My 10yo daughter tries on a 22 rifle

[Mama Abby]

I took my 10yo daughter and 15yo son to Walmart to pick up a few things we forgot for school. Before leaving, I headed to the sporting goods section to see if they had any ammo (they didn't). I was just about to head to the cashier when I saw a little pink 22 rifle. I called my daughter over and asked the employee to hand me the rifle to see if it would fit her. She is a beautiful blonde haired, grey eyed, thin little girl with a southern drawl. She has been asking to go to the range, but my 357 is too much for a first time shooter. I was showing her how to hold it and suddenly old men surrounded us and remarking how wonderful it is to see a beautiful little girl want to shoot. Then she says 'Mama, I don't want the pink one, everyone will think I'm a wuss. Sir, will you let me see the black one'. All the old men started laughing. They let her 'try on' as many rifles as she wanted.

We couldn't find one that was good on length and weight so we didn't get one. She asked if we could keep looking for one. How could I say no to that?

[carlson1]

Good job! You can't refuse to do the right thing.

[Cedar Park Dad]

There are multiple youth models out there. My (then) 8 year old daughter was a demon with a little marlin .22. She also was pretty good with a Beretta 92 (with a little help from me) when she wanted to shoot something "bigger."

[Mama Abby]

I talked to an old friend tonight. He used to take me to the range when I was much younger. It turns out he is a gun/ammo hoarder lol. He said next time we come to Houston he will take us to the range and let my daughter shoot his pistols before we put the money out on a purchase. What a guy!

[texanjoker]

Excellent job letting her check out the rifles. Many years ago I bought my oldest, when she was a 5 or so a 22 Chipmunk. That 22 is great. Single shot, easy to use and very light weight. They have outgrown it, but we will not let it go. My son started out on it and when he turned 10 or so he started shooting the bushmaster as well in a very controlled manner. I would load only 1 round in it and as he progressed he got a few more shots. With the adjustable stock it was easy for him to adapt to it.

[gthaustex]

Excellent. Continue to encourage her. Contrary to some opinions I have heard, firearms competency and use is not a male only activity.

My two daughters (13 and 7) love to shoot. The 13 yo is already quite the hunter and has progressed to archery as well. I love taking her to the range and watching her outshoot the boys.

Her little sister seems destined to follow in big sister's footsteps. I sure hope so...

[chasfm11]

Last year, I took our 9 year old granddaughter out to a ranch about 60 miles West of Saginaw and let her shot the .22 rifle that I inherited from my grandfather. I have very clear mental pictures of him taking my brother and I out to the hunting camp that he belonged to near State College, PA and teaching us to shoot that very gun when I was about 10. It is a little too big for her yet but putting her in the prone position with blocks let me get her started. She and I have been working on the gun safety rules and I wanted a chance to demonstrate how those work when we were actually shooting.

Trying to insure some initial success, I cut some slots in a 2x6 with a thin kerf saw and then blew up some balloons and slid them into the slots. I suspected that all she had to do was get near them and they would pop. It took a couple of shots for her to figure it out but then she could "run the table" hitting all 5 balloons in succession. The .22 has a 5 shot magazine and while I started her with one at a time, she handled things very well and I was filling it and letting her work the bolt. It wasn't long before she wanted to use the paper targets, too.

Teaching kids to handle guns correctly and safely is so gratifying. Her great great grandfather would be very proud of her. I'm pleased to hear that other families are doing the same things with their young ones and relish reading every story.

[Cedar Park Dad]

La
Trying to insure some initial success, I cut some slots in a 2x6 with a thin kerf saw and then blew up some balloons and slid them into the slots. I suspected that all she had to do was get near them and they would pop. It took a couple of shots for her to figure it out but then she could "run the table" hitting all 5 balloons in succession. The .22 has a 5 shot magazine and while I started her with one at a time, she handled things very well and I was filling it and letting her work the bolt. It wasn't long before she wanted to use the paper targets, too.

Thats an amazingly brilliant idea!

[Divided Attention]

This makes me smile! MAR and I are blessed to be 4-H pistol coaches. I must admit that it is a special feeling when the girls do so well and enjoy it!

Side note: Our 4-H club just hosted an "intro to shooting sports day" afterwards we held a safety training session gat is mandatory for participation in the shooting projects. I got a little misty eyed when we had 54 new youth and their parent in our safety training!

girl power!

[jl39775]

Girls are so cute when they handle guns safely. Here's a picture of my 8yo daughter when she was 7. I also provided a link to a video of her shooting. I think I posted the video before, but its hard not showing off your kids.

http://youtu.be/-eaR6cf1UMc