Anyone besides me enjoy teaching their kids shooting/safety?

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devildave31

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I have two little boys that love to go "down the hill" and shoot the .22 with Daddy. My oldest who just recently turned 4 can work a bolt like a champ, while I'm holding the weapon, of course. He has even pulled the trigger on my 1911. I make sure to impart some kind of safety lesson each time we handle the weapons, and after shooting I clear the weapons and take them apart in the living room, because my boys like to help clean them too.

Anyone have any advice or anecdotal stories regarding kids and guns?
 
I have a nephew, and I was told not to take him shooting until my sister gave me permission (my brother-in-law's input is apparently irrelevant on the matter). I'd be interested in that advice, too, for when she does give me permission.
 
I enjoy teaching new shooters how to shoot. Kid, adults....it doesn't matter. I try to take about 10 new or inexperienced shooters to the range per year. Sometimes it's handguns. Other times it may be skeet.
 
Of course. My 11 year old daughter is a good shot, reloads and LOVES cleaning guns. My 14 year old daughter likes to shoot her rifle enough to be proficient and is a great hunter. Can sit in the stand for 3-4 hours and still hunt all day.

A note to new parents. I watched my brother-in-law make a common mistake. He said:

"My boy is going to be an outdoors man just like me, he has no choice... it's in his blood...."

His oldest boy (Love him to death....) hates hunting, fishing.... all of it. His youngest son, who was a bystander through all of this adopted the outdoors because it was exposed to him, but not forced on him.

I made a conscious decision with my kids to let them know what I was up to, invited them along everywhere I went (I never did anything since being a dad I would not do with my children) and sometimes they took me up on it, and sometimes they did not...

Bottom line is they enjoy doing some of what I do and I will not have memories I will cherish the rest of my life.

So, yes... teach new people to shoot... but do it on THEIR terms or you will drive them away no matter how good your intentions.
 
My kido still hasn't yet pulled a trigger. Oh he's tried, but even with both index fingers, he couldn't break that stupid .22's trigger. He likes to sit on my knee though, and watch Daddy shoot. It's something I can't even describe. I love it.
 
I completely agree, my oldest loves to shoot and asks if we can go shooting all the time, but his little bro doesn't show a lot of interest at the moment. I take him along to keep him exposed, but if he doesn't want to it's his choice.

For me it's more about a way to spend time together doing something we both like than anything else. I can't wait until he's big enough to actually hold the rifle himself and learn marksmanship. On that note, can anyone recommend a good .17 or .22 rifle or small shotgun for little ones. The one we currently use has a full size stock.
 
I love to teach new shooters. My summer job was a range instructor at a Scout camp for years and I loved every minute. I'd still be doing it but I left the organization for personal reasons. Just be sure you beat safety into their heads........don't allow them to form bad habits.
 
CoRoMo - When my oldest pulled the 1911 trigger I was sitting down with my legs apart and him standing between them. I had him put his right hand on my knee which I covered with my shooting hand holding the pistol (that way his little hand wouldn't move into the way of a rearward moving slide). He had to pull the trigger with his left hand and he had to lean his whole body weight into it. I was actually surprised he was able to do it.

SonofGilnockie89- Funny story about safety, I've always told my boys that they are welcome to look at my guns IF THEY ASK, and that they don't touch without mommy or daddy. After I had recently purchased a new OWB holster and 2 mag pouch and was trying them on in my bedroom. My son was in the room and pointed at me and said something, which to me sounded like "I got a a$$", I was trying to figure out there he would get line like that, when I realized he was pointing at the .45 and saying " I gotta ask", at which point I told him he was correct and commended him.

mcdonl- Now that you mention it my sis in law has a Cricket. maybe one of these days we'll hit her up for it. thanks
 
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I don't have any kids but I enjoy teaching friend's kids to shoot.

I also enjoy teaching adults to shoot.

I have my own range, I'm retired and I have a selection of guns, so a new shooter can try out different guns to see what they like.
 
Just my grandson, started him at 9 or 10, can't recall, he's almost 14 now. He shoots everything I own except the big bolt-action rifles like the .30-06, K31, and Mosins. The recoil kinda sucks the fun out of it for him. But he can shoot my M1 Garand like a champ. We still have the most fun with the .22's.
 
My kids only had a passing interest in guns, never enough to get them out shooting.
Fast forward, and my 30 YO Liberal daughter asked to go shooting with me. At home we ran through the safety drill and shooting basics, then on the range I set her up with my old peep-sighted Remy bolt 22 and let her wail away. She didn't do bad, in fact some other shooters remarked they felt it was easier to teach a girl since they listen better and don't have anything to prove. She even took pics of her targets and put them on her Facebook page.
She was over to her FIL's house (another shooter) and said "Hey Keith, did you see the article about Ted Nugent in TAR?" Her non-shooting husband looked at her and said "Do I know you?"

Side note - she's an English teacher at the local community college. There was an ex-Marine in her class who did his descriptive essay on stripping and cleaning the M-16. He began with the first part of the Rifleman's Creed, did the essay, and closed with the remainder of the Creed.
 
Taught my kids to shoot. Enjoyed that. Taught my grandones to shoot.
Loved it all.
As a 60 yr old CHL & firearms instructor w/ a 40 yr old son who is a firearms instructor, I really enjoy us getting together for training. Now we learn from each other.

Come on Thanksgiving. All kids, grandones, Mom, inlaws, & outlaws will be here for eats, fun, training, church, football, teaching the young ones.....
 
"I guess its never too late.

What was her response to the paper?"

She said he did a nice job on it. In general she says the ex-military guys have their heads on straight. It's the "I couldn't do my homework because I spend weekends in jail on a pot possession charge" kids from the snotty suburbs she hates. But I digress.....
 
Don't have any kids yet to teach...but plan too if their interested. I'm curious to know at what age most of your kids were interested in shooting?
 
I have six kids, three boys and three girls. The girls, for some reason, never showed much interest. The boys all still like to shoot. My two oldest girls are both in college now. They are very pro gun and pro second amendment but still not shooters.
 
My oldest was about 2 when he showed interest, we bought a .22 just for him, and we took him to the range to see if he would like it yet. We were afraid he would be scared by the loud noises (at the time he was still afraid of the vacuum). Somebody nearby was shooting a 12 ga. and he pointed at it and said "I wanna shoot that". :D

My second is two now and I have been deployed to Kuwait since February, so he hasn't gotten the attention that the first had, so we'll see with him when I get home. I tried taking him to shoot while I was on leave, but he wasn't overly interested. I don't think he quite understood the concept yet, but I'm sure he'll love it too.

The wife and I agreed that we'll have a .22 for each boy to have when they get older, so I'm looking for another soon too. I have a savage mkII bolt action already, an anyone suggest another model? I want them to get to try different variations. I have had a 10/22 and wasn't overly impressed. I have seen a savage semi-auto similar to my mkII, that looked kind of nice but I haven't put a lot of effort into looking yet.
 
No kids of my own, yet, but when I take my former GF out to the range, her son, at times, has accompanied us, and really enjoyed his time there. And I enjoyed showing him the basics of safety, sight picture, etc.
Out of a school with 1700 students, he's quite possibly the only one to have shot a gun, or at least shot something more powerful than Airsoft or a .22 (liberal affluent suburb in lower NY State).
 
No kids at this point in time, but I intend eventually and hope they like firearms as well.

I do my best to offer co-workers and other family members the chance to shoot if they are interested. I did not grow up with guns and wish someone had gotten me onto this sooner :)
 
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