8 yr old’s first centerfire experience

[The Oregonian]

Took my 8 yr old out for his first time with a centerfire rifle today...he had done well with a 22 so he got his first crack with a 6.5 creedmoor (braked). He wasn't flinching at all and didn't act scared.


At 100 he was doing well, then we painted the steel and put on some Shoot N See stickers that cover prior holes. He hit each of them (or very close to them...hard to tell as they flew off after being hit) on his final two 100yd shots. So decided to go to 200, he did well, so went to 300, then 500. I had no intention of doing that but he shot well and asked if he could go out farther...I wanted to make it as fun as possible.


Here are his shots at 200, 300, and 500 (he is holding up fingers for the yardage). This was with a bipod and rear bag...next time will be getting him used to shooting with less than ideal set up like he will find hunting. Nothing too hard, and I will let him shoot some off bipod and bag if needed to keep his confidence up.


He is 1000% excited after today, which is great to see. Assuming he continues to shoot well and continues to show good safety procedures he will go deer hunting this fall, but will shoot at 150 and in or so, or as his practice dictates. Nothing at distance.

 

[Rick Richard]

Good job buddy!

 

[hunter0925]

Great job! He did better than a lot of adults!

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

very good shooting!! based on the pattern there ( barely high and left a little ) it looks the scope is off a little and he was consistent :thumbs up:

 

[Pulpwood]

Good job young man

 

[HARPERC]

As good as it gets!

 

[WildRose]

You done good my friend. Best advice I could give is keep with the ideal circumstances for a while so he can hone his basic skills before moving onto more challenging shooting.

Nothing breeds success and desire like the confidence success builds.

 

[OrionsStar]

Super star in the making! Gotta love that! Looks like he's hooked now. LOL

 

[Peddler 76]

. nice

 

[KyCarl]

Keep it fun! That's the most important...He's well on the way!

 

[105Coues]

Well done!

 

[Target Tamers]

Awesome! He did well. You should be proud. Thank you for sharing this!

 

[geo4061]

Love it. I have two grand kids I am trying to bring a long. They are shooting Nerf rifles at plastic dinosaurs at ages 4 and 5. Next step is 22lr. Your son is doing so well I wondered at what age you started him on 22's. Thanks.

 

[The Oregonian]

Love it. I have two grand kids I am trying to bring a long. They are shooting Nerf rifles at plastic dinosaurs at ages 4 and 5. Next step is 22lr. Your son is doing so well I wondered at what age you started him on 22's. Thanks.

Believe it or not, this summer was his first 22. He shot pellet guns a few times before this.

I didn't expect him to do this well, and I am not talk8ng about 200 to 500 yds. He was hitting within an inch of where he wanted consistently at 100. He did shoot a bow for a few years starting when he was 5 or 6. And he has gone duck hunting with me for maybe 4 years, so he may have just developed the 'want to' enough to focus. I thought he would be recoil sensitive but he wasn't at all. I even left an empty chamber to see what he would do after about 3 shots and he didn't react to the hammer falling. I also think getting a low recoil gun and a brake helped.

I do think that telling him what to expect - a bang and a push - helped. And I had him put earplugs in and electronic muffs over those to really deaden the sound. But I have no idea what led to him doing so well, and I am certainly not taking any credit for it.