My mom and dad specifically requested a day at the range while they were here visiting, and the MO and I were only too happy to oblige. As I mentioned earlier, the MO even purchased a new gun for the occasion (like he really needed a reason!).
Dad hadn't shot anything since his stint in the Navy (in the '60's) and Mom had only shot one time when Grandpap took his kids out to shoot his Luger sometime when she was a little kid, so this was basically a "New Shooter" situation.
The night before we went through the mechanics of each gun and basic safety. They both dry-fired each revolver, loaded magazines for the automatics and learned how the sights worked on each gun.
The MO had a "lesson plan":
the new revolver (S&W 617 .22 LR),
.22 automatic (Browning Buckmark),
.38 revolver (then same gun with .357) (Ruger Security Six),
.40 automatic (H&K USP Compact .40 S&W).
I think this progression worked very well. The new S&W .22 revolver is solid and easy to shoot (and needs a name, Mr. MO!), and Flora and Ivan are both incredibly well-behaved, and then Hans comes along and gets your feet back on the ground (for me, at any rate--I can't hit the side of a barn with that .40--serious flinching).
After "Gun Safety 101" Dad was stoked but Mom was feeling a little unsure about the whole venture. I tried to tell her all the things I do to calm myself down, which was probably precisely the wrong thing to do (more to remember!) but by the time we got to the range the next day, everybody was ready to go. Since The New Gun hadn't even been fired yet, the MO warmed up with it while I ran a magazine through Flora (heavens to betsy, I do love that gun!) and then we started with Dad on the .22 revolver.
We worked our way through all the guns (Mom wasn't too thrilled with the .357, but she had one of the best targets of all with the .22 revolver):
Here's Dad shooting the .40 under the MO's watchful eye.
I'm very proud of them both. My Mom is a better shot than I am, and I've been doing this for a year! I'm going to blame part of that on my unwillingness to wear glasses ;-)
All in all, I think it was a successful outing, and I wonder if my folks might be seriously considering adding a firearm to the household. We definitely talked about how much land might be required to house a private shooting range once they move out to Texas. And they haven't even shot Chester or Maggie yet!
Once more, with feeling: "God Bless America!"
Kudos to you & yours for bringing a couple more into the ranks!! We need all the help we can get.
A backyard range depends a lot on location & topography. I have a 400 yard range on my 11 acres in PA, but that doesn't happen too often. It's one of the main reasons we bought this property. Growing up, we had a great 100 yard range behind the house on 1.5 acres, & everyone around who had the room & a backstop had a range of some kind. With proper planning & construction, even the noise can be attenuated, at least to some degree. The main thing is safety (including eyes & ears...);^)
Good luck with your shooting & expanding your "arsenal", & keep up the good work.
Yours in marksmanship,
Randy