Ok Tom, let me go a little more indepth.
I can see you enjoy firearms, and want your wife to feel the same way. You first have to understand that very few ladies have the same kinds of feelings about firearms as most men do. Ladies just look at things differently. It's not wrong, just different.
That said, when my Miss Penny & I were first together, she had a bit of fear about firearms in general. She wasn't a gun girl at all.
I never pushed her.
She finally decided she might want to learn to shoot "just for self defense." I agreed that I could teach her. But I also had heard her horror stories about how her ex-husband had her shoot a shotgun, and laughed at her response to recoil. I knew how badly it wnet when her father tried to teach her to drive a stick shift car.
Most men can not teach a lady in their life properly w/o getting emotional & condensending.
I never pushed her.
She decided one day when she knew I was going to my range to shoot that she wanted to go. I added a few guns & ammo for her. Her first experiences with me teaching were slow, patient, CALM instruction. We started with 22's, and close, fun, reactive targets. (Plastic bottles filled with water.) All her shooting was followed by praise & NO demeaning comments. CALM patient proper instruction on safety, grip, stance, sight alignment etc allowed her to learn how to shoot properly. I made the day FUN!!!!
I never pushed her.
She finally got around to the Security-Six 357 mag I have. I had assured her I had some light 38 spl target loads with very mild recoil for her. I demonstrated a few rounds for her to watch my hands in recoil. Then she tried it & found it to be fun and comfortable to shoot. She kept claiming "NO magnum ammo," out of fear. So for several trips to the range, she got to enjoy 22's & 38 spls. After several trips to the range & her comfort level was well estabilished,,, I slipped a 357 mag round in one chamber. She fired it after firing 2 38's, and even shot another 38 after it before she stopped. Her only comment was "Hey, one of those sounded louder." I informed her of the 357 mag round. She wanted to try more, but now with less stress & fear.
A shooter was now educated.
I never pushed her.
She now has several of her own guns, she teaches, works tirelessly for the NRA, was selected as the NC State volunteer for the NRA a few years back, and is a life member.
Yet, she still doesn't care for heavy recoil. BUT,,, she loves to shoot HER guns!
All of this is hopefully getting you to think hard about a few things.
Do not push your wife. In fact,, it is often very helpful if you get her another instructor, (one who enjoys teaching ladies,) and pay for her to attend a class. Better still, get her & a girlfriend of hers to go. By removing yourself from the class,, she will be able to focus on learning to shoot properly, WITHOUT the stress of; "Am I doing it right & is he happy with me?" All too often, even though we don't realize it, ladies worry about our approval of how they do things.
So, while you enjoy your new "toy" not everyone around you is as excited as you are. Accept it for what it is,, and be patient & understanding of her. Allow her to learn & progress at her pace.
