.22LR for teaching 4yr old how to shoot safely

[z7]

Hearing protection is a must, she will learn the 4 firearms safety rules and always wear eye amd ear pro. Probably will get her a nice set of electronic muffs so we can still talk back and forth without issue

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[philip brousseau]

savage rascal& cb shorts

 

[ericuda]

Of all mentioned and more thought. Save up for cz, it functions exactly like full size bolts and after kids grow out of it makes a perfect truck gun.

 

[JO JO]

as the child will be sitting with you and you most likely controlling/supporting the rifle and shooting once a year you may want to stick with a regular or youth sized rifle as she will out grow the tiny rifles fairly fast at once a year shooting, maybe think of what she will/can use on the longer term ?
just an idea , there are some nice youth / mid sized .22 rifles out there

 

[jmorris]

My little one started at two and a half. Was interested for about 5 min then went back to playing in the dirt.

Get them out when she wants and put them back up when she is done. Keep it safe 1st, fun 2nd.

She has fired air rifles more than .22's at this point. Cost less, makes less noise and accurate enough for the given ranges.

After first can hit.


I had a $65 estate sale 510 I thought about cutting down for her but just made a barrel for one of my contenders, even with the suppressor it's shorter than the 510.

 

[ontarget]

Crickett, Chipmunk, Rascall, are all good. They are small enough to begin firearm education whenever the youngster shows interest.

 

[Hardtarget]

I found a Savage '74" falling block. It looks a lot like a Stevens Favorite. I made a short stock to fit their size. We can put the original back on if we ever run out of little kids wanting to go shooting. They sure do like going through a box of .22s!

Mark

 

[Ironicaintit]

I hafta offer my apologies for emoting in my first reply.

The topic makes some people kindof myopic, including me.
I can picture safely teaching my boy to shoot....but have a hard time imagining somebody else doing it smartly. It's a bad habit.

My first rifle was a Marlin 780, at about 10 years old. And that was only after being hounded about trigger and muzzle discipline, and that they are all loaded, for as long as I can remember.

That Marlin always did what I asked, and never missed a beat.
I would think most any single shot or bolt action with a stock to match their size would serve your tyke well

 

[joneb]

I started on a Daisy lever action and then graduated to a Sheridan Blue Streak.

 

[I6turbo]

Do yourself a favor and add a few more $ to the kitty and buy a CZ 452 Scout. It's not a toy or a compromise gun but a gun that your whole family can enjoy until they are too old to shoot anymore. If you go to the rimfire central CZ forum you'll find a lot of grown men elect to shoot their Scouts in regular rotation even though they may have 10+ full size guns. I'm one of them -- I have a bunch of CZs and other rimfires, and the Scout often makes it to the range even if the kids aren't going.

 

[Sam1911]

Definitely can verify that the Savage guns are STELLAR. Great gun for the price. Good gun for whatever price!

Ours is a Cub-T which isn't made anymore, but my kids have been pulling that trigger at least as young as yours.


And you're absolutely spot-on about how. Sitting in Dad's lap, no chance for kid-type errors or lapses. Just getting the experience and hearing you go over the safety rules each time. Learning the very basics. Small doses, one-on-one. It works!

 

[Dean1818]

Add another to the camp of He is too young...........

Its awesome that you are planning time with your boy..... many fathers dont

There are plenty of non lethal options for a 4 year old to learn on

 

[Jlr2267]

savage rascal& cb shorts

good choice, or Colibris

 

[kituwa]

My kids all started shooting when very young. I have a 5 year old grandson that lives with us now and he has a crickett of his own. But he is only allowed to shoot it with me standing right beside him . It gets locked up in the gun safe when not in use.He does very well with it. The crickett comes with a peep rear sight that he figured out how to use on his own . He has a BB gun so he already knew about reguler iron sites and the peep just came natural for him.He was hitting great with the peeps and then i mounted a small red dot sight on it for him to try. His aim went downhill right away. After a while i figured out that he was lineing up the red dot with the front sight that can still be seen through the red dot scope. I could not get him to understand not to do that so i took the red dot back off for now.

 

[Jesse H]

I got a Ruger American Rimfire for my 4 year old. Still waiting for the AAC Element can to be approved.

Unfortunately, she's barely strong enough to pull the 3 lb trigger. Wife figured out it's actually for me.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

scary to see so many replies of "too young"...reminds me of same people that think taking a bite out of a cookie and it "looks like a pistol" crowd....I learned to shoot and hunt before I was 6. Sad to see how the mentality of people has deteriorated to the level of the anti gun crowd. I worry about the future of our country. idiots like diane fienstien and a few others said guns in the hands of young people was dangerous, the average age of Viet Nam soldiers w19, in Iraq and Afghanistan the troops are also very young and also very efficient with their firearms.

 

[Ironicaintit]

19 is a little different than 4.

And being cautious with their education about the use and handling of firearms is different than teaching them to be phobic about them.

But to stay on the topic at hand....
Why not a BB gun first? And once they've proven responsible with that, move on to powder actuated.
That's MY plan! YMMV

 

[ECVMatt]

I started my son at 4 with a Marlin 39a and peep sights. We used CB's and it barely made a crack. Soon after I got him a CZ Scout and he has been loving it every since. I would suggest a Savage Rascal. I have been looking at one for my daughter, she's five, and it looks like a good performer.

 

[aarondhgraham]

The Crickett is a fine little rifle,,,

The Crickett is a fine little rifle,,,
I picked one up used for $75.00 at a pawn shop.

My friend has a 6 year old boy,,,
The rifle is the perfect size for him.

With .22 shorts he is hitting golf balls at 15 yards.

There is no reason at all that a 4 year old girl shouldn't be allowed to shoot a rifle,,,
Especially if the parent has the good sense to oversee every detail.

The Savage Rascal and the Henry Mini-Bolt are very good rifles,,,
In fit and finish they are nicer than the Crickett,,,
But they also cost one heckuva lot more.

Take that girl to the range,,,
Let her pop some balloons at 10 yards,,,
That's Daddy/Daughter time at it's absolute finest.

Aarond

.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I started my grand daughter at 4 with a Browning Buckmark and by 6 she was shooting an Aim Point 9mm carbine. At 8 she was shooting my Browning 9mm BDM and Saiga AK. I gave her a BB gun for her 9th birthday but it just doesn't measure up so I let her shoot my Ruger 10/22 whenever the mood strikes.

 

[Snyper]

Can we focus on answering his question? He didn't ask for parenting advice.

He asked how to teach a 4 year old to shoot, safely.
The best answer is wait a few more years.
A 4 year old isn't mature enough to do much of anything safely

 

[Ironicaintit]

He asked how to teach a 4 year old to shoot, safely.
The best answer is wait a few more years.
A 4 year old isn't mature enough to do much of anything safely

While I agree; guys like Sam1911 do make a convincing argument, for the examples of how a 4 year old could do it without much worry. Closely monitored, in your lap, between your arms...

Thanks to this thread, I have thought about it a little more in depth, and I see no problem with fully immersing a kid into the use of firearms. How better to ingrain the safety habits and the encompassing philosophy that go with it, than from a parent who knows?

It's not much different than when my boy has stood between my arms with his hands over mine as I fired a Ruger Standard. He loved it! He hasn't pulled a trigger himself yet, and won't, until I feel he's ready.

It's easy to forget that outside of our own bubble, the other hoplophiles out there are probably just as responsible, or even more so, than yourself (I'm talking to myself).

This concludes my....lets see... $.06 in this thread.

Happy educational plinking!

 

[fouled bore]

Good habitats start early and will last them forever.

I would like to suggest that you use shorts not LRs and good muffs. The sound can cause a child to dislike it and you may have a difficult time getting them to try it again. One of my boys dont like the noise and I believe this is what has turned him off to shooting now.

Be sure to watch for signs that their attention is drifting off and call it a day when it does. Range time may be only 10 minutes at this age so don't push it too long when you start seeing the attention span fading .

They can shoot a gun that is too small better than a gun that is too big and it will make your job teaching them to hold it easier.

 

[Sam1911]

If we're going to have a discussion about how to introduce very young kids to shooting SAFELY -- not just denigrate the idea as somehow impossible -- I'll offer a repost of some things I've posted before:

First off -- congrats on being a concerned and responsible parent! This is a very important question.

My principles on the matter are these:

1) Never, ever hide your guns or your shooting habits/hobbies/activities from your children. Always be completely open with them and answer any question and allow access any time they show interest -- no matter how young. Every time a kid wants to know something -- tell them. Every time they want to touch a gun, help them to do so (safely). Hiding things just screws up what should be a wonderful part of your relationship, and sets the stage for confusion, mistrust, and sneaking around as they get older.

2) Every opportunity to answer a question and help them to touch and explore your guns is a critical teaching moment to instill the four safety rules. Show them your own rigorous safety practices, teach them to follow the same, and GUN-proof your kids, rather than trying to KID-proof your guns.

3) Shooting can start as soon as the kid shows interest. My daughter and oldest son were both pulling triggers at age 3. I say "pulling triggers" as they were sitting in my lap, with my arms around them and my hands over theirs, controlling the firearms. But they wanted to, they were not scared (and certainly were not PUSHED into it), and making the guns go bang was always a reward for being able to recite a safety rule or two. FIND SAFETY GEAR THAT'S KID-SIZED! It is available, pretty easily these days, and must fit them well to do its job.

4) Everything is at the child's pace. No reason to rush or push them into shooting, or to make them continue at it for one second longer than their interest and enthusiasm holds out. Better to leave 'em wanting more than to tire them out, bore them, or (heaven forbid) make them frightened or hurt by the guns.

My two school-aged kids both started sitting in my lap, with my hands over theirs, shooting .22 pistols at 3 years. Then AKs. Now that my daughter is 8 she prefers my 629.

Every step has to be REQUESTED by the kid -- I won't push them an inch farther than they're comfortable going -- and they aren't shooting the guns on their own. At that age they aren't in control of anything but the trigger itself. Even in later years my teaching style is VERY physically close. Kids can't be completely in control and responsible for the safety issues. They need to learn them and understand them, but the adult has to be in absolute control of the weapon at all times. It just isn't fair to place a child in a position of responsibility for life and death events.

(Yay, another excuse to post my favorite picture! ) This is my daughter and I when she was seven. She'd been shooting occasionally for several years at this point and has a little experience and confidence, but my position here in the safety/supervisory role is still very close and focused. Also note her solid, weight-forward stance and proper grip form. If you can teach those to your kids they will go a long way to meeting with success.




Good luck!

 

[Sav .250]

Teaching is fine but I`d go the BB gun route. Live ammo and a 4 year old.

You can teach the mechanics of handling of a weapon plus safety at the same time.

You start out right you'll end up right!