Trying to teach my wife!

[Freightman]

I am trying to teach my wife to shoot well enough to take her CCW course. Didn't have much luck at the range as she is a little un- sure of herself with people around. So I came home and drilled out some 45ACP cases primer pockets and filled with wax primed and put a target on the fence. She did fine at 3 yds, 71/2 yds but still a little shackey at 15 yds. The 1911 shot POA with the wax bullets and was the same as a regular load.
Question what would be a good soft load to get her use to it I have a 12# spring I can put in and use a 200gr LTC boolit. She will come along if it doesn't overpower her right at first. Her mother was a anti- gun person and wouldn't allow a gun anywhere around. I hav always had guns and I guess she just went along as we will be married 50 years in June.
All her friends at church have been going shooting and I need to get her up to date where she can go and feel comfortable.
No I do not have anything but the 45 1911 type pistol and at the moment no money to get one so a soft load would be apriciated.

[canyon-ghost]

Even the 9mm with Winclean Range ammo starts to push hard after shooting 50 rounds during the CCW class (and I'm a guy that shoots). It made my hands tired eventually, you just have to push back some i guess. Keep up the good work.

Ron

[Changeling]

Maybe you should start her off with something a little more fun. Try a .22 pistol (no recoil) and get a 100 bag of those cheap balloons you can blow up while watching TV at night. I realize you said things are tight right now but maybe you could borrow one

Let her just do it a couple times a week or so, don't force her what ever you do. Show enthusiasm when she makes a hit and keep it "FUN" no arguing or fusing, remember she has a gun in her hand, LOL.

Sorry I can't help with the 45ACP, I don't own one.






Good luck.

[yondering]

Question what would be a good soft load to get her use to it I have a 12# spring I can put in and use a 200gr LTC boolit.

3.5gr of Bullseye with the components mentioned above should work. You may have to go up to 4 gr to get it to cycle.

You really do need a 22 pistol though; much easier for her to learn with.

[redneckdan]

I've used 2.0gr of red dot under a 200gr LSWC in the .45 acp I loaded up a few of these for a ladies night at the range several years back. Never had a squib but just be sure the bullet does clear the end of the barrel. Its kinda neat cause you can usually see them flying down range.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
THE 45 IS A MAJOR CAL.. Most people really have a hard time w/ it as a 1st. gum.
The above advise on the 22, or even a pellet/bb pistol as a starter is the best route.
Especially with her conscious or unconscious programming done by her mother, which she & you have to overcome.
Go slow,make it fun, let her win, be noncompetitive.
Great work so far. All previous posts are good advice.

[MtGun44]

Try to find some 155 gr SWCs, the have a funny narrow nose, I laughingly call them
'thumbtacks'. Load these (or your 200s if you can't get lighter boolits) over about 3
gr titegroup or bullseye or red dot and you will have a very low power load. Probably
won't cycle the gun, but so what.

A .22 conversion unit or a Ruger 22/45 might be a worthwhile investment.

Bill

[HammerMTB]

I'd have to agree with those above who say try a .22
At the range here, if you don't have one, someone will let you shoot one of theirs. Don't matter, .22 or centerfire.
I really think most anyone progresses much faster in getting the fundamentals using a .22, as there is little recoil to deal with.
Even a loaded light .45 auto still has a pretty healthy twist to the wrist.
One other thing, the ladies will often outshoot their men once they learn the fundamentals.

[runfiverun]

i use some rnfp 160's with 6 grs unique it won't cycle a 1911 not even close but it shoots straight and is like a pop gun.
the 200's will cycle with the 6 gr load with stock spring.
it's as soft as i can get and have reliability.

[ole 5 hole group]

3.5gr of Bullseye with the components mentioned above should work. You may have to go up to 4 gr to get it to cycle.

I mainly agree - I would start with 3.2 grains of Bullseye, as it should cycle, if not 3.5 will - never had a problem using 3.5 with 185 grain SWC with hardball match or match pistols. 3.2 has a touch less recoil but 3.5 is very mild and accurate - normally speaking that is.

[jhrosier]

If it is possible, find a qualified instructor to teach your wife to shoot.
I was an instructor for a number of years and found it was much better if the instructor is not related to the student.

Jack

[yondering]

i use some rnfp 160's with 6 grs unique it won't cycle a 1911 not even close but it shoots straight and is like a pop gun.
the 200's will cycle with the 6 gr load with stock spring.
it's as soft as i can get and have reliability.

6gr Unique is hardly "pop gun" territory. Is that a typo? Your gun probably needs some slicking up if that is what it takes to cycle.

[BruceB]

Another thing to consider is that, in an untrained hand AND with her being probably a lighter-weight shooter, it takes MORE "power" to make a 1911 function in her hand.

My wife and I have a pair of .38 S&W Model 52s, only about 300 digits apart in serial numbers. BOTH guns function fine for me with a charge of 2.8 grains of Bullseye. NEITHER gun will work for her until the charge reaches 3.1 of Bullseye.

She is a Master-class shooter, with many years of Bullseye competition behind her, but it still takes a powder-charge increase of more than 10% before the guns will function reliably in her hand. They are recoil-operated, just like a 1911. My wife is a good 100 pounds lighter than I am, and therein lies the difference in functioning....it's called inertia ( a heavier shooter resists the recoil of the gun more than a lighter one does).

You do your lady no favors at all, by trying to start her out on a pistol which gives even some seasoned handgunners great difficulty. Good advice has already been given, and I hope you'll follow it.

[mooman76]

Unless your wife is a good sized woman with large hands, a 1911 may not be the gun for her especially for CCW. I don't really know, I'm just guessing since the ladies usually run a bit smaller than men. If she is then that sfine. That's one of the reasons allot of peace officers and FBI went with the 40 cal so they could shoot a gun with a smaller hand grip due to the smaller rounds. A 9mm or 40 might be a better choice plus it would be easier for her to handle.

[Freightman]

I have tried her on a revolver and she can't even get it on the paper with the well it really is not a 1911 but a Ballester Molina the most accurate gun I have and she loves the trigger.

[KYCaster]

If it is possible, find a qualified instructor to teach your wife to shoot.
I was an instructor for a number of years and found it was much better if the instructor is not related to the student.

Jack


I agree with Jack.

If "all her friends at church" are shooters, there should be at least one of them qualified (not necessarily certified) to teach her some fundamentals. It also shouldn't be difficult to find one of them with a 22 to loan for instruction and practice. Many women respond much better to a female instructor.

Any practice she can do at home (wax bullets or dry firing) can help improve her familiarity with the gun and help her gain confidence in her gun handling ability, but she needs to learn proper technique first and use the dry fire practice to reinforce good habits.

An even lighter recoil spring...8# or so and a reduced power main spring will make it easier to manually cycle the gun when dry firing or shooting the wax bullets. As she improves her technique and gains confidence you can increase the spring power till she's comfortable with the stock springs.

She may very quickly become bored with dry firing, but the repetition without the distraction of recoil is important for developing proper technique and familiarity with the gun. It can also help overcome any anti-gun anxiety she may have inherited from her mother.

Above all....make it FUN! It irks me no end to see an instructor lecture beginners on which magic bullet is the best man stopper...or which technique is the best...or how one action game will get you killed and another will save your life in a "deadly encounter". That's information overload as far as I'm concerned and only serves to derail the learning process.

For wax bullet practice in the garage, cheap aluminum pie plates make a good target. They provide visual and audible feedback that's not directly related to muzzle blast and are available in a variety of sizes down to pot pies and cupcakes. And when experience and accuracy improve, try animal crackers...one of my favorite targets.

Just some of my thoughts on the subject. I hope it works out well for you. Good luck.

Jerry

[Freightman]

Well the "church" thing is new as the men at church through my influence many have taken up shooting and are now teaching there wife's. I seem to be the corrupter HE-HE haven't got them into casting yet maybe latter.

[mooman76]

What you could do is work backwards abit. Use you strting load and keep dropping the powder level down until the gun doesn't cycle the round any more or until your wife is comfortable with the load. Then gradually rasie it up as she gets used to it. Lee makes a 160gr RF bullet that would drop the recoil down a bit.

[mooman76]

If the men are teaching the wives maybe you could get with someone a swap partners. Sometimes it is easier to teach someone else sort of like teching someone to drive that is related to you.

[bob208]

years ago the gun club i was a menber of had a womens only hand gun course. we had so many sign up we had to have second. all of the guys lent a hand gun for it we had everything from .22 rugers to .44mag. a local hardware store donated the ammo. it went over well infact all who attened wanted to know if there was going tobe a pt. 2 and 3 and more. we wanted to but just could not afford it.

now the intersting thing was every one of the women wanted to shoot the .45 auto the ,45 colt. and the .44 mag.