Firearms training has started at the Moto house.

The kids have been going to cub scout events that featured BB gun shooting - and while this was handled in a perfectly safe and appropriate manner there wasn’t an awful lot of time on the guns to practice - this was pretty much just an introduction. Also, my daughter felt intimidated about shooting in front of a large group of people for some reason. So the decision was made to let the kids practice a bit at home and see if their interests progress in this area.

So I went to Wal-Mart and bought the standard kit - a Crossman BB/pellet gun, a whole bunch of BBs, a Winchester paddle target, and eye protection. I also copied a bunch of paper targets since the kids are just beginners - as it turns out they are on the paper but are working their way toward the bullseye. I just clipped the paper to the flip target.

I hung a heavy tarp over the back yard fence to act as a backstop and we were good to go. By and large the kids (9 year old twins and a 7 year old) did fine, shooting safely and following instructions. I generally had to pump the gun between shots, since it is new and they aren’t used to that yet.

The BB gun is locked with the rest of my firearms - we will be doing this as a family activity only, until the kids are much older.

I was a couple years older than them when I started to shoot, and I started on a .22, not a BB gun. We will see how this goes and then decide about pellet gun or .22 target shooting, or even trap. There are a lot of youth shooting programs nearby. For now this is fine.

Sounds as though you have experience and are starting out slow and easy. I commend you for this. Your kids will grow up with firearms training and be able to make their own informed choices as to becoming enthusiasts themselves.

I started my son out pretty much the same way. He is now 17 and can kick my butt shooting clay pigeons.

I hadn’t even realized that there were guns which can fire both BBs and pellets. Are you thinking of switching them over to pellets at some point?

My brother and I had pellet rifles when we were younger. Our favorite targets were plastic army men and soda cans filled with red-dyed water. Tons of fun!

Pellet guns/air guns have come a long way, sounds like a good next step if you live in town.

I remember I got a Red Rider BB Gun and the very next year I got a Ruger 10/22 - they grow up fast. :slight_smile: Good for you, sounds like you’re doing it right.

You started with a .22? Hmmmm…those were the days…

I had my own BB and Pellet at about 8 years old. Since we lived out in the country I would just head into the woods for my shooting. Now, with a .22 I could have done some serious damage! I finally got a .22 at about 12 and that was only used on a legit shooting range.

Sounds like you are setting the kids up well. Once they get the sighting down you can move into small objects - plastic army men or animals, wine corks, etc. Once they get into a youth program and start collecting patches I’m sure they’ll be seriously hooked. :smiley:

when i was growing up, not only was i expected to learn how to shoot, i also had to learn how to change a tire and do other things usually earmarked as ‘boy territory.’

mom once told me that had sis and i both been boys, we’d have been taught how to do laundry, cook, AND clean. :smiley:

And did you say to your daughter, in serious, stentorian, lawyerly tones, “Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”??

Hah!

My sister and I begged for, and finally got, a Daisy pump-action air rifle that shot both BBs and pellets. This was back in the early '80s or so, IIRC. We’d shoot at cans balanced on a wooden sawhorse in our backyard. We stopped using it completely when one day, we heard the distinct, fairly loud ricochet of a BB off the aluminum siding of the garage - a few yards behind us. :eek:

Great way to start the young’uns into the wonderful world of firearms ownership and responsibility :slight_smile:

One question about their BB/Pellet guns, are the barrels smoothbore, or rifled?, if they’re smoothbore, pellet accuracy will be marginal, but BB’s should be okay, if they’re rifled, be VERY CAREFUL putting BB’s through them, as the hardened steel BB’s will tend to “iron out” or “flatten” the rifling, turning the rifled barrel into a smoothbore barrel, making it shoot neither projectile accurately

Pellets are more accurate from a rifled barrel, as they are made of pure soft lead, and lead conforms to the lands and grooves of the rifled barrel, but they’re lead, so washing hands after shooting, especially for kids, is very important
BB’s are hardened steel, safer for little hands, but less accurate from the gun itself
I sorta’ became the “firearms instructor by proxy” to my nephew and niece (9 and 7 yr old, respectively), started 'em off both with BB guns (Daisy Red Ryder for Logan, Daisy Buck for Sage), and some fun, cheap reactive targets (cheap generic cans of seltzer water)

They both love to grab a can of seltzer, shake it up, put it on the target stand and pop the can, the .177 diameter steel BB punches through the can and turns it into a short lived fountain, wheras even the lowest power Augila Super Colibri primer-only .22 cartridge just “pops” the can open

Logan’s a dead-eye with his DRR BB gun, typically hitting the can on the first shot, Sage is still learning and takes a few shots more, then they have fun setting up the shot cans and knocking them down until the can are too riddled with holes to take it anymore

Sage really hasn’t warmed up to the whole “gun” thing, she likes her BB gun, sure, and is now proud that she can pretty much cock the lever herself, before she had difficulty, as the Buck’s lever is reasonably stiff, I would cock the gun, safe it, and hand it to her before each shot, now all I do is hold the muzzle in a safe direction for her to cock the lever

Logan’s rapidly moving past the BB gun phase, he now likes my Benjamin 392 .22 caliber multipump pellet rifle better, as it’s more accurate and he can vary the power of the shots, but what he REALLY loves are my Marlin Model 39A lever-action .22 and my CZ-452 Ultra Lux bolt-action .22

Right now he’s more on a “Western/Cowboy” thing, so the classic “Cowboy” look of the 39A appeals to him more, he also likes the accuracy, the heft, and the fun way it flings empties out of the action, he also thinks it’s really cool that the 39A is one of THE OLDEST rifle designs still in current production today, the 39A rifle is well over 100 years old (not mine, mine was made in 1980, but the actual design is well over 100 years old) and my 1980 vintage model is the same basic design as the first 39A’s made, no stupid “Nannyware-esque/Lawyer-ware” cross-bolt safety and rebound hammer, just the basic, reliable, 100 year old proven half-cock notch on the hammer, the way Og (and John Marlin) intended

Although, when he wants to play “Soda Can Sniper”, he tends to favor the CZ-452 Ultra-Lux, with it’s 28.5" LONG barrel, 4-15X scope and 9-13" bipod, loaded with ultraquiet ammo, the sound of the bullet hitting the target is louder than the gun going off, heck, my Benji air rifle on three pumps is louder!

…I think he’s going to really enjoy shooting my new/used Ruger Single Six .22 revolver I just traded a couple of unused guns for…

Hope the kids have as much fun learning the shooting sports as you’ll have teaching them, Mr. Moto :slight_smile:

Good idea. I heard there were some grizzly bears near Pulaski’s candy store.