looking for teaching tips

[Vanilla Gorilla]

so my 9 year old step daughter (who i think of as my daughter) is showing interest in shooting and guns i asked her mom if it would be ok if i took her shooting she said it is ok as long as i teach her about shooting and gun safety so i asked my step daughter tonight if she would be interested in going shooting and she said yes now my question is where do i begin i know the 4 rules of gun safety and the parts of a gun but i don't know what else to teach her i have never taught anyone how to shoot but i have been shooting for over 20 years now and i think i can do this any tips or pointers would be appreciated

[gratefuldog]

Get her a little bolt-action .22, and take her to an Appleseed!

[9mmepiphany]

I started my kids out with an airsoft to insure that they understood muzzle awareness. The first thing to teach them after safety is correct sight alignment and then the correct grip. I started mine out with a Ruger Semi-auto for the smaller grip

I once taught a 10y.o. girl to shoot a Sig 225 during a regular class that included draws and mag changes...a lot has to do with their ability to focus...she had her own pink USPSA setup

[Synergy]

I taught a 10 yo girl and 12 yo boy how to shoot. I started with the basics and rules on the kitchen table. In the following days, out of the blue I would ask a random question about gun safety. Then I introduced them to a bolt action .22. Once they proved their safety and ability to shoot proper. I let them shoot other firearms. They both wanted to shoot the AR. They had to earn the privilege to shoot it.

[Divernhunter]

I taught my daughter to shoot when she was 4.5 years old. Got her a chipmonk rifle after she kept wanting to shoot my full size rifles.

REMEMBER 1) Make it fun. Take old clay pigons or water bottles etc to shoot. Paper targets are not as fun.
2) Take drinks and snaks as well as ear/eye protection that FITS the person.
3)Attention span is short usually so when they start to tire it is time to stop. It may be after 10 or 1000 rounds.
4) Use a 22 rim fire rifle. It DOES NOT have to be a bolt action. Semis are more fun to shoot(especially kids) and to start with only load 1 round at a time. Then work up to a full clip as their responsiblity level grows. It usually does not take long. I got tired of loading ruger clips so I got my daughter a Marlin 60 tube feed rifle and she could load it herself. If they start jaming simply remove the stock and spray it good with brake clean. TIP: leave it dry and it will work just fine and longer.
5) To help keep their attention keep the range short. Maybe a trip to the hills instead of an over-regulated range. This way you can set up at whatever range you want. Our private range I could do as I pleased usually so it was fine. IF THEY CANNOT HIT THE TARGET THEY WILL LOOSE INTEREST. A scope helps here also. You can teach open sights later and besides most rifles have scopes nowdays for better or worse.

There are other things you can do but the bottom line is to keep it FUN as well as SAFE. I have to go for surgery tomorrow so I will check back next week(I hope)

[Divernhunter]

PS----If the gun is too big (fit) for the person it will not be fun for them. I have a shortened 10/22 stock so it would fit my daughter without her being uncomfortable when shooting.

DO NOT allow them to shoot a large(heavy kicking) rifle too soon or they may never want to shoot again. That said by the time my daughter was 12 she had fired a 375H&H(better than the owner)rifle and my 45acp/44mag/454casull. She also shoot many of my other rifles and likes her ruger 257Roberts. She has "Claimed" my M1A Nat Match but that is still in doubt.

[rod]

My dad and grandpa took me hunting before I was allowed to have a hunting license. I didn't hunt anything, but I got to see the end result of what a gun could do. I also had to retrieve birds, clean birds, clean guns, and fetch beer, all the while learning safety rules. Wait a minute...that didn't sound right. I would fetch beer after the guns were put away. When I was 9 years old, I took a NRA hunter safety course and passed. That's when I got my hunting license and was allowed to start hunting for real. My dad and grandpa never stopped stressing safety, even years later. Now, they're both up in the happy hunting ground and I'm repeating the cycle with my daughter. I bought her a toy gun when she was about two or three. As soon as she was able to understand right from wrong, I started teaching her the ten commandments on gun safety. She has a BB gun now and is about to graduate to a 22.

To answer your question OP, I think you're well on your way with teaching safety. The next step, I think, is to take her shooting and be a good example for her to follow. That's how I learned.

[Vanilla Gorilla]

thank you all for the tips