8yr starting out shooting

[williaada]

Would like some input on how and what to do with my oldest, and teaching him how to shoot.

my son has had a BB gun for sometime and can hit the target on a regular basis. I started him on a single shot .22 but the old iron site have been sprung and are not really accurate. I have a 10/22 ruger that is very accurate. My question is should I have my son continue to use open sites or remount my scope on and let him use that to learn how to shoot?

 

[Dave N]

My thought would be having good consistent sights would be best. Accuracy in the weapon would show him how he was doing without excuses. Plus, more hits is more fun than sketchy misses.

 

[MarvB]

Go with the scope, not many folks these days use open sights anymore, might as well teach him now and more initial success typically means more interest early on

 

[Dave N]

My thought would be having good consistent sights would be best. Accuracy in the weapon would show him how he was doing without excuses. Plus, more hits is more fun than sketchy misses.

Yeah, I meant the scope for the good sights. I wasn't very clear on that!

 

[Henry22]

I’d say go with the scope if he’s comfortable with that. Seeing tangible results boosts confidence, but make sure he’s still having fun shooting with the scope.

 

[D_Walt]

Sounds like a good excuse to get another .22! I had my son start shooting iron sights and a scoped 22 at a very early age. Back in the pre ‘Rona days he would shoot almost a brick of .22’s every Saturday. I am a believer in starting them on iron sights to get the mechanics of holding a rifle correctly without the added complications of eye relief.

 

[Dsnow9]

I learned on iron sites and shot iron sites for years. The transition to a scope was challenging for me and struggled with accuracy for a while. Not sure why but wish I would have learned to use a scope on a low power rifle when I was young.

 

[LuketheDog]

I shot only iron sights until I was 19, I believe it made me a better shooter.

 

[Pamountainman]

I shot only iron sights until I was 19, I believe it made me a better shooter.

Luke I agree...iron sights first if something happens to the scope(oh it will)...you know how and where to aim your rifle/handgun...I feel you’ll know your weapon.
PaMtMn

 

[blackbeard]

When I taught my daughter at 7 years old I did a scope on her cricket 22. Really helped her confidence out so I'd let him use a scope too.

 

[JLS]

The transition from irons to optics shouldn’t be difficult. The real challenge is learning a proper trigger press.

 

[cahunter805]

The transition from irons to optics shouldn’t be difficult. The real challenge is learning a proper trigger press.

+1. This is why I believe even a 22 should have a good crisp light trigger. A heavy trigger just leads to jerking the trigger and bad habits. Teach him proper safety and muzzle control also.

 

[Pamountainman]

The transition from irons to optics shouldn’t be difficult. The real challenge is learning a proper trigger press.

Yes, trigger press is very important...let’s look at some of the others...shouldering the weapon, sling no sling?...sight alignment, breathing, safety..etc...
Me personally the two rifles I hunt with have iron sites I know where they shoot I know the limitations of my eyesight in case something happens to the scope... It has never happened to me but I would hate to be in a dangerous situation where The scope is either off or an operable and I’m trying to aim down a smooth barrel of a rifle...to get out of harms way...
imo
PaMtMn

 

[Nick87]

The transition from irons to optics shouldn’t be difficult. The real challenge is learning a proper trigger press.

Agreed, besides it's good to know how to shoot iron sights imo.

 

[howl]

I taught mine with irons first. One of them steel prefers peep sights. If the kid has good eyesight, that's how I'd go. It'll help with shooting low magnification scopes down the road. And he won't have to learn the sights along with everything else when he starts using handguns.

When he starts using a scope on game, keep the magnification low enough that the extra movement he can see through the scope does not unsettle him. Also, there's usually a parallax difference between adult and child. So, you need the kid to zero his own scope to get it exact. That's a challenge. We haven't had any huge misses in that regard, but you can see repeatable differences.

 

[pre6422hornet]

Yeah I started my two oldest with iron sighted BB guns. Then we went up to the iron sighted 22, then to the peep sighted 22 hornet. The human eye/brain wants to center the front bead in the rear peep naturally and it was a great way to transition to the scope on their .243.

 

[williaada]

Thank everyone for the input. It has been very helpful.

 

[ImBillT]

I learned on iron sights(at 4) and transitioned to a scope(not too long after), and frankly don’t see any huge necessity to start with one or the other to have benchmarks for when or why to transition. I firmly believe the most important aspect of teaching children anything, shooting included, is keeping them interested and engaged. I would think that having them shoot a rifle that actually hits the target when they do everything right is much more important than what type of sights are on it.

Still teach them iron sights at some point. If it doesn’t hold their interest now, then teach them how to use iron sights with a pistol once they’re old enough to shoot a pistol.

Believe it or not, my dad would actually let me sit between his legs, while he firmly gripped his Browning Hi-Power, and let me aim and pull the trigger, when I was only 5-6 yrs old.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

I learned on irons and shot iron sighted BB guns, 22’s and shotguns for years before I looked through a scope. I think it helped me be a better shooter in the long run.
That and my first rifles had horrendous triggers.

 

[mxracer317]

What distance are you guys sighting in your .22lr for an 8 year old with a scope… asking for my 9 year old.