rack the slide to get the gun unloaded, then we'll coach them on locking the slide back with a safe firearm.

I often get thanks and handshakes and even hugs when the noobs leave the range! Makes it worthwhile...

 

[Racer88]

We get a lot of noobs on Public Day at my range where I RSO.

Every day is noob day at public ranges.

Occasionally I'll give pointers on stance as many have a habit of leaning against the bench.

I rarely (almost never) see that. Most commonly I see them leaning WAY back.... the natural human instinct to get your face as far away from an explosion as possible. Back arched as far as it will go. I see this a LOT.

The other thing I see very commonly is poor feet positioning. Closed together, feet touching. Sometimes on their toes, literally. Sometimes even legs crossed! Almost never squared up and shoulder-width apart. Almost never.... extremely rare.