Kids and firearms. Whether you realize it or not, a firearm to a kid is the equivalent to an experienced hunter getting to shoot a rocket launcher. Yeah, it’s that kind of pressure. Everything that you’d imagine that to bring, is what your kids see with a hunting rifle.
It’s pressure and a lot of it.
My two daughters are teens now and hunting kind of falls to the side, but about 5 years ago, it was their time for “the big gun”. Here’s a few tips on how to get them ready to fire a rifle that they’re already nervous about shooting accurately. That’s what the goal is, right?
Touch
My bet is, they’ve never even held a high caliber rifle before. Or most haven’t anyway. If they’ve never held it, unload the gun completely and let them handle it. Show them the mechanisms and how they function. Let them shoulder the gun and look through the scope. Above all else though, preach gun safety. I’ll link a few tips for that at the bottom of this article.
Dry Fire
Gun enthusiasts probably shuttered at that phrase. It’s not a commonly accepted practice to dry fire a weapon but with someone who’s never shot one before, in my opinion, it’s imperative. The trigger pull is different on every gun and that’s something that can make or break a shot. With the completely unloaded firearm, get the rifle on a rest, put the young person on the rifle, and let them pull the trigger without anything in the gun.
Click…..and that’s it. Then do it again but this time, instruct them to look through the scope and try to find a tree or something safe in the distance. “But the gun is already empty, why worry about where it’s pointed?” Because gun safety never takes a break. It’s something that should always be practiced no matter if the weapon is loaded or unloaded. In this situation, the shooter should be instructed to squeeze the trigger slowly and let the click surprise them. Even as an adult I have to think “Let the gun come to you” when I rifle hunt. It’s a reminder for me to let the recoil bring the weapon to my shoulder and not me pulling it to my shoulder.
Hearing Protection
This is huge. Kids hearing is much better than ours and that’s because they haven’t been exposed to load noises like we have been through the years.
Before you do anything live fire, get earmuffs. Please do this, even with a .22 or .17. They need that extra protection and it’ll keep mom off your tail too because, trust me, if mom isn’t a hunter, she’s scared slap to death of her baby getting hurt or scared. Hearing protection also helps reduce the possibility of punching the trigger.
Rim Fire Guns
Something that’s overlooked a lot is the importance of small calibers when preparing for large ones. It seems like kids skip small rifle hunting these days. Guns like .22’s or .17 HMR’s are incredibly good for preparing someone to shoot a rifle that’s loud and has recoil. If you were to ask a kid what their biggest fear is when shooting a gun, those will be the top answers. This is where shooting live fire and the gun safety you’ve been preaching will come together.
It also starts with you. How you handle the gun. How you load and unload it. They’re watching you for instructions. This is where what you do rubs off on them. When we were shooting for the first-time years ago, my oldest daughter fired the .22 like a pro. And when she put the gun down, she accidentally pulled the trigger and it fired thankfully pointed in a safe direction. This scared all of us to death. I quickly realized that I caused that mistake, not her. I loaded the gun to the hilt knowing it was her first time to ever shoot. My advice to this is, only load one round in the weapon each time. After we all settled down, that was a prime opportunity for a teaching moment for both of us.
In The Stand
Now this is where the rubber meets the road. Where all of the practice comes into play. The stand work is totally different from the work you’ve done at home. It’s tighter. It’s quieter. And it’s filled with 1000 times the pressure. Chances are, you’re going to get to the stand and realize you forgot something. Happens to everyone. So practice with everything before you go, pack it together, and leave it alone.
When you get to the stand, there’s a huge thing you have to remember. It’s easy to say, but hard to do, especially when you want to be successful. LET THEM BE KIDS. They’re not going to sit for hours quietly. They’re going to make noise. They’re going to ask questions. Let. Them.
And also take snacks, but put them in a ziplock bag. Chips bags are louder than a 35 year old log truck when eating in a stand. Ziplocks are a must. Take drinks too and if you have little girls take toilet tissue. But above all else, be patient. Never go expecting to kill anything. That’ll come, but right off go with the goal of sitting for an hour. If they can sit for an hour the first time without fussing, you’ve mastered the hard part. Most will make it 30-45 minutes though lol!
Here’s another tip to help pass the time. Practice real hunting scenarios. Unload the gun, tell them what you’re doing, and then let them act it out. Example: “Hey, we’re going to act like there’s a deer coming and they’re going to end up by that big tree. One my mark, I want you to get up quietly and then get in the gun, find the tree in the scope, and then pull the trigger. The guns unloaded just like always but pull the trigger”. Then sit back and let them act it out. You may have to help and that’s fine, but it’s good practice for the both of you.
Conclusion
Now here’s the question I’ve often thought about when seeing a kid with a deer, especially a little kid.
Dad, is this for your ego or is it for the kid? Do you see other dads getting their kids on deer and think, “Dang that guy is such a good hunter that he got his 4 year old on a 140” deer. Now I have to do the same thing to show I’m just as good of a hunter as he is“.
The answer is simple; you don’t have to do that. All you have to do is be a dad. Take your kid, show them the woods, and enjoy it. Just have fun, take pictures, and laugh with them. They’ll soon be teenagers who’ll want to hang out with their friends more than they want to hunt. But always ask if they want to go anyway.
https://ammo.com/articles/parents-guide-to-youth-hunting
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