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Parents: Child shooting expectations.

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dormitionskete

dormitionskete

Member
Feb 8, 2019
242
63
Colorado, United States
I need a reality check, please, from some of you parents out there.

I'm an Orthodox Christian priestmonk. I've never been married or had any kids that I know of.

But we have an 11 year old boy who comes to the monastery when his parents are able to bring him here for services, and he likes to go out with me on chipmunk patrol after lunch. I've fixed up our old Benjamin Sheridan 397PA pump up jobber, which is a good size air rifle for him, and I have the thought of trying to actually work with him and teach him how to shoot. I don't know how realistic this is, but I have the hopes or expectation that maybe he might be able to effectively engage chipmunks with me next year when they come back out in force again.

I have the thought of starting him out on paper targets to see what kind of groups and consistency he is capable of. But I have no idea what to expect.

I have a lot of experience working with teenage juvenile delinquents. I have a LOT of experience with them. But I have, really, no experience whatsoever with children under 14. None at all, really. And certainly not with ANY well adjusted and behaved kids like him.

I had BB guns at around 8 or 9, and a pellet gun at around 11, I think. But I never shot at paper targets when I was a boy. I only shot at plastic army men, models, tin cans, sticks, etc.

So if any of you parents could enlighten me about what to expect from this boy, I'd really appreciate it.

And am I even being realistic in thinking that he might be able to engage chipmunks next year at 11, going on 12? Personally, I think you really need to be able to hit within 1/4" at whatever range the chipper is or you have no business shooting at it. I think he should be able to engage rabbits at that age. I certainly did. But they're a whole lot bigger than a chipmunk.

So, please give me a reality check here, if you will. I haven't said anything to him about this idea of mine yet, so if you think I should leave that alone altogether, feel free to tell me that, too.

I just feel sorry for the boy because although we always have a gaggle of kids here every Sunday and Feast Day, he's the oldest of the kids, and he looks just bored to death here waiting for his parents to take him home. And after a little over 22 years here, I'm bored to death here, too. So at least I can relate to him about that! And he does seem to really enjoy the time we spend together.

So, I could really use some advice about this.

Oh, and yes, his father is fine with me teaching him how to shoot. He'd appreciate it, actually. I don't know about his mother! But his dad's fine with it.

PS - The rifle has a 4x scope, and I can shoot ragged one hole groups, or almost one hole groups, with it at 10 yards pretty consistently using a shooting stick or less.
 
I started at 11yo,at 12 I went to hunter safety in order to get a hunting license.I did that all on my own.A child looks up to an adult,they what guidance and appreciate that someone takes the time to show them.First is safety,then get rid of bad habits,sometimes a rifle does not fit right and to be able to use the rifle the child can develop bad habits,,,,check out eye dominance and his strength.

Paper shooting is a good idea,beware that some children and adults feel remorse after killing something. Encouragement is a blessing.
 
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My 7 year old has been shooting since she was 5. At that time I held the gun and did everything for her except pull the trigger. She is 7 now and hitting asprins at 10 yards with her pp700w pistol. I say go for it. Every kid is different. If he has an interest it will show. My recommendations are to teach him safety basics and get him on paper. Then go to the thrift store and buy some army men! Make it fun for him. Say nothing about squirrel duty. Just see how he learns about safety and shot placement. When he is ready tell him to grab his rifle and come help you. If he is never ready no harm no foul. Make certain that you teach him about christ and why you gave your life to him while having fun. I always throw in a couple lessons about christ when doing hard work or shooting or doing anything else that takes skill, patience or suffering. God bless buddy glad your taking the time to train up a future airgun addict. 🤠
 
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Others have already addressed safety. That’s a good starting point, just don’t bore him to death or you’ll lose him before you even get started!

With that being said, when you do start shooting, let him do what he wants, just let him shoot! Don’t tell him what to shoot, how to shoot, when to shoot or any of that. Just let him do what he wants, when he wants, how he wants. He’ll love it and want to come back for more. My boys are 10 and 12 and we’ve been shooting together for a long time. In the beginning, I always wanted to teach, teach, teach...WRONG! Just let him shoot and have fun! He will love it and certainly want to shoot more and more!

You’re doing a great thing! Good luck and be sure to let us know how it goes!

Stoti
 
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Others have already addressed safety. That’s a good starting point, just don’t bore him to death or you’ll lose him before you even get started!

Stoti
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Paramount. Young kids have very little patience, and nobody likes being lectured to -- especially kids who sometimes get it almost non-stop. Teach him right, but be prepared to have his patience lapse at times. It helps to keep lessons short and then go on to practical illustrations as soon as possible so as to anchor the lesson in the mind. Words can rarely be as vivid and memorable as hands-on. Don't force him to sit through many lectures or the fun will drain away fast.
 
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When my daughter was 12, she did archery competition and loved shooting with me. He is fully capable of hunting with you. Be patient, as he will need to learn a lot of things like physics, etc. Young children learn a lot faster than adults and are great to teach. 
 
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2E18D544-A9AF-4121-A35B-1171A4FA2C94.1602541299.jpeg
When my daughter was 12, she did archery competition and loved shooting with me. He is fully capable of hunting with you. Be patient, as he will need to learn a lot of things like physics, etc. Young children learn a lot faster than adults and are great to teach.
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The smile says it all. What gun is she holding ? Anything to pull the young ones away from the TV and cell phones 
 
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All of my kids where shooting very young with very close supervision. Taught from the beginning safety safety safety and to respect the weapon always ! Now they have children which are my grand children and all like to shoot at grandpa’s house. Have a 50 yd range for them to shoot pellet guns at from the age of 4 or 5. They are now teenagers and still love to plink at grandpa’s 
 
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As someone said above, it will depend on the kid, but in short, yes. By the time I was 8, we were walking the neighborhood shooting cicadas out of trees with BB guns and picking birds out of the garden. My 10 year old can literally drive nails in a board at 50 yards and that's with her crawling up on the bench because the scope is set for me. As long as the gun is capable of making the shot, and it's not too heavy for him to handle, I would expect him to do well in more instances than not.

Everyone will have their own opinion on this, but I would stay with open sights. Let him get good there before trying to introduce a scope.
 
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Keep doing what you're doing. Ask God to direct you as to what to do and say. Take him fishing too and on some interesting hikes. Take buckets and nets to a stream. Roll over logs and rocks to see what lives under there. Let him build a campfire and cook some baked potatoes in the coals. Cook some hot dogs on sticks and heat up some baked beans. Soon his friends will hear about it and want to come along. Play some spike ball. Now you have a neat little youth group. Show them a man of character is cool without any drugs, alcohol or a weak foul mouth. Show them the strength in dignity, forgiveness. Everybody loves a guy like that. They'll see you as a strong leader. Like they want to be. 😉 WWJD
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If you need to upgrade the gun rack please ask here






 
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