I taught him to shoot at age 5, but I have been teaching my 7yr old son to shoot "accurately" as of late. He is learning how to adjust the turrets for elevation so far. I will teach him windage once he retains the elevation portion. I helped him develop the dope on my Marlin 60 out to 130 yards.
I would like to take it to 175 yards, but getting the wind to cooperate long enough for that little 36gr bullet is rough at best. I have glass on it, but taught him on iron before the "promotion" to glass.
So far, he is able to maintain about a 1.25-1.375 group @ 75 yards and about .75 @ 50 yards. I know that the gun will shoot a .75 group @ 100 yards, as I have done it several times while teaching him. I am teaching him to focus on getting a group and proper trigger manipulation before he even attempts a distance shot.
I think the next "promotion" for him will be a nice smooth trigger. You have to crawl before you can walk... and a gritty, heavy factory trigger is a good place to learn to crawl in my opinion.
He has also learned, and loves, to shoot my AR-15.
He came up to me one afternoon and asked if I wanted to shoot. I was thinking he was talking about his BB gun or his bow so I told him not right now, as it was quite windy outside for those 8-12mph. On a whim, as he was walking away, I asked him what he wanted to shoot anyhow. He told me to my surprise, "Dad, I would like to shoot your big gun."
As I stated, I was quite surprised. He was initially very timid of the rifle when I first got it, and here he is asking to shoot it.
So, I excitedly went and retrieved my rifle and a few mags. I knew that the wind would not be a big concern with the distance I currently had the targets set at. If anything it would be .25 mil at best.
I set him up in our shooting spot and reiterated basic firearms safety and procedures. He was like a sponge, soaking everything in and actually remembered about 95% of what I told him.
I had been teaching my wife some defensive shooting the night prior and still had the silloute target set up. I loaded the mag and charged it (he couldn't charge it with the glass on it). I made sure he was on target and got on my other rifle to verify the shots. He hit within the boundaries of the silloute with every round! It was not an accurate group by any means, but a great start. I was and am quite proud of him for overcoming his fear of my rifle.
The next morning as he was getting ready for school he told my wife that his forehead hurt. She looked at his forehead and sent him to me with a sour look on her face. I overheard the conversation between them. I couldnt help but lose it when he came over to me.
He learned the time old positive weapons control lesson. He had a quarter sized goose egg on his forehead right between his eyes. I asked him if the scope had hit him and he said it did several times.... that was obvious
He got off easy... I was taught by a 30-06 and that required a stitch or 2. Either way... that is a lesson that you cannot teach and must be learned the hard way.
Since then, he has shot it several more times without any "goose eggs"
.
Jason
I would like to take it to 175 yards, but getting the wind to cooperate long enough for that little 36gr bullet is rough at best. I have glass on it, but taught him on iron before the "promotion" to glass.
So far, he is able to maintain about a 1.25-1.375 group @ 75 yards and about .75 @ 50 yards. I know that the gun will shoot a .75 group @ 100 yards, as I have done it several times while teaching him. I am teaching him to focus on getting a group and proper trigger manipulation before he even attempts a distance shot.
I think the next "promotion" for him will be a nice smooth trigger. You have to crawl before you can walk... and a gritty, heavy factory trigger is a good place to learn to crawl in my opinion.
He has also learned, and loves, to shoot my AR-15.
He came up to me one afternoon and asked if I wanted to shoot. I was thinking he was talking about his BB gun or his bow so I told him not right now, as it was quite windy outside for those 8-12mph. On a whim, as he was walking away, I asked him what he wanted to shoot anyhow. He told me to my surprise, "Dad, I would like to shoot your big gun."
As I stated, I was quite surprised. He was initially very timid of the rifle when I first got it, and here he is asking to shoot it.
So, I excitedly went and retrieved my rifle and a few mags. I knew that the wind would not be a big concern with the distance I currently had the targets set at. If anything it would be .25 mil at best.
I set him up in our shooting spot and reiterated basic firearms safety and procedures. He was like a sponge, soaking everything in and actually remembered about 95% of what I told him.
I had been teaching my wife some defensive shooting the night prior and still had the silloute target set up. I loaded the mag and charged it (he couldn't charge it with the glass on it). I made sure he was on target and got on my other rifle to verify the shots. He hit within the boundaries of the silloute with every round! It was not an accurate group by any means, but a great start. I was and am quite proud of him for overcoming his fear of my rifle.
The next morning as he was getting ready for school he told my wife that his forehead hurt. She looked at his forehead and sent him to me with a sour look on her face. I overheard the conversation between them. I couldnt help but lose it when he came over to me.
He learned the time old positive weapons control lesson. He had a quarter sized goose egg on his forehead right between his eyes. I asked him if the scope had hit him and he said it did several times.... that was obvious
He got off easy... I was taught by a 30-06 and that required a stitch or 2. Either way... that is a lesson that you cannot teach and must be learned the hard way.
Since then, he has shot it several more times without any "goose eggs"
. Jason
