New Shooter Orientation

[konkapot]

We're tempting fate with our current new shooter "orientation."

I am proposing to do a formal briefing involving class and range time, prior to day of match. It might take an hour. This is similar to what my first club in Area 1 required, and it seemed to work real well.

Please respond to the poll; trying to see what the "industry standard" is.

FY42385

[Skydiver]

The clubs in our section want a new shooter to have a Safety Card signed by an RO after doing a "safety check". The safety check serves as an orientation. Here's a link to our Safety Check primer: http://northwestsection.org/files/SafetyCheck_Mar_08.pdf

[konkapot]

My safety check was done at Paul Bunyan. That's one of the few places that I've heard of doing a formal safety brief.

FY42385

[Avezorak]

We just do a "New Shooter Briefing" the morning of the match. Takes about 15 minutes. Rarely do we have more than 2 new shooters. Since we are a small club( ave. 14-18 shooters) we can keep a close eye on our newbies. Works pretty good for us, but I can see a bigger club needing a little more...

[steel1212]

We do a new shooter check the day of the match. We have a couple ROs that do it every time. They take the new shooters to one of the other pits, we have 3 with their own bays, and they run them through a couple small shooting drills and go over the safety procedures.

[RangerTrace]

At our local matches, the new shooters are briefed by the MD and the local GM's/M's. Then they're assigned to a squad "mom" and looked after very closely. I think it's designed to keep everyone safe, while still letting them enjoy the USPSA experience.

[konkapot]

Corey roughly how long does it take to do it? Does a new shooter just "show up" or do they normally make contact with someone prior to the match?

Ditto to you SV-cop; roughly how long does it take to do it your way?

FY42385

[RangerTrace]

It's pretty quick actually. In the DFW metro area, the new shooters are really the minority and there are lot's of experienced match shooters around to help the newbies. I think it may add 15-20 minutes for the additional briefing of the new shooters.

No bad experiences around here that I've heard of.

[Neomet]

We have a lot of new shooters come to Tuesday Night Steel. Every new shooter goes through a new shooter orientation that runs about 20 min and then has a "mentor" with them for their first match.

[Aristotle]

As was mentioned, our section requires all new shooters to do a safety check. As the MD for Renton, I do all of the safety checks right after I set up the stages for the match the day before. I usually invite the new shooters to help me set up the match, otherwise they understand it will be conducted after it is finished. So it's a great way to introduce them to the "volunteer" part of the sport.

My level of training for the shooter is based on their individual experience, and their demonstrated ability to follow range command with dry and live fire drills. For a new shooter, I have spent as much as 1.5 hours to get them up to speed from everything from USPSA's background, scoring, equipment, Range commands, etiquette and even basic firearms handling. More experienced shooters, say an IDPA convert, I'll go over the differences of the sport, and some of the pitfalls for cross overs, like what they now "can" do.

I try not to have a "standard" orientation, and base it on the shooters level, and/or size of the orientation class. I average about 2-3 shooters a month, and of the 27 I conducted last year, I turned down 2, only 1 DQ'd of the 25, 5/25 I don't see much anymore, and 2-3 of them still come around to help me set up regularly.

[Jim Norman]

We actually do both. We hold a twice monthly 'practice' match at our club and along with this we invite in any and all new shooters. They get about 1-1/2 hours on the rules of the game with obvious emphasis on SAFETY. They also get a bit of history and a bit on scoring and the rest. We then have them do a live fire safety check, very simple, two targets, Make ready, are you ready, BEEP, two shots on each target, reload, to shots on each target, ULSC, if clear, Hammer Down and Holster. IF they can do this,we WALK them through the 4 stages of the practice match.

On "Match DAY" at our regular monthly match we don't have that much time so all only Safety is discussed including the commands, they get a live fire check and then are put into squads with "Mentors" to sort of guide them along and work with them as they shoot the match.

Both methods seem to work although I prefer it when the shooter has been though the indoor before the outdoor match.

Jim

[chbrow10]

All three local clubs (Level 1) that I have shot have a pretty informal 5 minute briefing before the match.

[cyburg]

I think a lot also has to do with the shooter in question, how long have they shot and so on. I have only been shooting uspsa for about 6 months. At my first match they placed me in a squad with one of the shooters that had been there for a good while and made sure I understood what was going on. It made for a good time by pairing up with a veteren shootert for the match so they could answer any questions or correct me if I was getting close to doing something wrong.

[colt22man]

New shooters brief with our experienced range officers. Rules are explained, questions asked(usually many),new shooters shoot last on thier squad. We encourage interaction with scoring and pasting, more questions prior to MAKE READY. New club members must attend orientation (club rules, what you can and can't shoot)cold range rules & explaination. Have to start somewhere, seems to be working, always tweeking orientation, safe, safer is better.

[MarkCO]

I did not vote because our section has, at one time, done all of these. It looks like we are going to be going back to a formal class of some sort, which I fully support. It just seems that with all of the match set-up stuff and such, the new shooters don't get any safety breifing at all. I think we had 6 or 7 new shooters at each of the last two matches.

[lumpygravy]

Having just returned to shooting after a (very) long time off, I recall my home range/club used to require (probably still does) a mandatory safety orientation prior to a newbies first match. Provided the orientation was successfully completed, a certificate was signed by the administering RO, given to the newbie who presented it at the match day registration.

They also now do a whole (half?) day formal class which really gives the new shooter a good foundation.

While each club may handle this differently based on their circumstances, I voted for "mandatory prior to match" because it is one less thing for the match officials to worry about on match day. However, if I were in the MD du jour, I would never decline a new shooter (who had not been through an orientation) the opportunity to compete and would arrange for a squad mentor for the day.

[carter300]

That was my 1st introduction into USPSA, new shooter, gave like a 3 hour speech deal. Then got to go out and shoot 2 stages (this was held day before their monthly match)

As I just took my neighbor for first time in comp, he loved it BUT I wish he could have had a class before hand. Pumping him full of all the info, saftey, range commands, hits, no shoots, etc, it was quite a bit of info to take in. With the emotion of the match itself. As the MD did take him aside prior to and give him a saftey breifing.

[walter hornby]

In Canada it is mandatory that all new shooters to IPSC take a two day Black Badge Course.

[Jim Norman]

In Canada it is mandatory that all new shooters to IPSC take a two day Black Badge Course.

Is this a IPSC Canada requirment, or is it a requirement of the Canadian Gov't?

[kevin c]

Lumpy and I are at the same club, and he remembers correctly. AAMOF, the one day course, offered once a month, is now required for competition at our facility, because our club has gotten pretty large, and the familiarity with the rules of competition and of safe gun handling varies considerably in the new shooters who show up regularly. The shorter run through the RO's give at practice allows the NS to stay and practice under supervision.

If the NS is a carded member of an action shooting sport, then the course is not required. We also soften the blow a bit by giving those who pass muster a match at no charge (break even for the club, since the charge for the course is the same as the fee for the match).

Another reason for the course is to recruit folks into helping with the matches, and to teach them (or at least tell them about) match etiquette.

[leadslinger275]

The new shooter safety check is a good thing as long as it is held the day of an hour prior to the match starting. Holding the day prior will just result in less new shooters showing up because most people are driving at least 30-45 minutes to attend a match. Additionally, clubs should ensure that the RO that gives the new shooter the safety check has a good attitude and is a good ambassador for the sport (i.e. not a "DQ NAZI"). To often I have seen new shooters leave after their first match and not come because of the elitest attitude of some of the "veteran shooters" at some of the bigger clubs. The Safety Check is good thing as long as it is not used to discourage new shooters. Each new shooter is another $20-25 dollars towards the clubs overhead. Just my $0.02.

[mjl]

We do about a 10-15 minute safety briefing before the match. However, the best thing we do is assign each new shooter an experienced "mentor" to help throughout the match.