Teaching our little ones

[carsten1911]

Hello everyone!
i put this thread in the "competition" area because shooting is purely competitive for me, but this does not exclude thoughts on defensive use of handguns.
Has anyone of you experience in teaching children in the safe use of handguns in any way? How to start training them, when to start, with which guns and so on? Its obvious the main thought should be safety. i think the sooner one start the better he/ she will be as an adult.

Maybe someone with twins ;-) can give some hints, too?

Greetings

Carsten

[Moose63845]

Ok I have tons of training in this topic, I was on a junior shooting team taught kids then, and then was an assistent coach for them. From all this what I can tell you is start with an air rifle then go to a bolt action .22 then as soon as they got that down go to an air pistol or soft air gun, but stick with a pnuematic (sp?) or spring. Then go with a .22 revolver or quality semi auto such as a Ruger. Yes this is a lot of steps but it makes it easier to avoid injury and teach them. They shoot better with the rifle and want to stick to it since it is fun. Also use old cans or something like that to start so they have fun, don't even worry about grouping. Also earliest age I like is 6 or 7 because they can sit still and pay attention. However you can teach safety starting w/ toy guns such as cap guns. Since I was a baby my dad pounded safety into my head and I could any gun I wanted any time as long as I asked. I even had my rifle .22, a Remington 522 Viper, in my closet with ammo in my dresser with no problems. And as far as handguns are concerned I've seen 7 year old girls fire a 1911 safely without any problems. I hope I answered all your questions and if not ask anything else. Or PM me with any other questions I'm happy to help spread the sport.

[GusM]

My dad also started me at an early age, 6 or 7, I dont remember much of his technique but I can remember his safety instructions vividly. If they get the safety part the rest will come with their interest in the sport.

[John]

My 3-1/2 year old twins are already firing my airsofts, and they love it. But it's too early to teach them how to shoot properly. It's not however early to have them learn the basic safety rules. First one of course being "You do not touch dad's pistols, without asking for permission first.".

[Big Sky Rancher]

I find that it is much easier to teach muzzle discipline with a long gun rather than a handgun. It's just harder and takes longer to swing the muzzle of a rifle in a bad direction than a pistol. That's not to say that it can't be done the other way around in a very controlled environment, however if the child will be holding the gun themselves beyond a strictly bench shooting situation the long gun imo is much safer to learn with.

My two oldest kids started out when they were six. At that age they demonstrated the ability to understand and execute instructions and to accomplish loading, unloading, sighting etc. That's just what worked for us.

[Elliot]

Good thread,

I have two boys, 11 & 13, we started about 3 years ago with both, at a NRA hunters safety course, and then with a Marlin .22 (single shot bolt action) for X-mas. They can't get enough!!!! should have started sooner!!!

The following year I bought a single shot .410, and some clay Targets. This year will be a .22 hand gun of some type haven't decided yet, maybe a Walther P22.

Both the boys are really safe and respectful of all the firearms in the house, and on the range, and hopefully elsewhere in the future. They have shown me that they are ready to take the next step towards a handgun.....

We all try to shoot once a month or more if possible.

My 3 year old daughter is next!

Respectfully, E

[carsten1911]

Thanks everyone for their hints... they all sound reasonable, although our very strict gun laws make the realization of some of your recommendations impossible.... 12 years is the minimum age here to shoot an air rifle under supervision of an adult (!), .22 rifles come in at 16 (if the kid is notably talented) , otherwise 18 is the age for .22 s, rifles and handguns. Thats the main reason i asked for, since i think 18 is just VERY late to start a sport and become good with it. So i have to do some teaching myself, without assistance of our generally well trained youth instructors in our gun club. Therefor your age recommendations are very appreciated!

[John]

So, all your athletes start their airgun training at 12??? That's irrational. No matter what the law says, you can start teaching the youngsters much earlier than that, at the convenience of your home. Setting up an airgun range is not difficult, even in contemporary cramped appartments. And Airsoft is much easier of course.

One thing I do not understand with this kind of laws: How can you prove that your kid is talented (so he/she can start shooting at 16) if he/she is not allowed to fire a .22 until he is 18??? Talented with what? An airgun? LoL crazy law makers.

[carsten1911]

What i like about this forum is the extraordinary politeness! "Irrational" is on the border to Over-politeness... to say the least. But you are right, of course, thats the reason i want to start earlier.
The prove of a kid being talented is not provided by the parents, but by a (federal) state-level functionaire of our shooting association.... you know, we just HAVE to learn that bureaucracy is the most important thing in live ;-) .
But no more about our gun-laws and the public opinion on this topic, or i will have to leave the office, go to bed and use up 20 packs of Kleenex to soak up my river of tears! ;-)
Kidding, if you want to hear about one of the worlds most restrictive gun laws, just ask me, it will save your day to know you live somewhere else!
But at last we can reload (after feeding the bureacratic monster properly, of course), which is something not allowed in the South, i heard ! ;-)

[John]

if you want to hear about one of the worlds most restrictive gun laws, just ask me, it will save your day to know you live somewhere else!

As far as I know, your laws are much more ... rational than ours. For example, we can not hunt with a rifle, only with shotguns. Athletes are allowed to have only two centerfire firearms, so if you need three (like a .45 for IPSC, a 9mm for bullseye and a rifle for 300m competition, or even another pistol in .38 Super), you just are not allowed. And of course no reloading, primers are considered the same as detonators here, so if you are caught with primers, you end up in jail like a terrorist!

Oh well, who said life is easy!

[carsten1911]

Wow, you really caught me "on the wrong foot"! : our gun lobby obviously spreads...hmhmhmhm... in-exact... information obout other country`s gun laws! Hunting with a shotgun.... so your game animals are dumber than ours, to come close enough for getting a shotgun slug? Our average roe-deer-shot is at 150 metres, of course done about 95% with scoped rifles... .
And you can have up to 5 handguns, if you prove the need to have them. So any new discipline you prove that you shot for about 6-12 months can earn you a new entry to your weapon-owners certificate.
Tell me more, i will send all my Kleenex to you! ;) . Surely you need them more than me!

[carsten1911]

But that gives me a great idea about my future: I will found a Kleenex plant down in Greece! Sounds like the best way of getting rich in no time!

[carsten1911]

But that gives me a great idea about my future: I will found a Kleenex plant down in Greece! Sounds like the best way of getting rich in no time!

[John]

so your game animals are dumber than ours, to come close enough for getting a shotgun slug? Our average roe-deer-shot is at 150 metres, of course done about 95% with scoped rifles... .

LoL, yes, I guess they must be smarter! Oh, you mentioned scopes. No scopes allowed. I mean, if the customs get you trying to import a scope, you go to court and jail. Of course, if you walk around, down-town Athens, you can find scopes in the windows of stores, and not gun stores mind you.

When I imported two airsoft pistols (yes, the crazy customs requested and import license, for two airsoft pistols) the license the police gave me, specifically mentioned that they should not include any scopes or other electronic aiming devices. So, if you are into IPSC, you are not allowed to bring any red-dot scopes. If course, I have seen people using those scopes in the matches, so they must have been dropped from heaven, since you can not import them! LoL

Hawkmoon has an airsoft red dot scope for me, which I can not get, because I am afraid I'll end up in court, trying to explain that this is a toy (it came with an airgun) and it's not magnifying and it can't be used on a real firearm etc. etc. Of course, if I was to buy the same scope (or even a real red-dot scope) from a shop in Europe, it would be delivered to me, without the customs knowing (intra-European mail is not checked, one of the good things of the European Union). Go figure Carsten, crazy world we live in.

Oh yes, I forgot. When I imported those two airsoft pistols, the customs asked me to sign a document, with which I was obliged to declare those pistols to the Police. So yesterday, I went to the Police department, and I told them I wanted to declare that I have two airsoft pistols. Of course, they told me that they do not bother with these, since they are not guns, so they do not monitor them. Now, the police does not register them, the customs want me to take them to the police to have them registered, what am I supposed to do? Crazy world!

[carsten1911]

Thanks for the hints, i will found the plant but I´ll run it from Finnland! Ever been up there? You can even can buy silencers openly up there. Some ranges even force you to use one ;-) . Scopes an silencers.... they probably never had a terrorist problem like our RAF in the `70s and `80s...
Of course, its a country full of maniacal killers, whats else would one expect ;-).

Now what can you do about your airsofts? Just bribe the police by inviting them to a private airsoft-match!
I know OUR ordinary police officer shoots about 50 round per year (except special units, of course), so they surely would be grateful for some extra-training! Maybe your LEO think similar?

BTW, Germany IS Intra-EU... . Would a FRANKONIA (Biggest hunting and shooting outfitter in Germany) be useful for you? It surely is to me! Maybe...

Open for any PMs from you :D

[carsten1911]

Frankonia catalouge, i meant...

[Big Sky Rancher]

One sure way to feel better about your problems is to listen to those of others. Suddenly California doesn't seem so bad. :)