I have 3 kids and have been slowly introducing my oldest (age 7) to shooting. He has a little stainless Marlin Bolt action .22 with iron sights and I am looking to get a kid friendly .22 handgun of some sort next.
I went to a CC course some years ago where the instructor had a front and rear seat diagram on sticks and showed how they were to be properly aligned. The whole “equal height, equal width” thing. I’ve tried to replicate that, but I am no artist. : ) Not sure my son gets what I am saying, but he does listen for what that is worth. : )
I am want my son to enjoy shooting, but I want him to do it right as well… He gets the safety messages and those are ALWAYS mandatory, but any suggestions on how you bring in skills and fundamentals while still keeping it fun would be appreciated.
I have an 8yr and 6yr old (am in same boat). It is important to first know (without a doubt) their eye and hand dominance.
For pistol, try and find a small .22 (like a Ruger MKII) and use that for the fundamentals. Teach them to shoot with both eyes open, weight forward stance (balance) and that the number one most important aspect to shooting (well) is trigger manipulation. I tell my son that it is like squeezing a tube of toothpaste out (smooth, with pressure applied flat on the triggers surface).
For you, I would suggest getting further training (from an instructor that teaches shooting diagnostics) so that you can better assist your kids.
Second the eye dominance- my son is cross eyed dominant and it makes it a bit of a hasle.
I would also recommend illustrated sight pictures. Shouldn’t take you long to find something- but I might try the working model like you mentioned, but I’ll just make them out of construction paper.
I would also reccomend reactrive targets, if they are good enough to hit steel at a safe distance you can pick up the 22 spinners cheap (but if they can’t hit them they will just get frustrated) Ballons are another good idea, but can be time consuming.
IMO, the biggest thing after safety is making it fun. Don’t worry about technical issues so much. Make it easy for them to have fun. Find eye & ear pro that are comfortable and get them set up on a bench so they’re comfortable & can hit. If you can mount a cheap red dot on the rifle that takes sight alignment out as an issue and…helps with the fun.
I understand not wanting to ingrain bad habits and the desire to make our kids proficient, but that will come with time. In order to get to that time we have to hold their interest and that means making it fun and all about them. They aren’t tagging along on one of Dad’s training sessions, they’re going shooting with Dad and that means they do the vast majority of the shooting.
I agree 100% on making it fun.I was and still am a tyrant on Gun handling safety. but I let my kids have fun 1st. Give then the basics and then give them paper target that have a big enough bull for them to make good hits on.Then start making the bull smaller an inch at a time. When he/she see that you are making consistent hit and small groups he will start asking how you are doing it? Then start giving him tips.Once they start making hits again and they see groups get smaller they will keep asking for more training. This way you are not ruining it for them and it is his idea.
I remember when i was about 10 my dad bought me a buck mark .22 despite my insistence on a HK USP. He of course loved it more then me cause I always would rather shoot his beretta m92. But I learned the basics and got most my confidence from that .22 which I now love much more.
I realize that this thread is a little over a month old…but
I have 3 little ones now. The oldest just turned 14. We did all the safety, and drilling I could find. For a while I was trying to push the Drills and Technique until I started to see that eventually it was more fun to just walk up and unload the 22 as fast as they could.
If you have a great outdoors area, I recommend cheap expired soda. Cans, plastic bottles. The spray of sugar water excites all of them. Plus when it is time to go, the clean up is fast, and instills a sense of keeping the outdoors great.
(Also, it is really fun to see what a slug does to bottles of soda.)
In addition to the above, I say keep it short and sweet for the first few range sessions. My five year old got a Pink BB gun for Christmas. We shoot it regularly but only for a few minutes at a time. She never has a chance to stop smiling. We cover the safety rules before hand and try to always end on a good note.
I also agree with a RDS for really young ones who are just developing and appreciation for shooting sports. I intend to do this when we make the move to “real” guns.
I have a 9 year old son who LOVES to shoot, and a few months ago started his road down competition lane with a local jr. rifle team. Back things up a few years and this is our story. I took the approach with him that my dad did with me…I started taking him to the range when he was 3 or 4 and let him wear “cool stuff” electronic ear pro and eye pro. He just wanted to spend time with me and was content to have his own protective gear at first. I slowly started asking him if he wanted to try his hand at things and he was all for it. Granted, I am fortunate to have a local club that has monthly steel plate shoots and they are VERY family/noob friendly. I would run my string while he watched and leave a couple plates standing then call him up to the line. I would kneel down behind him and wrap my hands around his (at first I would even have to pull the trigger for him) and let him shoot. I constantly stressed safety first, then sight alignment, trigger pull etc…granted dad was doing most of the work at first, but once he started hearing the clank of rounds hitting steel, he was hooked. At about age 6 he got a Daisy 880 for Christmas. We would sit in the enclosed patio and shoot into the backyard at cans through the open door with the propane heater keeping us warm. When it warmed up, back to the outdoor range to slay tons of steel. He now has his very own M4 and has shot just about everything in dad’s arsenal. His favorite handgun is my M9. It makes me very proud to go to a shoot and have my kid rocking his M4 on steel at 100 yards and beat most adults. He will eventually grow bigger hands and be able to do the same with the handguns.