Teaching kids to shoot

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Geerubb

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Looks like I'll be teaching my daughter to shoot soon. She already has a 10/22 with her name on it, but going to start her out with a red ryder she's getting for Christmas. Going to stick a dot on it, and worry about iron sights later.

I'd like to hear everyones thoughts on how to teach the kids to shoot. I'm thinking about starting her off of a table with a front bag at targets pretty close until she gets used to holding the rifle. There's no one way to do it, but I'm always willing to listen to people who have been there done that.
 
Sometimes it's hard to keep a kid interested, reactive targets keep up the fun.
I found putting a bit of flour or baby powder in smaller water balloons gave them instant satisfaction. Don't put them on plywood with the bb gun, they may bounce back in her face.
 
Pink_Vapor said:
Sometimes it's hard to keep a kid interested, reactive targets keep up the fun.
I found putting a bit of flour or baby powder in smaller water balloons gave them instant satisfaction. Don't put them on plywood with the bb gun, they may bounce back in her face.
Click to expand...

i had same issue with mine - she was a great shot - so good in fact that she lost interest putting holes in paper. variety and new challenges help keep the interest high.
 
That's what I'm leaving looking for - interesting targets that are pretty easy to get her started on.
 
Started mine out at 7yo with a 22lr rifle on a table with bags. They started out around 3yo helping me with reloading and learning the rules of gun safety. Also spent a lot of time allowing them to handle my firearms in a proper environment so that when the time came it wasn't foreign to them.


Here's a video of my daughter on her first range trip taking her first shots. Can't tell you how proud I was to watch her making hits at 70 yards her first time out. Rifle is a PWS Summit. Rifle was too big for her to get behind properly but she mangaged. She now has her own 10/22 built to her size.



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Like others have already stated, reactive targets are a great way to keep them interested and provide instant feedback. I used flour in balloons and clay pigeons and the range and soda cans in the back yard when first teaching both of my girls to shoot. My 12 yr old loves shooting steel now with her M&P22 or my 17 yr olds M&P 9 while my oldest daughter likes paper since she is working on accuracy.
 
We started my girlfriends little boy when he was four with a red Ryder. It was a bit big for him but he managed. I hung a piece of tin for him, The little ding he would get kept him excited. The tin was soft enough to give and make a noise, but not hard enough to richocet. Last Christmas he got a cricket, and we got him some reactive targets and one of the watermelons that leaks. He thought that was awesome. Sometimes we let him shoot old sodas that we shake up and paint cans that are to empty to spray, but still throw a little paint when hit.
 
Gave my grandson a Cricket when he was 3 yo. He loves shooting and so do his twin sisters. Make sure the stock fits your daughter. Soda cans in the backyard with the Red Ryder works cheaply and clay pigeons or ballons hanging from target stands on the range.

CD
 
Obviously safety rules first.

For targets, get creative. Clays can be expensive, a box of Ritz or Saltines are waaay cheaper and shatter when hit plus are gone with the first good rain. Hang them with a string and a paperclip hook through one of the baking holes and you have a challenging target that twists and dances with the breeze but will shatter with a bb hit.

You can also create some friendly competition. Try a variation on what we do with our Civil War muskets- Cut a square about 8in from a chunk of drywall, glue a playing card on one side and hang with a wire. (In our game, you get two minutes to take as many shots as you can, and with a musket that works out to a max of 8) Give the kid a limited number of shots. Hits on the drywall= 1pt. Hits on card=3pt. Hits on the 8 framing the bicycle=5. Hit the bike= 8. With the drywall target hanging in the wind and moving, this is way harder than it sounds and we do this at 50yds with iron sight muskets. If you hang that target out at 50yds, and shoot with irons only, it's not as easy as it sounds.

Key is to make it interesting and vary what you do to keep the interest up while teaching marksmanship fundamentals.
 
I'm sure you've mentioned it already, but don't get all intense with the 'instructions'.
I've seen guys tell their kids 100 different things before junior ever touched the gun. The kid is immediately overwhelmed and thereafter pretty much wants nothing to do with the gun. But then Dad gets impatient and forces the kid to proceed. The whole scene is a disaster.

I've taught many a youngster about guns. The day of the shoot is not the day to 'start'. You should have gone over a few basics a day or two before shooting. This also builds anticipation and interest.

Here's the safety rules I give to kids who are just learning-
1) Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot.
2) Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
That's it.
Going on & on about whats behind the target and all guns are always loaded and other details can be added as comfort increases.

When it comes time to shoot and hold the gun; this is the safety and this is how it works. These are the sights and this is how you look at them.
That's it.
They've obviously been watching and know how to hold the gun (basically) and how the trigger works. Some fine tuning with holding the gun, and let them shoot.

They're gonna make mistakes. Usually forgetting about keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction. Do not bust their chops and go all adult on them! Calmly repeat about keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction.
Encourage them by relating stories about how when you were that age and just started. How bad you were, couldn't hit anything. And that one time you made a miracle shot. How Grandpa was funny. These kind of things.
Do not be condescending. Do not treat them like a child, but rather a young adult. They pick up on this and act accordingly.
Do not force anything. If they wanna stop after 15 minutes, stop.

You got one chance to make a first impression and this is it. If you blow it, you have years of correction awaiting you.
 
My daughter's first time shooting was with a 22lr with a fellow forum member's wife and NRA instructor. IMO there is value in removing the pressure of the father/daughter relationship while they learn. When my daughter shot a rifle for the first time I let someone else help her also. Only after she had the basic safety rules and confidence did I join in and shoot with her. IMO it is just like any other sport. Adding a bunch of baggage and pressure doesn't help them learn more quickly. Or relax. Love and support from you and rules and discipline from a good instructor. There will always be time for you to reinforce safety and your pet peeves. Right now my daughter loves shooting and has zero negative feelings or experiences.
 
Friday said:
I'm sure you've mentioned it already, but don't get all intense with the 'instructions'.
I've seen guys tell their kids 100 different things before junior ever touched the gun. The kid is immediately overwhelmed and thereafter pretty much wants nothing to do with the gun. But then Dad gets impatient and forces the kid to proceed. The whole scene is a disaster.

I've taught many a youngster about guns. The day of the shoot is not the day to 'start'. You should have gone over a few basics a day or two before shooting. This also builds anticipation and interest.

Here's the safety rules I give to kids who are just learning-
1) Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot.
2) Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
That's it.
Going on & on about whats behind the target and all guns are always loaded and other details can be added as comfort increases.

When it comes time to shoot and hold the gun; this is the safety and this is how it works. These are the sights and this is how you look at them.
That's it.
They've obviously been watching and know how to hold the gun (basically) and how the trigger works. Some fine tuning with holding the gun, and let them shoot.

They're gonna make mistakes. Usually forgetting about keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction. Do not bust their chops and go all adult on them! Calmly repeat about keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction.
Encourage them by relating stories about how when you were that age and just started. How bad you were, couldn't hit anything. And that one time you made a miracle shot. How Grandpa was funny. These kind of things.
Do not be condescending. Do not treat them like a child, but rather a young adult. They pick up on this and act accordingly.
Do not force anything. If they wanna stop after 15 minutes, stop.

You got one chance to make a first impression and this is it. If you blow it, you have years of correction awaiting you.
Click to expand...

Well said!
 
My uncle started me off with we're 90+% water, then shot a gallon milk jug full of water with a 308 so I had an idea to have a healthy fear of a gun.
It was pretty cool as well.
 
Friday said:
I'm sure you've mentioned it already, but don't get all intense with the 'instructions'.
I've seen guys tell their kids 100 different things before junior ever touched the gun. The kid is immediately overwhelmed and thereafter pretty much wants nothing to do with the gun. But then Dad gets impatient and forces the kid to proceed. The whole scene is a disaster.

I've taught many a youngster about guns. The day of the shoot is not the day to 'start'. You should have gone over a few basics a day or two before shooting. This also builds anticipation and interest.

Here's the safety rules I give to kids who are just learning-
1) Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot.
2) Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
That's it.
Going on & on about whats behind the target and all guns are always loaded and other details can be added as comfort increases.

When it comes time to shoot and hold the gun; this is the safety and this is how it works. These are the sights and this is how you look at them.
That's it.
They've obviously been watching and know how to hold the gun (basically) and how the trigger works. Some fine tuning with holding the gun, and let them shoot.

They're gonna make mistakes. Usually forgetting about keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction. Do not bust their chops and go all adult on them! Calmly repeat about keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction.
Encourage them by relating stories about how when you were that age and just started. How bad you were, couldn't hit anything. And that one time you made a miracle shot. How Grandpa was funny. These kind of things.
Do not be condescending. Do not treat them like a child, but rather a young adult. They pick up on this and act accordingly.
Do not force anything. If they wanna stop after 15 minutes, stop.

You got one chance to make a first impression and this is it. If you blow it, you have years of correction awaiting you.
Click to expand...
This was a great post, and exactly what I was looking for.

I take her to school a couple days a week, and shes learned the 4 firearm safety rules on the way.

I'm planning to give her the BB gun on Christmas and hopefully let her shoot that day. I'll have it sighted in before hand. I'm thinking about just having her shoot a paper shoot n' see target until she gets comfortable.
 
Watching this thread. My daughter is 6 and I'm trying to decide when and how to introduce guns to her. I'm ready now and wife doesn't think it's time, but I'm the enthusiast in the family so my decision pulls more weight.
 
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