Kirsten Joy Weiss shares some tips for new people who are interested in shooting but have not yet shot a gun. These tips can also apply to experienced shooters who are going to instruct new shooters.

Kirsten shows her Grandfather’s .30-06 bolt action rifle and explains the features on the gun. She does a pretty decent job of explaining how to manage recoil. One thing she did not explain was how to shoulder and cheek the stock properly. Too often new shooters who have never shot a gun tend to not know how to cheek a rifle. It is like watching a new born animal try to walk for the first time. They are not sure what to do and position their limbs at odd angles all the while looking silly and potentially hurting themselves. I have seen new shooters try to cheek a rifle like they are holding a cell phone between their ear and shoulder. Also they don’t seem to know the correct position to place their eye for proper eye relief on a scope. I have seen too many virgin shooters try to move their head further back along the stock as if there is a poisonous snake by the scope about to bite them in the face.

Another topic she should address is eye dominance. Determining which eye a person is dominant in will help determine which side they can shoot on. Or just train the right eye by tapping over the left eyepiece on a set of safety glasses.