teaching my son to shoot centerfire handgun

[roval]

went to the range today with my son to shoot handgun. i loaded up 38 special 148 gr wadcutters over 2.9 bullseye for shooting in a gp 100 and 586. he did quite well. he holds the gun too loosely at this time but is getting the hang of a good sight picutre. when he gets better will try offhand.

 

[bannockburn]

roval

Good job Dad! Great first time out!

I always start new shooters out with a .22 handgun of their choice; semi-auto or revolver. Next up in a centerfire cartridge would be a 9mm. or a .38 Special using 148 gr. wadcutter target loads.

 

[bikerdoc]

Good job.
SA 22 is the best starter firearm IMO

 

[roval]

he shoots the ruger 10/22 rifle and my red dot mounted victory 22 and has had 25 yrd hits with it our 4inch plated dueling tree offhand even if it is heavy with the volquartsen barrel. he didn't do as well with the iron sighted mark 2. wasn't sure if he knew what sight picture to look for.

he has a tendency to shoot faster with the semi auto 22s with worse results only because he says " i like firing it fast"

this was his first centerfire handgun range session. he hasn't shot my single ten 22 lr that much. twenty rounds but he didnt do so well then.that was about 6 months ago. the 148 wc is a perfect non-threatening step up to the 22 lr.

 

[Tallball]

With my daughter I went from 22 revolver to 32 revolver. That is my typical progression for new shooters. She dislikes recoil and it was a couple of years before she wanted to shoot a 38. She still loves my Colt Model 1903 32acp.

She finally shot a 38 special because her friend was shooting one and she didn't want to "seem like a wimp". Her grandpa got her to shoot his (heavy steel) 9mm because she was a little bored. She did fine with both. I prefer to let new shooters go at their own pace.

 

[roval]

i only have 22lr, 22mag, 38s/357, 9 mm, 45 acp and 44mag handguns.

 

[375supermag]

Hi...
I remember teaching my then 8 year old son to shoot.
We started with a single action .22 revolver and then moved on to a .357Mag with .38Spl level loads in .357Mag cases.
By the time he was 12 he was shooting my .41 and .44Mag revolvers with loads in the 1200fps range.
Today, at age 23 he is a big fan of the .45ACP and 10mm in autoloaders. He also owns and shoots any number of rifles, shotguns and other handguns.

 

[bannockburn]

roval

he has a tendency to shoot faster with the semi auto 22s with worse results only because he says " i like firing it fast"

Sounds a lot like my daughter, though she's a pretty decent shot with her Beretta Neos. Of course I only help her "need for speed" by loading mags while she's going through yet another 10 round mag! She has used my 9mm. Hi-Power and done alright with it but still likes her .22 best.

 

[earplug]

A 38spl reload in a revolver worked for my son and I. While we have several target pistols in 22LR, the weight and excellent trigger on a K frame S&W is hard to beat with light loads. Not having to mess with malfunctions or loading magazines was a plus.

 

[entropy]

Good job! You're on the right track. My first centerfire was a K-38 6" with wadcutters, many years ago.

 

[roval]

roval



Sounds a lot like my daughter, though she's a pretty decent shot with her Beretta Neos. Of course I only help her "need for speed" by loading mags while she's going through yet another 10 round mag! She has used my 9mm. Hi-Power and done alright with it but still likes her .22 best.

we usually use up a box of automatch if we used the 22 semis each trip. here we used up about 160 rds between him and me and it felt longer.

 

[bannockburn]

roval

Yeah I usually plan on her going through a box of Federal AutoMatch in the course of a range session. Sometimes she'll get into a second box if she shoots any faster! Definitely a revolver will slow them down a bit!

 

[Clayguy]

Good job! You're on the right track. My first centerfire was a K-38 6" with wadcutters, many years ago.

My first gun was also a K-38 with target hammer/trigger, over 50 years ago. Still have it. Sweet shooter.

 

[entropy]

Well, that was the first centerfire handgun I shot. It was my Dad's duty gun at the time. The first one I owned was the one he replaced the K-38 with, a Colt Trooper MkIII, which Dad gave me after he replaced that with a Python. I think I was about 7 when I shot the K-38 the first time.

Hi...
I remember teaching my then 8 year old son to shoot.
We started with a single action .22 revolver and then moved on to a .357Mag with .38Spl level loads in .357Mag cases.
By the time he was 12 he was shooting my .41 and .44Mag revolvers with loads in the 1200fps range.
Today, at age 23 he is a big fan of the .45ACP and 10mm in autoloaders. He also owns and shoots any number of rifles, shotguns and other handguns.

Sounds like my upbringing, and my oldest son's.

 

[J-Bar]

You are a great dad for taking him shooting, well done!!

Please take this as a suggestion, not a criticism. He may find it more comfortable to adopt a conventional two handed grip (his left hand looks loose) and cock the hammer with his left thumb rather than his right thumb. It will allow him to maintain a firmer grip with his right hand. Also, this is a good time to build good trigger discipline by making sure he takes his trigger finger out of the trigger guard between single-action shots. These things can be practiced at home during dry-fire sessions.

Here's hoping you have a shooting companion for the rest of your life.

 

[Tacoma]

Nice! Since your training him right on a revolver, don't for get the old anti flinch training trick too. (i.e load a round short now and then and watch the motion of the gun when the hammer falls on a empty cylinder by surprise. ) Anticipating recoil can be a accuracy robbing bad habit to break once learned.

 

[roval]

Nice! Since your training him right on a revolver, don't for get the old anti flinch training trick too. (i.e load a round short now and then and watch the motion of the gun when the hammer falls on a empty cylinder by surprise. ) Anticipating recoil can be a accuracy robbing bad habit to break once learned.

i actually had the snap caps with me on the range that day but didnt think of doing the dummy rounds. ill do it next time. i'll work on his grip later. main concern was making sure he didn't extend a finger in front of the cylinder. i just wanted him to get the feel of firing something stronger than 22 lr and to get hits with it.

after that range outing i had him watch hickock45's long winded but important recent video on gunhandling that was 19 min long. that muzzle would wiggle as he's trying to load or unload.

 

[roval]

Nice! Since your training him right on a revolver, don't for get the old anti flinch training trick too. (i.e load a round short now and then and watch the motion of the gun when the hammer falls on a empty cylinder by surprise. ) Anticipating recoil can be a accuracy robbing bad habit to break once learned.

Nice! Since your training him right on a revolver, don't for get the old anti flinch training trick too. (i.e load a round short now and then and watch the motion of the gun when the hammer falls on a empty cylinder by surprise. ) Anticipating recoil can be a accuracy robbing bad habit to break once learned.

You are a great dad for taking him shooting, well done!!

Please take this as a suggestion, not a criticism. He may find it more comfortable to adopt a conventional two handed grip (his left hand looks loose) and cock the hammer with his left thumb rather than his right thumb. It will allow him to maintain a firmer grip with his right hand. Also, this is a good time to build good trigger discipline by making sure he takes his trigger finger out of the trigger guard between single-action shots. These things can be practiced at home during dry-fire sessions.

Here's hoping you have a shooting companion for the rest of your life.

we'll practice loading/ unloading/ cocking with snap caps prior to the next outing and will emphasize using the left thumb for cocking.