My brother (Keith) and I decided to take advantage of the nice Easter weather (sunny and 50) and head down to Dad's with the .22's for some target practice. We were just getting set up when his daughter (Taylor, age 11) and son (Austin, age 6) asked if they could try. The only gun either one of them have ever shot before is the Red Ryder BB gun they keep at Dad's. I went and got that BB gun and some pop cans (soda cans for you people who don't live in Ohio).

We wanted to teach them the proper (read: SAFE!) way to handle a firearm and figured the RR was the perfect tool. I think they were getting perturbed with us constantly drilling safety into them, but oh well. That's just tough. We talked about how you NEVER point the barrel at anything you don't want to kill. Treat EVERY gun as if it's loaded and ready to fire. Keep your finger OFF the trigger and the safety ON until you are ready to shoot... You know, the kind of stuff every person NEEDS to know to safely handle a firearm.

We then poured some BB's into the Red Ryder and did some "live fire" instruction. Unfortunately, the RR horrendous trigger pull and inconsistent accuracy made it near imposable for ANY of us to hit the pop cans at anything over 20 feet, which was starting to become a moral buster for the young-uns.

Keith and I decided the kids did well enough on their safe handling of the BB gun to warner a couple of "controlled" shots with the .22 rifle. We brought out Keith's Marlin model 25N with a 4x32mm scope and a Harris bi-pod. I showed them both the basic function of the rifle, how the bolt and safety worked, how to check if the magazine was loaded or unloaded, how to remove the mag, etc.

They didn't actually "handle" the rifle, such as carrying it around and such, more of just laying down behind it and while making sure to keep their finger off the trigger, getting used to getting their eye properly lined up with the scope, finding their target, taking aim, taking the rifle off of "safe", making their shot, opening the bolt/ejecting the spent cartridge and placing the rifle back on "safe". After a bunch of dry runs, they both fired a string of 3 rounds, following the above procedure for each shot.

They both did astonishingly well! Their use of the safely and keeping their finger off of the trigger until ready to fire was spot on! And as a bonus, they both hit the target 3 out of 3 times! In this case, the target was a life-sized "ground hog" silhouette at about 30 yards. Sure, with the scope and bi-pods it was an easy shot, but for two youngsters who have never shot before, I though it was a great accomplishment and they both were grinning from ear to ear when they were done!

Their mom just emailed me these pics and both the kids are already bugging their parents about when they get to go shooting again with "Uncle Brian".


Taylor and I, with Keith and Austin watching:


Austin shooting at the "ground hog", with me supervising.
AustinShooting.jpg?t=1239592512

 

Sounds like you did and excellent job. This is something that the kids will remember for the rest of thier lives.

 

great to hear of kids learning the SAFE way to handle a riffle ,my son (12) joined sea cadets last fall and they do target practice with them ,I taught him before he joined cadets(I was a cadet and taught the small arms safety within the corps) and the instructor he had was impressed with his knowledge and accuracy,we tried the bb gun also at first but the accuracy with them is not very good so we went to the 22 cal. also

 

It's best to train them right when they are young, that way by the time they get their owns firearms its all just second nature. The .22LR's are great to teach and practice with, there will ALWAYS be a market for .22's...I was also in Army cadets years ago and that is a great place to learn how to handle a firearm, also when your shooting a C7 (Canadian M-16 variant) that can go full auto, The RSO screams at you that if you turn that firearm to full auto that you are going to be punished to the full extent of the law...it sinks in when your 14-15 Lots of fun, I'll never forget that day...

 

GOOD JOB MY 10YR OLD LOVES HIS 22

 

I talked to Keith again today. He's thinking he going to buy something that fits the kids a little better. The Marlin's stock was too long, especially for Austin, so neither of them were able to get behind the rifle and get it into their shoulder properly. Plus, it's too heavy for them to hold steady off-hand. He wants to get them something they can comfortably use now, but not grow out of a few years down the road.

I'm thinking one of these Rossi .22LR / .410 shotgun combos would fit the bill. They have a good size for young-uns to learn on, single shot so they learn to make that one shot count, a manual safety and with the break-open action, they are utterly reliable. Plus, they can be bought for about $120.00 new. Rossi USA

Anyone have any other ideas that would work?

 

Going to head down to Dad's again tomorrow. Kids are going to get behind the .22 again (they've been after us non-stop since the last outing LOL), but us adults are also going to get a little practice in with the handguns, which the kids are strictly PROHIBITED from touching. They understand an Iraqi thief would probably get an easier punishment then they would if they EVER touch a firearm without permission, especially a handgun! We may even break out the shotgun and try to knock down a few clay birds.

With the cost of ammo, let alone the difficulty of finding it, our shooting practice is pathetic at best, especially with the handguns, so were gonna take 'em out and run enough cartridges through 'em to try to at least remember what they feel like when they go BANG! At least it will be a nice day for it. 70-75 degrees and sunny!