first steps with shooting for my 10-year-old daughter should be?

Air rifle
Single shot, no recoil or blast and perfectly safe
Concentrate on breathing , sight picture, trigger control and follow through
Once these basics mastered, al else becomes easy

I would start her off with nothing smaller than a .300 Win Mag. Just kidding.

If you're new to guns yourself, more than caliber or type of weapon or class, I would seek competent instruction first and foremost. There are a lot of people who think that just because they own a gun or they want to be a top shot or because they've done things on Call of Duty that they are good shooters and can teach others. You're daughter is fresh which means she has not developed bad habits. Get either someone who shot/shoots competitively or someone who was in the Marines and shot expert rifle and pistol to teach her how to shoot correctly. To be a good shooter, there is a lot you should do before you ever fire that first live round... lots of finding your natural point of aim, lots of dry firing, lots of getting into uncomfortable, yet effective, shooting positions.

I watch a stranger shoot a few shots and have a pretty good idea whether they are a good shooter or just someone who likes to waste lead. Good shooters generally focus on the fundamentals. They practice slowly and gain speed with proficiency. The poor shooters will show up, slap a mag into their gun and blaze away, receive a bunch of weird looks at the range, and think that they are awesome. However, their targets will tell a different story. Good shooters keep their finger on the trigger throughout the entire trigger press and reset in order to avoid wasted movement. Good shooters can call their shots. Good shooters follow through and don't immediately compromise their position to see where they hit since good shooters know where they hit without needing to observe bullet holes. Good shooters are not gear-oriented (they can pick up different guns, apply the same fundamentals, and get respectable hits).

First thing - Safety,
Second thing - Safety,
Third thing - Safety

What to shoot? Anything accurate and mild in the recoil department.

I think I started shooting with an M1, I was 8. (I demanded to shoot what my Dad was shooting....)

I started all my kids and their friends (yes, permission from the parents) with air rifles and BB guns. Great to get the good habits down with no flinch, and very good safety communication without ear protection (eyes, of course.)

Eventually we graduated to bolt-action .22 rifles (with eyes and ears.) They all loved loading the magazines, the crack of the shot, and that little whiff of powder.

One thing I learned to do, sadly, was have them check their pockets for stray brass (or live rounds) that might end up at school and get them into trouble.
I told them they could keep all the brass they wanted but it had to stay home. Don't ask me how I learned to do this.

Tinpig

I was 8 and started with a rifle. I moved up to pistols pretty fast after that.

I understand that the whole idea of starting with rifles is somewhat passe these days, because for some reason it's considered boring, but I still think that learning rifle first is better.

Also, I highly recommend checking with your local 4H to see if their local youth shooting program is available in your area. It is a great program and opportunity for young people to be involved in shooting sports.

When I decided to buy my 10 year old daughter her first gun, I looked at all the kid specific guns and just did not like them, they seemed too much like, well, kid guns.

In the end, I wanted something she could shoot for a life time, was safe, relevant, had a short enough stock and was light enough for her little arms to hold up. The perfect gun? The Smith & Wesson, M&P 15/22. It is light, has an adjustable stock that can be extended as she grows, accurate, and super fun to shoot. She can start off with the "iron" sights, then move on to optics if need be. And best of all, it looks like her big brothers "work gun" in the Army! I honestly can't imagine a better gun to start with for the reasons I have stated above.

Drawbacks could be:

-cost (but avoids having to buy new guns in the future when current gun is out grown)

-Complexity, for a new shooter

-Ammo cost! it is really hard to stop shooting that thing!


In my situation, I have been a shooter for all my life so have little problem helping my daughter learn safely, but in the future, I still plan on having her take classes if I can find them.

My dad taught me and my brothers how to shoot using an air rifle.

Nowadays I'm teaching my oldest how to shoot with an air pistol. Once she's old enough, if she's interested, she'll get formal instruction and then can start with a .22.

Of course there are legal complications here which make starting out kids on air guns more desirable, but, imo, they are excellent learning tools. I practice on the same air pistol, too, because, well, i can't go to the range every day.

I started with an Ithaca single shot .22lr. I got my Riflery merit badge with it a couple years later. I still have it (60 years later). My Dad would not let me touch a pistol till I was 16. But he supported the Ithaca 100%. He taught me well. He made good on his pistol promise. I got a Ruger Mk I for my birthday. First pistol I ever fired. I have it, too.

Rifle Vs. Pistol?

This is my rifle.

There are many like it.

But this one is mine.


Rifle first-always.

Rifle first-always

Click to expand...

Aside from a cute line from an old movie, do you have any thoughtful reasons for that rather definitive opinion which you might share?

When you need to persuade the wife, that's were the air-rifle really kicks in.

Shooting airrifle is after all an olympic event, a real sport.
Google Sarah Beard, who will be representing the USof A in Rio later this year. There are even Universities that have scolarships for shooters.

In Germany, air rifle is promoted with youths because air-rifle shooting:
- learns discipline and self-control
- enhances the concentration, focus
- makes people more stress resistant (here google matthew emmons, an other US icon)

heres some links to pictures i posted before: my little girl, aged 9 in her first match.
Same little girl, aged 15, participating in the junior world championships in Granada Spain.
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=212998&d=1439741887
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=212999&d=1439741887

My daughter is the same age. For quite a while she thought .22s were too loud, even with good earmuffs. So we shot Aguila Super Colibri's for a while, they are so quiet you can hear the round cutting through the cardboard target.

BB guns are a great intro, too. And you can shoot at home in the basement into a cardboard box full of magazines or newpapers. Going shooting for 15 minutes at a time a couple times a week might be way more fun than a single trip of a couple hours, kids have shorter attention spans than adults.

Emphasize the safety stuff- always treat like it's loaded, point muzzle in a safe direction, be sure of your target and beyond, and keep yer booger hook off the bang switch. Eyes and ears always. Kids are more sensitive to loud noises than adults usually, so spend a few bucks on real good earmuffs and make sure they fit well (the big red and black ones at Home Depot are made by Peltor, very quiet and adjustable to fit kids). Shoot outdoors if it's not too cold, it's way quieter. A crowded indoor range is very intimidating to a young shooter.

Most of all, remember to make it fun. Print off fun targets or get shoot-n-see targets, or shoot reactive targets if it's allowed (crackers, chunks of a vegetable she hates, eggs, pop cans, little plastic monsters from the dollar store), shoot from close up using a rest so she can do well right off the bat. congratulate her when she is doing something well. And definitely go out for ice cream on the way home.

Where are you located? There's likely a member in your neighborhood who'd be glad to help out. If you are in SE Wisconsin / northern Illinois my daughter and I would be glad to take you and your daughter on a range trip.

When I taught my grandson, he was the typical careless know-it-all adolescent that didn't care about learning, he just wanted to start blasting. So I started out with a lengthy demonstration of what various bullets, calibers and guns would do to cans and jugs full of water and fruit, and explained how they would do the same to him, me, his friends, and anybody else that he pointed a gun at.

In other words, safety, and graphic visuals of why it's so important.

That made an impression, he's always been far safer with guns than I ever thought he'd be.

Sam1911, I don't know if he can, but I will certainly share why I think rifle should be first.

First of all, rifles are more obvious when you break safety rules, which is a good thing for someone who hasn't gotten them ingrained yet. It is easier to see a rule about to be broken and correct the shooter *before* the rule is broken. This is particularly advantageous when dealing with a child, because no matter how mature or well behaved, it is still a child and capable of forgetting such things when excited.
Basic shooting skills are easier to deal with and learn as well as a more stable platform to become accustom to things like recoil and noise.
Finally, and this may be personal opinion, but it's what I've seen, people who learn pistol first or prioritize pistol shooting very early in learning to shoot tend to pick up some bad habits and sloppy practices more than people who spend more time on more traditional rifle skills. One of the reasons I say this is because I've seen this in myself as well as others. My saving grace was doing 3P in 4H and being reined back to single shots and lots of focus per each shot. The discipline of rifle teaches a person to slow down and understand a shot in a way that is more obvious than with pistols.
Plus, it's fun and the only way it's boring is if the teacher doesn't know how to make it fun. Reactive targets go a long way on that end.

My Rifle- The Creed of The United States Marine

In my post I did not "quote some cute line from an old movie."



Google the title folks.

You're spending some time thinking about it, and reasoning through alternatives. You'll do great.

Whatever you choose, you'll have some very sweet time together.

My granddaughters were afraid of the rifle to begin with. But as they learned to handle, aim and fire it, they quickly gained confidence. Learning that they can do scary things is extremely important.

Grandsons really like the 10-22, but they treat it like a video game, and see how many shots they can get off. The objective seems to be to blow through as much ammo as possible, rather than develop skills. The girls seem to do much better at that age.

My grandkids love my Henry lever action rifle. You might also look at the CZ452 bolt action rifle. It's very accurate and well made. Their starter model has a stock that is a bit short, but not too short for an adult. It comes with a block the fits into the magazine well, making it a single shot. But you can replace that with a magazine later.

If you do choose a semi-auto, the advice to only give them a single cartridge at a time is very good advice for the first while. At our range, we had a father give his son with zero experience a 45 with a full magazine. The kid popped off the first round, the recoil brought the muzzle back under his chin, and he pulled the trigger again. Miraculously, he survived with only minimal issues. It was the first and only serious injury the range has had in 25-30 years of operation. But the point is, if the father had followed the advice others have given here, the accident would never have happened.

If you think your kid will listen to someone else more than they will you, don't teach them, pick some one else, no shame in that.

"Eyes" are a must and "ears" for anything over air rifles. Don't try to go too much "fun" ever and let them decide what, when and how long.

This is what your looking for.



DVD players, TV, cell phones and digital games are killers. If they are young enough and don't have any of them a good pile of dirt will divert attention too, don't worry dirt isn't fun forever...

I believe it is also very important to learn the mechanics of guns. There are youtube video's that show simple gun operation and of course there are books. Having a good understanding of what is going on with a gun is the basis of a common sense knowledge of shooting. Instead of pull the trigger and a bullet comes out. Showing how the mechanism works, the safety works, basic primer function etc., goes a long way in the safe handling of a gun. As far as which one first, I would say hands down, the rifle. A much better place to learn sights, positioning of the gun, steadiness etc. A handgun is harder to demonstrate these basic functions. And have fun. Make sure she learns accuracy. I see too many kids now a days happy just to hit the target. In my opinion the nuances of fine shooting should be learned right away. Kids can handle that just fine.

denton said:

You're spending some time thinking about it, and reasoning through alternatives. You'll do great.

Whatever you choose, you'll have some very sweet time together.

My granddaughters were afraid of the rifle to begin with. But as they learned to handle, aim and fire it, they quickly gained confidence. Learning that they can do scary things is extremely important.

Grandsons really like the 10-22, but they treat it like a video game, and see how many shots they can get off. The objective seems to be to blow through as much ammo as possible, rather than develop skills. The girls seem to do much better at that age.

My grandkids love my Henry lever action rifle. You might also look at the CZ452 bolt action rifle. It's very accurate and well made. Their starter model has a stock that is a bit short, but not too short for an adult. It comes with a block the fits into the magazine well, making it a single shot. But you can replace that with a magazine later.

If you do choose a semi-auto, the advice to only give them a single cartridge at a time is very good advice for the first while. At our range, we had a father give his son with zero experience a 45 with a full magazine. The kid popped off the first round, the recoil brought the muzzle back under his chin, and he pulled the trigger again. Miraculously, he survived with only minimal issues. It was the first and only serious injury the range has had in 25-30 years of operation. But the point is, if the father had followed the advice others have given here, the accident would never have happened.

Click to expand...

Agree about the single-round loading for a beginner, but the example you provided of the moronic father was obviously due to the caliber, not the type of action.

Air pistol. When I was certified by the NRA, National Shooting Sports Foundation , and 4-H to teach new shooters we always started with air pistols. The reason is that it teaches them sight alignment and trigger control better. Also if they have problems with eye dominance you can avoid those issues and spot problems like cross dominance and train accordingly.

Aside from a cute line from an old movie, do you have any thoughtful reasons for that rather definitive opinion which you might share?

Click to expand...

That is a lot more than "a cute line from an old movie." It's a very real creed and a way of life in the Marine Corps. I wouldn't hang out around Quantico, Camp Lejeune, or Camp Pendleton or anywhere where there is a Marine(s) and reduce The Rifle Creed to "a cute line from an old movie."

OK, my personal experience from when I was 11 and didn't have the Chicago fumes washed out of my hair yet...

My Dad started me out with a lecture then a demonstration of the damage the bullet could cause. (Plastic milk jug full of water) Then he gave me this incredibly ancient single shot .22 bolt action that he made me carry to the range... Letting me know in no uncertain terms when the muzzle wasn't where it was suppose to be.

After (another) lecture, I was allowed to try and hit some baked clay tablets about the size of coffee can lid arranged on a 2 X 4 at 10 meters. Of course after the third shot they were easy to hit so my Dad (then cruel and evil guardian) had me back up to 50 meters. By then I was hooked on shattering clay and my stubborn kicked in.

I came from the other side of the spectrum. My dad gave me a BB gun when I was 4. by the time I was 6 I was roaming the neighborhood unsupervised with it. By the time I was 11 yrs old I was building "zip guns". Deer hunting unsupervised at 13. I never took a safety course. By the time I was 16 I had developed a "bad habit" of "testing the safety" by trying to pull the trigger of the gun after putting the safety on. Usually in a safe direction, but not always. I bought a JC Penny's single shot bolt 410 when I was 12. It had a safety that would click but was not fully engaged. I blew a hole in my buddy's car ceiling with it while illegally road hunting crows. I also nearly shot my foot off while hunting alone after not telling anyone where I was. I guess God saved this stupid kid. I have gun safety figured out pretty well now though. Still not perfect but pretty good.