If you don’t have a good shooting partner, get one. How, you ask? Well, you could start with family members. A spouse may or may not make a good one. You know your own situation. In my family, my wife and I have done some fun and interesting shooting adventures together, but her life is busy with other things that are a priority.
I learned a long time ago to not pressure her to go shooting. She often goes when it’s more of a family outing. I have one grandson out of seven grandchildren who is a real shooting buddy for me. At least until he got married. Now, our times together at the range are somewhat limited, understandably.
Your shooting buddy will often be someone outside of your family. Perhaps you’ll find a coworker who shoots. Where are you guaranteed to find someone who enjoys shooting? How about someone you met at the range? That’s the case with my current shooting buddy.
We found ourselves talking in the range waiting area. It turned out we hit it off about things other than guns. It was church for us, but it could have been anything — cars, computers, sports, family. You get the idea. It’s one of those things that just happens, if you let it.
Back in the ’60s, there was a song by an artist named Melanie. “I’ve got a brand-new roller skate, you’ve got a brand-new key,” was a song which explained the idea of looking for a relationship. Enough on the idea. If you’re open to it, and have your radar operating, you’ll find a good shooting buddy.
Training Activities
What do you and your new shooting buddy do? You could take a class. Most gun ranges of any size have some types of class offerings. Even if you have a lot of experience and your new buddy doesn’t, taking a class puts you both at a similar level of understanding about something. Perhaps it will be a basic pistol class, skeet, or trap shooting. What about long-range rifle shooting. Whatever you can share is key.
What if one of you is more experienced than the other in a particular area? If you’re the more experienced one, but not an instructor, I would caution you about giving instruction. Sure, sharing tips or answering questions is normal, but so often people don’t know what they don’t know. They pass along bad information. That’s why taking a class together could be important.
Early in the relationship, when you’re shooting together, make it about the guns. Shoot each other’s guns. Try range rentals together. If there’s a noticeable difference in marksmanship, it will show up there but without a lot of pressure. Then, the one who’s missing a lot may ask the other for tips. If you’re both missing, that’s another indicator that instruction may be beneficial.
My current range buddy and I have a considerable difference in experience. I’m a lifelong shooter who is also a certified instructor in multiple disciplines. I have all the NRA Instructor ratings, plus I’m certified in Texas to teach the License to Carry and Hunter Education courses. He moved to Texas from California a couple of years ago, and though he has been to the class to get his License to Carry and participates in some other classes, his relationship with a gun is fairly new.
Before we shot together, I had already decided that the guns in my collection needed to be exercised, and that I needed to maintain a familiarity with them. It just happened that my shooting buddy Pat and I became acquainted near the time I was ready to start shooting my guns, and he was eager and anxious to help me with the task.
I maintain an Excel spreadsheet of my gun collection, so I started at the top. Pat and I shot 10 of my guns a week. Each time we went to the range, we rented two side-by-side lanes and put half the guns in each lane. After shooting at least five rounds in each gun, we exchanged lanes to allow each of us to shoot all the guns that were part of that day’s exercise. After shooting, we shared our insights about the guns over coffee along with discussions about other items that helped build our relationship.
After 10 weeks, we were through with handguns and a few of the rifles. We decided to save the rest of the long guns, mostly shotguns, for better weather and an outside range. Since we both wanted to continue shooting together weekly, we decided to go through the collection again, this time sorting the guns into groups of similar types.
We sorted the guns into groups such as full-size, micro, and rimfire pistols. After the first two groups, we realized we were subjectively comparing the guns in each group. Nothing scientific, just observations about grouping, trigger pull, and how they felt in the hand.
It’s interesting how we found agreement for the most part. I bet you’re wondering what our top picks were. Out of 23 full-size 9mm semi-autos, our top picks were:
- Stoeger STR-9
- S&W Performance Center M&P C.O.R.E.
- Walther PDP
Out of 14 micro double-stack 9mm semi-autos, our picks were:
- SIG Sauer P365
- Smith and Wesson M&P Shield Plus
- Ruger Max-9
Later in the year, when we have good outside weather, we’ll do rimfire and centerfire rifles, and shotguns. All along the way we’ve supplied our own targets, now we’re into competition with some neat targets for that as well. Cruise on over to Cheaper Than Dirt’s target selection and you can find a lot of targets to keep your shooting interesting. Pat and I are just starting in on some of the competitive game targets as I write this.
Final Thoughts
This latest relationship is just one example of several I’ve had over the years. One thing I’ve discovered is that such a relationship will not work unless safety is a top priority to both parties. You cannot let egos or ultra-competitiveness compromise safety. It also helps if you have other interests upon which your relationship is founded outside of guns or shooting.
It should always be a two-way street, with shared expenses, and each of you providing input upon which the relationship is built. For example, Pat’s guns should be just as important when shared as mine. He’ll be getting more, and we’ll enjoy them together.
What can you do to keep your adventures with a range buddy fresh beyond just firing a bunch of rounds down range? Here are some suggestions:
- Explore different ranges if you live in an area where there are multiple facilities.
- Enjoy coffee or a meal together before or after your range sessions.
- Go beyond just shooting into ammo evaluation and/or reloading.
- Introduce non-shooting friends to the joy of shooting, and encourage them as they learn.
Hopefully, I’ve given you some things to think about and act upon. Share your shooting enjoyment with family or friends, and I’m positive you will enjoy it more too.
Do you ever train at the range with a shooting partner? Do you notice the benefits? Share your thoughts in the Comment section.
