New Shooter

Status
Not open for further replies.
V

VegasAR15

Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2010
Messages
467
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
Finally took my five year old daughter out shooting this weekend. I got her a Savage Rascal for Christmas. Started her out with .22 shorts, the Rascal has zero recoil with those. Then I started putting in LR. She was having a hard time with the sights so we ended up deciding to just let her have fun for the day and let her get a taste for it and we can work on marksmanship as she gets bigger. I let her shoot the 10/22 and she had the most fun with that. I held the buttstock and made sure she kept it in a safe direction and let her burn through a few magazines, after that she wouldn't stop asking us to load up magazines for her.
55D28AAB-ED0B-427B-BDFE-17CAC4DC084D-8705-000003EAAA4580CC_zps8da2017a.jpg
 
Very cool! We start the grandkids on BB guns at about age five, then on to 22s when we're sure they are safe gun handlers.

You might try drawing a picture of the sights and the target. Sometimes that helps a lot.
 
I started her out with that pink Red Ryder on the table in the picture. Honestly though it was way bigger than the Rascal and she is pretty small so it wasn't working out to well. She wanted to keep shooting that one though because it was pink so I am going to have to shoot some pink krylon on the Rascal stock.

I will have to try that with drawing a picture. I think I will also start working with her on the sights at home. Mainly she was having a coordination problem with holding the rifle correctly, lining up the sights, keeping her finger off the trigger, then finding the trigger when she was ready, staying still... Five year old girls are fidgety little things.
 
VegasAR15

Nice way to start them off right. And once they graduate to the semi-autos get use to being the designated mag loader because they certainly know how to burn through a lot of ammo quickly.
 
Vegas AR-15,

That is great. I have a five year old as well and we have the Savage Cub. From what I understand the Rascal is the replacement for the Cub and the only difference is I see is the name and the synthetic stock vs the laminate wood stock on the Cub we have.

My son had a hard time with the sights at first too.

A couple things that might help. First thing I did was unscrew the insert in the rear sight. The leaves the larger threaded opening and while that will reduce accuracy it sure it easier for him to find that front sight. Just remember where you put it if you take it out.

Second thing is that at home before we went out shooting I would show him how the sights work with my hands. I extend one arm fully out and stick up my finger for the front post. Then with my closer hand I make a circle with my thumb and finger about 12" in from of my face and line everything up while looking at my son. Then have him do it and have him point "the sights" at you and you can see if he's doing it right.

Hope that helps a little. If you have a .22LR pistol she will love it. I stand behind my son and I maintain full control of the gun but I let him pull the trigger. Pretty soon he learned to line up the sights on that pistol (again using extended hand with finger up and close hand with two fingers up for the rear sights). Now I just hold lightly onto his hands and let him shoot the gun off a rest. I let him control the aiming and trigger but I have my hands on his in case I need to correct any wayward muzzle activity.

BTW...fully collapsed AR stock has the same LOP of our Savage Cub. :D So there is more fun to come for your daughter.
 
"BTW...fully collapsed AR stock has the same LOP of our Savage Cub. So there is more fun to come for your daughter."

And more expense too!
 
Thanks for the tips Dentite. I actually had brought a little .22 single shot pistol for her to shoot but I ended up forgetting. I put a few rounds through it with short and long ammo. They are neat little guns. Savage 101.

My buddy that I normally go shooting with has a full auto uzi that we always shoot in .22LR and 9mm. It is super controllable in .22LR. Depending on how she does the next time we go out that might be the grand finale for her, with me supporting the majority of the gun of course. How many five year old can actually say that they got to shoot a full auto?

2FEE1945-70A3-4792-9D6D-809492E093C5-3721-00000116E4CCC64A_zpsb45ec0d3.jpg
 
If you put a scope on it and practice trigger control, I'll bet she has a lot more fun when she hits stuff. Like shaken pop cans! :)
 
Five? Little young 2 me, but...

Have fun and be safe.
Click to expand...

In my opinion parenting for some people is like driving on the freeway. There are certain people that think that everyone that is going faster than you is crazy and everyone that's going slower is an idiot.

Some people view parents who are more lax than them as lacking discipline. The same people often view parents that are more strict as too uptight.

There is more than one acceptable speed to drive on the freeway and there is more than one acceptable way to raise your kids.

Vegas AR 15 has not said or shown anything that exhibits irresponsible behavior.

There is more than one correct age to start your children shooting.

I do think there are some general guidelines that will result in your kids having fun and being safe for example start with .22 rimfires and reactive targets. Maintain control over the gun at all times with young shooters.
 
My view on the whole thing is simple: Every child is different, and no one is a better judge of a child's responsibility than their parent. My godson was a bit too immature at 5 to go out to the range, but he was perfectly good to go at 7. And had a hell of a time too.

Amusingly his mom had been programming him as anti-gun, and I successfully broke that programming. :)
 
Awesome! I started both my girls at 7 yrs old with pink cricket .22's
Safety and basics of iron sights for first 3 years. There on same pink cricket but now learning scope shooting. I'm pretty sure there gonna be better shots than there ol man, especially with my eyes now....
 
Good job on starting her out young. I think 5 is a perfect age to start them out.
 
I don't believe there's a right age. I do think there's a right time, but it varies. I've know plenty of college-age people whom I would not trust with a firearm (or anything else), and plenty of single-digit age children who seem to have a natural sense of responsibility.

In the final analysis, I think most children will let their parents know when they're ready, if at all. Part of good parenting is knowing what signals to look for.
 
For a while she had been telling me she didn't want to shoot her Rascal. A couple weeks ago she told me she really wanted to go shooting with me. Done deal, time to take her. I wanted to take her when she had a strong interest in it and she really enjoyed it.

I'm probably going to stick with the iron sites for a little bit until she gets a good handle on those. I am going to unscrew part of the peep like Dentite suggested to make it a little easier for her to line it all up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

T
  • Locked
EXCITED new shooter!
Replies
10
Views
542
loose cannon
L
M
  • Locked
I took a new shooter to the range
Replies
3
Views
571
cidirkona
C
F
  • Locked
Added Another Shooter to the Fold
Replies
5
Views
819
farscott
F
B
  • Locked
Taking new shooters to the range...
Replies
9
Views
482
Billy_H
B
X
  • Locked
My Daughter's First Shooting Experience
2 3
Replies
56
Views
3K
Houston Tom
H
Back
Top