Learning to shoot, soft air?

[RobertN]

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.

There are a few falling block type or break action 22lr's out there. There are also a lot of older used ones too. A single shot .22 would be a perfect starter. My son started on a "Red Ryder" and moved to a falling block .22lr, then to a bolt action. In our case, I found a Stevens Little Scout at a gun show for a good deal. It is circa 1900 or there abouts. Single shot, kid gun. Shoots shorts, which is nice. It's also a cool old antique.

I learned to shoot on black powder rifles and a bolt action 22lr. Single shots are the best thing for working on basic skills.

A local gun shop had a deal last year, on I believe a Savage break action. It came with a .22lr barrel, .243 barrel, and a 20 gauge barrel. It was also available with just the 22lr barrel for a bit cheaper.

Some have mentioned shooting at Boy Scout camp. We just got back from Scout Camp. A couple of our boys earned rifle and shotgun merit badges. That is a good way to learn. It may be worth check to see if Girl Scouts has a similar program.

Also, 4H has a great shooting program. I taught my son, but he also did two years of 4H shooting. The local program had basic shooting. They also had an advance class where they learnt 3-position shooting. The program used .22 bolt rifles. They also had opportunity to shoot bigger stuff if desired; our instructer brought out a bigger rifle that they could shoot a shot or two from if desired. On occassion, I brought out the Hawken .50 and let them shoot with a light load.

For 4H and the two Boy Scout/Cub Scout camps we have attended, all used basic .22lr bolt actions.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Yes, 4H is good. Our kids train there too - basic skills, safety drills and every so ften they shoot M14 or SKS just for kicks of it. I would higly recommend it to anyone.