My first trip to a gun shop was a bit like my first visit to Wild Birds Unlimited. In both cases, I had no idea what I was talking about, little concept of what I wanted (much less needed) and was convinced that everyone in the store would spot me as a poser. That’s the […]
America’s New Shooters: Increasingly Female, Younger and Urban
New target shooter population up 51% to more than 51 million… Retirement age or even older country rednecks—such is the cliché view of an American gun owner as perpetuated by the mainstream media and its anti-Second Amendment comrades. It’s a smear job, no doubt, and conveniently neglects to tell another very important story. This is […]
What to Expect When Shooting a Shotgun for the First Time
If you’ve never fired a shotgun before, you’re in for a treat. Shotguns might just be the most versatile type of firearm you can buy. You can use them for sport, hunting or defense. Depending on the style and type of ammunition you choose, you can shoot at airborne targets — clays or birds — […]
What to Expect the First Time You Shoot a Handgun
I wish I’d been able to shed my pride and ask someone what to expect the first time I shot a semi-automatic pistol. Let’s say the episode ended prematurely and with a lot of my blood covering my gun, my shooting bag and the indoor range. No, no one got shot. I just managed to cut […]
Taking a First-Time Shooter to the Range
How to ensure that your first-time guest enjoys a range outing. If you want to protect gun rights, the shooting sports and your ability to defend yourself and your family, the single most important thing you can do is to bring a first-time shooter to the range. On numerous occasions, I’ve brought hard-core anti-gun friends […]
What to Expect When Shooting a Revolver for the First Time
If we want to get nitty-gritty with terminology, a revolver has chambers that are not integrated with the barrel itself. A pistol’s chamber is actually part of the barrel. The significance of that is that a revolver has multiple chambers where cartridges hang out until they are rotated into alignment with the barrel prior to […]
What to Expect Your First Time at an Outdoor Range
Everyone I’ve ever taken shooting at an outdoor range loved the adventure. If you’re new to shooting, though, going by yourself can be an intimidating experience fraught with worry and uncertainty. No problem! We’ll make sure we cover everything you need to know to have a fun, safe and non-nerve-wracking experience. Outdoor ranges fall into a few […]
Just the FAQs: Common Shooting Range Questions
There are more than 21,000 — and counting! — firearms laws on the books across the country. Add to that varying policies from ranges and clubs, and things get confusing pretty quickly. While we can’t provide definitive legal advice for every situation, we can touch on some of the most common shooting range questions. In […]
How to Survive Your First Gun Store Visit
I remember the first time I walked into a Wild Birds Unlimited store. I was just like those characters on the TV show “Naked and Afraid,” although I was slightly less naked and much more afraid. Realizing that I might be exposed as a poseur who didn’t even know the difference between a pied-billed grebe […]
NRA Shooting Series: Teaching New Shooters the Easy Way
This article originally appeared at OutdoorHub. When it comes to teaching new shooters, can we agree on a few basic goals: Safety: The first lesson for anyone who is handling a gun for the first time should be safety-focused; that way no one gets hurt, now or in the future. Fun: If we’re going to […]