A Recipe for Marksmanship and Maturation
September 8th, 2008 by Syd
Xavier has a winner with…
A Recipe for Marksmanship and Maturation
When a person asks me to teach a them how to shoot, the first step is that I require them to memorize the Four Rules. This request performs two functions. First, it gives them the minimum knowledge needed to be safe with a firearm. Second, it demonstrates that they are serious about learning. It is a simple test of willingness and open mindedness. If they balk at learning the Four Rules prior to going to the range, then I will not instruct them.
Once they can recite the Four Rules, we get together with an unloaded Ruger MKII, usually at the new shooter’s home to provide them with a comfortable environment. I do not bring ammunition, only the first gun they will shoot. I demonstrate how to hold and operate the firearm, how to check the chamber, and how to make a safe weapon. I focus on safety and responsibility as well as the basics of handling the gun. I assess the student’s anxiety level, which at times may be quite high. I want them at ease handling a firearm. We talk about eye dominance, and I check them to see which eye is strongest. I draw a diagram to illustrate the basics of sight alignment, and I allow them to dry fire the pistol, with the expectation that the gun will be handled safely. When it is not, we back up and start again.
I ask them why they want to learn to shoot. Almost always, the reason is self protection. I explain that a person must be willing to take a life to save their own if they are to successfully employ a firearm in self defense. I make it clear that the time to come to that epiphany is well prior to an attack. Realizing the need once an attack commences is often futile. If the person has a pressing specific need, I try to help them towards a more immediate solution, explaining that gun skills develop into a means of effective self defense over time, and that a firearm is not a magic wand to make bad guys go away.
I explain that to realize the benefit of a handgun in saving ones life, the shooter must be able to hit what they intend. I explain that that a shooter who is unable to hit their target may as well be tossing lit firecrackers at their attacker. They have a noisemaker, not an effective tool to stop an attack. Marksmanship matters. Only then do we go to a range and load a weapon…