I will be teaching a cousin Firearms safety soon. . .

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Cryogaijin

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I'm big on getting people into firearms, and providing the best possible firearms experience. I recently reconnected with my youngest cousin, who recently turned 16. His mother has been looking for someone to teach him firearms safety, and as I am now local, I volunteered.

For the first range trip I'll be loaning him my spare protective gear. I'm planning on bringing a .17hmr rifle, a semi-auto .22lr, my bolty 30-06 (all scoped.) My r-870 12 gauge, a .22lr target pistol and one of my centerfire handguns (depending which one fits best in his hand.) I will be bringing some tannerite targets which I'll put out if he behaves himself.

My question for THR, above and beyond what I've listed, is there anything else you think I should bring? I'm not really sure what to bring as targets for the shotgun, as I don't own any clays or a launcher. Possibly just use it with my plentiful #4 buckshot.

Also if he does decently in summer-school I'm thinking of possibly getting him his own rifle. As I'm fairly budget limited, I'm thinking of a Mosin with a spamcan of ammo. Other possible recomendations?
 
That many guns complicates things. I rarely take more than two for new folks, though I do have a blue gun for drilling them on the four rules. As an example, my nephew was required to both know the four rules cold and be able to demonstrate them before he was allowed to shoot.

First range trip, IMHO, should be pretty much limited to safety and the basics*. :)


* Sight picture, stance, trigger control and grip.
 
Grill him over on muzzle control more than anything else. I am not saying do muzzle control only, but stress that one the most. This way should anything happen at least the gun is pointed in a neutral direction.
 
I agree strongly with Al in that a few guns is plenty. I like starting with .22 LR in a rifle but your call. Too many guns just seem to give the new shooter too much to digest in a simple first range session.

However your call and best wishes with your new student.

Ron
 
I have to agree. You have to ask yourself, do you want to teach safety, or do you want to teach about different guns? I think for a first time shooter, the answer should be clear. I like to bring one soft recoiling rifle (.22LR or .223), and one soft recoiling pistol (.22LR or 9mm). If you think your student will get bored with the sissy guns (I've never had it happen), you can bring along the '06 or the 12 ga to break out if you feel they demonstrate safe handling of the smaller guns.
 
Big Al nailed it. Im a newb, first range trip was this year- i was to busy worrying about not sweeping everyone with the muzzle of my p238- no need to get complicated
 
Make sure you spend time with him and a couple of unloaded guns beforehand. Don't wait until the same day you're going to the range. Let him sit with you while you clean one or two. If you have any snap-caps, demonstrate loading/unloading/clearing as well.

As far as gifting him with a rifle, wait until after he has been to the range a few times. He might have some input as to what he would do with it. If he's not hunting right away, he may even surprise you by wanting a decent .22LR one, or even a shotgun.
 
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Too many guns and sounds a lot like a show and tell. When you start school, they don't hit you with Trig / French / Chem / Acc'ting. I started my 7 year old grand with a crossman BB gun and then moved up to a henry youth 22lr lever when he showed he was on board with the safety stuff. Forget the "Big Bang" targets and just shoot some pop cans. Fill them with water to get a bigger splash with a 22. If you want to drive home how serious a "real" gun is [he has seen a lot of digital guns] fill up a 2 L drink bottle or gal milk jug with colored water and hit it with a 12g from about 7 yds. He'll get the point! Really don't get the hype of the exploding targets when you can get a similar effect from water for a whole lot less. Think reality. Real targets [rabbits, deer, etc] hit with real bullets, don't explode. Think you're kind of purpetuating the video game thing instead of focusing on the real thing. If that bores the kid too much, then he's not ready to handle the real thing.

PS: At 16 I would be even more [if thats possible] careful with demanding the safety thing. Older kids think they are all race drivers when they grab a set of car keys and all they've seen about guns has come from TV and Gameboy.

Good Luck
 
The only thing I can add here is band aids and an ice pack, scope eye can be quite nasty and can happen to anyone. My uncle managed to get a black eye with an 06 and he is a hunter of many years.
 
I gave him a list of the 4 rules (with expanded commentary) the first day we discussed the range trip. I told him that if he can't recite them by memory when he gets into town in 2 weeks, I won't be going to the range with him.

There will be some time before hand to show him safe handling and cleaning.

Part of the reason to bring out more than just the basics is that his mom hasn't gotten a chance to shoot in over 20 years, and really wants to "service some targets"
 
Also if he does decently in summer-school I'm thinking of possibly getting him his own rifle. As I'm fairly budget limited, I'm thinking of a Mosin with a spamcan of ammo. Other possible recomendations?
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How about a nice, used 10/22, or even a .22 bolt-action? A mule-kickin' Mosin is really not the best choice for a new shooter... way too much recoil, and too easy to develop bad habits.

With the 10/22, he can have fun accessorizing it - swapping this, putting on that. Lots of options.
 
First order of business is twofold: finger off trigger, muzzle control. No further training until those are thoroughly understood.
 
My boy always wanted to put his finger right on the trigger whenever you handed him a gun. No matter how many times I told him he just naturally did that. So I took him to the range and told him in the truck if he grabs a gun by the trigger before he is ready to shoot I will set him down and he wont get to shoot. So of course he tried to grab it with finger on the trigger. He got sat down for an hour while everyone else was having fun shooting. When I gave him another opportunity that day the problem was fixed!
 
My $$.02 IMHO all that caveat stuff. 1st as others have noted...too many guns. A simple low recoil bolt gun will suffice. And definately leave the handguns home...

I do appreciate your followup post stating he has to KNOW the 4-basic rules,FIRST, etc.

A lot of what has to be known can be accomplished before going to the range, proper sight picture, safety, range rules, etc. Or are you getting him to a range setting to reinforce these as a teachable moment?? Remember, at the range there's other distractions too other shooters, recoil etc. There's a reason firearms classes are run in 2 parts class & range!

Also I'd nix the idea of a bigger centerfire rifle regardless of his learning skills, he's too young for one, and frankly sounds like not enough experience. 22 is best, or single shot shotgun

K.I.S.S.:) don't bite off more than either of you can chew. On one side, Grasshopper must walk the rice paper without tearing, takes long time Other side, learn as you go and stress safety 1st..

GOOD LUCK post up how it goes !
 
Guys, he's talking about a 16 year old male who is not part of his immediate family. The "time out" in the car stuff may be OK for your own pre-teen children but it isn't age appropriate for a 16 year old and isn't relationship appropriate for someone else's "kid".

The guns mentioned are fine unless he's an utter runt. I was shooting Mosin-level guns before I was 16.

However, I'm with the bandwagon in saying you have too many. When I've taken people shooting for their first time I've had better luck with just one gun per type. A .22LR is perfect for some but an intermediate-power (.223) or pistol caliber rifle seems to get more engagement with new shooters and is no harder to shoot. Stick to a single discipline (shotgun, rifle, handgun) unless you can split the day up into a rifle part and a handgun or shotgun part. I've tried to do all three but people get worn out...much better to have them really enjoy a morning of shotgunning and want to come out again the next weekend, than wear them out trying to cram in everything.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I likely will trim down what I'm bringing to the range. That said, does a mosin 91 really have more recoil than an aught six with slightly hot loads? The aught six generates quite a bit more energy.

As for bringing a .223 or PCC/PCR, I recently moved down from alaska. I don't own any mousefart guns. :)
 
Ive never shot a mosin that recoiled nearly as hard as a rem 700 synthetic with "warm loads". Its more comparable to .308 IMO
 
As for bringing a .223 or PCC/PCR, I recently moved down from alaska. I don't own any mousefart guns.
Click to expand...

From the point of view of winning over new shooters that's a shame. I've introduced a few people to shooting and nothing holds a candle to the mousefarts for being both properly tame and sufficiently exciting. .22LR is tame but a surprising number of non-shooters don't really find them exciting. Most of those people can't handle a high power rifle (”hurts to much") though they'll bruise themselves shooting clays with a 12ga and keep going because that's more innately exciting.
 
see if there is any hunter education courses(state agency) for firearms/archery in your area.they will provide certificates for future use and liability issues after your instruction.if he decides to hunt later in life,he then has completed the requirements.other states will usually accept these certificates for issuing licenses.they are inexpensive or usually free.
 
There is lots of great advice in this thread. The only bits I have to add, based on my own experiences, are to bring a diagram of the proper sight picture and to load only a single round in each gun initially. You may have no issues with your cousin, but some folks aren't good at asking questions when they don't understand something (they just nod and try to "wing" it), and the proper sight picture seems to be harder to grasp and remember for them, at first, than we might expect (depends on the individual). Additionally, some beginners, despite having been thoroughly drilled and tested on gun safety, may react in an unsafe manner when first shooting a gun, especially if there is significant blast, a major target reaction, or they hit the bullseye; while this isn't usually a problem, I still feel better when initially loading a single round, just in case.
 
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