In the current situation around the country, recession, increased crime, and the eminent threat of a shtf situation has convinced me that the little woman needs to learn to shoot and defend herself. How in the hell do I convince her that it is a good idea? She totally supports my love of firearms, hell she bought me a reloading press for christmas. She just doesn't seem interested.

Help Please!

Especially would like the ladies opinions.

-E

Well, I can't speak for the ladies point of view, but my wife was actually afraid of and didn't like guns when we first met. When she realized that not only did I have guns, but carried one avery day, she was taken by surprise.

It took most of a year, being very gentle, not pushing too hard. Finally she trusted that I wasn't going to get her hurt, and agreed to try it. I started her with a .22 pistol. She was hooked. She's not into it like I am, but has her own guns as well as her own carry license.

You know her better than anyone here. If it's just a lack of interest, maybe you just need to find a way to make it interesting.

If you take her out with something small that she could handle and wouldnt scare her she should grow into it.
Have her go to a range with you and let her try it if she's willing.Maybe just seeing you dotting the target would get her enticed a bit and she would have her chance.
My wife likes a .25 best where my 15 yo daughter likes my .357 mag ,but either way,they need to be comfortable with it.My kids got into by plinking cans just for fun,thats also where the wife has the most fun,so maybe that would be a way to get her interested.

Like any virgin, you gotta go a bit slow at first.....and don't forget the lube....lol


i started my wife out on a ruger 10/22....rifle is easier to start with, let them get used to the feel and the supported bench adds to accuracy. if they shoot and shoot and shoot and hit nothing you get "this is a waste of time...take me home!" On the other hand if they are blasting the hell out of the center of a shoot'n'see....they see that they too can shoot.....they are into it....hooked!

after that, try a 22 pistol.....then move on up.....

My wife out of the blue the other day said, it would be fun to go to the range and do a little shooting sometime.....i asked who she was and what the hell had happened to my wife.....needless to say i was pleased.....we will get there sometime....but now we need a babysitter so we can go shoot....lol

You say she does seem interested. Have you asked her? Maybe see, if nothing else, if she'd like to go with you when you shoot. Like the others have said, start out small. If you start her out with something that's going to set her on her ass, you may very well lose all interest quickly. Just don't force it. If she supports your love of guns, chance are she'll come around. Just give it time. Cobra didn't have to work very hard on me. Our only argument is who gets to shoot what next!

my wife is terrified of the noise. Got her to squeeze off one pistol shot. I think I will get her back for another try. She wants to know how to work one. insurance. just in case.

I'm kind of in the same boat as you, but trying to get my sister to try shooting. She's terrified of guns, and doesn't know why anyone needs them . I'm making a little progress, because she said shooting clays looked like fun (but I haven't done that either, so it would be cool to learn myself).

Like others have said, try to make it fun for her. Get a silhouette target of a man, and tell her she can shoot his balls. What woman wouldn't wanna do that?

+1 on starting small, like a .22.



My thoughts exactly.

Does she have female friends that shoot?

My wife does, that is how she got interested, once her friends talked her into it she was all for it.

Agree with the smaller stuff too, my wife really likes .22LR

Its been a challenge for me--my wife's first husband committed suicide with a handgun right in front of her. She fears and hates guns, although she is glad that I own them and have a carry permit. She just doesnt like looking at them. I cant say that I blame her.
I took her shooting one time. We were there for about 1/2 hr and she had to leave. It is entirely likely that she will never enjoy shooting at all. She accepts the fact that I like guns and supports my hobby, as long as they are locked up out of sight. She is being more than reasonable in my opinion.
The only gun that she is even remotely able to operate---and the one that is kept in an electronic safe on my nightstand---is my S&W 640 hammerless .357 revolver. Its simple, it wont jam, there is no safety to mess with, and 5 Corbon .38+p JHP's will put a serious hurt on any bad guy. When I tok her to the range she was able to point-shoot all 5 rounds rapid fire into a torso-sized target at 10 feet, which is about the distance from our bed to the door. She knows how to safely load, unload, and check the gun. Realistically, this is probably as good as its ever going to get.

Mine told me she would learn, and now that we're married, wants nothing to do with shooting. I buy and shoot whatever I like with no guff from her about it, but it bugs me that she lied to me about it.

Yes I have asked her, her answer is usually something like "thats your thing" or "I don't want to bother you and your friends" I have asked her to go down when I go alone, but she usually has other stuff to do.



Nope, she doesn't have any female friends that shoot, her brothers both do and I do, most of our mutual friends do.

-E

Well, as mentioned aplenty, start her out easy. Just talk to her, if you guys have good communications, then the rest can be worked out. Find out what kind of thing might peak her interest. Some folks like to be able to hit small targets, some don't care much about the size of the target, they want some reaction, like breaking clays or ringing steel.

And plastic pink flamingos!

-E