Teenager starting competition shooting

[Paul-68]

My son, who is nearly 15 and has been shooting with the Scouts for the last few years has recently been invited to shoot with the scouts national squad so I'm after some advice.
At the moment he's using the scouts own kit, rifle, slings, gloves etc but he wants to start getting his own stuff. Now being a teenager I'm not going to jump straight in and splash a few grand on gear so would like some advice on what he really needs and what he can wait for. So far he wants: Glove, sling, jacket, shooting mat, tool kit, sighting scope and of course a rifle (but thats going to have to wait!!). He's aiming to specialise in .22 rifle over 25 yards, but also does some air pistol over 10 yards.
I know nothing about shooting, so any advice would be welcome.
I live in the bromley, south London area so any advice on shops (I've seen a thread praising Surry Guns) would be good. Also a decent local club recommendation (I've seen Addiscombe being praised on here too)

Any help much appreciated

Cheers

Paul

[Nikkormat]

Hi Paul, I'm sure someone will come on with all the info soon - there are plenty of knowledgeable people on here.

Another forum worth a look and specific to target shooting is http://forum.stirton.com/index.php

Matt

[Jus]

My two-penneth worth, a jacket, sling and glove would be useful. You can come along way with these few bits.

I've still got an old jacket I now use for prone, originally bought secondhand from fleabay. An old glove again secondhand and a sling.

All of which have been replaced over the years with newer stuff as and when I've had the money to do so.

[bullbarrel]

Go to Croydon Rifle Club. They seem to have superb juniors going through their training program including both English and Welsh national teams (Ken Nash Jr and the Corish twins).

They can advise you about what does and doesn't work better than a gun shop. Well, apart from Pistol as Peter the Surrey Gun's owner also shoots for England I think

I'm not a member of Croydon as they appear to be too specialist on 25m prone for my liking.

[Rutty]

Hi Paul,

Good move asking for advice, I would second the suggestion made by Nikkormat to register on the Stirton Forum and ask your question there.

Now my piece of advice, don't buy anything before you have been to a rifle club and your son has discussed everything with one of the club instructors or coaches. They have the experience and knowledge to provide advice tailored to the individual's requirements rather than their aspirations! They've even been known to take into account the health of dad's chequebook.

Good luck and I hope that this helps.

Ruyyt

[Peter Pig]

Paul.
Another club in your area that you and your son might consider is St. Nickolas
Rifle and Pistol Club, it is located on the A222 between Chislehurst and Sidcup.
Do a Google for their website.
As a ex Scout ASL who ran district air rifle competitions for some years,I would like to wish him well with his shooting, I have had a lifetime of pleasure shooting .22 rifle.
Peter

[another_dom]

The very first bit of kit I bought, and that I'd recommend buying, is a sling. It doesn't need to be anything too fancy, something like an ESE Synthetic will cost around £35 and will be one less thing to have to adjust everytime he borrows the club kit (assuming they have any). It also won't stretch like an old leather one will.

A modern glove also makes a big difference to the comfort and stability of the hold, though you will find many excellent shooters still using a basic leather mitt. Costs here vary up to around £65, and they are available in a number of configurations (full or half-finger), materials and sizes. He should try a few, ideally on the range, before making a decision.

You will probably be able to source a usable jacket from the club, particularly for a youth shooter who is prone to change shape and size. If you do decide to purchase one there is little point in having one made to measure until build has settled out - many of the manufacturers make excellent 'entry level' jackets and I am particularly keen on the Kurt Thune Club range (though there are cheaper jackets available).

I wouldn't expect him to need to buy his own scope or mat when shooting at a club, and the toolkit will be minimal until he acquires his own rifle. The very best advice though, is to join a club where you both feel comfortable (coaching shooters is of necessity a very 'hands on' activity!), and that can demonstrate success in developing young shooters. Unfortunately many clubs exist largely for the benefit of their (often aged) membership, and may not be able to offer the support required for an aspiring competitive shooter.

Another benefit of an active club is that you will probably find he can acquire much of the equipment required second hand, and often at nominal cost; I know I try and support youth shooters wherever I can as they are the future of the sport! Oh, and as a final thought, why not get involved yourself?

Dom.

[RobF]

Hi Paul,

Good move asking for advice, I would second the suggestion made by Nikkormat to register on the Stirton Forum and ask your question there.

Now my piece of advice, don't buy anything before you have been to a rifle club and your son has discussed everything with one of the club instructors or coaches. They have the experience and knowledge to provide advice tailored to the individual's requirements rather than their aspirations! They've even been known to take into account the health of dad's chequebook.

Good luck and I hope that this helps.

Ruyyt

Pretty much what I would recommend. (club coach)

[Hemmers]

As a Club Instructor, I concur with what Rutty and RobF said. Don't rush into anything. Join a club. You'll get to see lots of different kit, and work out what would be most appropriate to his build/stature. Also join Stirton's forum. Lots of National Squad Shooters/Coaches, plenty ex-members of the same, as well as lots of experience generally.

Having done that, I would suggest holding off till Bisley Smallbore Week next August if you can for anything that the club can't provide/that he would like to buy for himself instead of using a club one. There is a trade tent with all the major target kit suppliers, where you can go (for instance) to the Edinkillie stand and try about a million different jackets off the peg (they have racks and racks in the tent, and then a truck full of spares!), and oogle lots of very shiny rifles (especially on the HPS stand!). You can talk to staff, and handle kit, all of which is infinitely preferable to ordering over the web.


If it can't wait that long, then apart from what I would almost call sundries (sling and glove - their cost being inconsequential compared to that of a rifle or even a few boxes of Eley Match), the first thing to get really should be a jacket.

Some clubs have a good selection of jackets in good condition, and he will be able to find one that fits, in which case fine. Some however have a limited stock of old floppy ones and you have to find one you can squeeze into and buckle it up tight! A well-fitting jacket is a must, and my scores jumped after I moved from a ropey club one to a Made-2-Measure Monard Standard. However, if he can find a good club one, then stick with it until he outgrows suitable club jackets or his shooting justifies expenditure on personal kit.


What does a "tool kit" consist of? My shooting kit includes a Swiss Army Knife, a few allen keys and a diddy screwdriver that came with my rifle and sights. Without opening a gunsmithing business, I find I need little else beyond cleaning kit, but presumably the Scouts (and I would hope clubs) have cleaning kit that goes with each rifle to ensure it is cared for. I wouldn't suggest that he needs much by the way of personal tools until he has a personal rifle.

Scope is an interesting one. He should be able to borrow, but depending on what he likes, you may want to get one he is comfortable with. My new club has some old straight scopes, and having learnt on angled scopes, I have only once managed to get a straight scope set up to my satisfaction. I end up contorting myself out of position to spot my shots - and then it falls over because the stands they have are inherently unstable! I am watching Lidl for their £20 spotting scope offer to come around again. Despite the price, these scopes (with angled eyepieces) are actually excellent. Designed for twitchers, they'll easily pick out shot holes at 50m (unless there's epic haze/glare, in which case only £000s worth of optics will do the job anyway), and will just about stretch to 100yds in good conditions. Well worth picking up if the club doesn't have any decent scopes (and indeed if they do - they are the match of £100+ scopes and always useful to have for pastimes other than shooting. A proper bargain).

A mat is unneccessary. He should be able to borrow from the club/Scouts.


[tongue-in-cheek] As "the money". I can only suggest you push him towards Air Pistol. A (new) LP2 can be had for under £1000. Apart from some flat-soled shoes and a supply of pellets, that's it! Far cheaper than .22 rifle Also far easier to fit in the car
I'm a rifle shooter, and love it. I shoot AP for fun, and when I can't afford to feed the .22! I sometimes wonder why though when I look at the huge stack of rifle kit and the effort involved in lugging it around and compare it to an LP2 in it's compact case No jacket, scope, sling, glove. Easy to carry around, cheap ammo. lol [/tongue-in-cheek]

[RobinC]

Listen to the experienced target shooters, Rutty, RobF, etc, Don't buy any thing, Join a club, get good coaching, get knowledge not equipment.
Best regards
Robin

[Paul-68]

Thanks for all the suggestions and info. Its all been extremely helpful.

Cheers

Paul

[martini1215]

Hi I agree totally with Jus have sent you a link by email for a very friendly place to shop online

[steveP07]

first piece of shooting kit I bought was a rearsight - I was using a club rifle without one and it was such a pain hunting around and "borrowing" one every night I shot that it was easier to buy one. Plus that way I knew it was zeroed for me everytime I fitted it.

Then a jacket.

Then I bought a glove - because club gloves are MANKY.

then I was lucky enough to buy a whole load of used kit from someone who was selling all theirs.

As a teenager I made a sling hook and a telescope stand at school.

[peakecentral]

Paul, I have an Explorer in the same squad. I'll PM you my home number and if you want we can have a chat.

[hwtyger]

Glove and sling. A good adjustable sling can be even better.
Jacket is all too often used to try to disguise poor shooting technique.
Its an AID but good technique is most important and shóuld come first!
If he starts shooting well, a jacket can improve that further.
As a trainer, I dont even use a jacket on trainees. It spoils them too easily too fast. Technique first!
Dunno wether he likes shooting with an eye blend? Its not expensive and some like using it. Be sure to take a light coloured 1.
Dunno wether he's use his ówn rifle too?
Anyway, if they use 1 rifle model only, he cóuld buy some front sight inserts to fiddle with sizes if he wants and if allowed. Not too expensive either, they regularly sell sechand sets at egun.de.