Daughter wants to learn to shoot

Aion

New member
My daughter is making noises about learning to shoot. She's 18 and not a weakling, but I'm thinking that starting her off with the .45 might be like trying to learn to swim by jumping into a 20' surf. Whaddaya think, something like a Ruger Mark II to start off, maybe moving up to a .380 or a .38 spl later?

- Aion
 
Yes. I would start off with .22 first, then move up as she requests. Let her dictate the pace of upgrades.

You don't want her developing a flinch unnecessarily.

You might even want to start off practicing the 4 rules of safe gunhandling with a toy gun (or air pistol) so she feels somewhat comfortable first time she goes to a range.
 
Greeting's Aion,

Your daughter has an excellent idea; as I welcome all new
shooter's to the art of handguning. And you sir, are correct.
Start her off in .22LR caliber, with a gun design that fit's her
well. I suggest taking her to a gunshop that will at least let
her handle different make's and model's; both self-loader's
and revolver's. The bull barreled Ruger MK-II KMK-512 makes
for an excellent training pistol, as does Smith & Wesson's
model 17 and 18 revolver's. Other's to consider that I would
recommend are: Colt's Match Target Woodsman, and S&W's
model 41. She will find that all are a little different; offering
good point's and bad point's; but all are QUALITY
firearm's. Stay far away from the "junk gun's" that are out
there, and with lots of practice she should do just fine. I
wish the best for both of you; and if I can be of further help
don't hesitate to holler.

Respectfully,
Ala Dan, Life Member N.R.A.
 
I would start her out with a 9mm, something along the lines of a glock 17 or glock 19. A .22 is good too, but if she feels the power of a larger caliber she might like it a bit more. Just my $.02
 
I have four daughters................

who are all now full grown. Started each one on a Ruger Mark II and let them shoot until they decided they wanted to shoot something bigger than a .22. Three are still shooters and one just lost interest. But, for my family, the .22 was the right place to start.
 
Learning

I have a set of twin girls. When they started asking I started them on a 22 rifle. Then to a 410ga shotgun, and then to a 20ga. They took there time and really enjoyed shooting. We did a lot of duck hunting, had alot of fun. When they asked about handguns, we went to the Ruger MKll. Also had a single-six, they liked that better at first. It seemed easier for them to understand. I enjoyed spending time shooting with them. They are grown now and have lost interest. Maybe I'll get to shoot with the grandkids. Have fun.
 
Great!!! Teach her how to shoot!
Starting with a 22.
And most of all Not a indoor range.

18:( Better late then never!!!
 
Aion you must be so proud:)

I agree with what has been said up to this point. Much easier to teach her trigger control and sight alignment if she isn't fighting recoil and muzzle flash.

When she starts getting consistent groups and feels comfortable let her move up to 9mm or 38 special in a revolver, then work up from there.

Nice to hear there are still some teenagers out there that think we old timers know somethin':rolleyes:

Enjoy while you can!
 
I started shooting in the days before people had enough sense to use hearing protection. I developed a hell of a flinch that I fight to this day. So when my daughter wanted to learn how to shoot, I made sure she had good ear muffs (I believe that the noise was what made me start flinching, instead of any physical discomfort from the recoil) and I gave her a .22. After she was accustomed to shooting I let her move up. Now she shoots my 9mm's without a trace of a flinch. I say start at the bottom with a .22 because once someone develops a flinch it's hard to overcome it. Next trip to the range she's going to try a 1911 :D
 
My 2 cents:

Get something like a Ruger MkII and teach her the proper techniques and the safety. She will have fun and not be so much afraid of the gun. If she wants to move on after that, you can go just about where ever she wants because she should have the proper info.

I second the comment on the hearing protection. Amazing what that can do to you, even from a 22.

And I also second the comment on taking her to a shop and letting her find the gun that feels good in her hands, though the Ruger is pretty good for anyone (I think).

Besides, 22 ammo is CHEAP. You can shoot forever for next to no money.

I say all of this because I just went through it with my son. I got the Ruger MKII with a 6 in barrel (not the bull). I thought I would start him on that and then move him up later. He loves the 22 and will shoot as long as I let him. I have asked if he wants to move to something else, but he doesn't want to.

Good Luck!!! And let us know what you end up doing.

Scott
 
Yes, have her shoot 1000 rounds or more of .22 LR. Heck, that will only set you back $20 or so.

After that and if you reload, consider downloaded .45. My wife became a skilled shooter that way. I used 3.4 gr. of Clays in a 230 gr. RN and replaced the recoil spring in her 1911 with a 12# part. The recoil is amazingly soft and because of the heavy gun and heavy bullet, the recoil impulse that exists is very slow and controlable. She shot 2 seasons with that and after developing a good stance and grip, can handle pretty much anything.

Recently she was shooting a friends Glock 30 with very hot 10mm handloads and actually enjoyed it.
 
My thanks to all for their advice. Ended up getting Buckmark in .22LR, fits her hands nicely. Only drawback is that she's a lefty and the "controls" are designed for right-hand thumbs. :)

She's looking forward to shooting it - and I've made it clear that shooting will be the "reward" for learning the safety rules first. You know, that whole carrot/stick thang...

Again, I appreciate all the responses. Now I get to go to the range and, uh, break it in for her. Yeah, that's the only reason. :D

- Aion
 
Buckmark is a great gun too. For me, it was the Ruger cause it was available and a little cheaper. But the Ruger is a bear to get back together, so cleaning should be easier on the Buckmark.

Enjoy, and especially enjoy spending the time with your daughter. Shooting together creates quite a bond.

Best of luck!!!!

Scott
 
The good news:

- fits my hand nicely
- fits my daughter's hand nicely
- accurate (I shot a 1-1/8" group of ten without a benchrest)
- inexpensive
- cheap as hell to shoot (I like this $18 for 500 rounds bit!)

The bad news:

- still going through some teething: had half-a-dozen FTFs in a bit over 150 rounds, ending with a case that wouldn't extract and had to be punched out with a cleaning rod from the muzzle end... obviously my Kimber spoiled me, since it worked like a champ from shot one.
- PITA to clean, unlike 1911s

I was shooting Blazers, but I think I'm going to shoot a couple hundred rounds of jacketed or ballisticlean or whatever I can find that's not plain lead, until the ramp smooths out. (Is this a good idea or not? Would it be better to let the lead lubricate the ramp?)

- Aion
 
Try different ammunition. There is really very little difference between the copper plated .22's and the lead bullet loads. They are all waxed bullets. The amount of wax may be different from brand to brand, however. Just shooting the pistol will help smooth it out and improve reliability. Stay away from the hypervelocity stuff. Plain old Hi Speed long rifles are OK. I like standard velocity solids in guns that will shoot them reliably. The CCI standard velocity LR's are excellent in my S&W Model 41.
 
Aion, can you be more specific about failures? Were they all failures to eject the spent case? Any failures to feed the next round? Any failures to fire when the firing pin hits? Each of those suggests different fixes.

The first suggestion is always to try different ammo. .22 pistols are famous for being ammo-sensitive. And you're spending $18 for a brick? Must be good stuff. Try spending under $10 for 500 rounds of Remington Golden Bullet (36gr) at Wal-Mart and try that. I hear good things about Winchester Super-X PowerPoint, too. That should be around $12 per 500.

Failure to eject (FTE): the most common fix is either polish the chamber or check the extractor for proper movement. Since you had a case stuck in the chamber, I'm guessing your chamber may be a bit tight. Try new ammo first. Then have a 'smith polish the chamber ($25 or so?), or do it yourself if you feel inclined. Check the extractor for free movement. Lube as needed (some extractors have no oil on them, and work better with a light film). Make sure the extractor mates with its recess in the chamber properly.

Failure to Feed (FTF): The most common culprit is either a rough feed ramp or bad geometry on the magazine lips.

Failure to Fire: If the firing pin leaves a nice pit in the rim, and the ammo doesn't fire, its usually an ammo problem. If the firing pin doesn't leave a good mark on the rim, a 'smith can fix it.
 
Thanks Dave, I think you hit it...

Shot another 400+ rounds this afternoon: 120 Blazer, 300 Winchester Wildcat. Had 6 feed problems, all of them ejection failures. Two were stovepipes, the rest half-open slide, slide closed on spent casing, etc. And all 6 were with the CCI. Not one failure with the Winchester. Not to mention the gun shop gouged me for $18 for the Blazers, vs $9 for the Winchesters at Wally World.

Li'l sucker's accurate as hell, though! It'll hit that x-ring all day long if I do my part. :)

Thanks again.

- Aion
 
My girl just got a Ruger 10/22, with custom small size stock from Boyds, Bushnell Holosight and hi-cap magazines. She loves it.
Also has a Chipmunk and a couple of Berettas in .22 caliber.
Her next gun will be the Walther .22 with a red dot sight.

She hardly ever misses out to 50 yards.

She is 7 years old.

Kilroy...
...was here
 
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