I get to teach my nephew about guns. Any pointers?

[Rbadger]

I was started with a bolt action .22lr and I started my sons on the same. It has a few advantages. The best advantage I can think of is that it gives them ONE shot at a time with time before and after the shot when you can offer advice/praise/criticism. The bolt action also gives you the chance to explain the parts of the gun and how each part works in relation to the others. With my sons I also have them help me completely disassemble the gun and clean it after we shoot. I also am in favor of spinning steel targets once his marksmanship improves but to begin with I would start with a large cardboard box with a target duct taped on the side. This will give you an absolute reference for where he is hitting per shot because many youth shooters fail to line up the sight picture correctly. An advantage of the paper target is he has something to keep after shooting besides a memory. A visual reminder of the day will keep the safety lessons in his thoughts as well as the marksmanship lessons.

 

[HamsterStyle]

My son has been shooting for about 3 years now. He's 9. 2 years ago, I took him and my nephew (1 year older than my son) to the range to teach my nephew how to shoot. My nephew plays call of duty and similar games so I made it very clear that if I ever hear a phrase or something that sounds like it came from a game come out of their mouth, I would not take them shooting again. There would be zero warnings. I did not want them associating real shooting with video games.

Other than that, stick to paper targets at close range and praise praise praise. Keep it very safety oriented but keep it light and fun as well so they enjoy it.

 

[HamsterStyle]

Also, before you ever go out, draw the sights on paper so he can see what they should look like when he is aiming.