No doubt over the years you’ve seen a number of guides about how to teach women to shoot. These are certainly necessary and welcome—after all, women are the fastest-growing demographic of new shooters among a figurative tsunami of new gun owners. However, these guides are limited in that they’re designed for men. As NRA Women, we’re occasionally faced with the mirror side of that quandary: What if the person who has come to us for guidance and mentorship is male? Specifically, what if the person who wants us to show him how to shoot is a man who really doesn’t like gun rights much at all unless they’re for him and him alone? You readers may have an image forming in your head, or you may need us to suggest one, but you get the picture: How do you teach an anti-gun man how to shoot?
K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple, Sister)
One conclusion that we can draw from the previous example is that complex concepts can confuse the average anti-gun male. Your student may not be able to understand the difference between a firearm that shoots multiple projectiles with a single trigger pull and one that shoots one projectile per trigger pull because they are both colored black. That’s why it’s so important to keep it simple when you’re dealing with a member of “the fairer sex.”
Before you get to the range, give him a quick tutorial on gun safety. Explain to him that you will not be loading the gun for him until he is ready to shoot. Tell him that this is why he doesn’t need to look down the barrel to check whether the gun is loaded, and that he should otherwise not point the gun at anything except a safe target. Inform him that you won’t tolerate him shaking his index finger at you or placing it inside the trigger guard before it’s time to shoot.
Bring Critical Supplies
Another key finding about anti-gun men is that they aren’t good planners. For example, they don’t realize that the anti-gun legislation they support means they may not be able to buy a gun in an emergency. So remember to bring plenty of supplies for that anti-gun man’s virgin voyage into guns and shooting.
For example, be sure to bring a surplus of sanitary supplies. Of course, you’ll always want to have hand sanitizer and lead-removing wipes as you would with any fellow shooter … but when you’re bringing an anti-gun man to the range, you’ll need to step it up. Way up. Remember that this is the sort of fella who sends a single 5.56 NATO round downrange and then claims to have developed PTSD. Luckily, the COVID-19 paper-goods shortage appears to be over, so you should have no trouble finding enough facial tissue to mop up all the tears.
Don’t Overwhelm Him
It’s important to remember that the anti-gun man has a very limited understanding of what guns are and what they can do, largely gleaned from movies and video games. He may believe that they’re capable of shooting bullets around corners, or that magazines don’t need to be reloaded if you’re the good guy in this movie. That’s why you should be careful not to overwhelm him. It’s common for experienced shooters to start new shooters off with a nice, soft-shooting .22, but you should probably think “smaller.” It might be best to bring a shiny Red Ryder BB gun for him to practice with. After all, real bullets would be too much for him.
We Kid, We Kid … Because We Love
We hope you’ve enjoyed our little satirical guide to teaching anti-gun men to shoot, but the fact of the matter is that the Second Amendment is for everyone. Self-defense is a human right, enshrined in our Constitution, and your NRA is here to offer the expertise we’ve gained in 150 years of training American citizens to safely shoot guns. Click here to find an instructor near you. And yes, this article is satire, but believe it or not, this piece we found in the archives of American Rifleman isn’t! If your male friends do respect your right to bear arms and become a little curious themselves, check out our article, 5 Ways to Help a New Male Gun Owner, for real tips on making new gun owners feel welcome.
