Took my daughter out to the range

[wildweasel]

I took my 12 year old daughter to the range with me for the first time today. She's expressed some curiosity about my XD for the last few weeks and I figured she should see where her dad disappears off to on the weekends.

I gave her a good safety briefing on the way there and she has a very good appreciation for firearms. We got to the private range I belong to and there was one other guy there with his .38 revolver and his P22. We set up at 15 yards and I did my standard warm up of a full mag into an 8" paper plate. Immediately my daughter got a smile on her face and the other guy came over to ask what I was shooting. My daughter chimed in and said 9mm. I couldn't have been a happier dad.

I've been talking to her about some self defense drills and she wanted to help out, so we put up 5 plates and numbered them 1-5. She called out numbers for me to practice target acquisition and put me under a little stress. It worked great!

I didn't let her get to fire just yet, but I'm thinking next time I might let her behind the trigger to get a feel for it. Great father/daughter bonding time for sure. I strongly encourage all you dads out there to have a "take your daughter to the range" day

[richeyo2]

Congrats man sounds like you all had a great time. I take my boys 7-1/2 & 13 all the time, once a week when weather permits at an outdoor range. Have fun & be safe!

[Medic738]

I cannot wait to take my daughter I only have a few years to wait. She is only 7 months old tomorrow.

[Gulftanker]

Great! I've let my daughter (10) shoot a .22 rifle and .22 semi-auto pistol. She was on the paper her very first shot and got a bullseye on her second at 25 yards. She's a natural. Soon I'll let her fire the new AR. I'm not sure she's ready for full size handguns yet. Pretty close.

[fritzmeister]

Range time with your children is a wonderful thing for sure.

However, I am mildly disappointed that you didn't let her shoot. Especially with such an empty range....

I would bet she will be a very good shot, too. We will expect a full range report from the young lady and her punched out bullseye target the next time.

[petyweestraw]

Yup should've let her shoot at least a 22. If you have one. I get ur apprehension. She's ur baby girl. Trying to teach my 7 year old to shoot but not really that into it yet. My 10 year old son loves it. He plinks at 3 and 2 inch steel plates at about 15 or so yards. Hitting bout 7 out of 10 shots. Awesome

Angry Panda Poon RAAAWR!

[windsearcher]

my girl is 5, and not at all ready to go to a range yet. She shows no interest in firearms yet, and definitely doesn't have the concentration for it yet. Am hoping that will change as she gets older. We'll hope for the best.

Glad you had a good day with your daughter.

[HighFlyingA380]

I'd get her shootin' sooner rather than later, especially if she's really excited to do it. Since it sound's like you'll just be using the XD9, only put 1 round in at first. Don't want her accidentally bump-firing it by accident. Several times I have had the newbie shoot with only one round, and come to find out it's not cocked anymore. Obviously would have been a bump-fire and dangerous situation if it would have been a full mag.