Need advise on how to shoot a rifle

[Rowdie]

Yep get him u pump pellet gun and let him shoot it as much as possible. Now I'm not a good shot with a rifle unless I have a solid rest. If I'm standing I can't hold steady, never could.... but over the last few years I've found that I can hit em if their running an I'm standing with no rest. I've made some really nice shots on goats while running. Miss em standing, they take off and I swing though and drop em. I've always been a decent shot with the olé scatter gun, so its pretty much the same. One year I nailed a whitetail doe running full speed right in the head at about 40 yards.

 

[Skullet]

How is his trigger squeeze? Have you tried putting the blank in and watching how the gun reacts as the trigger breaks?

 

[fly2cast]

How is his trigger squeeze? Have you tried putting the blank in and watching how the gun reacts as the trigger breaks?

Yes I've done this. Trigger squeeze ok for most part but could improve some also

 

[SDMF]

What's he using for ear protection? IMO/IME noise is at least as bad and often much worse than physical recoil. We forget how tender a new-shooter's ears can be.

Build muscle memory/strength without live rounds. Nothing wrong with sitting on the living room floor concentrating on a small spot on a far wall. Watch to see if he's rolling his shoulder into the shot and/or jerking his head up off the stock to "peek" over the scope. I'm quite guilty of the "shoulder-roll and peek" technique if I don't calm myself just a little.

22's and clay pigeons make for pretty good training.

Where are you located?

 

[LBrandt]

Had a grandson that had the same problem, turns out he just wasn't into shooting, mother made him go with me and he didn't want to be there. Video games were more fun and less work. Some young people have the want and some don't.

 

[Nanky]

https://shop.opticsplanet.com/primo...MI2pKLoua83AIVArjACh2w_wPaEAQYAiABEgJIH_D_BwE

I'd go with these, they fold up and you can use them as a walking stick, but can then use for any position as well. I can use them standing or even laying down, very user friendly.

 

[7mmMag]

I know this doesn't help with him being shaky but its something else a person needs to keep in mind. Make sure he is keeping his eye in the scope when he pulls the trigger. People will subconsciously pick their head up and look over the scope at the animal/targer right as they are pulling the trigger without realizing it. Like my dad always says "Watch the animal die in the scope".

 

[SDMF]

https://shop.opticsplanet.com/primo...MI2pKLoua83AIVArjACh2w_wPaEAQYAiABEgJIH_D_BwE

I'd go with these, they fold up and you can use them as a walking stick, but can then use for any position as well. I can use them standing or even laying down, very user friendly.

I haven't used those, but a good friend of mine does. He, his wife, and 2 of their kids have killed an awful lot of critters off of those things.

 

[Sluggo]

Just have to say, even though I don't hunt, this seems like is has been a very informative thread. All helpful ideas without the nonsense. It's like it should get flagged and archived in some special way for future reference.

 

[Zogman]

My grandson is a way better shot when he goes to the range with grandpa as opposed to his Dad. Why? Dad puts too much stress on the kid as opposed to Grandpa. It needs to be fun in the beginning or he will lose interest real fast. MHO

 

[north14]

Have you tried mixing up the targets he is shooting at? Maybe shooting a splattering target, some fruit, or exploding targets? Might make him concentrate more and get more out of it by seeing the effects of a good shot.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

The gun/ammo world was tough on wallets and hard to come by for a while. I As a kid, I shot thousands and thousands of 22 LR rounds prior to ever shooting at a deer let alone a moose. You can’t turn a kid into a shooter over night. I owe my dad several pallets of 22LR. I have him (and his wallet) to thank for all the practice I had growing up.

Bring out the 22LR, a case of ammo, and start developing foundational shooting skills. Practice makes perfect.

Aim small, miss small. When the time is right, decrease the size of the target to fine tune his skills. Shoot sparrows and other critters. Shooting a moose is like shooting the side of a barn.

 

[Zogman]

After rereading this thread again you are not going to like what I say next. A moose hunt as a kid? Lots of pressure there for sure. Just like throwing him into the deep end of the pool without swimming lessons.

SORRY, just my opinion.

 

[PrairieGhost]

Its hard to tell someone else how to shoot. There is a lot of good information so far, but I will add one more. Turn your scope power down. The higher the power the more it looks to the kid like he is shaky. That will lead to jerking the trigger as the crosshairs go past the target. You will not readily notice a trigger jerk like you do a flinch. The movement may be near imperceptible. When he misses does he pull right, or does he push left and low? Show us a target.

 

[guywhofishes]

I wondered same thing. Maybe should have considered his ability prior to submitting for him.

 

[DDRAHT]

Thanks for the tripod recommendation Nanky. Been thinking about something like this for Kids' gopher hunts. Looks perfect. Available on Amazon Prime too for about same price.

 

[Petras]

I would say the same as most people here have said. 22lr is a kids best friend when learning to shoot and developing muscle memory. The one thing I would add that I didn't see mentioned is how well do the 6mm or the 30-06 fit the youngster? If they do t have the proper Length of pull for the kid then he may not be getting a consistent anchor point for his cheek and that could be throwing his shots all over the map. I'm not saying go buy a youth gun right away, but of you know anyone that has one maybe see if you could borrow it and buy a box of shells for him to put through it to see if it goes any better.

 

[fly2cast]

Its hard to tell someone else how to shoot. There is a lot of good information so far, but I will add one more. Turn your scope power down. The higher the power the more it looks to the kid like he is shaky. That will lead to jerking the trigger as the crosshairs go past the target. You will not readily notice a trigger jerk like you do a flinch. The movement may be near imperceptible. When he misses does he pull right, or does he push left and low? Show us a target.

Here is the target at 100 yards. I couldn't tell you which order they were shot in. I can say that on a bench, I was able to shoot with a group of 3 around 1 inch.

He does wear ear protection all of the time. Not only to protect the hearing, but to stop flinching.


I did buy an airgun a couple of years ago just for practice. Unfortunately, even though I bought a scopes made for these types of guns, they keep getting out of wack. The current scope on the airgun is way off.


I think I will have to borrow a .22 with a scope. I don't have one but I know people who do.


And if anybody in the Bismarck area with good shooting experience would like to meet at the gun range to watch him shoot, I would be for that.


Lastly, I don't think I put too much pressure on him to shoot. He likes shooting and hunting and I try to help out without being too critical. I decided to put in for a moose for him because the opportunity is good for moose in North Dakota. 10 years from now, there may be none. I think he will be OK. Just gonna have to keep the shots close.



I'm not saying he can't hit anything. The last two years he has gotten his whitetail does. But they were close shots from a stand. This year, we are going to be walking and so the shooting is going to be more difficult.

 

[NDSportsman]

Lots of things to consider here. First would be how well the gun fits him, maybe the stock is too long for him, maybe it just doesn't fit his shoulder well, maybe he has a hard time keeping his cheek against it while trying to see thru a scope, etc. That scatter shot looks an awful lot like he is not using the exact same position every time he shoots.

 

[PrairieGhost]

Lots of things to consider here. First would be how well the gun fits him, maybe the stock is too long for him, maybe it just doesn't fit his shoulder well, maybe he has a hard time keeping his cheek against it while trying to see thru a scope, etc. That scatter shot looks an awful lot like he is not using the exact same position every time he shoots.

I think your on to something. Since there is no pattern I am guessing he is a little far back and that will mess with parallax and shift the crosshairs/target relationship around. If the stock is to long set the scope back. A three inch eye relief should put you in the ballpark for most scopes.