A lot of different opinions are voiced on how you should start a person shooting who has never fired any sort of gun, and who is showing an interest in doing so. In this article, I’m going to relate how I would do it with people of all ages, using a little of how my dad got me into shooting.

Notice that I said, “a person showing an interest.” You should never force anyone into starting if they truly don’t want anything to do with it. There will be no enjoyment for either you as the instructor or the person you are trying to teach to shoot. If nothing else, tell them that they are welcome to come along anytime that you are going to target shoot. This can even include when shooting air guns in the backyard.

Remember, we are talking about a person who has never fired a gun of any sort. For that reason, I would start them with air guns. This is the easiest and least expensive on ammunition to teach them basic gun handling and aiming.

While not consistently “bullseye accurate,” I would start them with something like a Daisy Red Ryder with an open iron sight, or Umarex Marlin Lever Action with a peep sight. As they become more familiar with the shooting process, move on to a multi-pump, BB/pellet rifle like an Umarex NXG. This is a very accurate air rifle, with which the person can progress to pellets to make it more like rimfire ammo.

Now is the time to step on up to CO2 power and brake barrel for higher power of up to 1,200 fps. If available, I would highly recommend the Umarex Legend series Colt Peacemaker for revolvers and Cowboy Lever Action for rifles, where the person can also learn to load BB-holding cartridges that can be loaded and ejected just like real firearm versions.

This is the time when the student could be moved to a semi-auto replica pistol, especially if they are thinking about obtaining their Conceal Carry License. There are several on the market, but one of the best is the Umarex S&W M&P40 BB pistol that uses CO2 and is very realistic in every respect, including the blow back slide.

Once they are getting along well with the replica air gun, it is time to move into a firearm, and the best way is to start with a rimfire. I started with two different single shots that were very accurate. First was my dad’s old Stevens Model 55 rifle, and then for my 12th birthday, I received my own Remington Model 514. Both are bolt action. For kids, a Henry bolt action youth gun would be ideal. And for anyone, a Ruger bolt action American with a 10-round magazine would be great. In fact, this gun would move right into the famous Ruger 10/22 that can be found in several different models, for which I would recommend the Sporter version available in the 75th Anniversary version. A Henry Frontier or Classic is another great rimfire; my choice would be the Frontier with the white diamond rear sight and brass bead front sight.

For a rimfire revolver, I suggest a Ruger Wrangler; and for a semi-auto pistol, the SR22, which can supply practice for the Security9 9mm. If you’re going to use a small pocket type gun for C&C purposes, such as an LCP Max 380, then I would suggest an LCP22 for a good starter in practicing.

To this point in the training, it has been best to teach the student with open iron sights and peep sights. Now, attention can be turned to the benefits of optics in scopes and red dots, as well as lasers. For the peep, scope and red dot, I would suggest Skinner Sights, which are some of the best that you can purchase at a competitive price that will place any level of shooter dead on target.

At this point, the student has progressed not just in firearms, but the targets can also be changed from paper and cans to AR steel. Some of these can be like the Shooting Targets7 regular Ultra Mega gongs of several sizes, small to large, in bullseye, Biathlon and eventually heading to a Know Your Limits Gallery that has targets as small as a 1/4- and 1/2-inch.

By now, the instructor has been doing a lot of teaching, not just in shooting but hopefully in safe gun handling, which should have started at day one. However, this would be a good time for kids to go to a gun hunter’s safety course, even if they are not going to hunt, and for any person to take an NRA gun handling course. The National Rifle Association and Illinois State Rifle Association can both send you in the right direction for these courses.

If you are going to start shooting, or teach someone to shoot, do it from the bottom up: slowly, correctly and safely.

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