Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Optics and target questions

So have a 10/22 wanna teach my kids to shoot from y’all’s experience a red dot or scope be better also any recommendations on the steel shooting targets for 22 that y’all have tried and found are worth while

Don’t know how old the kids are so I am going to just go through what I did with my kids when I started them out.
I insisted they learned to shoot iron sites first. I’m not saying that is right; I’m just saying that was the direction I decided on. After 1 yr of shooting open sites and they demonstrated to me they understood and could execute the task then I upgraded them to a 4X fixed scope.
My .02 on all of this is that mastering open sites makes them more of an instinctive shooter. After that everything else will fall into place.

I plan on that as well but when I was a kid I struggled with iron sights tremendously but could drive takes with a scope and limit out on squirrels every time I went

Fundamentals is the key. How you get there is on you. Just my $.02

If they are really young-small a reflex is faster and easier, unlimited eye relief. If they are a little older-bigger, as in big enough to carry their own gun and hunt, then a scope is fine. For a non paper target I have a couple of those flip up targets that reset by by shooting the upper target. Let them shoot till they miss or hit the reset target then switch the shooter. Or the vertical trees that swing targets to the left or right. The competition of hitting the most adds just enough pressure to make them concentrate on their shots without stressing them out too much. Plus you don't have to keep walking downrange to put up new targets. My 2 cents as well.

I'd start them on irons. The other stuff is easier, but you can get away with subtle alignment problems that really don't go away. It will make them better shooters, not just good aimers.

I put a Tasco dot on a 10/22 for my son, then age 3. Nothing is more intuitive for very young kids. No eye relief issues, and the optical cone is huge. They need to learn head placement, but that's for later.

IME, kids quickly outgrow the dots, want magnification or irons at or before age 10. That Tasco is long retired, only b/c I replaced it with an R-1 micro. We use it frequently at youth events.

I have introduced several local kids besides my own, to basic marksmanship, started them with iron sights mostly because they were poor and shooting old family single shots and didn't have a choice of scopes. I actually took pencil and paper and sketched for them the difference between sight alignment and sight picture and explained how sight alignment was critical. The 9 or 10 yr olds grasp the idea quickly. I think learning irons helps them later if they graduate to handguns. The ease of scope use gratifies the mentor with quick results but I'm not sure you are doing the kid any favors. Start your kid on a manual transmission and he can drive anything easily before he is 16, IMO.

Trust me my kids will drive manual comfortably or not be allowed to get their license

Really good advice on several levels!

PennDog

Well- Based on your experience I would say you need a better teacher then you had as a child. Using various sights on a gun properly are lifetime shooting lessons that if done properly help them a lot down the road. My younger brother - who is a fine shot with both rifles and handguns PREFERS iron sights on his guns and has never liked scopes.

First, check to see if any of the kids are cross eye dominant. Also if they have troubles hitting, they may have other vison issues (astigmatisms ,etc) that prevent them from shooting well with irons.


Then, draw out or show them diagrams of proper sight picture. Teach them with good iron sights that are blackened.

Shoot from a good comfortable rest at a fixed distance (no trajectory BS to worry about) .Shoot at a large black on white bull target that is well lit. Shade the sights if possible. The key is to get them a crisp sight picture for a good six o'clock hold..


Once they have shot a bit you can teach them about trajectory and shoot at various distances. Then I would get a set of peep sights to at least let them shoot a rifle with a large aperture sight so they can see how fast and accurate they are.

THEN push " the easy button" and get a scope

My Lyman Alaskan 2.5x has a 2 minute dot, I shoot at a target with a 2" flourescent dot, when the dot in the scope covers the orange completely I know that I'm dead on target. Easy to shoot great groups, best system I've devised over the years.

IMO, the most important thing to instill in a new shooter of any age is trigger control and holding. Any distraction from those early in the process will slow down their progress. Simple sights requiring only alignment with the target while the hold and squeeze are performed will let the shooter concentrate on those, and that skill will transfer to whatever sights are used in the future. Because no two shooters see irons exactly the same way, misses can occur due to different alignment, not other errors. With all the sighting elements in the same plane, it’s simpler to call the shots, vital to improving one’s skill. The use of irons can be learned later, if need be, though many may never go that way. Red dots are usually easier to get behind than scopes since eye-relief isn’t critical.

It’s also important, whatever sights are used, that the target is easy to see the sights against. Both size and color are important. Red dots are hard to see against orange targets, for example, especially if they appear to be about the same size, and front sights with a bead can be confusing as to whether to hold with the top of the bead or the center, plus they’re prone to lateral errors. Better to use a flat topped blade whether holding at six o'clock or in the center. Crosshairs (and duplex reticles) are very intuitive, just quarter the bull.

For certain, start them on a rest, and close to the target.

All three. As stated, draw the sight picture, start with iron sights. Red dots are fun, especially on steel targets. Scopes up the challenge, add distance, and are best with paper targets.

Have picked up targets from Shootsteel.com, with 22, the 3” are a challenge, can be mounted on board, couple of them, noise with the hit is a great fun sound for a new shooter.