How young to start in Silhouette shooting?

[Jetmugg]

Here's the deal, and why I'm thinking about the "right" age to introduce young shooters to our sport. I've got a neighbor with 2 sons, 10 and 12 years old. I also have a son who is 6 years old, and a daughter who is 4. Obviously, the 4 year old and 6 year old are too young for Silo shooting.

However, the neighbor's boys are both in boy scouts, and have some experience shooting air rifles and .22's. Their father is also interested in doing some Silo shooting. I think the older boy is about the right age to start.

I have told them (Father and 2 sons) that I will be happy to take them to the next local match to try their hands at this sport. I think that the dad and the 12 year old will do fine in terms of being able to physically hold a rilfe through the course of an 80 shot match. ( I have 2 loaner rifles, a 10/22 and a CZ 452 in addition to my 1712). However, it seems to me that the 10 year old is probably not quite up to the physical demands of holding one of my rifles for the full match. I think we'll show up at the match next Sunday and see how the boys do during the practice session before the match starts.

Anyway, I'm wondering at what age others have introduced their sons/daughters to the sport. I want it to be fun for the kids, and not let them get discouraged by the difficulty of the sport.

Any input is appreciated.

SteveM.

[BlauBear]

As soon as they're interested and can safely handle a rifle.

[Innocent]

Steve,
My son shot his competition (Sunshine Classic) at the age of six with a chipmunk, his first nationals at the age of nine. It did require intense monitoring by me but is worth the effort. Here locally as long as there is parental supervision we let the youngsters shoot from a rest at the larger pistol targets if they are not big enough to hold a rifle, this starts the breathing, eye, trigger control training. Mark Pharrs daughter Savanah has shot some competitions and I think she is 7. It is more the maturity level and the discipline level of the child and whether they are willing to respond correctly to range commands and saftey controls.

Mary

[Gator]

Jetmugg

I agree pretty much with Innocent but must add:

The MOST important thing is that the kid is having FUN. I have been in the coaching business with 4-H BB gun teams for 11 years with kids from 4th to 7th grades as well as with adults. These kids, particularly the new and younger ones are not particularly competitive in the beginning because some degree of competency is required for the competitive thing to kick in. They are there in the beginning to HAVE FUN. Coates is a little different (sometimes a lot) in that he grew-up with the shooting game and had the basic protocol and skills presented to him from the time he began to walk. The new kid on the block can be easily overwhelmed with all the instruction, rules, discipline and practice facing him/her and what they really want at that age is to HAVE FUN.

My suggestion: Take the kid shooting. Let them HAVE FUN.

Make sure the equipment he/she is using fits her and they feel some ownership and responsibility. Many of the youth beginner guns are capable of adding or removing spacers to afford LOP to fit the kid. We always assign a particular gun to a kid and cut it if needed and put their name on it. Let them HAVE FUN.

Don

[Travelor]

Our Club shoots 1/2 scale silhouette and Cowboy RF (the RF pistol and Cowboy RF targets) at the same time in a separate weekend Match than the 1/5 scale Match.

We allow the juniors (16 and under) to shoot in their own Class and shoot with a fore end rest as their upper bodies have not developed the muscles to hold the guns up AND this allows them to hit a LOT of targets. Great fun for adults and children and a great entry into silhouette shooting for everyone.

We have a BYO meat BBQ after the Match and it has turned into a wonderful low key event which I think everyone enjoys. This allows the Juniors to score well (gets a good taste in their mouths) and also the ladies are less intimidated by it as they score much better than they would on those danged dancing chickens.

You might consider this at your Club.

George

[pistolero45]

I think my daughter was about 7 when she started shooting silhouettes. Our club lets little kids shoot from a rest on the shooting bench. As long as they are knocking targets down they are having fun and want to do it some more. This is when they are learning range safety as well.

I think at about age 10 or 12 we have the kids shooting standing, but rest the rifle on a tripod which has a sandbag on top. This depends a little bit on how big and strong the kid is.

Youngsters shoot against each other and we always make sure they are recognized and given awards.

At age 14 they are expected to get classified and shoot standing w/o support.

A rifle that fits is important as well. The CZ 452 Youth is ideal. Also, the kids seem more comfortable with a lower power scope. I often turn the scope down to about 12x for them.

[richard]

All of the answers you already have are good. We have a very active junior program at our club and they start at 10 or 11 years old. It's not a silhouette program but rather the standard NRA bullseye stuff. They start with air rifles on to smallbore and shotgun and high power. Most of the juniors have zero problem with the equipment. The problem is getting them into silhouette shooting. Most of their parents are not shooters and they don't stay beyond our junior program. We ran a silhouette clinic on an open saturday this year for the juniors and they loved it. Had about a dozen shooters. They were very happy about silhouette and mentioned it to their regular instructors BUT we haven't seen them since. Incidently we do not charge a match fee to any junior at our club for any match. There is no right answer to any of this unless it's a big secret nobody is telling us.
You might want to consider getting the kids into air pistol silhouette. The guns are a lot more kid friendly and are not expensive either. You can be competitive for under $200. and have lots of fun.

[ppkny]

If any young shooter needs encouragement here's a picture I took at the 2001 NRA SB Silhouette Championships at Milroy, PA.
This young shooter, probably about 10 or 12 doesn't seem the bit intimidated by being on the line with the big boys.

[Innocent]

ppkny,
The photo is of Adam Routh born in April of 1990. He most recently shot in the Colorado states (his home state) with his grandfather Dennis Fluman.

Mary

[psteiger]

yep, maturity and desire. If they're not safe with a gun, or don't want to go, leave them at home. But keep in mind, you have to watch them ALL the time when they're shooting. They can swing that gun around so fast it will make your head spin. Just when you're getting comfortable with their handling skills, they'll suprise you. In this Photo, Nicholas is 9 and Elisabeth is 13.[/img] I used a Numrich gunparts stock on a 10/22. 5-6 lbs is about max, depending on the kid.


good luck!

[jneihouse]

Lot's of debate over when to start kids shooting. I've been fortunate to coach a pretty good junior shooter (Kolby) and he started with me when he was 13. This is his second year (now 14) and has two legs in Master class in both guns. Had nothing to do with Kolby's early development, his parents, grandparents and 4H did a great job with that. He started pretty early, and is well rounded, shooting about every thing that will go bang or phtttt (air rifle). I started my 9 year old grandaughter out shooting bb gun and .22 off the bench. She absolutely loves to shoot and goes every chance she gets. IMHO what hooks kids on the shooting sports is what Gator said. Having fun. It's just plain fun to shoot and sometimes we lose sight of that as adults. If they are so inclined the competitiveness will come when they are ready. And, if they are blessed with a lot of natural talent, that competitiveness will bloom and will be very rewarding.

Remember, your mileage may vary and my opinion is worht exactly what you paid for it.

Kitty

[Pete A.]

Pat is on the money. Keep them focused on safety & fun. Can't do if it ain't safe. They won't do it if it ain't fun.

If you bring them then FORGET YOUR OWN SCORE!!! As it has to be about them. Just ask Pat! Elizabeth SPANKED him (along with all of us) on Saturday. She shot a 50 & 55 Sat at the PSC Club Championships. Last year she was a "B" shooter. That girl "rocks"!!!!!!!

Some say I bring Thomas so I have an excuse for my sorry scores (he whipped my butt on Sat too).

The real "challenge" is that there are so many venues open to the youth now a days. As a dad I have to make choices on what they "don't" do whenever my son (sons) shoot matches as they are in Boy Scouts (2 different Troops!), Band, Swim Team, Karate. All of these are also great experiences for them too. So it is a family juggling act.

Pete A.

[Worker 11811]

As soon as the kid's able to pick up a gun and shoot it. (Safely.)

The younger they are when they are first exposed to firearms and taught correct and safe behavior, the better off they'll be in the long run. Maybe they won't grow up to be great marksmen but they'll have the skills, the knowledge and the understanding to make good, safe decisions about firearms when they grow up.

Pick kid-sized targets. Whatever they can hit regularly enough to keep from getting discouraged. As was mentioned above, if they need to shoot at the big pistol-sized chickens, so be it. Once they start hitting them regularly, move them to the next size smaller targets.

Let them shoot at balloons or something fun once in a while. The more fun they can have the more interested they will stay.

[psteiger]

Yep, fun is what it's all about. Pete is right, the focus is on them. Your scores will suffer. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I think it's actually more fun when your kid does well, than if you do it. ( don't say a word to Elisabeth) Reactive targets are great, too. So is hunting, but realize, they want to shoot, so let them shoot. 22 ammo is cheap. Personally I think that the more you expect from the kids, the more they'll deliver. Treat them like adults and they'll act that way. Sure they'll do dumb things, but that's why you're there. To catch them before they're dangerous. If they're not ready for a real gun, try airsoft. Safety is safety. We shoot airsoft in the house. The rules are the same.

[Worker 11811]

If they're not ready for a real gun, try airsoft.

I guess this is really a quibble but I don't believe in giving BB guns and rubber pellet guns to young(er) kids.

If their formative experiences with guns and "things that shoot" don't teach them that the consequences of their mistakes are permanent and possibly deadly, they are less likely to learn to respect the real thing.

When I was a young kid, I asked my dad for a BB gun. His answer was "Hell NO!" Just for the reason stated above. He told me that, if I wanted to shoot guns, I could have a .22. After which, we went down to the sporting goods store and bought a Marlin lever action .22.

Even though it was a small gun, it was still a little too large for me. The solution was simple: He cut the stock down. I still have that gun, nearly 40 years later. It's in the closet with my other guns.

Almost any time I wanted, all I had to do was ask and we'd go out and shoot. The thing I remember most is shooting at water balloons from an old tree stump.

Any other time, in my father's house, kids touching guns without permission received instant punishment... No appeal!
If my father caught us "instant punishment" meant you got a whoopin'! If my mother caught us, that probably meant you got hollered at. (Then you'd pray to God that she wouldn't tell Dad!)

I think it's important for kids to be exposed to guns from the earliest age possible but I also think they need to be taught to respect then right from the beginning. As I learned from my upbringing, I don't believe that giving BB guns and other "toy guns" to kids teaches the necessary respect.

However, you have the right to bring up your own kids the way you see fit.