Getting my girls into shooting

AB3006

AB3006

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I have gotten 3 of 5 into shooting, most recently my 10 year old on the Savage Rascal, as in the thread below.

My girls, i.e. my wife and daughter, haven't shot much, but my daughter has expressed an interest in shooting (and eventually hunting - good kid!). My wife has been to shooting ranges a few times, but isn't a great enthusiast. So, being the kind and considerate husband and father :rolleyes: I thought I'd get them into rimfire first. But, since the Rascal is a bit small for them (both are 5'4"), I decided to invest in something a little more adult-like. This is what's OTW, a savage Mark II with a 3-9x40 scope.

I really like the Rascal action, so I think that this will be a great beginner and plinker. Opinions say that it's a bit cheap feeling, but accurate. IOTW - like a typical Savage.

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I got a bunch of Anschutz's and i picked up a Savage mk2. Its no Anschutz but still a decent gun. The wrist on the molding needs to be sanded or trimmed, as it's a little sharp.

But would be a good starter gun. Not too long, not too heavy.
 
I think it's great to get your girls into shooting. My daughter is 9 and came to the range with me last year. My 22 is a henry lever, so that's what she shot.

I used a box of aguila super colibri ammunition though. It's 20g and only goes maybe 400 fps (ETA link says it's 590). There is zero recoil and almost zero sound.
Shooting that seemed to really help her set aside her fear of the big kaboom, and focus instead on the basics of aiming and shooting.


https://www.aguilaammo.com/products/22-super-colibri-long-rifle-subsonic-lead-bullet

Have fun!
 
You made a good choice. The MK2 is a nicely accurate rifle.

I find they are sensitive to how much torque is applied to the action screws. Something to keep in mind. šŸ˜Ž

Cheers,
Neil
 
Marlin989 said:
You made a good choice. The MK2 is a nicely accurate rifle.

I find they are sensitive to how much torque is applied to the action screws. Something to keep in mind. šŸ˜Ž

Cheers,
Neil
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Thank you!

Sensitive, as in it needs to be torqued down by a 200 lbs gorilla, or sensitive, as in easy does it, pleasure her gently?
 
AB3006 said:
Thank you!

Sensitive, as in it needs to be torqued down by a 200 gorilla, or sensitive, as in easy does it, pleasure her gently?
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Sensitive as in you'll want to try some different torque specs on the action screws to see if there is a specific toque spec that works better on your rifle than others.

I love my Mark IIs. Was my first rifle, and I'll never sell it. My kids love it too.
 
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I slapped a fvrs mk11 in a MDT lss gen2 chassis and it's been great. All adjustable in the buttstock and bipod and ergo grip with palm stop. My lil is only 6 but she can shoot it prone or off the bench.
 
AB3006 said:
Thank you!

Sensitive, as in it needs to be torqued down by a 200 lbs gorilla, or sensitive, as in easy does it, pleasure her gently?
Click to expand...
I can't give an expert answer, but I recall the manual indicating approx 18lbs of torque. But online I've read anecdotes that the rear screw can go as low as 12lbs, and the front a bit more than 20.

I had done a teardown on mine, and after putting it back together, the accuracy was crappy. Out of the box, accuracy was pretty good - .75" (at best, including fliers or poor shooting on my part) with a scope and using CCI SV. Anyway, so I got a torque wrench and tightened both screws to 15lbs, which pretty much put the accuracy where it had been.

Suther makes a great point, BTW. You'll want to see how much torque each screw wants for the rifle to shoot it's best. I haven't played around with different levels of torque, so I'm not sure if it's optimized. That said, were getting into the fiddly bits here, and your daughter may not care whether or not it's perfect.

Good on you for getting your kid into it. Mine prefers archery. I know, what the hell! šŸ¤Ŗ

Cheers,
Neil
 
Oh! And if you're allowed at your range, get steel targets! My kids and I all much prefer shooting spinners and poppers over paper.

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Dont get the Power Fist brand steel spinner targets from Princess auto. First shot at 25 bent it near 45 degrees. I got a bunch of do all on clearance from Cabelas and seems to be holding up fine..

Just ask your club exc if you can. Some might say they need a plywood shroud, some might not.
 
Yeah, you do get what you pay for with steel targets, I've got a few cheaper ones that are bent up from use.

I'm currently really liking the RangeMaxx multi-target gong/stand I bought at Cabelas. They're regularly on sale, and I personally think its a lot of bang for your buck.

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Good for you. Both of my daughters have been out. Starting with a Rascal. Balloons target of choice. They are 12 and 13 now, first shots at 7. I had my oldest out shooting gophers and she did really well. I bought a Tikka T1X that they can share.

I've had both of them out shooting steel at 200m with 308 target rifle, both did well. My oldest has been out shooting pistol with me as well.
Bought a Ruger MK IV 22/45 lite when they first came out just for them to learn on. My wife rolls her eyes when i tell her its for the kids.20240316_114211.jpg
 
Started both my daughters shooting 22's about the age of 10. Paper targets were used just to give them an idea how to properly aim with open sights & scopes, then started them on any type of reactive targets to keep them interested. Punching paper gets old in a hurry - the swinging targets, balloons, clays or cans kept them interested. In fact, their favorite by far was knocking over old pop cans. It took them a whole summer to figure out how I could make a pop can jump straight up in the air from off the ground. Just keep it interesting and a bit challenging.
Right now their hands down favorite rifle is a Savage MkII FVSR with a 16X scope with an Apachee trigger - usually I never get to use it at a silhouette match.
There's some good tips on Savage rifles on RimfireCentral - as others have said the torque on the stock can make a huge difference!
Both my girls have hunted deer with me during the shotgun hunt, one has hunted turkey and harvested a deer, groundhogs are few & far between in my area but both still enjoy any type of target shooting or hunting when their work schedules allow some 15 years later. Good luck!
 
My granddaughter was started on a Savage Rascal but she quickly grew out of that and started shooting her dad's older Browning T-Bolt.
During a sleepover weekend a year ago I started her on the Cooper JSR with a 6-24 Bushnell at 80 yards.
The following month I took her to the 100 M. Match and she performed admirably against experienced shooters finishing 2nd out of eight.
Not bad for a 10 1/2 year old girl.
 
horseman2 said:
My granddaughter was started on a Savage Rascal but she quickly grew out of that and started shooting her dad's older Browning T-Bolt.
During a sleepover weekend a year ago I started her on the Cooper JSR with a 6-24 Bushnell at 80 yards.
The following month I took her to the 100 M. Match and she performed admirably against experienced shooters finishing 2nd out of eight.
Not bad for a 10 1/2 year old girl.
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Nothing like strarting 'em early.

Due to the fact that we moved around a lot and lived overseas, we didn't get to do much shooting. So, my kids are starting at 15, 12 and 10.

However, I take heart in that my 15 year old is dead nuts accurate out to 200 with 'his' 243, both off the bench and standing. We got our deer tags for this year, so it should be good.

My 12 year old daughter wants to hunt next year, so we're doing her PAL this fall, and putting in range time.
 
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