After a few false starts (Oldest learning about achieving goals and being task focused, failing a few times but finally succeeding, thus here we are), I was able to take Oldest out to the Austin Rifle Club. Due to circumstances, Youngest had to come too, which was cool. I’ll speak about each in turn.

Oldest has been shooting here and there, mostly the 4x scoped Ruger 10/22. I’m not sure if he’s a bit averse to noise or recoil, but he doesn’t really want to shoot more than a .22. That’s fine, no problems really, but he keeps expressing a desire to go hunting and he’s either going to have to get really really good with that .22, only go after small game, or just learn to shoot larger guns. I’ve tried to get him to explain to me what his aversion is, but he doesn’t tell me… I dunno. Anyway….

Today Oldest shot a handgun for the first real time. He tried my XD-9 once before and it opened his eyes really wide, so I know it’s not yet for him. But this is what the Buck Mark is for. So in earnest, this was the first time Oldest ever shot a handgun. I must say, I was impressed. We’ve previously gone over technique issues, he’s not a total n00b due to the rifle work, but we really put technique to the test today. Things such as how many sight pictures you should have per shot (two), minding follow-through, working the trigger reset, front sight front sight front sight, keep your finger in contact with the trigger between shots, and so on. I also laid the foundation for not caring about hitting your target, for if you’re focused on the front sight eventually you’ll see that front sight as the shot breaks and be able to read the sights and will know exactly where the shot went; you can confirm the hit later if you really want to. I think he gets that, which is awesome. I only had to give him the basic instructions and some minor corrections, but he really took to it.

Those targets were at 7 yards. For a first time, I think that’s pretty damn good. Yes he’s got some work to do on his technique, but I was truly impressed with how well he received instruction and applied the instruction and correction he was given. I also enjoyed his enthusiasm about it. He wanted to keep shooting; he thought the Buck Mark was a ton of fun. We had to move on tho, but that’s OK… always leave them wanting more.

Oldest also got to learn about malfunction clearing. The Buck Mark stovepiped a lot today. Not sure why. I’ll look into it more another time. This is one thing that irritates me about the Buck Mark: you can’t work the slide grasping over the top of the slide, you really have to do the pinch/slingshot technique. This is because the slide is narrow at the top, then the rear adjustable sight is sharp and hangs over the sides… any attempt to grip the slide over the top leads to a poor grip and a shredded palm. Minor issue.

Then… Youngest got to shoot.

This is the first time Youngest ever fired a gun. He’s not really expressed much interest either way in participating until recently, so the past couple weeks I’ve been going over things like the rules. We got to the range, I showed him proper technique, helped him out, a little dry work, and then loaded one round in the Buck Mark’s magazine and we tried it. He missed the paper (hit the target frame tho). We kept at it a little bit, then his arms were tired and he wanted to stop. I will admit, I’m not being 100% about his technique. Not that I’m letting him be sloppy, but from years of working with young children I know that so long as you show them the basics of good technique then as you go along you work to refine it, things come out fine. There’s no bad habits involved, but you’re not overloading the young child with tons of information. If you micromanage it all up front, no fun will be had and the kid will hate it (in general, there are always exceptions). The main goal for me was to let him shoot, poke some holes in paper, and ensure he walked away have had fun.

Youngest came back later to try again. Here are the results:

For a first time of ever shooting a gun? I think that’s alright. We’ve certainly got some dry work to do at home. I was standing over Youngest trying to figure out his aim. He’s left-eye dominant and as I tried to look from above to line everything up, I wasn’t 100% sure what he was seeing for a sight picture. So, we’ll work on that here at home with more illustrations. The way that adjustable sight on the Buck Mark looks there’s a possibility of 2 “goal posts” in your picture, and I wonder if it maybe was confusing him a bit. We’ll see.

Bottom line: it was a good morning. Dad and sons got to spend time together. Oldest learned he really likes shooting the Buck Mark. Youngest got introduced to shooting and liked it. Dad just has a big smile on his face. 🙂