Involving your child in shooting sports

[Scorpiusdeus]

I've only shot a few USPSA matches and I'm hooked. I've talked three others into USPSA in just a few months.

I'm now thinking about getting my 11 year old daughter involved. She's very mature for her age, athletic, and very bright. She's never shot before but is expressing an interest.

I'm wide open to any advice on how to make this fun and attractive to her. She and I are very close and having her involved in my favorite hobby would be a dream come true.

Things covered already:

She's memorizing the four basic rules of gun safety as well as having to demonstrate them to me.

I'm familiarizing her with the mechanical aspects of firearms.

What else should I be thinking about or doing? How do I prep her?

 

[Bitmap]

Get good ear and eye protection that is comfortable for her so she will like using it. Make sure the button on the top of her cap doesn't give her a hotspot on top of her head under the muffs. I would go with muff and plugs if possible.

Don't let her wear low-cut shirts when shooting - a piece of hot brass down the shirt can ruin a newbies day.

Big, easy to hit targets up close to start. Reactive targets are great.

If you are at a public range don't shoot next to someone with a really low gun. Don't shoot next to someone with a semiauto that is throwing brass all over you.

Start with low recoil and quiet guns and then work up. You may work up quickly if she likes them but I would start with a .22 and go up from there.

I would start with a rifle before you go to handguns. Rifles are easier to hit with and that makes it fun, which is what you want for a newbie.

Before you start shooting I would draw diagrams of the sight picture for whatever type of sight you are using.

Choose a gun that at least reasonably fits her. You can use a rest to compensate for weight but if the line of sight for the sights is too high for her or the length of pull is too long, those are hard to fix at the range.

Bring several guns and swap out as often as she wants to.

Make it fun. Skill will come later if she enjoys it.

Take your camera and get plenty of pics.

 

[Henry Bowman]

She's never shot before but is expressing an interest.

Have you taken her to a match to watch?

 

[Polishrifleman]

Sounds great, I think you are talking about 2 different things.

1) is the competition

2) is the shooting

For the competion you might want to get her involved. Do they have a 4H program where you are at? I would also suggest NRA airgun or .22 tourneys. This way you can gauge her like and dislike. I am not familiar with the USPSA but getting to hang out with other kids her age shooting will go a long way.

I think USPSA has reactionary targets which she might like shooting more than paper but not like the competition part. If that is the case find a place to shoot and set up your own shooting gallery and have some quality time together. My kids tend to like interactive targets bowling pins, potatoes, clays, army men, etc...

Best part is she is showing interest.

 

[DragonFire]

Try to involve her in all aspects of the sport. Cleaning the guns, reloading (if you reload), trips to the gun store etc. I'm sure she's looking at this as quality time with you too. Make it all fun, serious but fun.

I bought an airsoft gun for my daughter. A big step in shooting is not just the shooting but the actual gun handling. I think carrying the airsoft in a holster (we shoot on our own property) and being responsible for all the time (not just while actually shooting) will be more fun for her, and teach her to be responsible (while severely reducing any risk if she's not as responsible as she should be).

I also got interesting targets for her. I have a groundhog target on my wall that she shoot squarely between the eyes after I told her that if she couldn't neutralize it on her next mag full that it would come into her room and eat her prized beany-babies. If I only had gotten a picture of her grin when we checked her target.

 

[NavyLCDR]

I would also go with getting her own airsoft or .22. They can be accurate as heck. The range I used to shoot at in Oklahoma City had airsoft matches. And the cheap ammo makes for tons of shooting.

 

[Professor Gun]

Each of my two sons started USPSA competition at age 12. Prior to that they spent a lot of time with me on the range one on one starting with .22 pistols and working up as they were able. I always emphasized safety, safety, safety. Then we would go back and review safety.

The local club that has USPSA matches has a group of shooters who were very accepting of my boys shooting in the matches and were very patient with them. My sons were told repeatedly by me (and my fellow shooters) to not worry about time or accuracy; to first focus on safety, then as that got to be more second nature for them to focus on safety and accuracy (that was the first year). The next step was then to work on speed.

Both boys love USPSA and Three Gun matches. Whenever we go to a match our focus is to try to do better than we did last time. We have a lot of fun and we are gradually improving our skills.

 

[Scorpiusdeus]

Great advice so far, I never even thought of Airsoft, that's a great idea. She's never been to a gun range of any kind.

Keep it coming, you guys have some great ideas.

 

[mekender]

i take my 9 year old shooting at least once a month... the important thing is that he has fun... i dont make him stay and watch me shoot after hes bored...

i dont force him to shoot the bigger calibers... i let him reload the .22 tube mag, i let him decide if he wants to sit, stand or go prone...

we use paper mostly, but i got a cheap spinner the other day and he really liked that...

im getting him a henry youth lever action in the next couple of months... so that will help, my rifle is too long and heavy for him..

i make sure that we go over the rules several times on the drive to the range...

and the reason that he does not have an airsoft or a bb gun... he has seen too many people treating them like they are toys... so i dont want him having one... but he treats real firearms with the upmost respect...

also, i have found that the foam earplugs do not fit him well... go get a cheap set of muffs for $12 at walmart

 

[cmidkiff]

All four of my daughters shoot. They started between the ages of 8-10, depending on their ability to follow instructions and their desire to go to the range. They're now 12-20, and regularly enjoy range trips with the old man. Out of the 4, only 2 are really 'into' shooting. The youngest and the oldest will go if it's nice outside, and they don't have anything else to do. The two middle ones can't stand for me to go to a range without them.

I took the 15 year old to an Appleseed shoot last fall. She camped out with the old man, woke to cool weather and a steady rain, and spend 2 days rolling around in the mud trying to get that .22 to put the lead exactly where she wanted it. No complaints, she had a blast, learned a ton, and can't wait for the next one. I'm taking both the middle children to the next Appleseed in my area.

Let the kid have fun. Don't push her past that 'fun' point. Spending 2 hours watching dad blast away with large caliber handguns is _not_ fun for a child. When my kids were starting out, I did very little shooting during my range trips. I was there to load mags for them, make sure they obeyed the range rules, tutor, and encourage them. Get a good quality .22lr, appropriately sized. Shooting a gun that jams all the time is no fun for anyone. A single shot plinker is a great introduction gun, but will get boring in a big hurry.

Oh, and go read Pax's stuff: http://www.corneredcat.com When it comes to women and kids at the range, Kathy is a great resource (and thanks!)

 

[jcramin]

Well I started my 12 year old son shooting just recently. He has a .22 pump rifle and a 1969 .22 Ruger Standard pistol and a Custom .30 M1 carbine. He has asked to shoot some of my bigger pistols and has tried but does not like them yet.

My daughter who just turn 7 and has had NO interest in guns asked to shoot my my high power pellet gun with scope a few weeks ago and after one shot she BEGGED me to take her shooting my real guns, so this weekend she has her first class, Youth safety and marksman ship.

J

 

[Mike OTDP]

Get a good .22 or air gun. Minimal recoil, little noise...and cheap. Bitmap's advice is also good.

Start out just shooting...a novice does not need the pressure of competition.

I'd also make a point of exposing her to a variety of shooting sports. USA Shooting,smallbore, NRA Conventional, NMLRA black powder. Different activities appeal to different people.

 

[ASM826]

Our club has one 11 - 12 year old girl that shoots the monthly pistol matches. She uses a Buckmark, and we listen for hits on steel instead of having to see them fall. She does well, and everyone is supportive.

We support a strong junior program, it's the future. Us old farts will be gone, and America will be in the hands of the next generation. Do what you can to help them be ready.

 

[JeremySmith]

My nephew has been coming along to the range along with my wife and father-in-law for the last couple weeks. He's 12, and a great shot with my buckmark. He'll shoot as long as we'll let him, and now can't wait to go - no problems getting homework done now. Last week I asked him if he wanted to shoot my Kimber Custom. I had to load it, but he did pretty good with it too. What's all this about 1911's being hard to shoot. You should have seen the look on his face when I started shooting my 44 mag.

My own kids are 3 & 4 right now, and they'll be heading out hunting with us if they want in the next year or so, and we'll probably buy a small rifle for them in the next few years.