10yr Old Shooting 1st time. Irons or Optic?

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WNC Seabee

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I'll be taking a 10yr old for his first range session this weekend. We've been working at home on safety drills (loaded chamber check, check the safety, walk away and get dad if a gun's just lying there kinda stuff). He's pretty excited.

My question is whether to start him out on iron sights (leaning this way...) or a red dot optic. I'd like him to learn on iron sights so he understands proper sight alignment and just because I think you should know the basics of marksmanship before cutting corners.

He wants to use the red dot for the cool factor.

So I need to balance the educational approach with keeping him interested and having fun.

Any thoughts on switching between irons and optics in a single trip? Or should I stick with irons...or just let him have fun with the optic?

If it's any help, we'll be shooting a Marlin 60 .22LR.

Thanks
 
Use irons is my choice.

Also sketch on the back of a target what the sight picture should be
just before shooting so that both of you know where things should be.

I am taking my niece (16) out in a week and a half for rabbit hunting
as she has proven herself after a half dozen trips to the range.
 
I took my 5 year old nephew out a while back for his first shoot. We used a 10/22 with TechSights on it... they are basically like the ghost ring iron sights on an AR15/M4. He seemed to do ok with it at 25 yards. If you go with optics, definitely have him use a bench rest or he'll get frustrated.
 
I say iron. Tell him when he gets good using plain old iron, he can move up to the optic.

I think the red dot can become a crutch, and you certainly want him to learn iron sights eventually, eh? Using the red dot will make that harder later I think.


-T.
 
Irons

you gotta learn the basics first, and that means Irons.

But as someone else said, "big reactive targets". Balloons filled with flour?
 
I'd try to start him out on irons. If he doesn't like it, remind him that even the Marines learn to shoot with irons.

If he still isn't into it, let him use the optic. The idea is to get him to enjoy it.
 
Assuming that you know the principles of marksmanship yourself, teach him the irons first. Once he has a grasp of the basics of marksmanship, only then let him use the optics.
 
I've got a pretty good handle on marksmanship =)

grew up shooting muzzleloaders competitively (blanket matches, woods walks)...nothing teaches marksmanship like a 15 lb flintlock!

Followed that up with a couple years as #1 marksman in my battalion with old knocked about cast off M16s (granted it was the Navy, Construction Battalions, so not exactly a hot bed of snipers and spooks).
 
I think that trying to achieve a good sight picture with irons, and learn proper trigger control, and learn breath control all at once is difficult, frustrating, and counter productive to a lot of young and/or new shooters. Let him use the optic.

Once he's turning out tight and well placed groups with the optic, work on the irons.

Too many curmudgeons get stuck thinking that whippersnappers will get 'spoiled' by anything but irons and never learn to shoot the way they had to. This is as silly as forcing a new driver to learn on a manual transmission, and making them to learn how to use the clutch and gearshift while they should be learning to safely control the vehicle and be aware of traffic.

Unnecessarily forcing someone to learn too many skills all at once is bad.
 
Dry fire before you go to the range.

Actually when I'm at the range with centerfire rifles I'll dry fire once for every real shot. It helps.
 
Too many curmudgeons get stuck thinking that whippersnappers will get 'spoiled' by anything but irons and never learn to shoot the way they had to. This is as silly as forcing a new driver to learn on a manual transmission, and making them to learn how to use the clutch and gearshift while they should be learning to safely control the vehicle and be aware of traffic.
Click to expand...

Optics as training wheels?...I dont think so.

Learning the basics...all at once...isnt rocket science. My Great granddad, my granddad, my dad...and then last but not least, myself,...we all learned this way. It will teach the boy patience and persistence. These are the prerequisites that need to be learned in marksmanship.
 
Dagnabit JesseL, I thought I had it all figured out. Your manual transmission analogy makes a ton of sense.

I think I'll just leave the door open and be flexible. If I let him use the optic for a few giggles he'll be more open to "my way" after a while and we'll switch to iron sights. I'll just make it a challenge, "Hey...bet you can't do it this way!".

Will load up a case of clay pigeons to take. That's the only reactive allowed at this range.

Just focus on safety and fun and it will all be good.
 
Optics as training wheels?...I dont think so.

Learning the basics...all at once...isnt rocket science. My Great granddad, my granddad, my dad...and then last but not least, myself,...we all learned this way. It will teach the boy patience and persistence. These are the prerequisites that need to be learned in marksmanship.
Click to expand...

They didn't have optics suitable for learning with more than a few years ago, especially not affordable ones. You can learn everything at once and obviously most of us did. That doesn't make it the best way to learn.

I agree that it is very important to know how to use irons well and the lessons of patience and persistence are, of course, invaluable. That doesn't mean that you can't use newer technologies to make the learning curve a little less steep.

I know that if I had had the opportunity to learn the basics of shooting with the use of a red dot optic I would have been much happier, less frustrated, and a better shooter much earlier.
 
Irons for sure....

I purchased a BB gun for my nephew last year for his 8th B-day. It came with a cheap red dot sight but I left that off and taught him with the open sights. With a little coaching on how the sight picture should look he was off and running. He is an excellent shot with the open sights.....He has also used the dot with good results but he prefers the irons.

I'm sure you'll make sure he understands the rules involved in the safe handling of a firearm. That was the first lecture my nephew got.

It is really exciting to teach a new shooter and watch them progress! We need to make sure future generations learn guns safety and aren't afraid of these "tools".
 
Irons
also if you have your own area to shoot or a different range make Ice blocks and shoot they explode a milk jug cut in half works also the plastic bottles of pop work good to to make little Ice blocks.
 
Hey Seabee, whaddaya mean the CB's weren't a "hot bed of snipers and spooks"?

When I was in, I think we had more weapons in the barracks than the armory did.

Get him started on the optics, then when he goes to iron, he can see better how important sight alignment is, coupled with trigger pull.

Can Do!
 
WNC Seabee said:
Your manual transmission analogy makes a ton of sense.
Click to expand...

I want to chime in that I disagree. It may make sense in and of itself, but it does not pertain to the issue at hand. If your automatic transmission fails, you can't exactly fall back to manual, eh?

Your optic fails, knowing iron might come in a bit handy.


-T.
 
Heck, I learned with a single-shot .22 with peep sights. But a big +2 for the reactive targets, soda cans full of water are GREAT fun!

And just exactly HOW would you fill a balloon with flour? I wanna see that.
 
Thernlund said:
I want to chime in that I disagree. It may make sense in and of itself, but it does not pertain to the issue at hand. If your automatic transmission fails, you can't exactly fall back to manual, eh?

Your optic fails, knowing iron might come in a bit handy.
Click to expand...

I never said not to teach iron sights, just to save that lesson for after they get a handle on some of the other (equally important) fundamentals.

To strain the analogy; when you teach someone to drive a manual, do you start off making them double clutch all their downshifts in case their syncros ever die?
 
Start him with the optical sights. We all learned on iron sights basically because iron sights were all there was.
I remember hearing sneering references in deer camp when I was a kid made toward guys who used scopes. They weren't "real" hunters. They weren't "real" marksmen. They weren't "real" sportsmen.
Blah.
Blah.
Blah.


Bleh.

We are talking about a 10 year old kid's first trip to the range here; not training some sooper-sekrit sniper.
On this trip to the range the following things are important:
1. Safety.
2. Success.
3. Fun.

If this is made into a trip where the kid experiences nothing but frustration at the hands of a Grouchy Ol' Bastid® who insists on using irons because It's Always Been Done That Way®, you'll immediately have a kid who has more interest in PlayStation or XBox than shooting.
Use the optics. Use big, reactive targets. Be safe and have fun.
Once the kid likes shooting, you can start working on trigger control, breath control, and...yes...even The Holy And Sacred Iron Sights®
Sometimes it seems like we, as shooters, are determined to keep people out of our sport.
 
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