Hoplophobia roughly translates to fear of weapons. It's most common with women who have grown up without an education of weapons or have suffered some traumatic event as a result of them. If you are an active shooter with a significant other who is a Hoplophobe, this can be an area of tension in the relationship as well as the individual being a liability in a self defense situation.
In an attempt to get hoplophobes to be at least comfortable around firearms, I've seen many guys TRY to get their SO to shoot by essentially dragging them to a range and lecturing them about how they may have to defend themselves from an attacker. Many people will jump right to this trying to get an individual afraid enough to shoot. A scared person is NOT going to control of a firearm and will most likely give up the idea within minutes. This just shuts down ANY communication with that individual and they have yet another bad experience with weapons which further solidifies their phobia.
Keep in mind this is not a chore, but represents an opprotunity for mutual education, development of skill sets and if done as a couple will provide you both with a fun activity that will build your relationship as well. I've found that shooting with a woman for the first time is a memorable experience for us both.....Here's how to make that memory a good one:
IMO for Die-Hard Anti-gun nuts, the best way to get them at least comfortable with them is to start small. A basic understanding of trajectory and ballistics can be as easy as playing most sports. There, she will understand what's it's like to have control of a projectile.
Then graduate to archery, laser tag, paintball to give her confidence in aiming some sort of device. This will also remove some of the stigma of a gun as an object to be feared. Control over these child's toys will significantly improve an individual's confidence in handling a real firearm.
From there invite her to the range to observe. Make a game out of target practice challenging yourself and be sure to use non-human-silhouette targets (again to remove the stigma associated with active shooters as man hunting crazy people) At some point she may want to participate. Start her off slow and light with the most controllable weapon you have. Make it easy to start, but continue to challenge her with smaller targets further away.
Once she’s somewhat confident that she CAN hit targets, make a “date” of going to the range. I’ve seen couple play “tic-tac-toe” with their targets. This will solidify her desire to continue shooting. Then and ONLY then to you begin to address the Self-defense aspect of firearms. Many people will jump right to this trying to get an individual afraid enough to shoot. A scared person is NOT going to control of a firearm and will most likely give up the idea within minutes.
IMO for Die-Hard Anti-gun people, the best way to get them at least comfortable with them is to start small. A basic understanding of trajectory and ballistics can be as easy as playing most sports. There, she will understand what's it's like to have control of a projectile.
Then graduate to archery, laser tag, paintball to give her confidence in aiming some sort of device. This will also remove some of the stigma of a gun as an object to be feared. Control over these child's toys will significantly improve an individual's confidence in handling a real firearm.
From there invite her to the range to observe. Make a game out of target practice challenging yourself and be sure to use non-human-silhouette targets (again to remove the stigma associated with active shooters as man hunting crazy people) At some point she may want to participate. Start her off slow and light with the most controllable weapon you have. Make it easy to start, but continue to challenge her with smaller targets further away.
Once she’s somewhat confident that she CAN hit targets, make a “date” of going to the range. I’ve seen couple play “tic-tac-toe” with their targets. This will solidify her desire to continue shooting. Then and ONLY then to you begin to address the Self-defense aspect of firearms. At this point, it's easy to transition from target shooting confidence to tactical use and situational awareness.
In an attempt to get hoplophobes to be at least comfortable around firearms, I've seen many guys TRY to get their SO to shoot by essentially dragging them to a range and lecturing them about how they may have to defend themselves from an attacker. Many people will jump right to this trying to get an individual afraid enough to shoot. A scared person is NOT going to control of a firearm and will most likely give up the idea within minutes. This just shuts down ANY communication with that individual and they have yet another bad experience with weapons which further solidifies their phobia.
Keep in mind this is not a chore, but represents an opprotunity for mutual education, development of skill sets and if done as a couple will provide you both with a fun activity that will build your relationship as well. I've found that shooting with a woman for the first time is a memorable experience for us both.....Here's how to make that memory a good one:
IMO for Die-Hard Anti-gun nuts, the best way to get them at least comfortable with them is to start small. A basic understanding of trajectory and ballistics can be as easy as playing most sports. There, she will understand what's it's like to have control of a projectile.
Then graduate to archery, laser tag, paintball to give her confidence in aiming some sort of device. This will also remove some of the stigma of a gun as an object to be feared. Control over these child's toys will significantly improve an individual's confidence in handling a real firearm.
From there invite her to the range to observe. Make a game out of target practice challenging yourself and be sure to use non-human-silhouette targets (again to remove the stigma associated with active shooters as man hunting crazy people) At some point she may want to participate. Start her off slow and light with the most controllable weapon you have. Make it easy to start, but continue to challenge her with smaller targets further away.
Once she’s somewhat confident that she CAN hit targets, make a “date” of going to the range. I’ve seen couple play “tic-tac-toe” with their targets. This will solidify her desire to continue shooting. Then and ONLY then to you begin to address the Self-defense aspect of firearms. Many people will jump right to this trying to get an individual afraid enough to shoot. A scared person is NOT going to control of a firearm and will most likely give up the idea within minutes.
IMO for Die-Hard Anti-gun people, the best way to get them at least comfortable with them is to start small. A basic understanding of trajectory and ballistics can be as easy as playing most sports. There, she will understand what's it's like to have control of a projectile.
Then graduate to archery, laser tag, paintball to give her confidence in aiming some sort of device. This will also remove some of the stigma of a gun as an object to be feared. Control over these child's toys will significantly improve an individual's confidence in handling a real firearm.
From there invite her to the range to observe. Make a game out of target practice challenging yourself and be sure to use non-human-silhouette targets (again to remove the stigma associated with active shooters as man hunting crazy people) At some point she may want to participate. Start her off slow and light with the most controllable weapon you have. Make it easy to start, but continue to challenge her with smaller targets further away.
Once she’s somewhat confident that she CAN hit targets, make a “date” of going to the range. I’ve seen couple play “tic-tac-toe” with their targets. This will solidify her desire to continue shooting. Then and ONLY then to you begin to address the Self-defense aspect of firearms. At this point, it's easy to transition from target shooting confidence to tactical use and situational awareness.
