Range report: 11yo son

[FunkyD]

My oldest son has finally shown enough signs of maturity that I have been shooting with him a few times. Mostly when we go see my parents in Tennessee, we go to a cousin's house out of the city limits and shoot to our hearts' content.

I packed my Buck, the Fieldmaster, and the xD, along with a few cans left over from Thanksgiving dinner prep, and headed out.

After reminding him of the safety rules (which are still settling in his head) we commenced to shredding some time.

The Fieldmaster is awesome and would make anyone look like a marksman. We got out a small evaporated milk can, and from a standing position, I can nail it every time from 15 yards (wasn't much left of it after we were done!). I was able to do the same thing with walnut husks from a nearby tree (about the size of a small apple).

My oldest fired from the prone position and hit a pumpkin pie mix can pretty good. He then proceeded to take the buck and nail it about 1 out of 3 shots from 10 yards, which is very respectable. One shot knocked it off its perch and was lying down with the bottom facing us. I told my son to put one in the center of it. He dang near did, knocking a hole within ½" of dead center. We set it back up and I asked him if he wanted to try the xD. He didn't last time, but summed up the courage to do it this time. This would be his first shot with anything larger than a 22. I explained that there was no "safety" and not to put his finger on the trigger until he was ready. I then showed him how to sight it and he took aim and carefully pulled the trigger...BANG! Even with earplugs, a 9 fired outdoors is loud. I guess I didn't quite explain the amount of recoil he would experience (heh!). However, he fired 2 more rounds with the last one knocking the can off. Unfortunately after the last round, when the slide locked back, he tried to hand the xD back to me, pointing it at me in the process! A stern lecture about not doing that again followed.

Out at 25 yards, we tried nailing a large aspirin bottle. My son isn't quite that good yet, but I was landing them about ½ the time.

He seems to have an aptitude for shooting, and we are working on applying the safety rules consistently. He's trying, and probably needs more practice. He's not of an athletic build, and although he plays basketball and is a decent player, isn't really going to have a "career" of it. Shooting may be the best way to pursue a mutual interest. Time to talk the Mrs. into a Youth-sized rifle, methinks.

[jasons]

Sounds like you two had a nice time.

If he was enjoying the shooting, it would have all stopped when the XD was pointed at me. We'd have packed it all up and headed to the house for a major lecture and discipline to follow in order for that not to happen again.

Keep up the work with him.

[azguns0331]

Originally Posted by jasons

Sounds like you two had a nice time.

If he was enjoying the shooting, it would have all stopped when the XD was pointed at me. We'd have packed it all up and headed to the house for a major lecture and discipline to follow in order for that not to happen again.

Keep up the work with him.

i think the OP is still trying to instill the JOY of shooting. Scare the hell outta the kid and he wont want to go anymore. As long as he understands what his dad is trying to teach him then the lesson is learned.

[ThumperMX113]

Originally Posted by azguns0331

i think the OP is still trying to instill the JOY of shooting. Scare the hell outta the kid and he wont want to go anymore. As long as he understands what his dad is trying to teach him then the lesson is learned.

Funny, I thought the same exact thing.

[KPierce]

Glad to hear the report. Except for the one instance it sounds like you 2 had a good time. If he really is interested in shooting, I would recommend one of the Rossi set ups. Friend of mine has one that came with 3 different barrels and it's single shot. It's fun to shoot and not hard to change the barrels out.

[mhillsing23]

Cool report/story! I can't wait to take my kids shooting. My wife is 37 weeks pregnant and I am already looking at the Cricket rifles.

[k-dog]

I love shooting with my kids (12 yo daugther, 5 yo boy, and the 2 yo daughter is not ready yet). The 5 year old boy has only shot a .22 rifle, and a .22 pistol and the AR-15 of course with me there helping hold them. Just trying to get him get a feel for recoil as well as the noise even with muffs on. Of course he doesn't hold any gun by himself yet.
The 12 year old daughter has been shooting with me since she was about 10 and she is a pretty good shot. She shoots everything I have from AK-47, AR-15 to XD-45. She loves the XD-45 and the AR-15.
Cherish the time shooting with your kids.

[ichy_trigger]

Awesome, keep up the good work. I started my kids at a young age, I think my son was 8 the first time we went and my daughter was 7 I believe.

[jasons]

Originally Posted by azguns0331

i think the OP is still trying to instill the JOY of shooting. Scare the hell outta the kid and he wont want to go anymore. As long as he understands what his dad is trying to teach him then the lesson is learned.

Yeah, that's exactly what I said...yell, scream, stomp around, and pitch a fit in order to scare your kid to death and he'll never do that again!! Oh yeah...pistol whip him a few times too. I just love it when people read things into my comments too.

I've talked to several guys who used to hunt with their Fathers when they were small and many of them made the same mistake, except with loaded rifles. Several of them were sent back to the truck for the rest of the outing, one of them sat in the truck for 6 hours...all of them learned their lesson. Children need to realize the severe importance of never pointing a firearm at anyone and if a little talk does the job, great. My Son would have had more to think about...that's all I was politely stating.

[FunkyD]

My youngest is 8, almost 9, but he is nowhere ready to shoot yet. He has difficulty with listening and following instructions, as was my oldest when he was 8. I had to wait until now to start.

Jason, I understand your point, but the mitigating factor is I knew the xD was empty at that point. I did tell him that another infraction would mean the end of the shoot, and he understood that. At least he understands the importance of safety, now it just has to be permanently wired into his head.

We will have some trips to the indoor range soon for sure!