Bringing my Granddaughter, first time.

Lager

Lager

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Going to the range this Sunday and bringing my Granddaughter who is 15 to learn how to shoot.. It was her idea, sort of? I just asked her if she wanted to learn and I got a loud "Yes". Planning on starting her off light with my 15-22 using a green reflex sight. Then the Ruger Mk 3 pistol with iron sights and the Scoped Savage Mk2 using rests. I'm just praying that I don't get a bit overbearing with safety rules. Ive never done this before with a young female before, plenty of men in the past that can take a good barking at when they sweep the 180 line or other safety infractions that every new shooter forgets when they are nervous and hit with lots of new info. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.. I will be bringing with me a couple of experienced competition shoots who Im very good friends with, man and wife team. Thinking maybe they would be best to help her the first time out, sort of like the idea that a parent shouldn't teach their child how to drive a car their first time ? Your thoughts?
 
Go slow... explain what you are accomplishing and how the gun is reacting to your manipulations to insert mag, chamber, safety, trigger.. sighting.. etc...

In my opinion, interested women will pick up on things way faster than any other shooter.

They need Confidence to make them understand that they can handle a firearm well. Once they get that.. they realize it is not a big deal.

Break down a cartridge to show her the bullet is shot. Remember the 4 rules of gun safety.

Youll have a blast.
 
My daughter was 14 when I brought her. She is naturally cautious so that helped. I over stressed safety. I also went the bolt action rifle route. One round at first for a bit to re-inforce the basics. IMO a bolt action is the perfct first step. On her 3rd trip or so we broke out a semi auto. Think safety and baby steps, chances are she'll pick everything up better and quicker than you'll expect.
 
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I began teaching my daughter. At a certain point, I wanted someone much more qualified to step in. I found her a women's day class and she thoroughly enjoyed it and improved. Money well spent.
 
You can do a lot at home to prepare.

Teach the 4 rules before going! Loaded, destroy, trigger, target. See how easy that was?

Show her how to operate the gun(s) at home. Dry fire a little. Not so much it is boring, but basic familiarization with no pressure, nobody watching, and no noise from the 30-06 down the line. It also breaks up the info dump into smaller chunks.

Then the time at the range (and your friends’ time) will be better spent on shooting.

I agree with starting off with a bolt gun on a bipod or front rest. Each shot should be learning. Start with sight alignment and sight picture (simpler for dot or scope).

Trigger control is the most important skill after safety. Squeeze, follow through. When you get to semi, teach that reset is intentional and controlled.

Then work on rifle starting low ready. Finger only on the trigger and safety off only when sights on target. Act like an RSO (while your friend teaches maybe) - someone should be watching the muzzle and trigger finger like a hawk until she has shown she can do it well. The other two can praise her shooting, watch the targets, etc...

And speaking of targets, if you have any steel plates, use them. The instant feedback of the hits is very gratifying. And take lots of 22. It is cheap.

When you get to pistols, teach a good grip up front. And remind about sight alignment/picture, and trigger control.

Take her to a 2-gun rimfire match. It will be a blast. Or shoot rimfire in a steel challenge match.

Take her to an Appleseed weekend (appleseedinfo.org) and you will both get great and inexpensive rifle instruction and practice.

That should keep you busy for a while.

At some point, if she is interested, certainly let her try centerfires or shotguns, but don’t push it on her or push her to do more of it if she doesn’t like it up the first time. A larger heavier (metal) 9mm is probably a good centerfire to start with. HiPower or M92 or 1911 sort of thing. Much more pleasant with softer recoil. For rifle, an AR is a no brainer if she is familiar with a S&W 15-22. In both cases, start off with 1 and then just a few rounds per magazine.

I have raised four kids shooting (starting much younger) and RO’ed and coached countless kids at various events and matches.
 
Hopefully the child is used to your touching her, it is a lot easier to guide her with hands and assurances, nothing upsets one more that a person running and grabbing them when they error. That and plenty of ear protection should make your day fun and uneventful, good luck.
 
IMHO.. You would be better off without the other couple, it just causes distractions for the beginner.
When I'm working with a totally new shooter I ask that the parents/wife/husband go take a walk or sit some distance away. I need to have the students total focused attention on what I'm saying and doing.
Distractions like clapping and vocal encouragement is very destructive coming from the "gallery". As far as the "touching" always tell the student what part you're going to touch. Whether shotgun, rifle or pistol I tell them I'm going to need to touch their hands, arms and shoulders in order to demonstrate correct alignment or form. I've never had anyone balk or complain.
Good luck with her and remember to keep it fairly short in duration and leave her wanting more then you may have a range Bud for life....
 
Lager said:
Going to the range this Sunday and bringing my Granddaughter who is 15 to learn how to shoot.. It was her idea, sort of? I just asked her if she wanted to learn and I got a loud "Yes". Planning on starting her off light with my 15-22 using a green reflex sight. Then the Ruger Mk 3 pistol with iron sights and the Scoped Savage Mk2 using rests. I'm just praying that I don't get a bit overbearing with safety rules. Ive never done this before with a young female before, plenty of men in the past that can take a good barking at when they sweep the 180 line or other safety infractions that every new shooter forgets when they are nervous and hit with lots of new info. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.. I will be bringing with me a couple of experienced competition shoots who Im very good friends with, man and wife team. Thinking maybe they would be best to help her the first time out, sort of like the idea that a parent shouldn't teach their child how to drive a car their first time ? Your thoughts?
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Well, my Dad taught me to drive and I've only had 2 tickets in almost 50 years of driving.....just sayin'.....
 
JimP42 hit most of it.

But the idea of doing a lot at home first is what I was going to mention. Sometimes the range can be intimidating, while sitting at home with grandad maybe not as much.
Teaching how to pick up a gun and check/clear it, etc. Just getting them familiar with how it operates and basic safety of handling them is a good place to start. Eliminating some of the scary mystery involved with them.
 
Excellent topic. I agree with "one on one" instruction with as little distraction as possible for first time shooter...youngster or adult. I also agree that breaking down the process into segments is valuable to the learning/retention aspect.

I have always let the very first shot be with a .22. I do not want them to use the sights or have a target. Just fire it safely into the berm. Almost every first timer will have a mental wall with the first shot, apprehensive about what is going to happen. All they experience is the muted noise and the lack of any hurtful recoil. After that, that wall is breached and they will retain and listen and apply instructions much better.
 
Oh yeah ... if your range is outdoors and allows you to shot and clean up targets of your choice show her what a bullet can do besides put holes in paper or make steel ring. Even a .22LR hollow point to a Granny Smith apple does some visible damage and shows a firearm needs to be handled properly and with respect. Shot some produce or milk jugs of water ... show what energy being dumped into a target looks like.

I say this in general ... people (especially video game kids) who have little experience with firearms really don’t understand the ballistic capabilities of firearms. The idea of what damage can be done when not used properly is sometimes the hardest thing to instill in someone.
 
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Shoot 'n See targets always put a bigger smile on a new shooter than simple paper ones.
 
CZfool68 said:
My daughter was 14 when I brought her. She is naturally cautious so that helped. I over stressed safety. I also went the bolt action rifle route. One round at first for a bit to re-inforce the basics. IMO a bolt action is the perfct first step. On her 3rd trip or so we broke out a semi auto. Think safety and baby steps, chances are she'll pick everything up better and quicker than you'll expect.
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What CZFool68 said. I would also add that with her sitting with rifle on bench she will have no chance of muzzle sweeping others. Bring something she can sit on to raise her height up if needed. Safety of course. with my bolt action Ruger American .22 she would take safety off, shoot, put safety back on, reload and start over. When I would shoot she would remind me that I forgot to put safety on at times. Also, it is much more fun to shoot reactionary targets then paper. Bring cans, clay pigeon's, army men or whatever you have around that is allowed at range.
Have fun!
 
Amps 13 said:
What CZFool68 said. I would also add that with her sitting with rifle on bench she will have no chance of muzzle sweeping others. Bring something she can sit on to raise her height up if needed. Safety of course. with my bolt action Ruger American .22 she would take safety off, shoot, put safety back on, reload and start over. When I would shoot she would remind me that I forgot to put safety on at times. Also, it is much more fun to shoot reactionary targets then paper. Bring cans, clay pigeon's, army men or whatever you have around that is allowed at range.
Have fun!
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Just for full disclisure that was the 2nd time my daughter shot. It was the first time with me. For her first outing I took her with me to meet another CFF member and his wife at their local club. His wife is an NRA instructor so I let her take my daughter to another area for a lesson. I had gone over all the basics with her first, but I thought it would be better for her to learn from someone that has taught it all before, and without the Dad pressure being exerted.

But the 22lr is now her favorite. Less pressure, no recoil and lots of target options. She shot some steel last time and got a kick out of that.
 
WOW ! Great ideas and suggestions from everyone. I want to thank everyone for their time and effort they took to respond. I especially like a couple of suggestions.... One was to spend some off range time teaching holds and how to operate that firearm. That will help with the mental overload that's going to happen at the range, that's on my "To do" list tomorrow.
The second was to isolate her and myself from the rest, at least at the start, and I'm going to really try to be informational on the safety part and not get all bent because I really want this to work between her and I . I think that's a good idea, Thank you.
Yeah, I know I said I was going to mention a couple, but I have one more.
Shooting reactionary targets, luckily my range has a number of steel plate on swings for fun. But more importantly the idea of bringing targets that can show what the bullet can actually do to an apple or a shaken soda can for example, instead of just putting a hole in a piece of paper will stress the importance of safety.. I really like that one, never thought of it.. " High Five" bro +++++++
 
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