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Thread: Teaching children

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
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    Teaching children

    My two sons (17 & 14) would both like to shoot. We do archery and shoot airsoft pistols in the garden, but they're desperate to use the airguns. As I'm selling my ProSport, that leaves a PCP and .177 pistols.

    What would you suggest? I'm thinking that the best option would be to join the local club, but when I last looked, admittedly a while back, it seemed quite expensive, what with membership plus a fee each time you shoot. Now that I'm facing losing my job / career due to ill health, I'm on even more of a tight budget.

    Also, what would you recommend starting them off with, rifle, pistol, or doesn't really matter? As I've mentioned, they already enjoy using an airsoft pistol in the garden. I'm leaning towards letting them have a try with the pistols, because they would be lower powered than the rifle and they already use a pistol.

    Sorry if I'm rambling on, I'm not at best in the morning! Anyway, what's your advice folks?
    AA S400k, Weirauch HW100KT, several air pistols.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    Beith
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisEdu View Post
    My two sons (17 & 14) would both like to shoot. We do archery and shoot airsoft pistols in the garden, but they're desperate to use the airguns. As I'm selling my ProSport, that leaves a PCP and .177 pistols.

    What would you suggest? I'm thinking that the best option would be to join the local club, but when I last looked, admittedly a while back, it seemed quite expensive, what with membership plus a fee each time you shoot. Now that I'm facing losing my job / career due to ill health, I'm on even more of a tight budget.

    Also, what would you recommend starting them off with, rifle, pistol, or doesn't really matter? As I've mentioned, they already enjoy using an airsoft pistol in the garden. I'm leaning towards letting them have a try with the pistols, because they would be lower powered than the rifle and they already use a pistol.

    Sorry if I'm rambling on, I'm not at best in the morning! Anyway, what's your advice folks?
    Sorry to lean about your health issues..
    As a child I dreamed of airguns. All I wanted was a rifle and a pistol of my own. By the time I was 12 I had a Webley Senior and a BSA Meteor.
    More importantly I could roam about many acres with only a quick dodge around a farmer or two.! It seems so complicated getting into anything nowadays from pop guns to mopeds or onto the housing ladder. I would have been delighted to shoot with anything when I started out.

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Tremar
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    How much does the club charge?

    We take on juniors at £15 a year subs plus 50p a time range fee, and they get free tuition from NSRA qualified instructors.

    OK we do insist on adult supervision and many times either mum or dad also joins and pays the adult subs, twice the above.
    www.shebbearshooters.co.uk. Ask for Rich and try the coffee

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
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    You've got some great clubs down there and they have fostered some superb talent.

    Katie Gleeson, probably the top England and GB Air rifle shooter is a member of Aldingbourne

    You also have Isabel Moore (Dad is a member on the BBS) who is in the GB Target Sprint team. I don't know what club she is with, but its going to be local to you.

    So it looks like the world could be your kids lobster (sic) being based where you are. I can't comment on the price as don't know the clubs.

    For more clubs contact the county smallbore association. Sadly they don't have a list of affiliated clubs on the website, which is pretty poor.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by bullbarrel View Post
    You've got some great clubs down there and they have fostered some superb talent.

    Katie Gleeson, probably the top England and GB Air rifle shooter is a member of Aldingbourne

    You also have Isabel Moore (Dad is a member on the BBS) who is in the GB Target Sprint team. I don't know what club she is with, but its going to be local to you.

    So it looks like the world could be your kids lobster (sic) being based where you are. I can't comment on the price as don't know the clubs.

    For more clubs contact the county smallbore association. Sadly they don't have a list of affiliated clubs on the website, which is pretty poor.
    Isabel is also at Aldingbourne, an incredibly self motivated young lady. Come and check the club out if it is not too far, we shoot pistol and rifle in various disciplines, and encourage all ages to have a go at competition if they want to. And we are a friendly bunch!

  6. #6
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    Aug 2013
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    Thanks for the replies folks.

    I'll have to have a look into how far Aldingbourne is from Rustington.

    I'm off to collect several pistols and other bits later today (Mon), health permitting, including a supply of CO2, targets and ammo.

    As my 14 yr old has been so fantastic taking care of me lately, much more so than his older brother, I'm going to give him a pistol to use.

    He's such a lovely child that he deserves something nice to enjoy, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to shoot together.

    Thinking of clubs, is it normal practice to charge a membership fee and then a fee each time you shoot? If so, how much should one generally expect to have to pay? As I'm likely to be retired off due to ill health, money could soon become even tighter.
    AA S400k, Weirauch HW100KT, several air pistols.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Redditch, Worcs
    Posts
    145
    As ab intro to competition shooting think about the Umarex Boys Club. No fees and plenty of competitions to have a go at - both pistol and rifle. You just print out the targets you need then submit scores by e-mail. Shooting is at 6 yds and 10M.

    A great way to get into something a bit more serious than garden plinking and at low cost too.

    http://www.umarexboysclub.co.uk/
    FAS 604, Remington 1911, Colt SAA, HW45, BSA Mercury, Winchester underlever (Walther), SMK QB78

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Worthing
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    Tim and Isabel travel from Rustington I think. Annual fees for as adult are £50 plus £2.50 a visit, cannot remember children's subs, but they are a pound per night, however speak to Roger our club chairman, as there may be concessions, and he will not want to lose the chance of some keen young shooters.

    And just so you are aware, we shoot air weapons and rimfire, but not BB weapons on the range, due to safety.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
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    Worthing
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    Quote Originally Posted by JCB357 View Post
    As ab intro to competition shooting think about the Umarex Boys Club. No fees and plenty of competitions to have a go at - both pistol and rifle. You just print out the targets you need then submit scores by e-mail. Shooting is at 6 yds and 10M.

    A great way to get into something a bit more serious than garden plinking and at low cost too.

    http://www.umarexboysclub.co.uk/
    Thanks for that, really interesting. It might even be something that their Explorer Scouts group could do.
    AA S400k, Weirauch HW100KT, several air pistols.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2000
    Location
    Tremar
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    Chris, different clubs have different financial models. In our case, with a large catchment area, we have some members who travel an hour or more to get here, and others who live within a mile. A flat fee would need to be at a level that the far-flung members who won't be coming all that frequently might find too costly. A range fee solves that issue.

    Again, it's how the club organises its income that matters. In our case we get a little bit of local grant money, and we make a few pence on things like the sale of pellets and the sale of card targets, and once or twice a year we have a SWEFTA event which makes a surplus. In addition we put on club days where members pay an entry fee, take part in whatever competition we are running, have free food and drink for the day, and at the end we take names out of a hat for venue prizes. Having a great day's shooting and free food and drink and then winning a tenner, which was your entry fee, is quite popular! The point being, annual subs and range fees account for a little over half our gross income. We need more than that and we get it without overtly charging the members for it.
    www.shebbearshooters.co.uk. Ask for Rich and try the coffee

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Worthing
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    Unfortunately, Rich, North Devon is a bit too far away, even with the promise of a good coffee.

    However, thanks for the information. If I'm ever down that way, I might stop by.
    AA S400k, Weirauch HW100KT, several air pistols.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Washington
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    46
    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisEdu View Post
    My two sons (17 & 14) would both like to shoot. We do archery and shoot airsoft pistols in the garden, but they're desperate to use the airguns. As I'm selling my ProSport, that leaves a PCP and .177 pistols.

    What would you suggest? I'm thinking that the best option would be to join the local club, but when I last looked, admittedly a while back, it seemed quite expensive, what with membership plus a fee each time you shoot. Now that I'm facing losing my job / career due to ill health, I'm on even more of a tight budget.

    Also, what would you recommend starting them off with, rifle, pistol, or doesn't really matter? As I've mentioned, they already enjoy using an airsoft pistol in the garden. I'm leaning towards letting them have a try with the pistols, because they would be lower powered than the rifle and they already use a pistol.

    Sorry if I'm rambling on, I'm not at best in the morning! Anyway, what's your advice folks?
    My situation is similar (wife has worsening health issues, i’ve closed my business and i’m now a full time carer, kids are 8 and 10), I’m getting ‘us’ back into shooting as it’s something we can all do together unlike many of the other activities which are child specific - the kids enjoy it, the local range is seated and indoor so relatively wife/wheelchair friendly and my kids learn proper etiquette, unlike when I learnt to shoot. It’s also great to get them out of the house if the weather’s crap and my wife needs a rest. The down side is it’s not really that cheap to get started if you buy your own kit, but then again neither are any of the other sports or groups they do. I often compare Cubs/Scouts to Scientology - as soon as they get a woggle round your kids neck it’s up to three figures a month on trips/activities/membership! The up-side is buying used means you don’t take the hit on ‘new’ kit and you always have some residual value if they decide not to persue it (unlike the £50 football boots they wore twice).

    The way I approached it was small steps at a time, I took them along for an hour to our local range using club equipment, while slightly more expensive, it lets them try a number of different options. PCP is great in this respect, as unlike when I learnt to shoot, they don’t need to wrestle a break barrel every shot (again wife friendly as she gets tired very easily). It became clear the youngest isn’t quite big enough for a full size rifle, so a pistol works best for him, the daughter is becoming quite precise with the S400 and now i’m looking to buy something similar.

    The other advantage is I have something I can do for an hour during the week that lets me get out of the house, doesn’t require constant mental juggling of medication schedules, hospital visits, being a husband/father/carer, it’s just me, an s400, 100 pellets and some targets without any distractions.

    If you’ve read this far then one thing that may help you and the kids is your local Young Carers group, unfortunately as you’re aware kids with adults who have health issues often have to take on more than other children at the same age, Young Carers is about helping them and do everything from days out, to giving them extra support at school and someone to talk to if they need it. I wasn’t keen at first, but they’ve really helped with our two.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Worthing
    Posts
    698
    I have spoken to the club chairman last night about your situation, who reminded me that you don't need to pay subs initially anyway, particularly if you are just coming to shoot, so just the nightly range fee (£4.50 for the three of you). I have PM you his mobile, and he is happy to arrange for you to come over for a try out, which would probably be a Monday or Wednesday. Hope to see you there.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Worthing
    Posts
    77
    Quote Originally Posted by Avalon-One View Post
    My situation is similar (wife has worsening health issues, i’ve closed my business and i’m now a full time carer, kids are 8 and 10), I’m getting ‘us’ back into shooting as it’s something we can all do together unlike many of the other activities which are child specific - the kids enjoy it, the local range is seated and indoor so relatively wife/wheelchair friendly and my kids learn proper etiquette, unlike when I learnt to shoot. It’s also great to get them out of the house if the weather’s crap and my wife needs a rest. The down side is it’s not really that cheap to get started if you buy your own kit, but then again neither are any of the other sports or groups they do. I often compare Cubs/Scouts to Scientology - as soon as they get a woggle round your kids neck it’s up to three figures a month on trips/activities/membership! The up-side is buying used means you don’t take the hit on ‘new’ kit and you always have some residual value if they decide not to persue it (unlike the £50 football boots they wore twice).

    The way I approached it was small steps at a time, I took them along for an hour to our local range using club equipment, while slightly more expensive, it lets them try a number of different options. PCP is great in this respect, as unlike when I learnt to shoot, they don’t need to wrestle a break barrel every shot (again wife friendly as she gets tired very easily). It became clear the youngest isn’t quite big enough for a full size rifle, so a pistol works best for him, the daughter is becoming quite precise with the S400 and now i’m looking to buy something similar.

    The other advantage is I have something I can do for an hour during the week that lets me get out of the house, doesn’t require constant mental juggling of medication schedules, hospital visits, being a husband/father/carer, it’s just me, an s400, 100 pellets and some targets without any distractions.

    If you’ve read this far then one thing that may help you and the kids is your local Young Carers group, unfortunately as you’re aware kids with adults who have health issues often have to take on more than other children at the same age, Young Carers is about helping them and do everything from days out, to giving them extra support at school and someone to talk to if they need it. I wasn’t keen at first, but they’ve really helped with our two.
    My children are registered Young Carers and my wife has recently had a carers assessment meeting, or something like that.
    The irony is, most people that meet me, especially if I wear long sleeves, will probably not even realise that there is anything wrong.
    AA S400k, Weirauch HW100KT, several air pistols.

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