“Old Painless” from The Box O’ Truth took his 8 year old grandson to the range for the first time.

Not only do I think it’s great to see some great grandfather-grandson time together, but I like what Old Painless had to say about how to make a first range trip successful. He said these are good for taking a kid to the range, but I think it’s good advice the first time you take anyone to the range:

1. Stress Safety, first thing and constantly.
2. Have ear and eye protection for the kid.
3. Let them shoot a gun that doesn’t have heavy recoil.
4. Let them get really close to the target so that they hit something.
5. Give them praise for doing well.
6. Let them help load the firearms if they would like to.
7. Watch them very carefully, stay very close to them, and never let them break any Safety rule.
8. Help them hold the firearm if it is heavy for them.
9. Let them shoot until they are tired and then quit.
10. Make sure it is fun, so that they will want to go shooting again.

Most of it is about being safe and having fun, as it should be. And I think most people understand those aspects. But there are a few that sometimes get overlooked.

#3 – please people, we have enough YouTube videos of assholes (often “boyfriends”) giving guns with massive recoil to little people (often girlfriends) that have never shot a gun before, and while it gives the asshole filming the video a good laugh, it leaves a horrible impression in the mind of the shooter… not to mention some horrible pain. Please don’t do this. Let people start with something like a .22 LR and work up from there.

#4 and #5 – these are very important. Shooting a gun isn’t hard, but it isn’t easy either. Do you want this person to foster a love and enjoyment of the activity? Then do what you can to foster their success, because people like doing things they can succeed at. People understand the notion is to point the gun at something (target, tin can, steel plate, etc.) and try to hit that something. Imagine someone trying over and over and over and over and never hitting the target; they’re going to get discouraged. Move them as close as is safe (e.g. I wouldn’t go closer than 10 yards with steel targets), and let them shoot from there. They know being close is easier, so once they succeed at that distance, they’ll probably want to try making it a little harder, so you step back a few yards and try again. They’ll get it. They’ll understand. And when they do start missing, they’ll have enough success already under their belt that the misses won’t be discouragement but rather revelation that there’s something to learn and to come back again to try later. That’s good.

#6 is one I’m guilty of not always doing. I often will load the magazines and load the firearm for them. I do this because there’s enough stuff for a new shooter to have to deal with, so I try to ensure they focus on the critical things and let me handle the extra stuff.  But once they get the hang of things yes, you should let them load the magazine, insert the magazine, load the cylinder, and unload things too. Whatever the firearm’s mechanism is for loading and unloading, yes you should eventually let them do it. Not only do they learn how to do that, but there’s something about loading and unloading that makes for a more complete and satisfying experience.

The bottom line is, again, ensuring it’s safe and fun. You want them to smile. You want them to laugh. You want them to succeed. You want them to enjoy it. Doesn’t matter if it’s a kid or an adult, this is what you want to sow a seed that can grow and flourish.