Youth Shooting Techniques

[phillyphan]

I agree with rcdinaz and many others on hree. Lots of opinions, but it all depends on the rifle, the youth (and their experience), and the conditions. My three kids all started using simple shooting sticks. (We all still use them if the conditions warrent.....) It seemed like the sticks worked well with them sitting on their butt or kneeling. I would often be kneeling next to them and maybe helping them to initially steady the rifle.

 

Also, no matter what you settle on LOT'S and LOT'S of practice!

 

Here's my little sweetie with one of her VERY early shooting experiences. You can tell it was a bit awkward..... (She sure liked shooting that little Browning .22 auto though! )

 

 

Here she is at a slightly older age while on her first deer hunt. She was much more comfortable on the sticks at this point......

 

Getting some "coaching" from my buddy, Troy!

 

I bought The Claw and tried it a few times, but the sticks (or just the top of a tripod) seemed to work just about as good. My opinion......

 

No matter what you do, just keep getting those kids out!!!

 

S.

 

 

 

PS: Sorry for large pic size. Tried to re-size on Photobucket but it's not working for some reason.

Nice pics!!! Thanks for the input.

[208muley]

Finding the animal always seem to be a bit of a problem with young kids. I take my kids out with a scoped 22 and set up colored cans at various distances, always mindful of a backstop, and practice finding a target then getting the scope on it as quick as possible.then shoot. After a while I will start a 10 sec countdown and slowly shorten the time while counting out loud, to add a little pressure. This take some time and a whole lot of patience, but it works wonders! Teach them how to breathe correctly. And work on shoot don't shoot situations with pictures of animals. I also use a triclaws and it is flat out awesome for kids and shaky people.

 

 

Last year my 10 yr old shot her first deer at 200 yds with a 30mph crosswind on a hard quarter away shot. She struggled to find the deer at first so I put the deer in the scope, got away from the rifle, she got in the gun, did the fine aim adjustment and made a fantastic shot! Entered at last rib exited in front of far shoulder a third of the way up. Perfect if you ask me. Deer hit the dirt hard on the shot. She stayed in the gun loading another one like she was taught. Well, I freaked out and forgot to be a hunter/ guide. And picked her up and was hugging her as I saw the shot knew it was perfect and did what I waited 10 years to do, celebrate the first kill!!!! My bad, as while I was hugging her dancing around like a fool she saw the deer get back on its feet. She says, daddy he is standing up!!! While I was getting back in my 15s she got back in the gun, I looked at the deer an knew it was a great shot and didnt need a second shoot, but told her that if she want.... Boom... The gun went off, this time, the deer was a hard quarter too, she put the bullet perfect again! Entry was just in front of the shoulder and exited far rib. A perfect x right through the deer. The reason I tell this story, not only am I a proud dad, but to show how practice and and the right gear will go a long way to making the kids experience that much better in the field! Happy hunting to you and all kids!!

[phillyphan]

Finding the animal always seem to be a bit of a problem with young kids. I take my kids out with a scoped 22 and set up colored cans at various distances, always mindful of a backstop, and practice finding a target then getting the scope on it as quick as possible.then shoot. After a while I will start a 10 sec countdown and slowly shorten the time while counting out loud, to add a little pressure. This take some time and a whole lot of patience, but it works wonders! Teach them how to breathe correctly. And work on shoot don't shoot situations with pictures of animals. I also use a triclaws and it is flat out awesome for kids and shaky people.

 

 

Last year my 10 yr old shot her first deer at 200 yds with a 30mph crosswind on a hard quarter away shot. She struggled to find the deer at first so I put the deer in the scope, got away from the rifle, she got in the gun, did the fine aim adjustment and made a fantastic shot! Entered at last rib exited in front of far shoulder a third of the way up. Perfect if you ask me. Deer hit the dirt hard on the shot. She stayed in the gun loading another one like she was taught. Well, I freaked out and forgot to be a hunter/ guide. And picked her up and was hugging her as I saw the shot knew it was perfect and did what I waited 10 years to do, celebrate the first kill!!!! My bad, as while I was hugging her dancing around like a fool she saw the deer get back on its feet. She says, daddy he is standing up!!! While I was getting back in my 15s she got back in the gun, I looked at the deer an knew it was a great shot and didnt need a second shoot, but told her that if she want.... Boom... The gun went off, this time, the deer was a hard quarter too, she put the bullet perfect again! Entry was just in front of the shoulder and exited far rib. A perfect x right through the deer. The reason I tell this story, not only am I a proud dad, but to show how practice and and the right gear will go a long way to making the kids experience that much better in the field! Happy hunting to you and all kids!!

 

That's awesome!!! Congrats to you and your daughter. Hoping to have a similar experience with my 10 year old this year.

[Tdub]

Finding the animal in a scope is the hardest thing for kids. If they can find the animal they can most likely shoot off of any support. What I learned on my daughters first hunt was they don't know the lingo we use when trying to describe something in the woods. I even tried to simplify when explaining. She would look at me and say what's a draw or a saddle! Get them out with a gun and practice finding things while you explain where they are. Help them learn the lingo and they will be fine. After two days of working with my daughter she had no problem and shot a javelina at a 196 yards. My nephew shot one the next day at 248 off of the claw but I had it set up and found the animal for him and he was able to zoom in on it. There is no greater satisfaction then getting your kids out, however there seems to be a lot more stress in being successful!

[Viper]

I like the Stoney Point long expandable bipod. I can use it as a walking stick, glass from it, and shoot from it. It deploys quickly. If things happen quicker than I can get the bipod set up, I use my shoulder as a rest. Both my boys shot game using my shoulder as a rest....you have to remember to plug that ear with the opposite hand. My oldest son shot his first cow elk off my shoulder at about 80 yards. My youngest son shot his first pig off my shoulder at about the same distance. I once helped an adult friend on his rifle bull hunt. We had to run up a hill to flank a herd and get in position for a shot. I could see he was having trouble catching his breath, so I told him "when we get up top, use my shoulder to steady your rifle". We got there just in time as the herd crossed in front of us at about 50 yards. He rested the rifle and my shoulder and placed a perfect shot on the bull. It's best to be prepared with whatever method you've practiced with, but sometimes things happen quick and you have to improvise. Might want to practice some alternative methods along with your primary chosen method.

Oh yeah, I tried the Triclaw. It took too long to set up and was shaky on my medium weight tripod. The recoil would knock it off alignment, making it impossible for a quick followup shot. You will definitely need a heavy-duty tripod to make it effective.

Also, if you have a variable power scope, be sure to have it dialed to low power so the shooter can find the animal in the scope...then dial up the power if necessary. Have them practice this so they are familiar with how it works.

[DNS]

I didn't find the rest to be so much of a problem, but as others have stated finding animals in the scope was an issue. My son has had a scoped pellet gun for years and when he went big game hunting for the first time he had no issues finding animals in the scope. When my youngest daughter was 10 she drew a youth deer and youth elk hunt at the same time in bordering units. Opening morning we had 2 bucks inside of 100 yards out in the open and she couldn't find them in the scope and they finally fed out of site. That afternoon she had a whole herd of elk within 150 yards and couldn't find them in the scope either. This was my fault. I didn't spend enough time practicing with her finding animals in a scope. The next day we just sat at a waterhole all day and anytime I saw a squirrel, butterfly, humming bird, or any other animal I could see I would have her find it with the scope and hold steady on it. After awhile she got where she could pick up anything in the scope within a second or two. The next morning she made a perfect heart shot on a cow elk that she picked up in the scope immediately and the day after she found a buck in thick trees and put him down with a heart shot.

 

I would just say to spend as much time practicing with whatever rest you choose so they are comfortable with it and spend some time finding animals with the scope they will use. It's easy to find targets at a gun range, but picking up animals that blend in is much tougher. Good luck on your hunts.

[Randyh2412]

Harris BiPod, My 11yr old likes to sit, doesn't laying. Solid and Light. Would never make her rush a shot only a kid. Let them take thier time.