THE LOANER RIFLE

I'm going to suggest that anyone who is a serious and experienced gun owner needs to have the tools to introduce others to the world of shooting sports. And a key tool to accomplish this is what I call the loaner rifle.

Simply put, a loaner rifle is one that can be handed off, under supervision, to a person inexperienced with firearms and provide that person with a positive shooting experience. I regularly take prospective new shooters out for some trigger time and, as a result, have created a short list of the features a loaner rifle should have.

ADJUSTABLE FIT

We humans come in all shapes and sizes, so a loaner rifle must be adaptable to much of that physical range. For example, I'm six ft., three in. tall, so rifles which fit me won't fit most other people, no matter their age. Therefore, having them shoot one of my personal rifles is an exercise in frustration.

A key factor for a correct fit is the length of the buttstock. This means, a rifle's length of pull (the distance from the butt of the rifle to the trigger) needs to be adjustable. I've found a variable measurement of 11- 14 inches will cover just about everyone who is physically capable of maneuvering a rifle independently.

An adjustable cheekpiece is desirable as well, primarily because new shooters often have difficulty getting a proper view through a rifle scope. With a properly adjusted cheekpiece, getting a correct view is much easier for them, as the cheek is positioned consistently, and they don't have to hunt for that proper sight picture.

MILD NOISE AND RECOIL

Hopefully, there's no one left out there who thinks giving a newbie a lightweight 12-gauge to shoot and watching them get knocked on their butt is a good way to recruit new people to the shooting sports. Making shooting a fun and pleasant experience is important, so the loaner rifle should be relatively quiet and have minimal recoil. The .22 LR is, of course, the classic calibre for new shooters, and for good reason.

Other chamberings can work as well, particularly with the addition of legal suppressors and good hearing protection. I've taken new shooters ground squirrel hunting with the .17 HMR and after coyotes with a .223 REM, and both have worked well, even though they are a significant step above the .22 LR. Mind you, the .223 REM is about the largest centerfire I prefer to start anyone with.

SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Young people in particular may not have the strength to support a typical rifle for the time needed to deliver an accurate shot, and they certainly don't have the skill. Since hitting is a lot more fun than missing, a loaner rifle needs to be compatible with some support system to help them steady the rifle and make those hits. Depending on the application, this makes a bipod or a tripod a great choice, with both working well. The important thing is that the rifle be compatible with whatever support is being used. Whether it's ARCA, Picatinny, or Spartan-based, all these connection systems will help a new shooter.

A FLEXIBLE OPTIC

Even a great rifle isn't any better than its sighting system, and therefore, sights are an important consideration for new shooters. I have simple red dot sights on a couple of rifles I like to use for new shooters, and find they work great. They can typically shoot these with both eyes open, and they are parallax-free, so I can just tell them to put the dot on the target and squeeze the trigger. Conventional rifle scopes can work well, too, if the magnification can be dialed down to at least 3X. Finding the target in the scope's field of view can sometimes be challenging for new shooters, and the large field of view provided by low magnification is a huge benefit.

THE FUN FACTOR

Having a rifle suitable for new shooters is an important resource, but equally as important is what we, the instructors, can do to make the experience fun for the rookie. This includes lots of encouragement, using reactive targets when possible, letting them take home any paper targets, and some empty cartridge cases.

I've also been known to capture video, including some kill shots if hunting, as well as various photos of my protégé enjoying the time with a rifle in hand. It all adds up to creating a pleasant experience for the new shooter.

Have you got a rifle in the safe which hasn't seen daylight in some time? Consider turning it into a loaner rifle by making the necessary modifications and letting someone benefit from it, as well as your knowledge and experience. Every experienced shooter should have a loaner rifle or two in their collection and make the effort to get it into the hands of someone else to enjoy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Al Voth calls himself a "student of the gun." Retired from a 35-year career in law enforcement, including nine years on an Emergency Response Team, he now works as an editor, freelance writer, and photographer, in addition to keeping active as a consultant in the field he most recently left behind—forensic firearm examination. He is a court-qualified expert in that forensic discipline, having worked in that capacity in three countries. These days, when he's not working, you'll likely find him hunting varmints and predators (the 4-legged variety).