Learning to shoot, soft air?

[JoeR]

My daughter likes to go .22 and BB gun plinking with me. She asked me today for her own rifle. I was thinking about a soft air rifle for her to learn proper handling and shooting. The problem I see is that most of the soft air rifles seem to be adult size stocks, yet the BB guns have kid size stocks. I thought the soft air would be a little safer, but I can't seem to track down a kid size stock. Should I just get a BB gun? She doesn't like my Crossman BB gun since it is hard for her to pump more than 3 times, so I am thinking CO2, or the one pump style.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Joe

 

[jimg]

Airsoft can be expensive but there are smaller cheaper versions to be had that kids can handle. I dont think any exc possibly the adult size versions have very good sights and I wouldnt want to use them to teach proper sight picture. BB guns (kid versions) are pretty much the same drill. You seem to have ruled out a .22RF though....just wondered about that. I went thru the same thing when my 3 were smaller and we opted for the kid sized Marlin rifle. All three learned on it and I eventually sold the thing once they outgrew it. I think a .22RF will hold its value (if you wanted to sell it) far better than airsoft or BB/pellet rifle. Also the principles of safe gun handling are the same and all are capable of hurting you badly at short range. Heres another thought...you could buy or build a dummy (inert) if all youre interested in is teaching safety and handling. I figure though she'll want to shot it...right?

 

[shepherd]

don't go w/ the air softs go w/ remgeit(sp?)air master 77 it takes 10 pumps but i find it pretty easy first and all you really have to do is pump a few times to build the muscles to pump it fully

 

[JoeR]

I had to rule out the .22LR for now. She if left handed like me, and doesn't like the hot brass hitting her arm or getting near her. I was showing her how to shoot, and the brass bounced off her arm and dropped into her boot. She had her right elbow almost parallel with the brass ejection. Not easy to teach a lefty. The stock length of the .22LR Marlin was too long, so this causes her to put the stock under her armpit which wipes out a good site picture. Then I started thinking about air rifles... Anyway, she loves to shoot the BB gun, but I get tired of doing all the pumping! I kept telling her I was going to get her something easy to use that is more her size. Now she is hounding me to find something.

Joe

 

[EddieWalker]

Joe,

I don't know too much about bb guns, pellet guns and I've never heard of soft air guns. I do know that pellet guns require special scopes because they will distroy a standard scope. The recoil is pretty intense.

To learn to shoot, and especially for kids, I highly recomend a bolt action .22 that can handle .22 shorts. There is vertually no recoil and with the bolt action, you don't have any brass flying around.

I first learned to shoot in the Boy Scouts with this type of rifle. It was very exiteing to all of us, but also a solid foundation to marksmanship.

Teach her right from the beginning and she'll just get better and better.

I learned to shoot this way, but my hunting education came from a neighbor who had no idea of what he was doing. His lack of knowledge and mistakes set me back years. I had to force myself to forget everything he told me and learn on my own how to hunt.

It's very dificult to unlearn bad advice,

Eddie

 

[czechsonofagun]

Joe, call this a shameless plug, but here is what my son (8 years) shoots besides 22:

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=52609023

reasonably priced and pretty good quality. Manufactured in my old country:

http://www.czub.cz/index.php?lang=en

Oh well, I am biased, I admit

 

[Doc_Bob]

Get a bolt action .22. Solves all your problems and allows her to shoot a real gun. Safe, accurate and easy.
Bob

 

[GeneD14]

Get a bolt action .22. Solves all your problems and allows her to shoot a real gun. Safe, accurate and easy.
Bob

I agree. They make some youth models that a small and easy for a kid to handle.

 

[Doc_Bob]

I agree. They make some youth models that a small and easy for a kid to handle.

And, when she out grows it, they are easy to sell.
Bob

 

[RonMar]

I would not even contemplate letting a new shooter loose with a semi auto. It is too easy(and fun) to just fire away and build bad trigger and sighting habits that will have to be unlearnt if they ever hope to be good shots.

In my opinion, Airsoft is not particularly accurate/consistent and even the high end ones I have looked at don't have the best sights. Shooting round plastic pellets down a smoothbore is best used in full-auto on the airsoft/paintball combat course.

I would reccomend a .177 or .22 air rifle(with rifled barrel) shooting pellets, or as others here have suggested, a bolt action .22 rimfire. They make kid sized .22 rifles just for this purpose(even for lefties). I learned to shoot with a bolt action remington .22 and I did my first small game hunting with a break open over/under 410/22. I still have the 410/22 and my kids learned to shoot with it. I have used a single cocking (break barrel) air rifle to refine my offhand and sitting tequnique for highpower rifle competition as I could shoot with it safely indoors.