- 96 rounds of .22 LR ammo,
30 rounds of 38 Special ammo,
20 rounds of 9mm Luger ammo, and
20 rounds of .223 Rem ammo
'Tools' (most were family firearms, some borrowed elsewhere) used were:
First, rimfire rifles at the 10" 50-yard gong, from a bench, using a Caldwell LeadSled rest:
- 10 shots of .22 LR from a LEVER action (Ruger 96/22) with TruGlo Holosight
10 shots of .22 LR from a BOLT action (Ruger 77/22) with NECG Peep sight
10 shots of .22 LR from a SEMIAUTO (Ruger 10/22 clone - AMT Lightning) with 4x Scope
Then, rimfire handguns at the 18" 20-yard gong*, standing:
6 shots of .22 LR from a Single Action Revolver (Ruger Single Six) with Patridge sights
6 shots of .22 LR from a Double Action Revolver (Charter Arms Pathfinder) with Patridge sights
6 shots of .22 LR from a Semiauto (Ruger Mark-II) with Patridge sights
- 5 shots from a Lever Action (Marlin 1894) using .38 Specials with Burris Fastfire-II (standing)
5 shots from a Large DA Revolver (Taurus Tracker) using .38 Specials with Patridge sights (standing)
5 shots from a Small DA Revolver (Ruger SP-101) using .38 Specials with Patridge sights (standing)
- 5 shots from a Large Semiauto (Taurus PT-92) in 9mm Luger with Patridge sights
5 shots from a Small Semiauto (Kel-Tec PF-9) in 9mm Luger with Patridge sights
- 10 shots from a Ruger Mini-14 in .223 Rem with peep sights (standing)
Still, a very minimal investment in time and ammo, and two new 'gun' people. Pretty cool.
Unfortunately, many non-gun people are first introduced to guns when some wise-guy hands them a 12-gauge breakopen or Marlin Guide Gun to shoot, and it's "flinch-city" from there on out.
I find when they do the first three guns (all .22 LR) off a bench, using a rest, at a 10" gong at 50 yards, they become quickly confident (90% hits are the rule), start having FUN, and this is before noise or recoil are brought into the picture. After that, they're too busy having fun, to be bothered by noise or recoil as we progress up the power scale. In fact, my goal is that they get 'bored' by the near-certainty of 'hits' during those first three guns off the bench, at which point they're ready for the challenge of handguns, then centerfire, etc...
The two biggest GRINS are usually
- a) after getting 8 or 10 'hits' out of their first 10 shots from the 96/22, and
b) after ripping off 10 rounds from the Mini-14...
If you all haven't been introducing 'newbies' on a regular basis, start doing so - it's NOT all that expensive or time-consuming.
The NEXT range-session I usually have with them is a 'refresher' with either the 96/22 & TruGlo holosight, or whatever gun they've purchased for themselves, followed by a bit of time with a .44 Mag 1894 Marlin & Burris Fastfire-II, a .444 Marlin XLR & 3-9x Scope, more time with the peep-sighted Mini-14, then a few rounds out of a Garand or an M-1A (both with peeps), depending on who is around to borrow what guns from.
Interestingly, the hardest sights for them to learn are always the 'Patridge' or 'open' type - the easiest is the holosight (i.e. Burris Fastfire-II, Tru-Glo), followed by the various 'peep' types. Scopes are tricky to get full-field view with at first, but are far easier for the newbies I've dealt with than are 'open' Patridge or bead/notch type sights.
We have numerous other gongs at various yardages, so often (like today) a shooter decides to take on the 10" 50 yard gong with the Taurus Tracker or the Taurus PT-92 . . . AND HITS IT . . . so needless to say, at that point, they are HOOKED on shooting. If you start them out with a centerfire gun first instead of the 'progression' I've worked out, they seldom can do that, so I think the KEY is starting out with that little Ruger lever-action .22 LR, with a holographic sight, from a rest, to get them confidence.
*Note - our range is set up so that the 20-yard gong is off to the side at a 10 degree angle, and down at a 25-30 degree angle, and it is hung at an angle with the base about 2" farther from the shooter, so it deflects ricochets DOWN. We've never had any hint of material coming back up at us. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend shooting at gongs that close. Even our 25-yard gongs are maybe 20 degrees or so down.
Pictures added - see page 2 of this thread...