young gun training tips?

Pocket · May 24, 2023

ok im not new to shooting prs style match in both centerfire and .22 formats.
i am however new to being an uncle and i inherited an 11 yr old nephew that wants to come shoot matches with me.

He cant handle my vudoo in its current setup safely, so barrowed a friends CZ in a boyds, that seemed to be more his weight class. so i am building him one (also a loaner gun - as i fell into a Match Director role at a local range for .22PRS/NRL style practice days and matches)

my time in a STA plt with the Marines passing knowledge was obviously a different learning environment, so those with the little guys/girls what were some helpful tips/hints/cheat codes you used to help them get on target and be somewhat self reliant on the clock?

Also what were some hurdles you hit and how did yall overcome those?

thanks in advance!

lash · May 24, 2023

How far along is he? Can he shoot now? And well? I mean I think that it’s very important at that age to impress the fundamentals really well. Kids soak up information well and are usually very receptive to coaching. He needs to be able to hit what he’s aiming at regularly and from different basic positions, like prone and bench.

Then, make sure he understands and gets comfortable with using the scope, dialing, knowing elevation and windage calls, etc. Make sure that the rifle fits him properly so that his eye falls in the center of the eye box and his lop and hand fit right for a good trigger pull. Make sure he presses the trigger and doesn’t slap it like so many adults do with their 6-8iz. Triggers.

Once he’s good at all these basics. Which can be mixed in with steel shooting and fun stuff for sure, then start working on basic barricade bag shooting from solid positions.

Masojoh · May 30, 2023

Make it easy and fun. Drill safety and shooting fundamentals. Gain confidence shooting paper at 50. Show him the gun can do it, and have him practice there to see he can too.

Keep your steel targets 3 MOA or bigger, and under 100 yards. Set him up on a barricade and let him get comfortable shooting a single target before you introduce timers and moving positions. Don’t let him fall into the trap of max magnification. Get a picatinny mount for your scope tube, and mount a red dot ahead of the turret. Use that to get the target in the scope eye box, then drop down behind the scope. Coach on the clock. Help him move between positions.

davidsaidwhat · May 30, 2023

I was out with them this past Sunday. The kid did great. Best advice I had to offer, as this was an official match running by match rules, was to let the kid shoot from a single fixed position so he could concentrate on shooting safely and precisely, and not worry about moving the rifle and bag around. Pocket did great as an uncle. It's really hard to get kids today to put down those damn phones. Pocket is doing his best introduce his nephew to something many times more worthwhile than tiktok videos. We were all glad to help out where we could and take the time needed to try to make this a great first experience.

Pocket built him one hell of a rifle too.

lash · May 31, 2023

davidsaidwhat said:
I was out with them this past Sunday. The kid did great. Best advice I had to offer, as this was an official match running by match rules, was to let the kid shoot from a single fixed position so he could concentrate on shooting safely and precisely, and not worry about moving the rifle and bag around. Pocket did great as an uncle. It's really hard to get kids today to put down those damn phones. Pocket is doing his best introduce his nephew to something many times more worthwhile than tiktok videos. We were all glad to help out where we could and take the time needed to try to make this a great first experience.

Pocket built him one hell of a rifle too.

That is so great to see and to hear about.

Pocket · May 31, 2023

It was a good match. It was challenging being the match director/RO/shooter/coach all rolled into one. Also had the OGs, so my take away was being prepared. Mags loaded, know what’s coming, he understands dialing weirdly well and bolt manipulation (thanks Fortnite)

Having whomever is on deck ready to go..
No only helps with overall match speed but keeping him engaged in what’s going on vs the lull of stages and he feels that he needs a YouTube fix.

He did enjoy giving the shooter prep “shooter understand course of fire/load make ready/engage” and also when he only had one target to look at calling impacts. Overall he had a blast and even got a little metal from the event.

This weekend we shall see as there is an overnight trip for this upcoming rimfire match. Bigger range/longer COF - and out to 300+ but chance at a really nice YG trophy.

We are focusing on impacts and not time. I’m hoping for a 75% hit rate on shots with about a 50-60% shots taken before time runs out. He likes to see the small targets so he wants to be at like 8x

we will work on not sooo much optic input and crank up to 10-14 he doesn’t need to worry about a target in the FOV that’s 2 stages down the road…

accurate obsession · May 31, 2023

Whenever we get a new young shooter we bend-over-backwards to try and keep them interested.
The match is relatively difficult to keep the interest of the experienced shooters and you don't want the YG to feel crushed. We will coach them through everything, loan them anything and always let them finish the COF. We will start the timer so they understand what the time constraints feel like, but they continue shooting and finish the stage after time-out.

lash · May 31, 2023

Exactly all of those things.

CheStadium · Jun 2, 2023

Sounds like you're doing good Pocket. I teach kids from 8 YO to 18 every week, and my advice is to work on fundamentals such as building a stable position, breathing, trigger control, etc in between matches. You have to keep hammering on safety, and even the 8 YO kids get it, but sometimes kids' minds wander.

I love watching kids progress from wincing at the bang to shooting respectable scores.

NewsShooter · Jun 2, 2023

I did the same thing for my nephews, built them 10/22's. Public range has steel at 25 and 50 so we started there. It was too easy, they didn't miss and shot fast with the semi. We moved from there to the steel range where they have rimfire from 25 out to 125 and centerfire to 500 meters. Their second trip out they were shooting the chickens in the head at 225 yards from prone. Set up poppers at different distances and they learned to dial and move between targets. Then had them compete against each other on the clock for fastest time. Always making sure they were safe, flags in and mags out when not shooting so it became a standard for them. Wasn't long before they wanted to shoot the centerfire at the rams at 500 meters. My 10 year old nephew watched a ram at 550 fall in the scope on his third shot with a centerfire. That was really cool to see. Unfortunately as they go older they weren't interested anymore.

Pocket · Jun 4, 2023

well we had a "large" rimfire match this weekend, 30 something shooters. ran out of time most stages (wanted, and expected) his accuracy was where i wanted it at about 60-70% currently for his shots taken. tho he is super hard on himself, feels like the world lied to him if the round went off left edge at 355 lol, so working on letting that go. from the start of the morning till around lunch i could see alot of mental growth for the game in him that was cool. i saw him counting spots on barricade and making a little plan. of course he got tired/hot/hungry as we all. tho his dad was out there to help rangle in some emotions. He made a little friend out there, (5 juniors at this match- tho 2 of them were 6ft+ 16 yr olds *still counts*) and after the match the 10 yr old, and my 11 yr old nephew were talking non stop to each other about a fortnight update and a shadow crystal chest piece and sword (im a former gamer - WOW) so this made me smile and remember that is what the sport is all about...friendships

i was RO/coach/ and shooter of my squad at this match and my scores showed it...so thats something i need to work on for myself

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