Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Kids at the Campfire Best way to teach a kid to shoot a shotgun

and that was my biggest problem.

Had a kid once that dad insisted on instructing. You could see the natural adolescent instinct to revolt building on the kids face, he did pretty much the opposite of what dad told him. And the frustration building on dad's face. Sometimes it works well, depending on the relationship. But not that time.

im an nra certified shotgun coach.i coach trap,skeet and sporting clays youth teams.i thought i had all the answers with my youngest,be bucked me i bucked back and got no where.our head coach is also our wildlife officer and a close friend.with his help and a little proding by my wife we got him over his recoil shyness and now he is one of the top shooters in his class in the state.

Funny how it works. I'm a 4-H certified trap instructor and sometimes the head instructor and I will switch shooters or ask the other to take a look when we don't seem to be getting through to a shooter. Little differences in approach can sometimes make the difference.

I started when I was 12 and used a Rem 1100, 12 gauge. I started with a hand thrower. Then trap, then skeet, then birds and bunnies. Kids pick up things pretty darn fast. A nice soft kicking gun, and lots of shells. Light target loads, preferably. If you want to start with an over under, you can get a set of .410 tubes pretty reasonable and shoot charcoal briquettes. I still throw them for my buddies kids sometimes. They go poof. Kids love it.