How did you learn to shoot?
 

Although I've grown up around hunters and hunting most of my life, I was never really interested in hunting or shooting until recently. I'm still not sure if hunting is for me, but I really want to learn to shoot.

I'm wondering how people here learned to shoot. I've heard you shouldn't have a friend or family member teach you and that it is best to hire an instructor. I've also heard that women learn better from other women.

I do have a friend who has been hunting and shooting for years who has offered to teach me to shoot. I'm comfortable with him, and I think he would be a good teacher.

I'd love to hear how everyone else learned and would also appreciate any tips you can give me.

Thanks,

GSG

Simple. My Grandfather. Patient to a point and a stickler on safety.

Get a copy of the 10 rules of gun safety and follow it to the letter. I'm on the old a crusty side and I read it quite frequently.

It never hurts to review important info like that.

As far as shooting per se, breath control, proper sight alignment and trigger squeeze. Firearm familiarity is important to. Know your firearm, eat, sleep and dine with it. It's your best friend, know it well. Unless you are extremely gifted don't try shootimg a bunch of firearms. Shoot just one and practice to do it very well. Shoot from different field positions. You are not always going to be able to shoot prone. Practice offhand, sitting and kneeling. I'm a bit of an oddball, I like kneeling.

Find what you like best and as Paul Horning says, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

Ok folks now jump in here and CMA.

My dad kinda taught me on a 22....early life I was kinda self tought. A Highway Patrolman took the kid under wing at about 16
and got him into combat pistol n target shooting. Shotgun n rifle
hunting just came along. I've taught my two kids all of the above.
Get with some you are comfortable with and get started. Fine tuning will naturally happen.......just takes practice.
Dan

I learned from my dad. We started in the backyard with a pellet gun. He held the gun, but let me aim and pull the trigger. For the most part, he was in control of the gun, but I got to do the fine tuning of it. Same thing happened with the shotgun a couple of year later.

The frustrating part came when I was allowed to use the .410 shotgun on my own. He really didn't teach me about lead or any of that stuff. He just told me I had to shoot in front of the bird, so I tried. I finally killed my first dove after a couple of years of frustration and that was only because it was coming into a wire to land. By the time I graduated to the 12 gauge, I had a pretty good idea about wing shooting, but I have gotten better over the years by reading a lot about it and practicing a lot on clays.

Rifle shooting I did on my own. My dad isn't into shooting rifles and doesn't like to deer hunt either. So, I taught myself. Same goes for reloading. I learned the basics from my dad, but all he ever did was load the same type of shell for trap shooting. He had no idea about powder charges and using different components.

Learned the basics about hunting from my dad, but learned the rest from reading.

Women make better learners when it comes to shooting because they are willing to listen. Most men think they know everything about shooting, me included.

Good luck, be patient, and have a good time. However, remember that nothing good comes easy.

Thanks for the replies and the advice.

Much as I would like to think I will be a natural, I know there will be a lot of practice involved.

I also know I should start working on my upper body strength. Those guns are heavy!:)

It sounds like most everyone here learned from family or friends. I'm thinking that's the best way to do it for me, because I'll be more comfortable with someone I know.

GSG

Not all guns are heavy. You can start with a nice H&R single shot rifle or shotgun, or even a TC single shot rifle and they are MUCH lighter than conventional bolt action guns. I like single shots and lever actions myself.

Anyway I learned to shoot from my grandfather who was a marine corp DI. He can still light a match on a fence post with a 22. . . . something I only managed twice in ALOT of trying.

GoodOlBoy (Wheres all the gals at lately? None of them replied.)

GOB,

Thanks for the advice. I will probably be guided in my gun choice by the man who is going to teach me. I agree, at least to start out with, that a lighter gun might be best.

GSG

By all means. If you have a competent teacher who is more familiar with a specific type brand whathaveyou then yes purchase whatever they can most effectively teach you with. Keep in mind you can also get VERY light in some of the new all synthetic stock ultralight rifles with carbon fiber barrels, etc etc.

GoodOlBoy

Shoot'n
 

I learned a little from my father..but the person who really taught me to shoot was a farmer friend who I worked for as a kid. He was a good shooter and a fairly good teacher...but his father was better at both. Today many years later I teach shotgun shooting...mostly to women. Teaching two women now..mother and daughter and they are coming along really well. Women are so much easier to teach than men!! I have also taken a shooting course or two..mainly to see the teachers techniques. My serious suggeation to you is get the basics from a friend or family member...especially the safety aspects as Billy D said...then go to an instructor. You may have to pay a bit but the things you learn will be invaluable. BTW most instructors get paid from 25 to 50 bucks an hour...not cheap but worth every penny:cool:

Skeet,

I'm thinking that is what I will probably do.

I want to start out in a low pressure situation learning from someone I know and with whom I feel comfortable. Once I get some practice under my belt though, I will most likely hook up with a professional who can "fine tune" my skills.

Thanks for the advice.

GSG

Okay, light guns have their pluses and minuses. They are great for carrying in the field. However, while hunting you only take a couple of shots.

Light guns are terrible for target shooting because they do not help with recoil. A heavy gun tends to absorb recoil because the recoil energy has to be used to move the gun before it can move the shooter's shoulder.

If I were teaching you, you would either start with a .22 rifle or a .410 shotgun, two of the smallest guns around. Then, you could use a light gun and not have to worry about much. The .410 I used as a kid was a single shot, so there wasn't much mechanics to the shooting of it. Open barrel, put shell in barrel, close barrel, pull back hammer, and pull trigger. My dad still has that gun and he is looking forward to teaching my kids with it. Problem is that I will probably be doing the teaching.

Start small and work your way up through the calibers. The .410 and .22 have very little recoil, and there are other rifles (e.g., .17's and .22 centerfires) that have very little recoil with slightly more power. The same goes for shotguns. Once you use the .410, move up to the 28 gauge, then the 20 gauge, and finally the 12 gauge.

Good luck and I truly hope you enjoy it. It is always nice to hear about somebody taking up the shooting hobby, even if it doesn't involve hunting.

Fabsroman,

Good advice, and thanks. I have to confess I'm a bit worried about the recoil. I've heard horror stories (hasn't everybody) about someone who shot a gun and got knocked on their behind. I don't think I would enjoy that. :)

I do trust the man who is going to teach me, so I'm sure he'll make certain I start out shooting with a gun that feels comfortable.

GSG

Take a hunters safety course. I think most states sponser them, or at least here in the east they do. In Maryland and WV you are required to have the course before you can buy a hunting license. Although I am old enough that it isnt required for my license I just spent three evenings and $5.00 for the book and took the course with a friends son who I am going to take hunting. The course and his grades in school were the two stipulations he had to meet before he could go with me. Anyway, in the course they covered everything from long bows, modern bows, flintlocks, modern muzzleloaders, rifles, shotguns, and handguns. treestand safety, and more. All given in a friendly atmosphere with many new hunters and kids. At the end of the course everybody carried a firearm (not loaded) through a course with many hypothetical situations and then went to the range to shoot shotguns and 22 rifles. this is just a start but really gives you the basics.

About recoil. All guns recoil, it's a matter of physics. If you get a chance start small and work your way up the calibers. Don't start with the ultra mags and develop a sensitivity you won't be able to overcome.

Always be aware of recoil and it becomes a matter of how much you can stand to enjoy. This isn't the time to exert macho into the picture. Guys love beating the crap out of themselves. Especially prevalent among pistol shooters who have to own the biggest hand cannon on the planet. A few years later they develop arthritis and can no longer shoot anything without pain.

There are recoil pads that you can wear that offer some protection. They help with recoil. Think of recoil like a boxer thinks. How long can you absorb that constant pounding before you start to suffer from the medical effects?

For your edification there are also recoil reducers you can have a smith install in your firearm, and also good stock pads. The main thing, find something you like and are comfortable with.

Personally I don't care if Joe Schmuck did shoot a whitetail with a 700 Nitro Express. I'm not impressed.

Now what impresses me is when Petunia Fudrucker shoots a whitetail at 90 yards with a 7mm08 in a blinding snow storm and it is a bang flop. Especially afer she stalked it for a ways.

shooting a 105 Howitzer shouldered Doesn't make you a man or a hunter. It just shows your lack of hunting skills and lack of common sense.

My Grandfather bought me a Savage/Stevens .22 for my 7th birthday and took me out to shoot it the following weekend. After a couple hundred rounds he figured I was ready so he stuck a Springfield 1903-A3 in my hands. Even while I was dusting myself off, I was hooked and we went out as often as we could. Now, I'm taking my boys out and teaching them. My Grandpa was like Billy's: patient and a stickler on safety. He dealt with safety issues harshly but they stuck so now it's just 2nd nature. Those are also some of my fondest memories.