tluxtele
Member
Gonna be taking my oldest daughter to the range for the first time later today. We're going to just be shooting a 10/22. Some of y'all have already been here. Any advice to make this the best experience possible?
Taking one of my children shooting
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03fatboy
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Awesome, how old is your daughter?
Just shooting and doing something new is fun enough for a while, but with my boys as they got better and more comfortable with shooting it was a little boring for them just shooting at paper.
We fill plastic soda bottles up with water, bowling pins when we can get them, clay pigeons.
walmart has a shoot n see target of battleship that they really like,
there's a few that I can think of.
Have fun and make it fun for them.
Just shooting and doing something new is fun enough for a while, but with my boys as they got better and more comfortable with shooting it was a little boring for them just shooting at paper.
We fill plastic soda bottles up with water, bowling pins when we can get them, clay pigeons.
walmart has a shoot n see target of battleship that they really like,
there's a few that I can think of.
Have fun and make it fun for them.
Use some kind of reactive target. Adults may enjoy simply punching plain, round holes in plain, white paper, but kids? Not so much. Depending on what your range allows, things that break, boing, spring leaks, or maybe some of those "shoot & see" targets will make the experience more enjoyable for her.
reactive targets, take a 22 pistol too if you have one, my kid would shoot a single shot .22 rifle for hours at spinners, but then he liked to grab the neos and rapid fire a couple mags at soda cans, we called it the spray and pray break. I would then have him get the can and see how many times he hit it (this led us to the always remember to clean up your cans and stuff so it is clean for the next guy talk)
The orange biodegradable clay pigeons are cool to shoot too.
The orange biodegradable clay pigeons are cool to shoot too.
doubleh
Member
I agree with webrx. Kids get bored easily. I have a little experience with this as I'm on my third generation of kids. I just wish I could borrow a little of their energy now. It's hard to keep up with a nine year old.
buck460XVR
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Yes, make it fun, don't be overly critical and take your time. Maybe include a stop somewhere to look at guns/get a burger or ice creme. Don't try to impress her with your shooting skills, maybe even allow her to beat you at it. Give her something to talk about when she gets home.
Everready73
Member
I was just talking to my wife about this last night. My son is only 10 months old, but I am already thinking about the first time i can take him shooting (if he has an interest). I plan on starting with nerf guns, then airsoft, then BB guns, then 22LR. We were talking about what age would be appropriate and i think a lot of that depends on maturity and understanding the reality of what a gun is capable of doing. Safety will obviously be the most important aspect if/when we do shoot a "real" gun the first time. My dad introduced me to a 22LR when i was about 6 and i think that is a reasonable age if the maturity level is there. Some kids maybe even younger with strict supervision. I cant wait!
dmurdach
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Make sure she has earmuffs/plugs and glasses that are comfortable for her.
Yo Mama
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1. bring lots of ammo, they say they won't shoot a lot, but always do
2. get hot chocolate or an icee depending on the weather, and a few snacks
3. let her help in every way, setting up the targets, keeping the area clean after, everything
4. on that ruger 10/22, it was to heavy for my daughter until I drilled the stock and pinned it for a bipod. That and a 4 power scope made the world of difference, with her easily reaching out and hitting the bulls eye at 50 yards.
2. get hot chocolate or an icee depending on the weather, and a few snacks
3. let her help in every way, setting up the targets, keeping the area clean after, everything
4. on that ruger 10/22, it was to heavy for my daughter until I drilled the stock and pinned it for a bipod. That and a 4 power scope made the world of difference, with her easily reaching out and hitting the bulls eye at 50 yards.
I agree with DRBAND, some dollar store cans or bottles of soda make for a good show. But, make your daughter earn it. When she demonstrates good technique she is entitled to a can. When her breathing is correct. When she squeezes not jerks the trigger. When she gets her shots to group. And so on. Then, the day can end with a big soda storm.
JTHunter
Member
Tluxtele - considering you said you were going "later today", this will need to be for your next range trip.
Everybody has had good pointers that, unfortunately, the range may not let you use, specifically, the "reactive" targets, esp. "Tannerite". Even plastic bottles full of water may not be allowed.
If you have a range that will let you use these, more power to you! Try filling a plastic bottle with water, freezing it so it is completely full of ice, and watch what happens when she hits it. It's almost as good as Tannerite (and non-polluting).
Everybody has had good pointers that, unfortunately, the range may not let you use, specifically, the "reactive" targets, esp. "Tannerite". Even plastic bottles full of water may not be allowed.
If you have a range that will let you use these, more power to you! Try filling a plastic bottle with water, freezing it so it is completely full of ice, and watch what happens when she hits it. It's almost as good as Tannerite (and non-polluting).
doubleh
Member
I started my 9 year old GG daughter shooting a Ruger sr22 earlier this year. I didn't "allow" her to beat me. She did it all on her own. Must be those 9 year old eyes that are sharp as a hawk's and her steady hands. She thought that was great and so did I.
straightshooterjake
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I have written a long article about bringing new shooters to the range. The article is focused on teaching adults to shoot handguns, but it has a lots of information that is applicable to helping any new shooter get started.
The article is here:
Bringing New Shooters to the Range
And it is discussed in this thread:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ut-bringing-new-shooters-to-the-range.810540/
If I was going to give a single piece of advice, it would be "only load one round in the magazine to start with." Single shot firearms are really the best for getting people started, but you can make your repeater into a single shot by only loading one round at a time. Then you can load more rounds after you know she is comfortable with firing a shot.
The article is here:
Bringing New Shooters to the Range
And it is discussed in this thread:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ut-bringing-new-shooters-to-the-range.810540/
If I was going to give a single piece of advice, it would be "only load one round in the magazine to start with." Single shot firearms are really the best for getting people started, but you can make your repeater into a single shot by only loading one round at a time. Then you can load more rounds after you know she is comfortable with firing a shot.
Treedodger
Member
My daughters favorite is shooting balloons, lots of balloons.....and your lungs get a great workout.
OP
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tluxtele
Member
Hey Guys,
Sorry for just now replying. We actually weren't able to go when I posted this because my daughter ended up not feeling too well. We rescheduled for the next week and the day we were going to go I wasn't feeling too well. We were finally able to go this past Thursday. I want to thank y'all for your suggestions. I'll try and hit a few things before telling you how it went.
My oldest daughter (the one I took) is about to turn 11. I wasn't sure how much she would enjoy it.
Our range doesn't allow exploding things or household items being targets so some of the things you guys suggested weren't possible. Some of them sound fun... and I might try them in the future (balloons and bottles filled with ice).
Really glad you all mentioned having interactive stuff. I already had some of the paper targets that exposes a color when you shoot it. That was helpful. And I went out and got one of these
She had a lot of fun with this.
I took my 10/22 and that's what I expected her to shoot the most. We started on that and went slow. Because I didn't know how the day was going to go I also took my AR. I figured if she didn't enjoy shooting I could at least run through a magazine and get something out of the day. I also have a 22 conversion kit for my AR. I asked if she wanted to give that a try. "Sure" was the reply I got. She knows nothing about guns so the looks of either rifle did nothing for her.
I thought she might shoot it a few times and then go back to the 10/22. My AR is an A2 style with a thick 20 inch barrel. I figured the long rifle stock, the weight and using the iron sights would be a deterrent for her. I was wrong. She really enjoyed the AR. I don't know how many magazines she went through but it was quite a bit. I expected to be out there for maybe 30 minutes. We were there for 3 hours.
I have a short video of her shooting. Do I need to upload that to youtube to be able to share it with y'all?
Thanks for y'all's help. That day has lead to some other questions but this post is getting a little long and I don't really have all the questions formalized yet. I'll be back when I can think through them a little better.
Sorry for just now replying. We actually weren't able to go when I posted this because my daughter ended up not feeling too well. We rescheduled for the next week and the day we were going to go I wasn't feeling too well. We were finally able to go this past Thursday. I want to thank y'all for your suggestions. I'll try and hit a few things before telling you how it went.
My oldest daughter (the one I took) is about to turn 11. I wasn't sure how much she would enjoy it.
Our range doesn't allow exploding things or household items being targets so some of the things you guys suggested weren't possible. Some of them sound fun... and I might try them in the future (balloons and bottles filled with ice).
Really glad you all mentioned having interactive stuff. I already had some of the paper targets that exposes a color when you shoot it. That was helpful. And I went out and got one of these
She had a lot of fun with this.
I took my 10/22 and that's what I expected her to shoot the most. We started on that and went slow. Because I didn't know how the day was going to go I also took my AR. I figured if she didn't enjoy shooting I could at least run through a magazine and get something out of the day. I also have a 22 conversion kit for my AR. I asked if she wanted to give that a try. "Sure" was the reply I got. She knows nothing about guns so the looks of either rifle did nothing for her.
I thought she might shoot it a few times and then go back to the 10/22. My AR is an A2 style with a thick 20 inch barrel. I figured the long rifle stock, the weight and using the iron sights would be a deterrent for her. I was wrong. She really enjoyed the AR. I don't know how many magazines she went through but it was quite a bit. I expected to be out there for maybe 30 minutes. We were there for 3 hours.
I have a short video of her shooting. Do I need to upload that to youtube to be able to share it with y'all?
Thanks for y'all's help. That day has lead to some other questions but this post is getting a little long and I don't really have all the questions formalized yet. I'll be back when I can think through them a little better.
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