Introducing my son to firearms

[bnewt3]

My son is now getting to the age and maturity (10) where he can pay attention and focus enough that i feel like we can go shoot without it being a nonstop "finger off the trigger", point it that way", "where is your muzzle pointed", "is it loaded" struggle.
He is an only child.
I had the advantage of being a younger brother, so I tagged along and watched and listened for a few years before I ever touched a gun.

Unfortunately we dont have any land nearby to use for this, only public ranges. Family land is 2.5 hours away and I plan to go there for some low pressure shooting. Maybe more structured rules at a public range is better to start anyway.
I feel like there are 2 halves to this deal with alot of overlap; safe handling & shooting


Give me some pointers, observations, wisdom, etc for me to keep in mind while I introduce him.

 

[Grand Passage]

I introduced both of my boys(10 & 8) to firearms at a young age. You are right about it taking 100% of your focus to do it in a safe manner.

Both shot their first deer with a rifle at 8 years old. If your hunting style allows, using a Bog Pod tripod really helps. It’s like an extra set of hands. I think it helps reduce recoil too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[voltage]

When your kid is with you while shooting or hunting, they are your first priority. Surprisingly, I see too many people seem too worried about themselves. This experience is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[Muddler]

When your kid is with you while shooting or hunting, they are your first priority. Surprisingly, I see too many people seem too worried about themselves. This experience is a marathon, not a sprint.

This 1000%. I don't understand the guys that say well I'm gonna let my kid shoot unless the big one I have on camera walks by, then I'm shooting. Or well we were only in the stand for 20 mins when a deer came by but didn't let my kid shoot it because he needs to learn it not always that easy. Wtf. Talk about taking the wind out of his sails.

Start them with zero recoil guns...bb gun, air gun, rim fire, then work your way up with a 223 or light load 243 or whatever until they're comfortable and can manage the recoil. I don't understand the mentality of giving a kid a magnum or 12 gauge the first time out. Then they wonder why the poor kid doesnt want to go or flinches like a beat dog.

 

[KenLee]

My son is now getting to the age and maturity (10) where he can pay attention and focus enough that i feel like we can go shoot without it being a nonstop "finger off the trigger", point it that way", "where is your muzzle pointed", "is it loaded" struggle.
He is an only child.
I had the advantage of being a younger brother, so I tagged along and watched and listened for a few years before I ever touched a gun.

Unfortunately we dont have any land nearby to use for this, only public ranges. Family land is 2.5 hours away and I plan to go there for some low pressure shooting. Maybe more structured rules at a public range is better to start anyway.
I feel like there are 2 halves to this deal with alot of overlap; safe handling & shooting


Give me some pointers, observations, wisdom, etc for me to keep in mind while I introduce him.

How far up the hill are you?
I have a few spots in lower Spartanburg County y'all can hunt/shoot to see if he's ready or really interested.

 

[ShooterGrade]

I don't have kids of my own yet, but whenever I take a new person shooting for their first time, I like to sit them down at my house and get them familiar with whatever firearms they'll be shooting (how to hold it, make it safe, load it, dry fire, etc) and go over the main safety rules. That way I can do it in a calm environment, and not when they are nervous/excited at the range with the distraction of other people shooting. And then, when it is time for them to shoot, it isn't a completely new experience to hold and pull the trigger on that gun.

I also second starting off with a BB gun or 22, and working up from there. If you have a suppressor, that can be very helpful as well because they sound of the gun going off can be more shocking to them than the recoil, with lighter recoiling rifles anyways

 

[bnewt3]

Start them with zero recoil guns...bb gun, air gun, rim fire, then work your way up with a 223 or light load 243 or whatever until they're comfortable and can manage the recoil. I don't understand the mentality of giving a kid a magnum or 12 gauge the first time out. Then they wonder why the poor kid doesnt want to go or flinches like a beat dog.

I see both sides of it. My dad put a 12ga in my hands and crouched behind me, supporting me, for my first shot ever @ about 8yo. Thats what my grandpa did with him. Knowing the gravity of the situation is important, but im not entirely convinced thats the best way to go about it.

 

[bnewt3]

I don't have kids of my own yet, but whenever I take a new person shooting for their first time, I like to sit them down at my house and get them familiar with whatever firearms they'll be shooting (how to hold it, make it safe, load it, dry fire, etc) and go over the main safety rules. That way I can do it in a calm environment, and not when they are nervous/excited at the range with the distraction of other people shooting. And then, when it is time for them to shoot, it isn't a completely new experience to hold and pull the trigger on that gun.

I also second starting off with a BB gun or 22, and working up from there. If you have a suppressor, that can be very helpful as well because they sound of the gun going off can be more shocking to them than the recoil, with lighter recoiling rifles anyways

for sure, familiarity before getting to the range is on the list.

 

[bnewt3]

How far up the hill are you?
I have a few spots in lower Spartanburg County y'all can hunt/shoot to see if he's ready or really interested.

Not too far, around Hickory. Might be about the same to get to our family land. I appreciate the offer. Ill keep it in mind.

 

[bnewt3]

When your kid is with you while shooting or hunting, they are your first priority. Surprisingly, I see too many people seem too worried about themselves. This experience is a marathon, not a sprint.

Great point. I think IF i shoot early on, it will only be to demonstrate something for him.

 

[bnewt3]

I really liked the way my shotgun merit badge instructor did it(who had also been my family doctor for years). I had already been shooting a few years but we were a mixed group of somewhat skilled to a couple that had never shot before. We got to the range. He said before anyone touches a gun im going to do a little demonstration.

he grabbed a honeydew from the truck, rolled it out about 15 ft, "that melon has roughly the same density as a human head" and shot it with a 20ga. Some of the other kids eyes were like saucers. He said thats with a 20ga, what some consider "low-power".

I think he got the point across.

 

[wesfromky]

If you have not read it yet, read this thread.

E

Thread 'Kids rifle manifesto'

Feb 24, 2024

I've chimed in on so many different "what rifle for my age XX kid?" threads that I thought I'd try to consolidate my thoughts here.

My oldest son is 14 now, started shooting centerfire rifles at 9. My younger kids started shooting centerfire rifles at between 5-7 yrs old. 5 kids shooting now, and a bunch of their friends that I have been involved or around as they learn to shoot. probably 20-ish kids? Here's what I've learned in the last 5-6 years.

Recoil matters, a lot. "Handles it pretty well" is way way different from "ideal for building skills as a rifleman." My oldest loves to...

• eric1115
• Replies: 237
• Forum: Firearms

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[Huntingfarandwide]

Join a Sportsman Club.

Both of my kids went through a sponsored program at our club. Then off the ranges, rifle, pistol, skeet and sporting clays.

You will also meet other dads that will have kids your age... never know where that wu=ill lead.

Blessings ~

 

[BLJ]

I would not subject young children to a public range or a 12 gauge. IMO.

Safety, eye and ear protection ,Air rifle, SV 22 LR, maybe a 410 shotgun. Baby steps.

The way we had it introduced to us is the opposite of what you want to accomplish with your kids.

Break the chain. Start a new one.

 

[Steve300xcw]

I dont think kids are as fragile as some of y'all make them out to be. That said I dont own any myself so wtf do I know


You can learn a bunch with a pellet gun..

 

[Dero58]

My son is now getting to the age and maturity (10) where he can pay attention and focus enough that i feel like we can go shoot without it being a nonstop "finger off the trigger", point it that way", "where is your muzzle pointed", "is it loaded" struggle.
He is an only child.
I had the advantage of being a younger brother, so I tagged along and watched and listened for a few years before I ever touched a gun.

Unfortunately we dont have any land nearby to use for this, only public ranges. Family land is 2.5 hours away and I plan to go there for some low pressure shooting. Maybe more structured rules at a public range is better to start anyway.
I feel like there are 2 halves to this deal with alot of overlap; safe handling & shooting


Give me some pointers, observations, wisdom, etc for me to keep in mind while I introduce him.

Being that kids have extremely short attention spans, I recommend every time prior to any firearm manipulation go through basic range safety as a reminder. If he violates any of the rules go back over all of the rules to remind him. That repetition and remind should slowly hammer home those rules to him.

 

[bnewt3]

TBH I havent wanted to take him because I struggle with patience when it comes to my son. IDK what it is but its a real struggle sometimes. But recently probably some combination of him maturing and being able to focus better and me slowing down when I feel myself get impatient, im feeling alot better about it.

I know I will have to keep my patient hat on

 

[Muddler]

When my son was about 5 he came to range with me and he wanted to shoot the 17 HMR. It was way to big for him, but I figured there's zero recoil and he could lay his face down, not shoulder the gun and reach over to the trigger. Well there is a TINY bit of recoil..he pulled the trigger and the scope bumped his eye. He didn't get hurt, wasn't even red, but it was enough to scare him. He was done and didn't want to shoot again for 3 or 4 years.

My buddy had his daughter shoot as her first gun a 12 gauge bc she wanted to turkey hunt. Rocked the hell out of her. She's still very gun shy and has lost most of her interest in hunting.

 

[bnewt3]

Sadly, we learn more from our mistakes than our successes

 

[TaperPin]

Some ranges are pretty boring for many kids, so I’d pay attention to what he likes the most. Visual targets like swinging plates are usually more interesting than paper, but he might get a kick out of interesting paper animal targets. Gun shops are full of zombie and different easy to see dots and squares, but air gun targets seem to have best types of paper animals. I’ve even taken time before the range with kids to tape or glue animals cut out of hunting magazines to, or cut shapes out of cardboard - kids love crafts and it could be a fun ritual before your range trips.

Individual targets that fall over can be more interesting than the same shape on a swinger. Hitting a swinging circle is kind of boring after a while. A half set of 20 smallbore silhouettes for a 22 will set you back $100 on Amazon, but they never wear out - the chickens go flying and the rams just fall over. The same animals on swingers are just not as interesting.

You have to encourage whatever kind of shooting he likes, but most kids want to do what they see you doing, at least some of the time. Some kiddos enjoy shooting standing up like a shooting gallery, some like to sit down or shoot prone. Not on day one, but once shooting is more routine adding a 22 mag for a few shots every trip adds variety and can be exciting for its added effect on water bottles.

On your own property all kids enjoy shooting cans, water balloons, soda bottles, shotgun hulls, clay targets, sheet metal cookie sheets, all kinds of swinging plates or fall over targets. Throughout the week any metal can or plastic container can be washed out and kept in a shooting collection and filled with water on site.

I’m always surprised what different kids find interesting and how much they learn from us even if it doesn’t seem like it at the moment. They may not be into shooting we wish they would like, but they change their minds quickly.

Going to the range can also be made more enjoyable by having snacks, drinks, and a routine of doing something fun afterward, even if it’s just driving through the countryside, stopping to drown a worm, stopping for ice cream, a side of fries, brunch, lunch, or whatever is fun for you guys.