Taking a shooting class/safety class - without buying a gun?

[digigal1]

Does anyone know if you can take a shooting class just to learn how to operate/fire a gun? I don’t own one but I think I’d like to learn to shoot. Varied responses from different areas of the USA or other countries are welcome.

[JJtheunicycle]

i know almost for sure that you would be able to…unless its some kind of redneck establishment where they shoot stuff just for the hell of it…but to me it makes sense that you would be able to

[maestro8]

Most ranges in my area rent handguns and rifles. I’m sure you’d be able to find a class that offers the same service.

In lieu of a class, you can just find yourself a book at the library on hunting/shooting safety to know what you’re getting into, then find a buddy who knows how to shoot and have them take you to a range. It’s not rocket science. There’s just a few things to keep in mind:

• Always treat a gun as if it's loaded
• Don't use a gun until you're familiar with its features and operation
• Don't point the gun at anything you don't intend to shoot
• Be sure the area around (and behind) your target is clear before firing
• Don't put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to fire

Once you’ve got those concepts down and have practiced them, you’re on to the next step of shooting: marksmanship! There’s volumes to be written on that subject… fortunately safety is simple and takes but a little practice.

[harper]

Most indoor ranges should have a collection from which you can rent. There is no reason that you couldn’t take a class with a rented pistol or revolver. This may also let you know what you like because you get to test a variety of handguns. If you become interested enough to buy you already have some feel for what you’re seeking in a firearm.

[monkeyman]

@JJtheunicycle

i know almost for sure that you would be able to…unless its some kind of redneck establishment where they shoot stuff just for the hell of it…but to me it makes sense that you would be able to

How the hell does that make it a redneck establishment? Isn’t that basically every single shooting range?

[Hazmat]

Well i learnt how to shoot with my uncle who has a elephant gun. Man, what a force you get with that when you fire it. But just to be safe, you might wanna go to a shooting range and try there.

[UniMOG]

My ranges pistol class lets you use there gun, ammo is part of the price.

[Catboy]

@JJtheunicycle

unless its some kind of redneck establishment where they shoot stuff just for the hell of it…

Trust me, pretty much ALL gun-clubs are owned and operated by purebread rednecks.

@maestro8

There’s just a few things to keep in mind:

• Always treat a gun as if it's loaded
• Don't use a gun until you're familiar with its features and operation
• Don't point the gun at anything you don't intend to shoot
• Be sure the area around (and behind) your target is clear before firing
• Don't put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to fire

You missed something super important that if seen at the Gun Club where I used to work, would get you bitched at by any of the regulars thoroughly.

DON’T LOAD THE GUN UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO SHOOT! ONLY LOAD AS MUCH AS YOU NEED AND NO MORE! Loaded guns are dangerous, however my friends and I used to take actual AR-15’s, semi-auto Uzi’s, deer/animal rifles, shotguns and handguns and have gunfights in the pro-shop, and seeing people giving sighting lessons at the end of a barrel is not uncommon.

Always remember: Open and Out(Something similar WILL be posted at your local gun club)
Meaning: Open action, Out of ammo

I’ve seen classes advertised for less than $100, that comes with licensing and junk.

[Hazmat]

@UniMOG

My ranges pistol class lets you use there gun, ammo is part of the price.

Do they let you use army piercing bullets too??

[Gilby]

Guns are for wussies, I use a bow and arrow.

Another safety issue is to make sure you store your guns properly, such as locked up or out of reach of those that are not able to properly use them.

Oh, and remember, guns are safer than the pool in your’s or your neighbor’s backyard.

[Hazmat]

@Gilby

Guns are for wussies, I use a bow and arrow.

Another safety issue is to make sure you store your guns properly, such as locked up or out of reach of those that are not able to properly use them.

Oh, and remember, guns are safer than the pool in your’s or your neighbor’s backyard.

When you say bow and arrow. Do you mean like a crossbow?? Also i agree with the fact that the guns you have should be kept locked in a safe or something like that. Or in the shooting range lockers.

[Gilby]

@Hazmat

When you say bow and arrow. Do you mean like a crossbow??

No, I mean regular archery. It’s probably been a decade (or more) since I’ve shot bow and arrow. I used to be in a league.

[Hazmat]

@Gilby

No, I mean regular archery. It’s probably been a decade (or more) since I’ve shot bow and arrow. I used to be in a league.

Did you enter championships?? Did you win?? and that’s preety cool that you used to be in a league.

[johnfoss]

@Gilby

Oh, and remember, guns are safer than the pool in your’s or your neighbor’s backyard.

Is that based on some real-world accident data? Because our pool never shot anyone, never got lost, got left laying around other than where it’s supposed to be, and has pretty much never ended up in the wrong hands.

I must admit though, it’s always loaded…

[ThisGuyIKnow]

While it’s true that pool related accidents do cause more deaths per year than gun related accidents, but in pool related accidents only those acting irresponsibly get hurt. Gun related accidents it’s often an innocent bystander.

[Gilby]

@johnfoss

Is that based on some real-world accident data? Because our pool never shot anyone, never got lost, got left laying around other than where it’s supposed to be, and has pretty much never ended up in the wrong hands.

I must admit though, it’s always loaded…

Water is a dangerous thing.

Pools more dangerous than guns
Chicago Sun-Times, Jul 28, 2001 by Steve Levitt

What’s more dangerous: a swimming pool or a gun? When it comes to children, there is no comparison: A swimming pool is almost 100 times more deadly.

In 1997 alone (the last year for which data are available), 742 children under age 10 drowned in the United States. About 550 of those–about 75 percent of the total–drowned in residential swimming pools. According to the most recent statistics, there are about 6 million residential pools, meaning that one child drowns annually for every 11,000 pools.

About 100 children under 10 died in 1998 as a result of guns. About two-thirds of those deaths were homicides. There are an estimated 200 million guns in the United States. Doing the math, there is roughly one child killed by guns for every 1 million guns. Thus, on average, if you own a gun and have a swimming pool in the yard, the swimming pool is almost 100 times more likely to kill a child than the gun is.

Don’t get me wrong: My goal is not to promote guns, but rather to focus parents on an even greater threat to their children. People are well-aware of the danger of guns and, by and large, gun owners take the appropriate steps to keep guns away from children. Public attitudes toward pools, however, are much more cavalier because people simply do not know the facts.

It takes 30 seconds for a child to drown. Infants can drown in only a few inches of water. Child drownings are typically silent. As a parent, if you let your guard down for an instant, a pool (or even a bucket of water) may steal your child’s life.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission offers a publication detailing simple steps to safeguard pools (available on the Internet: www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/359.html). The advice is mostly common- sense. Suggestions include installing fences that entirely surround the pool, putting locks on the gates, keeping doors locked so toddlers cannot slip out of the house unmonitored, and installing power safety covers for the pool.

If every parent followed these steps, perhaps as many as 400 lives per year might be saved. This would be more lives saved than from two of the most successful safety interventions in recent decades: child car seats and safer cribs. Potential lives saved from pool safety are far greater than from child-resistant packaging (an estimated 50 lives saved per year), keeping children away from airbags (fewer than five young children a year have been killed by air bags since their introduction), flame-retardant pajamas (perhaps 10 lives saved annually), or safety drawstrings on children’s clothing (two lives saved annually). Simply stated, keeping your children safe around water is one of the single most important things a parent can do to protect a child.

As a father who has lost a son, I know the unbearable pain that comes with a child’s death. Amid my grief, I am able to take some small solace in the fact that everything possible was done to fight the disease that took my son’s life. If my son had died in a backyard pool due to my own negligence, I would not even have that to cling to.

Parents who have lost children would do anything to get their babies back. Safeguard your pool so you don’t become one of us.

Steven Levitt is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago and a research associate of the American Bar Foundation.

Copyright The Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.

[johnfoss]

Our pool is completely surrounded by a metal fence with latched gates. Toddlers cannot get in there without help, or serious climbing skills. Kids could open the gate and drown, but we don’t have any. When kids are visiting they are never unsupervised in the back yard, at least inside the pool fence.

Good advice for any pool owners, as you probably keep yours “loaded” most of the time as well.

[maestro8]

@UniMOG

My ranges pistol class lets you use there gun, ammo is part of the price.

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learn the difference

[toddw9]

I have taken a course in gun safety and don’t own a gun. Yet. The guy teaching the course had guns for us to practice with, and no ammo; just dry-fire.

[BillyTheMountain]

@harper

Most indoor ranges should have a collection from which you can rent. There is no reason that you couldn’t take a class with a rented pistol or revolver. This may also let you know what you like because you get to test a variety of handguns. If you become interested enough to buy you already have some feel for what you’re seeking in a firearm.

The NYC papers carry an ad from a range, suggesting you should take your date to the range, for something different!

And the divorce lawyers have a cheap suggestion for solving your marital problems, by taking your spouse to the range…