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Thread: Youngsters and shooting games

  1. #11
    Deadeye Dick Clusterfrack's Avatar
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    Youngsters and shooting games

    I worked on safety with both of my girls for about a year each before I would let them draw from a holster or shoot a match.

    One daughter did speed steel at 13. She liked it ok, but wasn’t really into it. Too much standing around with adults. But it helped her learn how to handle and shoot guns. She now has a G43 for self defense that she can run like a boss.

    The other daughter did Appleseed at 13 and kicked butt. She earned Sharpshooter. Then she shot two USPSA matches with a stock G17. Like her sister, it wasn’t her thing. Few people her age… But I trust her to run any firearm with safety and skill.
    "You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
    Shabbat shalom, motherf***ers! --Mordechai Jefferson Carver

  2. #12
    My daughter is only 6 months old.

    My closest shooting buddy has a daughter who is now 16. High school and puberty seems to have made her less interested, but from ~10-13 she came to almost every steel challenge match we shot together.

    It started out as her coming to hang out with dad. Then we hung out after the match a few times to let her run a stage or 2 with a 10/22. Then she started competing for real, and actually shooting really well. She and her dad basically raced, with him shooting Glock 34 and her shooting a 15/22 w/dot. Their times were close and eventually she got to where she beat him at every match.

    I wasn't around for all of the parenting stuff so I can't help with that. But it was cool to see her shoot with her dad, grow up a little, and get proficient with 22 rifle. Makes me hopeful I can have a similar experience with my daughter. In 10 years.

  3. #13
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    My Grandson is 15. He has been shooting since he was 8 years old. He did some GSSF matches when he was 12 and 13 but was not really interested in them and in general it seemed like he was bored with our range training sessions. We decided to try something new and we set up a course like a USPSA match without walls, but we had movement and hidden targets. He loved it. He shot his first USPSA match in May and has 4 under his belt now. He tried steel challenge but he didn't like it and said it reminded him of GSSF.

    So now we are sticking with USPSA and he is excited to go. He even likes to practice again and I think it helps that he is beating his dad at the matches. (Our local club has been great with kids also, the coaching and encouragement have been excellent.)

    I think finding something she likes and letting her decide what she wants is most important; with that increased participation and skill will follow.

  4. #14
    Site Supporter rob_s's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by steve View Post
    My Grandson is 15. He has been shooting since he was 8 years old. He did some GSSF matches when he was 12 and 13 but was not really interested in them and in general it seemed like he was bored with our range training sessions. We decided to try something new and we set up a course like a USPSA match without walls, but we had movement and hidden targets. He loved it. He shot his first USPSA match in May and has 4 under his belt now. He tried steel challenge but he didn't like it and said it reminded him of GSSF.

    So now we are sticking with USPSA and he is excited to go. He even likes to practice again and I think it helps that he is beating his dad at the matches. (Our local club has been great with kids also, the coaching and encouragement have been excellent.)

    I think finding something she likes and letting her decide what she wants is most important; with that increased participation and skill will follow.
    I tend to agree, but the caveat right now is that she doesn't know what she doesn't know. and, I'm reluctant to hand her a firearm and have her moving and shooting as the starting point in this endeavor.

    She's gone with us to Sporting Clays, as mentioned. And she knows I shoot (or, used to shoot, in the era before her ) other types of matches, so I'm thinking first steps is to just get her exposed and let her see what's out there.

    Trying to balance the fun, with the skill building, with the "find something, ANYTHING, that you actually like", with the time spent together...

    We spend a ton of time together as a family goin on adventures, vacations, etc. so I'm mostly looking for something that she and I both enjoy that we can do together.

    I get it, a lot of parents go in for that whole "I'd suffer anything for the kids" but we're just not those parents and we find it to be a recipe for failure for all involved (and, all too frequently, simply an excuse for parents to not have to have their own lives and be interesting), and prefer activities where everyone is having fun, or at a minimum not miserable! (I'm looking at you, travel softball!)

    I'd love it if shooting of any kind was that thing for her and I, but I'm not putting all my eggs in that basket, or even getting my hopes up (I think...).
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  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by rob_s View Post
    I tend to agree, but the caveat right now is that she doesn't know what she doesn't know. and, I'm reluctant to hand her a firearm and have her moving and shooting as the starting point in this endeavor.

    She's gone with us to Sporting Clays, as mentioned. And she knows I shoot (or, used to shoot, in the era before her ) other types of matches, so I'm thinking first steps is to just get her exposed and let her see what's out there.

    Trying to balance the fun, with the skill building, with the "find something, ANYTHING, that you actually like", with the time spent together...

    We spend a ton of time together as a family goin on adventures, vacations, etc. so I'm mostly looking for something that she and I both enjoy that we can do together.

    I get it, a lot of parents go in for that whole "I'd suffer anything for the kids" but we're just not those parents and we find it to be a recipe for failure for all involved (and, all too frequently, simply an excuse for parents to not have to have their own lives and be interesting), and prefer activities where everyone is having fun, or at a minimum not miserable! (I'm looking at you, travel softball!)

    I'd love it if shooting of any kind was that thing for her and I, but I'm not putting all my eggs in that basket, or even getting my hopes up (I think...).
    I had daughters and no sons. My oldest liked to shoot as pre-teen but then it wore off and she didn't like it. My youngest participated in a GSSF match when she was 23 and likes to shoot when she visits. (She had no interest until her twenties). The only thing you can do is give it a try but if they don't like it and you try and force it, it will not go well. I agree with everything you said.

  6. #16
    Site Supporter rob_s's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by steve View Post
    I had daughters and no sons. My oldest liked to shoot as pre-teen but then it wore off and she didn't like it. My youngest participated in a GSSF match when she was 23 and likes to shoot when she visits. (She had no interest until her twenties). The only thing you can do is give it a try but if they don't like it and you try and force it, it will not go well. I agree with everything you said.
    Yeah I think I may have missed the window with the 13-year-old. she's well into the teenage brat stage, and is just as likely to tell me to FOAD re: shooting even if it's something she secretly wants to do more than anything else in the world. I see this behavior escalating at an exponential rate as well, so hoping to get her out there ASAP and see if there's any hope. She's still in middle school, and starts high school next year, after which my guess is there's not much hope. If not, in the words of Dr Jones Sr "you left just as you were starting to become interesting" and maybe we'll see her on the range in 7-10 years.

    There' a 10-year-old daughter behind her, and she loves doing anything that means we spend time together. So ALL hope is not lost!
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  7. #17
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    More like laser tag

  8. #18
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    Oldest daughter and son are enrolled in GSSF Indoor league. One has a Gen 5 19 MOS, and he has a G44, both Christmas presents this year. With the GSSF membership. Sold the wife on it as "like a bowling league, only with guns..."

    pat

  9. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by rob_s View Post
    I’d like to hear from some folks that have gotten their kids into completion shooting, particularly girls, and particularly from 12/13 onward and not much before that.

    My older daughter is 13. She has a BB gun that we have shot in the yard a few times, went to the range once as a family and shot some .22s, and has been with the wife and I several times to shoot sporting clays where she and her sister trade off trapping and scoring. Point is, she knows we have guns, she knows that I shoot, and she has laid hands on a gun a time or two before. She knows the four rules and understands them, granted at 13 with the teenager sass in full affect she makes it a chore to drag them out of her.

    This past weekend I shot my first steel challenge match in years, and really enjoyed the relaxed pace and couldn’t help but think it might make for a good entry into competition shooting for her. The lack of movement seems safer to me and strips a level of complexity that she wouldn’t have to contend with, the feedback of the “ding” is enjoyable and offers positive reinforcement for all ages, and the existence of rimfire divisions means reduced recoil, reduced cost, and generally a lower barrier to entry for a kid starting out.

    I’d like to hear from others that have gone down this path*, and get some feedback on my above concept re: Steel Challenge, thoughts on guns and gear (I have an M&P15-22 and a youth 10/22 that she could choose from), and anything else I may be missing.

    Ideally, if she likes it, I’d like to graduate her up to Action Steel, USPSA, transition from a rifle to a pistol, etc.

    * nothing personal, but if you don’t have kids, I’m not really interested in hearing from you, unless you have some sort of other experience that makes it relevant like running a kids only match or something. Simply being at matches with other people’s kids isn’t the same thing, thanks. I know it’s the internet, and people like to chime in, so just trying to get this out there. If you simply can’t stifle yourself, at least start you reply with “I don’t have kids but” and then go on to explain how, in spite of that fact, your comments are relevant. Thanks!
    Speaking as a father... Don't waste her time and yours if you think she's not into it. I know we gun guys like to think that the world revolves around guns, but the reality is that unless she seems AT THE VERY LEAST okay with the idea, don't bother pushing it. It's one thing to shoot leisurely at the range with your daughter on occasion, it's another to force her to do competitions which require drive and interest. Find something she really likes and push her to be the best at that. You might have to learn about ballet in order to bond, but that's what being a father is. You're there for her, she's not there to accompany you. Not saying this is the case, I don't know her or what she wants. But it's something to consider. If she's really into guns and she wants to compete... Then sure, go for it (statistically speaking 99.9999% of 13 year old girls probably don't care about shooting). Luckily I have a lot of kids, so one of my boys was bound to be a shooter like his dad. Have them do the rimfire division in steel challenge. What gun you have doesn't matter as they're learning. Most adults can't even outshoot their own guns. Wait until they try it a couple of times, if they like it and want to pursue it, then worry about gear.

  10. #20
    Site Supporter rob_s's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by IDontDoQuests View Post
    Speaking as a father... Don't waste her time and yours if you think she's not into it. I know we gun guys like to think that the world revolves around guns, but the reality is that unless she seems AT THE VERY LEAST okay with the idea, don't bother pushing it. It's one thing to shoot leisurely at the range with your daughter on occasion, it's another to force her to do competitions which require drive and interest. Find something she really likes and push her to be the best at that. You might have to learn about ballet in order to bond, but that's what being a father is. You're there for her, she's not there to accompany you. Not saying this is the case, I don't know her or what she wants. But it's something to consider. If she's really into guns and she wants to compete... Then sure, go for it (statistically speaking 99.9999% of 13 year old girls probably don't care about shooting). Luckily I have a lot of kids, so one of my boys was bound to be a shooter like his dad. Have them do the rimfire division in steel challenge. What gun you have doesn't matter as they're learning. Most adults can't even outshoot their own guns. Wait until they try it a couple of times, if they like it and want to pursue it, then worry about gear.
    All of that is true of anything, not just shooting.
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