best sights/optics choice for a young new shooter?

I

idek

New member
Some weekend in the near future (when the cold lifts a bit), I'm going to take an 8-year old boy out to shoot a firearm for the first time. He's big for his age. He's had toy guns, but hasn't shot air rifles or anything else like a real gun.

I'm thinking of letting him shoot a 10/22 with a collapsible stock. A semi-auto may not be ideal to start with, but it's all I have, so I thought I'd just load one bullet in the magazine at a time for a while.

Getting to the main point, the gun still has the factory barrel and factory open sights on it. I also have a set of Tech-Sights aperture sights, a couple low powered scopes, and a Primary Arms red dot sight. I'm wondering if one type of sight is better to start with?

I'm shying away from the scopes, because, as I mentioned, the stock is adjustable, and without know which setting he'd need, getting the scope's eye relief right could be tricky. Also, this would be the heaviest option on a gun that may already be a bit heavy for an 8-year old.

Any suggestions?
Open sights
Aperture sights
Red dot sight
or scope?

ETA: the goal is just to teach him some basic safety and fundamentals and have some fun shooting some paper targets and knocking aluminum cans around. Precision marksmanship isn't necessarily the goal.
 
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I'd suggest staying "as is", for starters.

Draw pictures of correct and incorrect sight pictures. Explain the why of it all.

Explain the coordination of sight picture and trigger squeeze.

Then stay with simple targets at fairly close range. Paper is okay, to begin the learning curve, but empty soda cans are entertaining and hold a youngun's interest.
 
factory open sights

I would have him use the factory open sights to start.
Learning to shoot is like learning to drive, if you learn to drive a stick shift you can drive most any vehicle.
So learning to shoot should start with the most basic sighting system, then move to more advanced sighting systems.
You have to make if easy enough that they can see the results of shooting. Maybe use balloons so that he can see it pop when he hits it.
 
Based on my recent experience in a very similar circumstance, I would suggest using the Tech Sights. Not that scopes are bad, but kids seem to lock on to them and getting them to try anything else later is near impossible. Peeps offer essentially the same optical and easy accuracy advantages as a scope, and yet kids will then later swap back and forth to irons or a scope without latching on to any of them as the final solution.

I think irons are good, but peeps will teach the same skills yet give them a bit more easy accuracy that allows them to get on target and build confidence faster.
 
I recommend the Tech Sights, if he can get a good cheek weld. Easier to use than factory sights on a Ruger, so much less initial frustration on the part of a new shooter.

Not sure about the collapsible stock though, if he can't get a good cheek weld then the Red Dot sight might be more appropriate.

Make sure you have some "reactive" type target like a spinner, or sandwich cookies or charcoal briquettes to shoot. Much more "fun" than printing groups on paper for new shooters.

Any possibility the youngster could use the Ruger with Tech Sights installed at an Appleseed event in the future?

Jimro
 
If you teach him the proper way to hold and shoot a rifle, aligning open sights can actually help with learning how to aim.
Consistent cheek weld, holding and aiming techniques, trigger operation, are the most important things to accomplish.
From my own experiences, scopes and dot sights can hinder the learning process.
 
I am a big believer in starting kids off with traditional open sights. Their young eyes are very good and are able to rapidly transition from front sight to target back to front sight (much better than I am able to). Optics are for shooting at long distance, or dim light, or hard-to-see targets, or where speed is a premium... none of which applies to a kid learning to shoot.

To keep frustration down, make the target big and easy at first. My nephew started by shooting a 10 lb pumpkin at 20 feet with a 22 bolt action. he had a blast, and after a while he was splattering pumpkin goo with every shot. later his Dad and I transitioned him to a 25 yard NRA rimfire target... except he was shooting at about 20 feet... then 30 feet... then 50 feet.. etc. Today he is 19 and shoots little ragged holes at 100 yards with his Savage 308.
 
I second starting new shooters-of any age-with iron sights. IMHO learning to shoot is 10% technology and 90% skill.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. I think I'll start with open sights, and then let him try aperture sights a little further down the road.

Some people mentioned cheek weld. The stock has an adjustable comb, and I think it will accommodate any type of sight I own.

Someone also mentioned project Appleseed. I attended one myself last summer using TechSights. I made notes about things they taught, so I can relay some of it myself. I don't know if he'd have the patience for an actual Appleseed event quite yet (the days got kind of long even for me).

Larger targets are a probably a wise idea. I'm thinking maybe coffee cans could be a good starter target and smaller cans as he improves.
 
yep... reactive targets are good. I spent many enjoyable hours hunting and killing various aluminum and steel cans. Shooting at a bullseye becomes enjoyable as a kid matures... not so much at first.
 
A 10/22 is a greater starter firearm and a little more fun than a bolt gun. Use open sights to start. The last thing he will want is a scope bruise on his forehead/brown. Fortunately a .22 won't kick enough to leave a mark.
 
I prefer to start a truly inexperienced shooter with a scope. This reduces the confusion and awkwardness of handling firearms for the first time. Once you've established a cheekweld and eye alignment, holding steady and trigger control are the only variables(with a 22).
Last fall we went through a somewhat frustrating scenario with my Grandson. Some times he did quite well with his shooting and sometimes his shots were all over. I finally determined that his eye alignment was inconsistent causing a considerable variance in POI. A collapsible stock with an adjustable cheekpiece solved the problem perfectly. For the short ranges typical for a new shooter, the red dot sights work well and the higher quality ones a not sensitive to eye relief or alignment. Higher magnification scopes exaggerate the wibbles and wobbles which distracts the shooter.
 
After giving this topic more thought, I ordered a NEF Sportster youth 22lr. It should be at least a pound lighter than either of my 10/22s and it has a 12" LOP stock. I've owned two NEF/H&R single shot shotguns for several years. I like their simplicity, they seem well built, and I believe the deliberate operation--break action with external hammer--helps promote thoughtful, safe handling.

I ultimately felt it would be a better option for a learning shooter than my semi-autos. The NEF has open sights, and I also ordered a Williams aperture receiver sight that is designed to work with the factory front sight. (I'll probably start with the open sights)

The stock comes with sling swivel studs, so using and teaching sling shooting techniques could be a possibility at some time (not sure if it would change POI much on the gun or not).

Plus, this gave me an excuse to buy a new gun. :D
The only difference between the youth model and the adult version is the stock (both have 20" barrels), so I can spend an extra $35 to get the adult stock, and I'll be able to get use out of it too.
 
Nicely thought out. I learned on a .410/.22 over/under and starting out my dad only let me load the .410. Then shortly thereafter one or the other, but not both chambers. I believe the break action was great for learning. My other learning tool was a single shot .22. From my personal experience, I'd say you made a wise choice.

I still would still suggest an aperture sight over the rear blade, but that's just picking nits. :-)
 
In many states the local 4-H will have a great shooting program. They start with air rifle and teach gun handling safety, then they move on to rimfire. Good on you for helping the kid.
 
There is no right way to do this. There are definitely wrong ways. The way I learned was with a BBGun, than an air rifle then a .410 shotgun, then a .22 rifle. I believe learning to control the trigger and not flinch is so much easier with a BB gun than it is with anything that goes boom. BB's are cheap. I guess I had shot 20,000 of them before I ever pulled the trigger on anything that went boom.
 
It depends a bit on the kid. If he has the concept of the iron sight picture well-ingrained, no problem starting with them on a .22LR. If not, I like using a red-dot sight because: 1. Only one thing to line up on the target; 2. Generous alignment situation, unlike a scope; 3. No magnification to exaggerate movements.

I've tried teaching kids using irons, scopes, red-dots and most do better with red-dots. They shoot better with scopes from a rest, but the extra weight and visible shake tends to keep them from shooting offhand. Offhand shooting should be taught early in the process, or kids tend to not want to lose the accuracy obtained when shooting from rests.

Rifles should be light enough and short enough so the kids can hold them up. (It helps to have a table or other rest to lay rifles between shots.)

Kids absolutely love semi-autos and don't want to go back to single-shot bolt rifles, but, except for the hammer situation, lever actions make pretty good first rifles.

As someone mentioned, reactive targets are best. We use .22LR handgun metallic silhouette targets and spinners at various ranges up to 50 yards.
 
I started all my children on single shot rossi 22,with open sights,and a ruger 22 revolver...I stress that it is more important to make ONE good shot than 4 bad ones then a good one. They learned quickly and the reloading of the single shots gave plenty of time for conversation too. :D
 
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