Teach Them Young
- By Ozark
- PCP Airguns
- 7 Replies
My dad and grandpa taught me gun safety and how to properly shoot a rifle when I was about 5. I would go hunting with one of them every year for either Whitetail Deer or Squirrel. When I was about 8 my grandpa gave me his old Ithica Single Shot Lever Action .22lr rifle and taught me how to use iron sights.
I remember back when I was about 9 when my dad would hand me a handful of .22lr rounds, grab my single shot lever action Ithica Rifle out of the safe, and tell me to go out and hunt squirrels on the backside if the farm for the day while he worked on a project vehicle. This became the norm on a day that I didn't have school to attend or chores to get done. I remember thinking I was the youngest of my friends to have the opportunity to go out on my own and hunt with a firearm without supervision which was a nice bit of freedom to have!
Fast forward to present day. I am now 32 years old and have a daughter of my own that just turned 4 this fall. She is always outside with me when I am either working around our property or shooting one of my airguns. I patiently waited for her to ask when she could learn how to shoot or become interested in having her own rifle to shoot. So for her 4th Birthday I surprised her with an Artemis PP750 kitted with a Red-Dot and a DonnyFL. She was so excited to have her own rifle! We are working the importance of respecting the rifle and general safety guidelines. I learned that teaching a girl how to shoot is a lot easier than teaching a boy haha. Boys are more of a pull the trigger and listen to the instructions afterwards!
After our first few shootings lessons I have learned that the Red-Dot is a bit complicating for her to understand how to use at her age so I swapped it out with a laser so she can focus on trigger pull and keeping the rifle on target (which works better as I can see exactly where she is aiming at all times). All in all she enjoys shooting and hopefully I'll have a Squirrel hunting buddy in the near future!
(Some might think 4 years old is too young for backyard shooting. I believe it all depends on the child's maturity and willingness to learn)
Proud to have the opportunity to pass on my knowledge that I have gained over the years to my daughter. I hope all you dads out there are doing the same!
I remember back when I was about 9 when my dad would hand me a handful of .22lr rounds, grab my single shot lever action Ithica Rifle out of the safe, and tell me to go out and hunt squirrels on the backside if the farm for the day while he worked on a project vehicle. This became the norm on a day that I didn't have school to attend or chores to get done. I remember thinking I was the youngest of my friends to have the opportunity to go out on my own and hunt with a firearm without supervision which was a nice bit of freedom to have!
Fast forward to present day. I am now 32 years old and have a daughter of my own that just turned 4 this fall. She is always outside with me when I am either working around our property or shooting one of my airguns. I patiently waited for her to ask when she could learn how to shoot or become interested in having her own rifle to shoot. So for her 4th Birthday I surprised her with an Artemis PP750 kitted with a Red-Dot and a DonnyFL. She was so excited to have her own rifle! We are working the importance of respecting the rifle and general safety guidelines. I learned that teaching a girl how to shoot is a lot easier than teaching a boy haha. Boys are more of a pull the trigger and listen to the instructions afterwards!
After our first few shootings lessons I have learned that the Red-Dot is a bit complicating for her to understand how to use at her age so I swapped it out with a laser so she can focus on trigger pull and keeping the rifle on target (which works better as I can see exactly where she is aiming at all times). All in all she enjoys shooting and hopefully I'll have a Squirrel hunting buddy in the near future!
(Some might think 4 years old is too young for backyard shooting. I believe it all depends on the child's maturity and willingness to learn)
Proud to have the opportunity to pass on my knowledge that I have gained over the years to my daughter. I hope all you dads out there are doing the same!
