Shooting with Small Children

[Suvorov]

First I'd like to introduce my son, Costa. As you can see, even at an early age he has a thirst for top level firearms training ;)

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f32/wyorca/IMG_0691.jpg

But my question isn't about teaching newborns to shoot, it is about how to find the time to shoot and train with newborns at home?

I have been shooting pretty actively my entire adult life and am a "OK/decent" shot (mid 8 second FAST times), I love shooting for its sake, I carry a gun at work, and I of course I want to be able to protect my family/self/country to the best of my ability if the need ever arises. The problem is that since the arrival of the little guy, the amount of time I have available to shoot has been drastically reduced and I have seen the effects at the range and during qualification. My job has me away and thus my wife at home with the kid about 16+ days a month. When I am home, she needs a break and often the mere suggestion of me spending an afternoon at the range, is enough to start another Balkans conflict, let alone taking a week to go to the CSAT instructor course half a country away. So instead of weekly range sessions, I am reduced to 2 sessions a month at best.

My goals are simple, to improve my skills or at the very least, not have them atrophy completely until the kid is a little more autonomous. I am not particularly worried about failing qualification as we jokingly refer to it as the Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder open, still, I don't want to suck in front of my peers. I also want to develop/keep both my rifle and pistol skills.

So what have you Dads and even Moms who have discovered the realities of young children done to keep your skills on the cutting (or at least not totally dull) edge? Dry firing seems like an obvious choice, but are there certain range drills that work better than others? Is it better to divide a training session into a rifle and a pistol session, or is it better to concentrate one day on rifle and then the next day on pistol? What can be done to maximize effect when range time is so limited?

Thanks

[Wheeler]

Dry Fire ad infinitum.

Do a Youtube search on Headhunter100, he has several dryfire drills that might be of benefit.

Another alternative is rather than spend an afternoon at the range, spend an hour or so with a specific drill or two in mind.

[JHC]

During that phase I learned that downgrading from .45 ACP "evey day!, that's all ah do" to 9mm was necessary to maintain speed and hits. It's gonna be dry fire and dry drilling.

[JDM]

Dry fire.

~250 round range sessions that take an hour instead of all day range sessions with much higher round counts.

Dry fire.

Plan your trainings way WAY in advance. I'm saving money, and planning days off from my daughter and work for October/November 2012.

You'll get used to it.

[LOKNLOD]

I have a 5 yo (today's her Bday!), a 2.5 yo, and a 6 month old. All girls, if that matters (it will in a few years, I think!).

Couple that with a demanding job, and I haven't been to the range since early August, according to my log (when it's been long enough you need to consult your log to know when you went last, it's been too long).

:(

[JHC]

While nothing like the demands of your stage of parenthood, I have a lot of tasks that pile up for the weekend. I take care of my shooting duties by hitting it every Sunday morning . . . religously. . . before the household is conscious. Out of the door by 7:00-7:30. Point is picking a scheduled time that might be more workable.

[ubervic]

What no one understands until he/she is a parent is that one's personal time is out the window....for years.

Dry-firing, practicing your draw-stroke, and aiming (safely) at household items are probably going to be the only training activities that you can hope to sustain on a regular basis for quite a while to come. Go to the range when you can, and understand that your time to live-fire will come more frequently and consistently will come back around before too long.

Enjoy your family, as your 'little one' will grow quickly and before you know it.

[SecondsCount]

Cute kid.

I remember those days. Now I am happy to say that the boys are old enough to come to the range with me, and sometimes outshoot me! :eek:

If you can get away for a couple hours once a week then I think that would be reasonable. Don't forget to give your wife some time away as well. :cool:

[ToddG]

Now I am happy to say that the boys are old enough to come to the range with me, and sometimes outshoot me!

I can vouch for this. :cool:

[DWB]

I've found that if I have the discipline to get up real early on weekends, I can do a lot of things I want or need to do before everyone else is up 'n at 'em. Basically sacrifice your sleep instead of time with your family...and it's really not too bad when you're doing something you enjoy.

[part-time shooter]

You're still able to get in two range sessions a month, that's better than many in your situation. I've got 4 kids, plus a 1 hour commute to and from work so my range time is close to 0 most weeks, if not months depending on where the job sends me. When I do get the time, I have to schedule it in advance with the wife and then only for a few hours. While at the range I work on specifics, from concealment, at single and multiple targets. I'm not working on basic marksmanship unless I start pulling shots, in which case it's more likely fatigue causing mistakes instead of fundamental "issues". If I find I'm doing something wrong I take 5, get a drink of whatever I brought in the cooler, dry fire a few times through the draw portion of the drill I'm working on and then resume my practice. If I'm still "off" I go to a slow fire headshot only at 10 yard exercise, sort of a maintenance drill to see what I'm doing wrong or to refocus my concentration.

I take a set amount of ammo and put together an "agenda" for that session. Simple to advanced drills and then back to simple. 200 - 250 rounds, three hours tops including the drive. I'm taking more of a quality versus quantity view of my practice at this point. Besides that with the cost of food and daycare who has the money for all day range sessions, unless it's with a .22 LR.

I even "build" my targets before I get there. I buy the IDPA cardboard targets in bulk and staple various printed drill targets to them or index cards and paper plates. I'll go from a single target draw, fire 1, reholster, draw, fire 2, etc drill to shooting the FAST at the index card/paperplate targets or use the printed ones you can grab in pdf format off Todd's site. Once I get through a few of those I move to multi-target setups, like the 1, 1, 2, 1, 1 on three seperate targets. That let's me practice my draw, marksmanship, reloads, and engaging multiple targets in a single session in less than two hours.

I try to do this as early as possible so I can get back home and relieve my wife of kid duty so she can take her own 2-3 hour no kid(s) sanity break. Welcome to parenthood, you'll be 50 before you get back to what you think of as "normal" range sessions. :eek:

[DWB]

I came across a guy the other day who has a mess of magazines he loads beforehand to save time on the range.

[rsa-otc]

You're still able to get in two range sessions a month, that's better than many in your situation. I've got 4 kids, plus a 1 hour commute to and from work so my range time is close to 0 most weeks, if not months depending on where the job sends me. When I do get the time, I have to schedule it in advance with the wife and then only for a few hours. While at the range I work on specifics, from concealment, at single and multiple targets. I'm not working on basic marksmanship unless I start pulling shots, in which case it's more likely fatigue causing mistakes instead of fundamental "issues". If I find I'm doing something wrong I take 5, get a drink of whatever I brought in the cooler, dry fire a few times through the draw portion of the drill I'm working on and then resume my practice. If I'm still "off" I go to a slow fire headshot only at 10 yard exercise, sort of a maintenance drill to see what I'm doing wrong or to refocus my concentration.

I take a set amount of ammo and put together an "agenda" for that session. Simple to advanced drills and then back to simple. 200 - 250 rounds, three hours tops including the drive. I'm taking more of a quality versus quantity view of my practice at this point. Besides that with the cost of food and daycare who has the money for all day range sessions, unless it's with a .22 LR.

I even "build" my targets before I get there. I buy the IDPA cardboard targets in bulk and staple various printed drill targets to them or index cards and paper plates. I'll go from a single target draw, fire 1, reholster, draw, fire 2, etc drill to shooting the FAST at the index card/paperplate targets or use the printed ones you can grab in pdf format off Todd's site. Once I get through a few of those I move to multi-target setups, like the 1, 1, 2, 1, 1 on three seperate targets. That let's me practice my draw, marksmanship, reloads, and engaging multiple targets in a single session in less than two hours.

I try to do this as early as possible so I can get back home and relieve my wife of kid duty so she can take her own 2-3 hour no kid(s) sanity break. Welcome to parenthood, you'll be 50 before you get back to what you think of as "normal" range sessions. :eek:

Yep just described my life. Church, Scouts, Karate etc. took up most of my time. If it wasn't for the job, norounds would have gone down range.

[Suvorov]

Thanks for all the advise guys. I think what helped more than anything was the realization that many of you are in or have been in the same situation and understand. I don't think I ever realized how drastic a lifestyle change little ones are. How serious shooters with families burn though tens of thousands of rounds per year, attend multiple classes, compete regularly, and manage to hold down a full time job is beyond me. My hats off to them!

I have found a work around that should work. The little guy beds down at 6pm so I can get to the range by 7pm for a couple hours of shooting before it closes at 9pm. The added benefit to this is that this time of year will mean I will also have the ability to do some low light shooting. I definitely need to pick up the dry fire training and find a good mix of drills that can help me progress. Definitely planning out range sessions and building some kind of syllabus will help. I would love to take a course or two a year, but I don't see anything more than service mandated training classes coming my way for the next couple years.

In a few more years, maybe I'll have a little range buddy that I can take out of the house to give the wife a break, who can out shoot me.

[ToddG]

Dual income, no kids.
http://pistol-training.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/3rdammoshipment.jpg

[part-time shooter]

Dual income, no kids.
http://pistol-training.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/3rdammoshipment.jpg

Now if that's not tempting fate I don't know what is....

The "Honey I need to tell you something" surprise can't be far behind...

[Wheeler]

Now if that's not tempting fate I don't know what is....

The "Honey I need to tell you something" surprise can't be far behind...

karma...

[Nephrology]

Just gotta lead am a little bit less!

/tastelessjoke

[ToddG]

Now if that's not tempting fate I don't know what is....

My wife and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary. I'm pretty sure we've got that issue hammered out.

[JAD]

My wife and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary. I'm pretty sure we've got that issue hammered out.
Phrasing!

[steve]

My wife and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary. I'm pretty sure we've got that issue hammered out.

Congrats!

[MechEng]

My wife and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary. I'm pretty sure we've got that issue hammered out.

Congratulations!

I was enjoying the duel income, no kids life style and had my mountain of ammo stashed in the closet, but now I have twins on the way. My mountain of ammo has dwindled down and now looks like $400 worth of baby car seat, $300 tandem stroller, a pallet of baby diapers, butt crack wipes, formula, etc…

Keep the tips coming gents. I’m going to need them.

[ToddG]

I was enjoying the duel income, no kids life style

Wow, I know finances can be a source of heated discussion in many relationships but that seems to be taking things a bit too far...

[gtmtnbiker98]

Wow, I know finances can be a source of heated discussion in many relationships but that seems to be taking things a bit too far...
^^ Too funny!

[ACP230]

I shot more when I had small children than I do now.

I was shooting Bullseye, NRA High Power Rifle, bowling pins, and hunting grouse, deer. and turkeys.
My wife had a job with regular hours and my parents were still alive and living a block and a half away. "Hey Mom..."
I also had some shooting buddies with more time on their hands then. I was more tolerant of the local indoor range in those days too. The older it gets the more ventilation issues it seems to have.

My wife and I would trade off taking care of the kids so I didn't miss any matches I really wanted to shoot.
As soon as my kids got old enough I started taking them to the woods and the range. My two oldest were following me around on grouse hunts at three or four. (Not all the time but every so often).

When the kids got to be six or seven they started shooting, first air rifles then .22s. By age 12 my oldest son was hunting with me and competing at the old Second Chance Bowling Pin Shoot.
Most used words at the range "OK son, go down and put up targets..."

Now everybody seems to be working odd hours, or more hours. We are having trouble getting to the range together. When I do get there I have to put up my own targets since all the kids are out of the house.

[MechEng]

Wow, I know finances can be a source of heated discussion in many relationships but that seems to be taking things a bit too far...

Ha! I was wondering if someone would catch that. My wife is a finance attorney so using the word Duel would technically be correct since I never win any heated discussions about our finances.

[JAD]

I shot more when I had small children than I do now.
I'm glad I got my shooting in while I was young. We waited 'til 40 to have Griffin, with the unintended consequence that our parents had retired far away and all of our friends are too old and rich to babysit for cash. No rest for the wicked. I figure I'll be lucky to shoot four or five times a year over the next five.

I am saving up those drills of the week, though. Someday <wistful>....