Introducing air guns to the kids

[jgb133]

I have an 11 year old daughter, for whatever reason she's excited about shooting the recently acquired airgun. I'm so happy I could cry! So here's my question, what have you done to introduce this sport to your kids and what did you do to keep them interested and excited? I put her on the 5m line, the 10m line would have resulted in a pellet riddled wall. She's shooting a Walther LP2, which weighs about 2 1/2 lbs. She's not very strong, another reason I put her at 5m. I'm considering buying something lighter for her that can still hit paper. I'm just curious what everyone else has done. Any comment/advice would be appreciated.
Regards,
Jim Beier

[RobinC]

Jim
Go to a club, let a coach teach her properly, you may get a shock, your wall may be safe!
Our club has many youngsters, under UK junior rules they shoot at 10 mts but under 13 (I think?) they are allowed to use both hands, but we wean them onto single handed as soon as they are physically able to.

We have a 12 year old girl who has shot possibles (50 ex 50) single handed. The ideal pistol is the Steyr LP2 Compact, so your delight may result in a light wallet! She's worth it though!
Good shooting
Robin

[markwarren]

I hope I don't break BBS rules with this.

There is an LP2 compact for sale on Target Talk forum (just Google Target Talk). The pistol is based in the USA so this could be ideal for you.

The Steyrs aren't cheap but are a superb pistol which also hold their value very well should she change her mind, which I hope she doesn't.

All the best

Mark

[jgb133]

Mark & Robin,
When my daughter turns 16 and she wants a car, I'm not going to ask you two what kind of car I should buy! We live in the middle of nowhere. There are no clubs within 100 miles. When I posed the question, I was interested in what did you do with the kids to peak their interest? Did you plan anything strategically to suck them in? She's like most kids, give them the shock and awe, and you got them. Did you play games, or did you just take them out and let them loose? I don't plan on being a Richard Williams, but if I can meddle discreetly, and steer her a little, I will.
Best Regards,
Jim Beier

[RobinC]

Mark & Robin,
When my daughter turns 16 and she wants a car, I'm not going to ask you two what kind of car I should buy! Best Regards,
Jim Beier

Jim
Any thing with a three pointed star badge will do, I won't buy any thing else!

Seriously Jim, the key is keep it fun, whilst gently guiding them on the correct techniques. They get hooked if they start getting reasonable results, so initially keep it simple.
Best of Luck.
Robin

[AirShooter2012]

Stressing good safety practices first then I would suggest letting her shoot some soda cans. Kids as well as adults enjoy reactive targets. This will also help with sight alignment, trigger control, etc. Once she gets those cans dancing around, she will be hooked.

[stelfy]

+1 for fun, reactive targets, my lad is nearly 6 and despite huge protests from SWMBO is interested in shooting

Have yet to get hold of anything to suit his build, but he has a toy crate full of nerf foam dart guns, which when he puts his mind to it can hit a 3"by3" sticky note at the length of his room (about 15') 7 times out of 10 - no sights, just point and shoot with a bit of concentration

A club, especially if it has an active junior section will sell shooting to your daughter far more effectively than you ever will, but as she is about to hit teens be prepared for sudden changes in mood and interests!

Not sure as you are in the US what you/she will have access to with regards to weapon (air, rimfire, centrefire, pistol/rifle) or where you can use it, but you have far more options than we do over here!

Girls (and kids generally) like to emulate what they see, I've just had a quick google and found several US based sites aimed specifically at females and juniors, maybe have a look and see what is local to you?

[tufty]

I coach pistol,and have taught quite a few young shooters,if she is not very strong,get her to stand square to the target and grip the pistol 2 handed. I find that kids get discouraged if they can't hit the target,so we sometimes use fun targets rather than scoring ones,there are lots you can download and print on the Internet,if you can make it fun,she will enjoy shooting,and want to continue,don't go spending on a new light pistol until you know she will continue with the sport,kids can be very fickle!