How to keep a child interested in shooting

S

southjk

New member
My 11 (next month) year old daughter and I have been going to the range almost every weekend since I bought a M&P .22 in December. She's taken a safety class and has become a pretty good shot. She'll usually shoot at 5, 7 or 10 yards with the .22 only and while she is reloading the magazine I'll shoot my 686 or Shield 9mm and sometimes the .22. I enjoy the variety but she won't shoot any of the others. I've noticed that she'll say she is done for the day a little sooner each trip and I don't want her to get bored with it. What are some things we can do to make it more interesting/fun for her?
 
Don't force her. I mean, I know what you would like, but it really could be she's not that interested.

Is there any way to spice it up a bit? Use reactive targets? Heck, some tannerite and a .223 might help. Maybe see if you can engage her competitive side. See if there are any junior competitions in your area. Those are just some ideas.
 
My suggestion, would be, and this is based on something I learned with my sister actually, would be to get her a gun that is "her's", not your's that you let her shoot.

My sister would gamely try to shoot and have fun with me and Pops, but it took her getting her own pistol for her to really enjoy it. To the point where she depeleted my zombie stash of small pistol primers in a matter of weeks.

Also, perhaps tryins something new, like a rimfire match or trap shooting would add some excitement in the mix.

And finally, kids go through phases. My little cousin went through a phase for about a year in which he didn't want to have anything to do with shooting or hunting and he came back around eventually.
 
I haven't started my 9yr son yet but my plan is to take him to the family farm and have him shoot balloons, clays and logs standing upright to simulate Bowling pins.

You look and see if there is club or shooting range that does .22 games.

I watched a vid by NRA about this subject and the balloon idea was there. Anything that engages them I guess. I know its way more fun to shoot something other then punching holes in paper.
 
Just lay off a bit, clearly she just doesn't really want to do it as much....She's 11 years old and you've taken her to do the same thing every weekend for 4 months now. Wait a month or so and then give her her own gun like mentioned before, It will have been awhile and she'll have something of her own.
 
To be clear, I'm not forcing her to go. She is always excited to go and often she'll bring it first asking if we're going to the range that weekend. It's just that I can see that she gets tired of punching holes in paper sooner. Unfortunately the indoor range is our only option. I was wondering what things I should have her do to give her a goal. Just shoot farther away? Quick shooting? One handed? That's kind of what I was looking for.
 
There is a local range here that has a "Friends and Family" 22lr tournament once a month. My 9 year old son shoots in the 12 and under class and absolutely LOVES IT! He looks forward to that weekend every month. There are about 12-15 kids in this class. It's challenging, rewarding and enjoyable all at the same time.
 
She is approaching her teens and as difficult as it may be to accept her social life will soon be the most important thing to her. So, play into that and seek for ways to involve her friends and/or find shooting related activities that allow her to meet other kids her age.
 
Yeah +1 to the folks who said things like, "Kids go through phases." and "don't pressure her." Went through the same thing with our kids with other sports and they eventually find their niche. And if it isn't shooting for your daughter, but instead some other sport or hobby then god bless her and as long as she's having fun doing it then great. That's how we take things with our kids and it just makes life easier for everyone.

Now when one of our kids shows an interest in a sport or hobby we support it 100% and go 'all in' if the kids are into it. (within reason, of course. We did NOT buy our daughter the pony that she wanted.)
 
plinking is fun. however without any accomplishment it gets pointless fast.

sure i would like to just grab my weapon and some ammo and shoot it up, but paper isnt that fun. get one of those little bouncing shooting targets if its allowed at that range. that could be good.

getting her friends involved is not going to be a smart move. last thing you want is a bunch of unhappy parents calling CPS on you.
 
I agree with those that say find something besides paper to shoot at. I grew up in the country where I could go shooting anytime I wanted to. I always looked around the house for bottles, cans, or whatever, to shoot at instead of paper. Paper is boring.

Now, I live in the city and hardly ever go to the range even though it's right down the road because I get tired of shooting paper pretty quickly.
 
In my opinion, either the kid is interested or not. I was interested in shooting guns from the time I was 8. Then got into shooting handguns around 14 years old. Going to the range with my uncle was a real treat - I would beg him to take us to the shooting range. Thus started my interest in guns and shooting.

I look at it this way - a kid should have some outside interest from just school, whether its sports or something else. I prefer that my kid be more interested in sports over shooting, but she likes to shoot, so I let her shoot - it's just not something I want her to pursue over athletics. From my perspective, shooting is fun, a great hobby and something everyone should know how to do. I just think kids need to spend far more non-school time in core athletic pursuits.
 
If you had access to an outdoor spot to shoot (not necessarily a "range"), I'd suggest some kind of reactive target. Those have come a long way since I was a kid, but "chasing a target" across the ground has always been fun.

Maybe use the Shoot-&-See ((?) is that the name?) targets so that she can really see where she's hitting.
 
BarryLee said:
She is approaching her teens and as difficult as it may be to accept her social life will soon be the most important thing to her. So, play into that and seek for ways to involve her friends and/or find shooting related activities that allow her to meet other kids her age.
Click to expand...

Second on involving her friends.

One thing I think we as a community have fallen down on is involving kids in organized events.

No, I don't know how to fix it. But I'm starting to talk about it. That's a step.
 
Keep it fun and keep it short. When a kid is really young its not the time to be too technical. Just make sure they're safe and don't worry about trigger squeaze, breath control, and blah blah blah. Wait til their a bit older. Whatever you do don't force her.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top