My 7-step rifle training program
How about an M44 Mosin-Nagant? LOL But seriously though, I have a training program for my son when he's mature enough to begin shooting. The key here is to be flexible in that if he's advancing faster than anticipated, move him ahead faster but if problems pop up that he's not meeting the training objectives in a satisfactory manner, then back down he goes to previous steps until it's corrected and he's ready to advance.
Step 1: Plastic toy guns to see how well he's progressing in basic weapons safety like not pointing them at me, himself or the critters. Once I see that he can be trusted and will do what is asked of him without question, it's on to the next step.
Step 2: The classic Red Ryder BB gun. Now he has a rifle that will actually shoot a projectile that he can see holes getting poked into paper targets. While a Red Ryder isn't some sort of match grade rifle making little cloverleaf patterns, this is the time where work on marksmanship fundamentals begins without the blast and recoil of actual ammunition.
Step 3: Now is when we introduce real ammunition in the form of a single shot Cricket rifle. At this stage we are still working on marksmanship fundamentals but now we have the addition of muzzle blast and a level of recoil while not severe, is still noticable to younger shooters. The .22 ammo is cheap and this is the level that most of his training should take place in learning to become a good shooter with asingle shot not allowing for the "spray and pray" mentality to present itself.
Step 4: By now he should have a good grasp of the fundamentals so now we introduce a .22 automatic in the form of my Sig 522 with it's adjustable stock that will work for his smaller size. It's also at this stage that he gets his first exposure to optics like the EOTech and how they work as compared to iron sights that he should have maastered by this point. Here, the objective is to see if he develops the "spray and pray" or maintains the good marksmanship habits of making each shot count. At this stage, the .22LR ammo isn't expensive so if he does start onto the path of emptying the magazine every time he shoulders the weapon, it's not going to drive me into the poor house. If he starts spraying shots all over the place, it's back to the single shot again until he's broken of that bad habit. If on the other hand he maintains his discipline and sees it as an accurate single shot that can be fired at each individual target, he moves along to the next step.
Step 5: By now, he should have displayed good safety habits, not be bothered by muzzle blast or recoil, and be able to fire accurate single shots even when equiped with an automatic. By this stage, the .22 rifle in any form should be mastered and now it's time to move on to centerfire calibers. In this case, I have an M-4/CAR-15 hybrid already set up just for him. Lighter CAR-15 barrel, handguards and buttstock mated to a flat top upper an Trijicon reflex optics. The advantage here is the lighter 5.56mm round but with more recoil than a .22 comes into play in a rifle that like the 522 has an adjustable stock to fit smaller statures. The objective to this excersize is to begin his exposure to centerfire calibers with considerbly more muzzle blast and a little more recoil than what he's learned with so far. If this proves to be a problem with flinching developing, it's back to the .22 until the flinching goes away and then we re-attack the centerfire calibers again until he can fire the bigger calibers without developing a flinch.
Step 6: By now we should have him used to the muzzle blast and slightly heavier recoil of an intermediate round so it's time to up the ante to a full size round. In this case, an AR-10 carbine sporting an EOTech. Again, we have an adjustable stock for better fit but the big thing here is that we are introducing a heavier round with a bit more recoil than anything that came before it combined with better range as well. The objective here is to be able to handle the recoil of a full power round without developing a flinching problem and we are now moving the ranges out a bit farther. Prior to this, shots should not have gone much beyond 100-200 meters. Now we should be in to 200-300 meter ranges and still be able to accurately engage targets with good results. Again, like before, if flinching does develop, it's back to the 5.56mm (or lighter) until it goes away and then build back up to the 7.62mm again until it doesn't bother him.
Step 7: This is the last stage in his rifle training and by now, should be able to hold his own fairly well. Now we start to move away from the short range rifles and carbines and begin to concentrate on long range marksmanship with optics. I'm still building it but we are now looking at an AR-10NM with a few upgrades like a Magpul PRS stock, free-floating handguards and a Leupold Mk-4 optics. Fundamentals and recoil management should no longer be an issue so now we are moving the ranges out even further than we did with the AR-10 Carbine. In previous excersizes, the weapons were being fired at shorter ranges with sights that were "set and forget" style with Kentucy windage being used. Now the objective is to place accurate rounds at longer ranges by making dope changes to account for wind, temperature, humidity, light, elevation, angle, mirage and ther factors. Now we are looking at putting accurate first shot rounds on target at ranges out to 800 meters and becoming a holy terror to the deer population back home! Once he has reached this stage, I will consider his training complete and confident that he can handle any rifle without any problems popping up.
