Youth shooting -- the vicious cycle

[9mm+]

My family went camping with eight other families this weekend and I had the opportunity to introduce a lot of children (from ages 4 to 14) to the joys of shooting. We shot .22LR, 20 gauge and 12 gauge (only for the older kids) in a safe and controlled environment and everyone had a great time! The joyful look on the kids' faces was priceless! We had some "shooters for life" after the weekend was over...

When I got home, I started to research youth shooting programs in the area and was disappointed by what I found. Other than 4H and Boy Scouts, there really isn't anything geared towards young shooters in the Raleigh area. Conversely, I remember a LOT of programs when I was growing up and this is what got me "hooked" on being a lifetime shooter.

I know I am preaching to the choir here, but unless there are more youth shooting programs in the US (especially in metro regions), children will grow up with an ignorance-driven fear/hatred of firearms and will fall victim to the propaganda of the antis. From there, even FEWER youth programs will be kept open and funded and the cycle will repeat itself until most youth shooting programs are gone completely. I figure another 3-4 generations is all it would take before this goes the way of the buggy whip...

I am doing what I can to finish all of my NRA Instructor qualifications and get involved with youth shooting. Doing nothing will be another blow to our Second Amendment rights.

 

[arcticap]

There's as many different programs for youth as there are shooting disciplines.
And not every kid is capable of benefiting from their involvement in them at their young age and skill level. Some kids are more capable than others.
I've done the NRA instructor stint for my own kids and for other kids in precision small bore rifle shooting programs and also currently run an NRA sanctioned air pistol league.
I don't want to sound too negative, but it's not for every kid, at least not for every kid at the youngest ages.
While youth programs are a great way for some kids to become familar with firearms safety and training, I don't think that there's anything wrong with people learning at an older age either. Not every kid is as interested in guns as another, and a bad experience with recoil or a lack of skill level at a young age can turn a kid off just as easily as it can them on.
So I don't think that youth programs are going to make or break the future of the 2A.
Trained children are usually a plus as adults, but all of the adults that weren't introduced to shooting as children are free to develop adult shooting interests at the age where they have a much higher skill level and ability to understand and to make a free choice about what it is that they're doing and embarking on.
It's great to help kids into the sport if they want to. But it's not a total loss if a kid isn't exposed until the time that they've become an adult. Simply put, many kids have dreams that go unmet until they become an adult and then can work toward fulfilling those dreams and desires with the money, time and natural interest that comes with age and having a free choice to pursue their own interests.
If some kids would rather play X-Box than shoot or learn to hunt, that's fine with me and not necessarily a loss for the sport. It's only a timing and age based issue.
There's really not enough facilities, time or money to invest in each and every child to become introduced to shooting. Nor do the parents have club memberships or the money to pay for them to enter a program, or to buy their own guns or have the knowledge and skills needed to properly introduce them to the sport.
So the overall percentage of kids in metro programs may be small, but as adults they get to choose their interests and develop them for themselves. So nothing is truely lost.
Programs to introduce more adults to the shooting sports might be more productive towards helping to introduce their own kids once they have some.

 

[9mm+]

Thanks, arcticap, for your contribution and perspective. Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that each and every child have access to a shooting facility, but there needs to be better access for those that are interested in shooting (besides being a Boy Scout or 4H).

My observations are far from scientific, but lack of exposure leads to ignorance and ignorance can lead to fear (the operative word here is "can", not "will"). Conversely, the more exposure, the more familiarity and less likelihood of supporting gun control later as adults either actively or passively (i.e., apathy and tacit approval by not vocalizing opposition).

 

[arcticap]

Of course I agree with you in general.
I really feel for some of the kids that I've seen where the parents drop their kid off at a program and the kids languish in it. The equipment is old, the guns are too heavy and don't fit the kids, and the instructors can't do anything about it.
Position shooting is what's available, and kids like to shoot, but the structure of the discipline doesn't appeal to every kid. They do it, but they can struggle and it shows. The kids like to pull the triggers, but many young kids aren't happy with the structured nature of position shooting. Some grow into it, others hang in there, and many younger kids drop out after a disappointing 1, 2 or 3 years.
Even the structure of junior air pistol competition is tough for many kids to do it well enough to hit targets and to see results. They like to shoot, but the distance and small size of the target can be too much of a challenge for most kids without a lot training and skill. Done at home informally, it's a lot more fun for them to just shoot an air pistol 2 handed where the structure is much more flexible.

 

[9mm+]

Fully agree, arcticap!

Btw, I found the ideal setup for kids' rifle shooting. I added a cheap Tapco stock to my Ruger 10/22, as well as a Tasco red dot scope and a bipod (both of which were under $40 each). This allowed even the youngest shooters to fire from a bench rest and not strain to hold the sight picture. Although I sighted in for 25 yards, most kids shot from 50 feet and were nailing bullseyes more often than not. When we pulled the targets, the grins were from ear to ear. The rig looks "tacticool" (which I don't like), but my intention was to have an adjustable setup for novice shooters.

 

[mustang_steve]

I learned as a kid on a T/C contender 22lr rifle my father had, he took one of the spare stocks he had and cut it down to fit me (I added a cheek pad later, by getting my mother to sew up a spandex strap that I stuck a piece of carefully carved styrofoam under). Once I got to be a decent shot, he "upgraded" me to a Remington "Mohawk 10C" semi-auto rifle, which was light enough to shoot standing. Less accurate, but more fun.

Iron sights...IMO the first thing one should learn to shoot with. He tried to get me to learn on a scope, but it just aggrivated the heck out of me due to my head being smaller than his, thus not being able to use proper form when using the rifle. Eventually he handed me a screwdriver and let me sight in the iron sights on the Contender, and it was "my rifle" until I got good enough to be trusted with the Mohawk...then that became "my rifle".

The biggest problem today is people are worrying about their kids too much....now kids aren't allowed to be kids anymore on grounds that "they might get hurt"....getting hurt is part of being a kid, pain is a good teacher, it guides us into making better decisions, moreso than being pulled aside and chastised over "you could have been hurt"....how hurt? When I broke my arm scerwing around on monkey bars (as in literally doing tricks on them), I learned "how hurt", and knew better from then on. That was a lesson a hundred "you could have been hurt"s could never do.

That said, if we are worried about the lesser stuff, imagine how scared some people are about the major stuff, like firearms. Parents these days seem driven by fear and concern over every last activity their kids will partake in. Firearms is one they should be concerned about, as it is dangerous if done incorrectly....but with things as askew as they are, I completely see why youth firearms programs are very uncommon.

 

[arcticap]

My .22 club encourages young kids to come and shoot against adults in our weekly plate shoot matches using .22 semi-auto pistols and rifles, mostly with red dot scopes. Some kids are very good and beat the adults regularly. And some are not very old being as young as ~12 and others about 1-4 years older. They get to be quite good with just a little bit of practice. And they love knocking down the reactive targets just like the rest of us.
What makes it so much fun is that it's not as hard for them to do it well, as opposed to the precision target competitions that most formal youth programs promote. Plate shooting involves more instinctive and reactive shooting with a lot more room for aiming error because it's done at very close range with larger metal targets.
And then at the end of each weekly plate match we have shoot offs where people are grouped together in classes according to their skill level, and if there's enough young kids we put them together in their own class for a prize. But we've had some 15 year olds winning adult classes and also winning plenty of individual plate matches shooting against adults who practice regularly.
Young kids and teens can have very fast reflexes.

 

[DasFriek]

My dad bought me my first gun at the age of 7,a Marlin model 60 iirc.
I also found a local range in Central Ohio offers summer courses for youth age 10-17
http://www.blackwingsc.com/youthcamp09.htm
They really do have a nice place and great people,ive only been there once since its 1.5 hour drive for me.But i do plan on using their indoor range soon.