Pre-Appleseed To Do List for youngin's that have never shot a rifle?

[NHale]

I have a number of Scouts and their families that want to come to an Appleseed. Aside from the what to bring to an Appleseed article, did anyone have any advice? I have the BSA Rifle Book, but was also looking for real life examples of what to do/not to do.

I'm thinking of starting my boy out with the standard safety lecture. Then, the BSA book. Follow this with some serious dry firing on the 10/22. Finally, take him out to our shooting range with single rounds in the mag and build up to full mags. After he shows me he can safely handle the rifle with full mags, then he can come to an Appleseed shoot. Once I get a feel for how to best get a boy ready for rifles, I'll see about getting the rest of the Scout families informed and on the trail.

Any thoughts?

NH

[therealsteamer]

A good place to start are the safety rules, muzzle discipline and rifle function...  From there introduce them to the 6 steps....

[desertrat144]

NH,

Where are you located?  The reason for the question, is that some states have comprehensive Hunter Safety Courses that you can get info from, otherwise you are on the right course.  When getting your son in to a group situation, he may not do what you've instructed him to due to group dynamics.  

When you get the Troop assembled, have at least one other adult that knows his/her way around a rifle, then identify and agree on the kids to keep separated (class clowns, grudges, &c.); once at the range, make sure that the other person has your son in their group, the same goes with  the other parent.  This may sound strange, but when DAD is doing the instructing, the other instructor is more _________ (fill in the blank).  They are simply someone that knows what's going on better than you- think schools and teacher relationships here.

My real time experience and $0.02 worth.

Tom

[douglas34474]

Just bring them to the AS event. We had three young shooters this last weekend in St. Augustine, FL. The two on my end of the line had never handled a rifle, let alone shot one.

Started the smallest one on the 22 Cricket single shot. The older got a mag fed Remy 521T. Even Mom had no experience. I sat with them giving the basic points of rifle operation, mag prepping, making the rifle they were shooting safe, etc.

These young men gave me absolutely NO safety issues at all. I could not have asked for better students. I explained to them that they were not going to do all of the things that the shooters with more training could do. They were to work on handling the rifle safely and learning haw to shoot and hit the target. They were designated snipers for the weekend, both being put on bench rests.

Sunday they wanted to go semi- auto; could make more noise faster.  Both were given 'STAR' targets. The older took the center out of the target. The younger was having problems because the rifle was WAY too big for him. He got a little upset until I took him aside and told him that it was he who wanted to shoot the semi-auto, and that he was making good hits with the single shot. So I asked him if he wanted to use the semi-auto or the single shot? He took the semi-auto and five minutes latter all was forgotten and he had a great time.

IMHO, it all boils down to the child. If they can follow directions they will be OK.

desertrat144, I also teach Hunter Safety here in Florida. All they have to do is put 5 rounds down range. We do not provide any Marksmanship training at all. All they have to show is that they can put the safety on between shots and not point the rifle at anyone.

[desertrat144]

desertrat144, I also teach Hunter Safety here in Florida. All they have to do is put 5 rounds down range. We do not provide any Marksmanship training at all. All they have to show is that they can put the safety on between shots and not point the rifle at anyone.

Just five rounds?? That is not good!  WY and NV get into things a lot more; the base assumption is that Folks born after the mid 70s have not received any [military] training, so the courses are based on this- you are treated this way even if you were in the military, at least until the late 90s as an ex-military friend will attest to.

A strange thought occurs at this point: One day Appleseeds have been hashed over, this may be a 'match' if the DOW is game (groan!) for it.

Tom

[wesm]

NH,

I am starting my 6 year old son off with a $20 Red Ryder BB gun.  He got it for his 6th birthday two weeks ago.  I started him off shooting at a large 3'x4' concrete box about 25 feet away, to try and build confidence.  Then moved to an empty laundry detergent box about 15 feet away.  The idea was to get him to learn how to use his iron sights, follow the safety rules, and not to be intimidated by the crack of a "real" rifle starting off.   We'll work on plinking a tin can , spinner targets, etc, with the BB gun, and then when he is proficient and I am comfortable with his safety awareness, we'll move to a .22 LR.

The added bonus of starting him off on a BB gun is that we can shoot it anytime in our yard, as opposed to having to pack up and go to a range to shoot a .22 or anything else. And, as cheap as .22 ammunition is, BBs are even cheaper.  

EDIT: Also, to try and impart the respect for his own firearm, I told him that we are keeping his BB gun in my gun safe with my "big" guns, so I don't  have to worry about him running around shooting the dog, windows, or his brother with the BB gun while I am at work.  Hopefully, this will help him think of his gun as "just as dangerous" as any other.  If I can get him thinking like that, then we are most of the way there in my book.  I have also imparted the rule that we aren't pointing ANY guns at anybody else, not even NERF dart guns. 

Don't know how I'll handle water guns next summer though...

[dart67eb]

I started my kids at @ 5-6 with a daisy buck bb gun.  At 9 they got a cricket and shortly thereafter the marlin 795.  One still uses the custom (by me) cut down stock.