I’d like your opinion.... kids?

[Nuevo]

I have two young daughters, 8 and 6. I would like to start them shooting soon, and by purchasing a firearm (or two) would ensure my $1 ammo check as I haven’t purchased a firearm in a number of years.

My question to you is, what do you prefer starting a young child shooting with?

I have always heard to start them off with a .22 and I don’t mind that. I saw a brand new single shot that was a small youth size, and looked like it was made in the 1930’s (I thought it was cool)

I myself didn’t start with a .22, no sir! My first shot and first gun was a 12 gauge shotgun. I shot my dad’s old Marlin pump first (hurt like hell) and a few months later I got a brand new NEF 12 gauge single shot, which also kicked like pissed off mule.

I still have that old single shot, but I wouldn’t let my girls shoot that until they were older, but Mossberg has a youth 20 gauge with a sectional stock. It starts of fairly small, and you add a piece as they grow. My other reason for this question is I shoot shotguns more than anything. I have about ten of them in my safe, and I’ll take them all out for a day of shooting. I have rifles and pistols as well, but they don’t see as much action. My 30.06 only gets shot once in a while just to keep the scope in sight.

PS, they already love archery too, especially my 8 year old.

 

[ilovesprig]

Don't know if there's any correct answer, but this how I started....BB gun, pellet gun, .22 single shot, 308 deer rifle, Rem Model 10 pump, Browning humpy, Rem 870....As I got older and bigger, the guns got bigger.

Be careful with recoil, when they're little....Some kids love it and some will not....Kind of like puppies....Males tend to be more aggressive and don't mind gun fire or recoil...… ….2 cents

 

[slinky_70]

Both of my kids started with BB guns and then a single shot 20 ga. Then they moved up to a 12 ga youth model. I now have 2 grand sons who are carrying BB guns into the field (although I have heard that wardens can ticket). I have purchased a youth model 20 ga for my oldest grandson to use when ready

 

[Bowman]

Same here
BB rifle, SS 22LR, shotgun 410, 12 Gage, 30-30, .308

 

[WaterDawg]

Hard to beat a Ruger 10/22. Small, compact, no kick. Copper rounds seem easy to find. My girls are grown now and still won’t shoot shotguns due to the recoil. But everyone is different.

 

[SDLIVIN]

Hard to beat a Ruger 10/22. Small, compact, no kick. Copper rounds seem easy to find. My girls are grown now and still won’t shoot shotguns due to the recoil. But everyone is different.

X2
or Remington even makes a pink camo .22lr rifle - Remington 597
depending on the girl, they may like that.
bought one for my wife, that I plan on letting my daughter shoot at the range for fun.

 

[Hunt&Done]

Ruger 10/22 compact. My girls love plinking with this. Seeing how they are young, you don't want them to shy away from firearms by starting them off with anything bigger than a .22.

 

[Dawnandusk]

Even though 22LR is what I first would recommend, my best memories are from my childhood shooting a pellet gun.
My main concern is safety.
The 6 years old is not old enough to understand the rules of safety, and may be it apply too to the 8 YO.
Be careful about the pellet gun you buy too. In general they have low recoil... not my Diana 48.
If you can afford it go with a PCP. You can have a lot of fun with it too.
Keep it about rifles. I would avoid pcp hand guns at all cost.
In my humble opinion.

 

[HATCHET1]

Kids...uggh...

 

[TheGDog]

Definitely a Bolt-Action .22LR Makes'em slow-down and get connected to the process. I bought the CZ 452 American Scout model for my boy. I then bought two of their after-market 10-round magazines for it and this works very well at the range. At mag switches you fill-up the other 10-round mag while they're working on the other one, then you have them fill-in the next Mag while you take a turn shooting so they can calm back down a little.

First with iron sites. Targets first at closer ranges like 20-25yds. Unopened cans of soda make awesome targets for them as they will spray out with the pressured fluids inside and it will make them giddy with joy to see that happen!

Then back it up to 40-50yds.... or... conversely... start having them shoot at smaller and smaller things. Like shooting at a spent shotgun shell, for example.

Also something like my boy liked really well are those CCI Quiet-22's. Ya don't have to wear hearing protection with those. And they hit about as hard as a magnum-class break-barrel air rifle.

P.S. a Magnum-class .22 Break-Barrel rifle with a good built-in surpressor makes for fun target practicing at home that can be quite neighbor-friendly in terms of the noise. (As always make sure you see your local ordinances to know what's legal) The pellet hitting the target/back-stop makes more noise than the actual firing of it.

BTW as a two-fer, you could elect to get a .17 HMR as an option as well.
They really aren't that darn much louder than a .22 LR and recoil is just as negligible.

The ammo costs more... but when you as Papa want to go off by yourself with the rifle and do some Hunting, you'll find it much more pleasurable to use than a .22 LR.

It's bleeping awesome sniping Rabbits and Ground Squirrels at much longer distances than you would with a .22, Just put a decent quality entry-level 3-9x40mm scope on it and you're golden. Seriously... no lie... the .17 HMR has spoiled me now. I have almost no desire to shoot the .22LR anymore.

For pistols, they'll do ok with a heavier .357 Mag pistol, such as a Ruger GP100, when you're firing downgraded .38spl range reload ammo from it. Mama and the Boy like firing my Ruger Security Six... but don't like firing these same loads from the S&W Model 60 3" I have because it's lighter so the web on their hand gets it a little more.

They both did well with my Sig P238 .380acp. But before I change over to the Hogue rubber wrap-around grips, Mama was complaining that the webbing between thumbs and finger was getting roughed up by the rosewood grip panels I had on it before. She seems fine now with the Hogue rugger grips.

After a while of .22LR and some heavier pistols... you can then introduce them to the .223Rem round. Either out of a Bolt gun...Or from your AR15/ They get a kick out of firing that one due to all the media hype surrounding itl

 

[MAG 1]

I started all 4 of my girls with the BB gun. After that it was on them
Some like to shoot the 22 and others the A R. just depends on the kid. You can't go wrong with the Ruger 10/22 for starters.

 

[Bowman]

My wife loves to shoot AR15. Very little recoil.

 

[Nuevo]

You all have some great ideas, and thanks for your input.

I did buy my girls a pink red rider BB gun last year, but it was too big for them to shoulder. Im going to dig it out and see how it fits them now. If it works, we’ll set up some targets in the back yard.

I do believe I will probably but the little .22 single shot for them. I didn’t think of a .17 HMR or even a 10/22 as much as I would like one. I think once they can get decent with a single shot, a multi round gun will come into play, that is if they enjoy shooting.

 

[Goyaałé]

BB gun is a great start. Shootin cans at first was fun as a kid. Millions of copper head milk containers worth of bbs shot. 22 after learnimg the basics with something non lethal. BB will sting but youll live to shoot another day. I shot everything that walked or crawled with my BB gun. Not really but great unforgiven movie quote. Jajajjajajajjaja

 

[TheGDog]

The cool thing about the .17 HMR... is that you shoot... and you get to see the target get hit in the scope! Because the recoil is so mild. And they are ridiculously accurate under 100yds.

No matter what, plan on getting yourself a .17 HMR, and some of those inexpensive Kwik Stix shooting sticks from Cabelas! You'll be snipin' Rabbits and Ground Squirrels in the head at 80+ yds in no time!

 

[Nuevo]

BB gun is a great start. Shootin cans at first was fun as a kid. Millions of copper head milk containers worth of bbs shot. 22 after learnimg the basics with something non lethal. BB will sting but youll live to shoot another day. I shot everything that walked or crawled with my BB gun. Not really but great unforgiven movie quote. Jajajjajajajjaja

Man! My brother had a pellet gun when we were kids (9 year difference) and I was his favorite moving target. At four years old, I looked like I fell onto a red ant hill. Yeah, I remember that sting well. Probably why I didn’t get a BB/pellet gun as kid.

The cool thing about the .17 HMR... is that you shoot... and you get to see the target get hit in the scope! Because the recoil is so mild. And they are ridiculously accurate under 100yds.

No matter what, plan on getting yourself a .17 HMR, and some of those inexpensive Kwik Stix shooting sticks from Cabelas! You'll be snipin' Rabbits and Ground Squirrels in the head at 80+ yds in no time!

I have a set of those sticks. Got them at the Fred Hall show a few years ago. I think I could have some fun with a .17 HMR, or a .17 WSM

 

[TheGDog]

Big thing is Drill the <BLeep> out of them with the safety procedures! Talk over all that is about to occur BEFORE you have them execute. Immediately after they fire, harp on them to "Take the Booger-Hook Off The Bang-Switch!" (i.e. Finger off the Trigger) and put the safety back on.

You've got to be Super-Uber Stringent on making them follow Trigger-Discipline safety protocol! I cannot stress that enough. More so with pistols, because they can easily screw-up and discharge them while pointed at you or at their own body. Also ya gotta watch them real close about making sure the muzzle is always pointed down-range, they are bad about that.

It is all Humans initial natural tendency to want to just leave their finger on that trigger all the damn time. And with kids... and pistols... that is extremely dangerous!

I say this because my own boy... even though I grill him on it... he damn near shot his foot on one of the first outings into nature where I allowed him to shoot my little .380acp 1911. He'd already been to range sessions several times and they were no problem.

Since it was nature, and I allowed him to shoot as rapidly as he wanted to at the target, (so he could learn how that's not really helpful) He got too comfortable and dropped his hand to his side with the firearm in it when he stopped, and the trigger finger was still within the guard, just after taking some shots (and it was still loaded with some rounds left). Right as I was trying to snap him out of it and mention Trigger discipline again... lil turd touched off the trigger and shot the ground like 2 inches from his foot! OMG man... Scared me soo bad... Oh I was soo mad at him. After securing the firearm, I scolded/hounded him long and strong.

Took a good long talk to explain to him how bad I'd feel as his Dad if he'd done that. How horrible I'd have felt. And how his Mom would have never let him touch a firearm again for the rest of his life if he'd have done that. Etc.

 

[Nuevo]

@Larry, I remember those teachings and scoldings well. Haha!

Worst I ever did was take a shot at a duck while hunting with my dad’s friend. I had a perfect lead on the bird and when I pulled the trigger, the barrel was about a foot from his ear. I’m pretty sure he never quite heard the same out of that ear. Beside the yelling that followed, it always stayed with me to know my surroundings better, especially when hunting with another person.

For the record, I was ten years old at the time, and missed the duck.

 

[ilovesprig]

@Larry, I remember those teachings and scoldings well. Haha!

Worst I ever did was take a shot at a duck while hunting with my dad’s friend. I had a perfect lead on the bird and when I pulled the trigger, the barrel was about a foot from his ear. I’m pretty sure he never quite heard the same out of that ear. Beside the yelling that followed, it always stayed with me to know my surroundings better, especially when hunting with another person.

For the record, I was ten years old at the time, and missed the duck.

This is a great point and lesson...In the focusing and having the drive to shoot something...No duck, dove, deer or any other game bird/animal is worth hurting or worse killing someone.

ps...If you've ever hunted in a blind, this has happened...Not the end of the world, but can be avoided.

pss...If you have a left handed shooter with you...He's ALWAYS on the right...

 

[Bowman]

I guess early on, safety was drilled by my mentors. So that it became automatic.
But to this day I have tough time hunting around a bunch of guys.
Southern California duck hunting style I have a tough time.
I really dislike indoor ranges for that reason. Even with solid ear protection , guys shooting shoulder to shoulder isn't my style.