Take a Young Person To The Shooting Range
Introducing young folks to the shooting sports
Introducing young people to the shooting sports keeps the shooting sports vital. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to take a couple of young folks to the range. We had a great day at the Sawmill Training Complex.
We started with a safety briefing, of course. We have all heard it many times, but the briefing is new and fresh to new shooters. Do not skimp on it when you take new shooters to the range. A bit of the “why” is a good addition to the standard safety briefing.
We started with a .22 LR pistol. The low recoil and low report make it a great weapon to learn the fundamentals of the pistol. Do not overdo the training. You want safety, fundamentals, and fun. The fun is what brings them back.
As we went along, I explained the history of the 1911 and the history of the Glock to them. The historical context of these pistols is interesting to most people. John Moses Browning and Gaston Glock are seminal figures in the development of modern firearms.
An explanation of the differences in striker fired pistols and 1911-design pistols also helps in understanding why the two designs are so different in the hand. Understanding how a striker fired pistol works also helps reassure on safety. And the reason for the grip safety on the 1911 is interesting to most people (cavalry using the 1911 – look it up).
We shot the pistols at steel targets at a range of about 20 yards. Shooting steel is fun for everyone but it is especially fun for new shooters to make it ring.
After the pistol work, we went to the AR-15. Again, we started with a brief explanation of the weapon and then we shot full size IPSC steel at 200 yards and at 400 yards. If you are an experienced shooter, those ranges seem routine for full-sized IPSC. For a new shooter, hitting a target at a quarter mile (400 yards is a quarter mile) is a little bit of a big deal.
Then, we pulled out the 6.5 Creedmoor. I have a target load for my 6.5 Creedmoor that is optimized just for that rifle. For this rifle, I spent far too long at the range working up just the right load. For those that are curious, here is the load (6.5 Creedmoor 140 grain Berger Target Hybrid, 42.3 grains of RL-16 Powder, Lapua cases, 2.8” Cartridge Overall Length). I will confess, I love the 6.5 Creedmoor in a way that is not entirely natural.
We started at 600 yards with the Creedmoor and went to 1,000 yards in 200 yard increments. Both were able to hit at all ranges including the 1,000 yard target. That was pure shooting joy, for them and for me. We were dialing for elevation and I was spotting and calling wind. The Creedmoor scope has a Horus H-58 reticle and I normally compensate for elevation using the reticle rather than dialing but for new shooters the H-58 is too much.
After that, we went back to the AR-15 and shot 200 yards and 400 yards just for fun. Then we moved to a pistol bay to try out a plate rack and dueling tree. Finally, we ran out of 9mm ammo and called it a day.
Take a young person shooting. You will enjoy it as much or more than they do.