teaching my nieces to shoot

R

RHC

New member
My wife's grandfather give me his Ruger .22 and asked me to use it to teach my nieces gun safety and also how to shoot.

I have the NRA pamphlet on gun safety.

Here is my agenda:

1. The basic Eddie Eagle rules - stop, don't touch, leave the area, tell an adult;

2. the rules of gun safety, all of which boil down to treat the gun as if it's loaded;

3. showing them how to demonstrate that the gun is unloaded, and letting them do that;

4. showing them how to load and fire it. (Thanks to TFLers I know about the one bullet at a time for beginners rule.)

Any tips?
 
How old are the nieces? The younger, the simpler the information.

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Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
"If there be treachery, let there be jehad!"
 
I wasn't able to catch my nieces young enough; they sort of grew up while I was away. But I got my nephews, and that one bullet rule is great.
I keep telling the boys that if you have enough ammo, you'll sooner or later hit the target; however, if you NEED more than one bullet, it could be too late.

Good luck, RHC, and hug them kids a bunch; they need it and want it.
 
Also, are we talking about a Ruger 10/22 rifle or the semi-auto pistol or one of the revolvers? Which ever one it is, I think I'd let the girls use a rest for the first few shots.

What are you planning on shooting at? A largish piece of blank paper at a close range would work well. The range depending on the type of .22. Handguns closer than with a rifle. Seeing that they can hit something does wonders for confidence and helps make them to want to shoot more. After they do well hitting a blank piece of paper, mark a target on the same type of paper and have them go at it again.

Make double sure they have good ear and eye protection when shooting. Nothing like the sound of a shot to unprotected ears for the first time to discourage them from wanting to shoot again.

keep the first range time short, unless they really want to shoot up your ammo.

When you get back, let them help clean the firearm.

P.S.
Take 'em out for a treat on the way back. Positive reinforcement as it were, besides they will love you for it (or at least like you a little LOL).

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Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
"If there be treachery, let there be jehad!"
 
Ruger .22 semi-auto pistol.

It went fine; they had a good time and were safe. I let their mother shoot first.

The youngest (who is also by far the least in control of herself) did try to turn and talk to her sisters after firing once. Fortunately I had both enforced the one bullet rule and was standing behind her, so I could grab her arm and stop her. I wouldn't let her shoot any more, and she said "I promise not to do it again!" I said: "We don't go by promises, but by behavior. We'll let you practice with a toy gun for a while."

I kept the session short and gave them all a soda pop afterwards. Good advice, Jim V.! They all had fun.

It is hard to maintain your concentration on the shooter for very long anyway, making sure they keep their finger off the trigger until ready to shoot, making sure they demonstrate to me and the next shooter that the gun is unloaded.

I'm sure they'll be back to do it again.
 
Thanks for the update. I was wondering how it went. I'm glad they had fun and you not letting the youngest shoot again after starting to turn with the pistol in her hand really reinforced the safety rules.

Get 'em shooting early.

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Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
"If there be treachery, let there be jehad!"
 
RHC, I'm glad it all went well. Cudos on the steadfastness you show. It's hard to say no to kids like that, when they want so much to shoot. I'm sure she'll be more than ready next time at the range.

BTW, thanks for helping to bring in a new generation of shooters!
 
one of the things i did when teaching the neighbor kids firearms safety.
i took a peice of 2/4 and cut a saw kerf in it lengthwise, clamped it on a target stand at 50 feet. put quarters in the kerf (one for each kid).
i then plugged each quarter and the kids had a souvineer. this really brings home to the kids the power and accuracy of even a 22. to the kids quarters were almost indestructable.

note, i had a few plugged quarters along in my pocket just in case i missed one.

rms/pa
 
"I had a few in my pocket...."

Now that's funny!! :D

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Either you believe in the Second Amendment or you don't.
Stick it to 'em! RKBA!
 
Just took my two step sons shooting a couple weeks ago. The older, 25, had never fired a weapon, the younger, 22, is in the Marines, but had never fired other than on their range and never a handgun. The one bullet rule still applied (even when I took my boss although that's a different story) and worked out quite well.

When the older son fired his first shot (.38 spcl) he center punched his target! Talk about hooked for life! The younger, the Marine, fell in love with my Taurus 617. 357 mag from a 2" ported barrel seems to be just the ticket for guys that like fire, concussion, and loud noises.

Focused on safety, talked about history, and had a good time. Keep teaching someone to shoot. It is worth it every time. Smiles on the faces of everyone involved. Another person unlikely to see a gun as an evil thing unto itself.

Rick
 
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