Teaching a child to shoot.

[SmokinLoon]

When I started Jr. out with firearms, I worked with him on gun safety for over 2 years prior to taking him to the range.  Even before he put his hands on a real rifle he knew right and wrong.  I've only had to correct him a few times and mostly that was putting his finger on the trigger prior to being ready to fire. 

When he was 7 1/2, I took him to the range with 3 firearms:a bolt action .22 w/ iron sights, a semi-auto .22 w/  4X scope, and a .22 pistol w/ a scope.  The longest we fired was 15 yards.  First, he watched me work all the components of the rifle, how to load and unload, use the trigger, how to use the sights(s).  He heard the noise of the each firearm and saw how they reacted to being fired.  He learn to squeeze the trigger, where to exactly put the butt of the stock in the shoulder, where to put his cheek on the comb.  Over 200 rounds later I had to almost drag him from the shooting bench.   

Today, at 9 1/2 he is firing .223 rifles out to 100 yards and .38 Special/9mm handguns out to 7 yards and doing very well.  I am very proud of him, he is proving to be quite adept at the use of firearms and most importantly he is developing habits of being very safe. 

As a former firearms instructor for law enforcement officers, I can not stress enough patience and starting from the very beginning when teaching someone how to shoot, regardless of their age.  I see too many people try to teach/learn using a 12 gauge shotgun, a Glock 22 in .40 SW, or other such firearm not really suited for novice hands.  Intimidation can really slow and in many cases stop outright any further development.   

[PFactorDave]

Start with the iron sites for sure.  That's how I am teaching my two girls. 

[Maverick]

My process was iron sights on a single shot 22 rimfire. Take your time and learn proper safe handling habits. Learn how the gun works and what alignment of sights means. Learn what your limitations are first with open sights then what can be learned from using a scope for longer range precision shooting. Anyone can shoot with a scope that is properly sighted in but the same can't be said for folks using iron sights who never used them .

[WYOKIDIII]

Whenever I shot a cow with a Red Ryder they hardly noticed .

[VonMessa]

Open irons.

Grandfather used to make me dry-fire with a penny or a dime on the end of the barrel until I could actually squeeze the trigger (ie: not meat-hooking it) without disturbing the coin and making it fall off.

Once I could do that 15-20 times in a row, we went to the range.

Extreme?  Perhaps, but there is nothing that I cannot hit with a rifle or handgun with confidence and accuracy.

I am doing the same with my children.

[Vudu15]

I started with a shotgun one little front bead.

[branch37]

My first experience with an actual firearm (not a bb or pellet gun) was my dads marlin bolt action .22  he made me shoot empty .22 shell casings at 20 yards until I could hit them consistently.  The more I missed the more targets I had. 

[morfiend]

When I started Jr. out with firearms, I worked with him on gun safety for over 2 years prior to taking him to the range.  Even before he put his hands on a real rifle he knew right and wrong.  I've only had to correct him a few times and mostly that was putting his finger on the trigger prior to being ready to fire. 

When he was 7 1/2, I took him to the range with 3 firearms:a bolt action .22 w/ iron sights, a semi-auto .22 w/  4X scope, and a .22 pistol w/ a scope.  The longest we fired was 15 yards.  First, he watched me work all the components of the rifle, how to load and unload, use the trigger, how to use the sights(s).  He heard the noise of the each firearm and saw how they reacted to being fired.  He learn to squeeze the trigger, where to exactly put the butt of the stock in the shoulder, where to put his cheek on the comb.  Over 200 rounds later I had to almost drag him from the shooting bench.   

Today, at 9 1/2 he is firing .223 rifles out to 100 yards and .38 Special/9mm handguns out to 7 yards and doing very well.  I am very proud of him, he is proving to be quite adept at the use of firearms and most importantly he is developing habits of being very safe. 

As a former firearms instructor for law enforcement officers, I can not stress enough patience and starting from the very beginning when teaching someone how to shoot, regardless of their age.  I see too many people try to teach/learn using a 12 gauge shotgun, a Glock 22 in .40 SW, or other such firearm not really suited for novice hands.  Intimidation can really slow and in many cases stop outright any further development.   

 some great advice there!

    Von,I was taught with something similar only the teacher put a empty shell casing on the barrel and we used a bench rest. I'd forgot about that till I read your post,but this will surely teach trigger control.

   Back before they change the laws about guns up in the great white north I used to shoot a fair bit,was on the school gun club,I was so cool carrying a gun to school.........



   

[68ZooM]

Iron Sights is the way to learn to shoot and be effective, the first gun i ever shot at 10 years old was my Grampa's Winchester model 94 30-30 caliber, i have to tell you that's one of the funnest deer rifles i ever shot, great brush gun.
First Scoped Rifle i shot was my Dad's 1952 Husqvarna 30-06 Nitro 18 1/2" Barrel, Leupold Milli Dot Scope. My Father bought it brand new in Sweden when he was Stationed in Germany recovering from Wounds he received during the Korean war, He also gave me a Tokarev T33 Pistol that was only dropped once     i now have all those guns and still use the Husky for Elk Hunting and 30-30 for Deer, i even still have my Daisy Pump action BB gun i bought in 1970     ( looks like a shotgun) thing still works great to. I'll pass them all down to my son when the time comes.

[The Jekyll]

If the shooter doesn't understand the basics of shooting, I would doubt their ability to shoot accurately with or without scopes. While scopes can allow for ease of sight picture at greater ranges it won't compensate for poor shooting techniques. Open sights are easier for me to teach the shooting basics simply because it is easier for the student to gain the knowledge through the "sight" of what is supposed to happen. Some scopes make it difficult or even impossible to teach "sight alignment" or "sight Picture" and the importance of "alignment" over "picture". Also teaching a new shooter proper hold and breathing techniques are very difficult with a scope. Breathing when done wrong, or simply the lack of breathing, is increased with magnification and can lead to frustration early on.

 While it is possible to proceed to go without the proper training and plop down behind a scope and hit something, I wouldn't advise it. Once bad habits are learned, they are extremely hard to overcome later. I would much rather teach a new shooter, than a long time experienced Kentucky squirrel hunter that can hit a fly at 100 meters. Within a month I can most likely have the new shooter at a higher level than the experienced shooter who never learned the proper techniques.

[Reschke]

Single shot .22 with iron sights and then was allowed to handle the single shot breech load .410 before being handed my first real rifle...Model 94 Winchester .30-30 that I still have to this day. That gun is almost as old as I am and shoots great. Iron sights for what its worth are the only way to learn.