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Thread: My Daughter Wants Me to Teach Her to Shoot. Help Me Out

  1. #11

    Another .22 Vote Here

    Even when I am taking men out that have shot before I try to get them to shoot 25-50 shots of .22 first. Also, it sets their expectations that they CAN shoot well, before moving on to center fire.

    If there is any way you can borrow a 22 pistol with a red dot (or hey, go buy one... ) I would try. I have a Ruger Mark III with an Aimpoint (I think they called it an R1, they were silver and Midway blew them out) and I have never had anybody shoot it that didn't smile

    If there is an opportunity to hang some plates, I would try.

    We have been setting up after dinner every Thanksgiving for a few years, and a lotta newbie women have shot that Ruger and dug doing it.

  2. #12
    I'd suggest a basic "here's how to put a magazine in the rifle"/four rules overview followed by an Appleseed.

  3. #13
    Went through the same with my 10yo and wife a while back. 22LR is where its at. Spent time at home going over the 4 rules without guns around. Handled empty guns at home. Following the 4 rules. Explained parts how they work and what the parts do. How to clear, how to load... You can dial that down, but my son is like me and likes to take stuff apart. At the range we reviewed the rules and the rules of the range. Then got down to business. My son started with a 22LR bolt @ 10 yards with peep sights. Easy to get hits and feel good. Clay pigeons are awesome reactive targets. Wife went with a 22LR pistol @ 3 yards. Same thing easy to get hits and not get frustrated. Once they have the safety, handling and such down we went up in caliber. If they wont like the larger calibers step back to the 22LR. Point is to build and support the enjoyment of the sport. My wife can shoot 9mm well, but still loves the 22LR. Does the 9 simply cause she knows its needed for defensive purposes. My son was hesitant about the AR, but loved the 20GA and skeet.

    My suggestion aside from the 22LR is to stick with rifles for kids as they are starting out. Pistols are too easy to make mistakes with.

  4. #14
    Site Supporter
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    Another vote for emphasizing the .22 rifle and starting with reactive targets at very doable ranges.
    Milk jugs might not react much to a .22, but clay pidgeons or soup cans are nicely reactive to .22.
    I’ve found that for new shooters, seeing the target respond is great feedback. Paper targets can be boring, especially for kids. And there’s no immediate gratification.
    I’d save the bigger bore stuff for later sessions.
    Last edited by GyroF-16; 07-18-2018 at 07:21 PM. Reason: iPhone-induced typos

  5. #15
    Rich Jenkins had a similar thread a year or two back that might be worth looking for.
    David S.

  6. #16
    I agree with the 22 rifle to start. Is it possible to have a table or something to rest on with sandbags for the first shots? Makes it easier than holding up a heavy gun.

  7. #17
    Shooting is very technical, and we're technical folk. That's why we're here on PF. But the biggest piece of the puzzle will be to understand why she wants to learn. Cater her experience to her desires, and she'll have a lifetime to get to the technical parts

  8. #18
    Site Supporter psalms144.1's Avatar
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    Jun 2012
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    Bloomington, IN
    When I taught my kids to shoot (two boys, two girls), training started in the house, focused on the four universal safety rules. None of them were allowed to touch a live weapon at all until they could answer, on demand, what those were and why each was important. Followed this up with dry fire, weapons handling stuff at the house.

    For live fire, we ALWAYS started with a single shot 22 rifle, shooting from a bench or prone. Initially they'd shoot Shoot-n-C targets at close range (10-15 yards, depending on the range), once they could consistently hit center on those (fundamentals solid), we advanced to shooting cans/milk jugs, etc. Once they could consistently hit empty cans at 25 yards with the rifle prone, we covered kneeling, then standing shooting.

    Handguns came later, for a number of reasons, not the least of which was I didn't have a good kid-sized .22 handgun. Once I rectified that, we repeated the dry fire/weapons handling, close range paper then "reactive" target procedure, with good success. I'll say, my eldest daughter lost interest first - she's not afraid of guns, but she doesn't really "dig" shooting that much. My youngest daughter, who's consistently the worst shot of the four, CONSTANTLY begs me to take her to the range.

    Others have hit on key points - calm, quiet coaching, preferably away from peers/siblings and public range asshats.

  9. #19
    I start all new shooters out on .22LR in a bench rest position so that the focus is on sight alignment, sight picture, and most importantly, smooth trigger press. I want the weight of the firearm to be supported by something other than the new shooter. This is for .22 rifles as well as the two semi auto pistols that I own.

    Some of my fondest memories are of teaching my sister (who was 13 years younger than me) and my only son to shoot when they were both very small. The Marlin Lil Buckaroo single shot for both was the tool for the task. That rifle will be too small for a teenager but your .22 rifle will be fine for teaching her.

    Aside from the standard safety rules and administrative tasks (loading, unloading, making safe, etc), I'd start with dry fire with a firm instruction on tripping the trigger without disturbing the sights. Then live fire using one round at a time until she has the process down. It wont take her long to learn it.

    For targets I prefer a standard B8 repair center at close distances......say 10-15 yards.....and once she can place them all in the ten ring, you can move back from there. She may put them all in the X so prepare for that and if you need to increase the distance at that point, do so. Keep it at a fun, safe pace and her interest will soar.

    Once she is competent with it you can move on to steel targets or Necco wafers hot glued to a cardboard backing. Busting up those sugar candy wafers seems to be fun to new shooters and the clean up will be taken care of by the local ants and bugs. If she gets to where she can hit anything with the .22 you can move up to larger calibers and see how she does with those.

    If she takes to it with a passion, I see a .22 pistol purchase in your future. Even after thousands and thousands of centerfire rounds downrange, I still enjoy rimfire pistol shooting. My Ruger MkIII has seen tons of rounds and has been one of the best training purchases I've made.

    Oh, and I have found that females, on average, are fast learners when you take away the recoil. I taught a lady a couple of weeks ago who's husband bought her a LCR in .38 special. She hated shooting it. I placed that MkIII in her hands and in about 15 minutes she was dumping mag after mag in the ten ring. Then we moved up to my G42 in .380 and she was doing very well with it. We then went back to the LCR and she did much better dealing with the recoil once she had the basics down.

    Patience and a calm demeanor on your part will be an asset to you. That helps tremendously when teaching new shooters.

    Both my son and my sister are adults now and while neither one of them shoot much, they both are crack shots when they do shoot. Hopefully, your girl takes to it like the rest of here on this forum and develops a lifetime of fun and passes it along to her children one day.

    Good luck with it.
    Last edited by lwt16; 07-19-2018 at 07:07 AM.

  10. #20
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    Jan 2013
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    Establishing and reinforcing the basics is crucially important. That goes without saying here.
    But if she's having a lot of fun at one particular phase in this, like plinking those reactive targets with a .22 rifle - don't rush her onto the next weapon/phase/planned lesson.

    Some of my fondest memories with my Dad as a young child involved our range trips together, and he quite patiently and happily let me plink through countless bricks of .22LR through the old 10/22 that later became mine.

    I'd probably put 5-6k through that 10/22 and had a very established skillset with all of the safety rules and fundamentals before I ever touched another weapon, and I absolutely didn't mind at all.
    Letting me master that .22 rifle phase gave me a hell of a lot of confidence when it was time to move on to pistols and centerfires.

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