Going to be an interesting day at the range tomorrow.

[K_W]

Tomorrow, my grandfather and I are going to do some work at his property in Northern Indiana and then go to the DNR shooting range down the road. We've done it many times, but this time, we are bringing my cousin with us. He's 18 and to the best of our knowledge, never shot a gun, maybe never even touched a real one. However he is expert marksman... in Call of Duty...

This will be a great chance to teach him safety and proper handling and technique with real firearms, as well as an interesting chance to see first hand how things you learn in games do not translate to real life.

Now question is, should I start him on a pellet gun or start him right off with a .22?

 

[tatic05]

A real gun. a 22 or higher caliber

 

[Ambu]

I'd say a real gun, a pellet gun would be insulting.

 

[K_W]

A real gun. a 22 or higher caliber

The guns on this trip are a Marlin 60 .22 a Marlin 25 .22 and an SKS. I don't want to give him a flinch or scare him by starting with the SKS.

Although I imagine he will want to shoot the SKS eventually.

 

[goinggreyfast]

That's great that you are doing that.

My nephew is coming to spend a few days with us starting tomorrow. He's 15 and to the best of my knowledge, the only thing he has ever shot besides his BB gun is my XD9SC one time. It was funny though, the fella that let us shoot at the range had a S&W 500 Mag that he got to shoot. I wish I had a video of that, it was a riot.

 

[Bane_FTW]

Might be fun to hand him the pellet gun, "well this is what you're shooting today"



But in all seriousness let him start with the .22

 

[85t5mcss]

1 round in the SKS. Let the power sink into him, then back to the 22s until he feels comfortable with stepping up.

CoD has big guns, let him see what those big guns do in real life.

 

[MikeDVB]

I started with .45, then went to .40, and I now carry either 9mm or .40 (depending on my mood).

I didn't know what to expect when I first pulled the trigger on a .45 but quickly found out it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I also have a LOT of "experience" from Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc... I actually had pretty tight grouping for my first time shooting, but not sure if I can attribute that to the gaming or not. My buddy who took me is in the Army and said he was shocked to see my grouping for never having fired a gun before.

Biggest things to get into him, asap, is not to muzzle sweep, keep it pointed down range, and keep the finger off the trigger except when ready to fire .

 

[Scutter01]

Both my grandfathers died when I was a teenager and my dad when I was 22, so I didn't get to do too many things like that. Enjoy it while you can!


ETA: Sorry, that was way more of a downer than it was supposed to be.

 

[Bluedragon]

I say start with a 22 as others have said, and if he gets comfortable with it, move up to the SKS.

I was 14 when I first shot a real gun, it was a Mossberg 500 20 gauge, and then my first handgun I ever fired as a nickel Taurus 38 my Grandfather gave me when I was 16. Then he took it back when I got a Glock 19, which was my first 9mm I fired at 17.

 

[Goodcat]

Both my grandfathers died when I was a teenager and my dad when I was 22, so I didn't get to do too many things like that. Enjoy it while you can!


ETA: Sorry, that was way more of a downer than it was supposed to be.

Your always such a kill joy...

 

[phil]

I take my 10 yo out to Mongo (DNR range). He shoots his .22 along with my AR 15 and AK47.

That being said, I think if you let your cousin watch you shoot the sks for a bit and show him how to hold/handle it properly, he'll be begging to shoot it. I know I would have at 18...

 

[MikeDVB]

Both my grandfathers died when I was a teenager and my dad when I was 22, so I didn't get to do too many things like that. Enjoy it while you can!


ETA: Sorry, that was way more of a downer than it was supposed to be.

Both of my grandfathers before I was born, and my father when I was 17 (he was 42)... So... I know what you mean.

 

[srad]

At 18, if he's got any size to him, the sks shouldn't be much of a jolt at all. Start off with the .22 & grind safe handling & the 4 laws into him; he'll want to get his hands on the sks for sure.

If you think he'd like to fire a short 16" barreled Mosin M44 for shats & gaggles let me know. Thinking about going to Pigeon River tomorrow afternoon if that's the DNR range you're talking about.

 

[davedolli]

I take my 15 year old grandson to Atterbury on a regular basis, many times he will bring a friend. I start them out on .22s both rifle and pistols, but they always want to shoot center fire. Everyone loves to shoot a CZ52, but Mosins are more than than they want.

Dave

 

[MikeDVB]

I take my 15 year old grandson to Atterbury on a regular basis, many times he will bring a friend. I start them out on .22s both rifle and pistols, but they always want to shoot center fire. Everyone loves to shoot a CZ52, but Mosins are more than than they want.

Dave

I shot a Mosin a couple weeks ago, was fun - and a little more than I anticipated as well .

 

[Harry2110]

The guns on this trip are a Marlin 60 .22 a Marlin 25 .22 and an SKS. I don't want to give him a flinch or scare him by starting with the SKS.

Although I imagine he will want to shoot the SKS eventually.

nah just do what i did give him one magizine on a .22 then jump to a .50bmg

 

[shooter1054]

50 bmg FTW go big

 

[MikeDVB]

.50, haha... Yeah, start em out big.

 

[canav844]

Start him with a .22, build some confidence, let him put some center-fire before the day is done, and have him handle a handgun for a little bit, then tweet him a link to fill out his permit application.