Hobo-Ken:

I did not mention stance as I assumed for no particular reason that they would be doing a single handed stance. Two handed you should look at Weaver Stance, Modified Weaver (a/k/a/ Chapman Stance) ad Isosceles. If you google "modified Weaver" you find tons of links.

Caveat: One of the better links af far as text shows piccy of a woman with a revolver shooting lefthanded without explaing she is a lefty so the pic is confusing. Modified Weaver is widely recommended for women due to hand size so it might be good for kids.

As to kids, I think they are all like that. When I taught mine sailing he would get hostile about all the safety rules, my insistence that he ALWAYS carry his knife when he went to the harbour in case he ended up sailing, etc. In his teens he was teaching sailing and at nineteen he wqs running the towns sailing program and teaching adults to sail. I got a kick out of the stern memos he would give to the instructors working for him which emphasised all the things he complained about when I told him.

God help you as you have the teen years ahead of you. Be assured that once they get into their twenties they become civilized and helpful. Mine is great other than the fact that he will occasionally mix some of my 12 year old single malt with Coke (an act of blasphemy).

Originally Posted by DavidBOC

Hobo-Ken:

I did not mention stance as I assumed for no particular reason that they would be doing a single handed stance. Two handed you should look at Weaver Stance, Modified Weaver (a/k/a/ Chapman Stance) ad Isosceles. If you google "modified Weaver" you find tons of links.

Caveat: One of the better links af far as text shows piccy of a woman with a revolver shooting lefthanded without explaing she is a lefty so the pic is confusing. Modified Weaver is widely recommended for women due to hand size so it might be good for kids.

As to kids, I think they are all like that. When I taught mine sailing he would get hostile about all the safety rules, my insistence that he ALWAYS carry his knife when he went to the harbour in case he ended up sailing, etc. In his teens he was teaching sailing and at nineteen he wqs running the towns sailing program and teaching adults to sail. I got a kick out of the stern memos he would give to the instructors working for him which emphasised all the things he complained about when I told him.

God help you as you have the teen years ahead of you. Be assured that once they get into their twenties they become civilized and helpful. Mine is great other than the fact that he will occasionally mix some of my 12 year old single malt with Coke (an act of blasphemy).

Thanks - will take a look. As a nine y.o his stance will be affected to an extent by the size of his hands - the pistol is really ideal for bigger people I think.

Good news is that he has hoisted the safety issue on board without argument, so he may not always hit the target but does seem to have an idea of the damage he can do if he mucks about with the wpn. Will keep watching him like a hawk though! Still, all good fun so far, proper father/son stuff. I've even managed to take him running as well..........

Try and get "Know the Game, Pistol Shooting by Laslo Anthal (SP)"
Helped me with rimfire target shooting all those years ago. I may have a copy still if I am sober enough to look when I get home!

Make sure he doesn't spend too much time on aim so his arms don't get tired and shake. As long as his posture and breathing is consistent once he is in that position he shouldn't need to struggle to find the aim point. And if you work on his grouping first then his targetting rather than trying to do both at the same time... hope these help as tips - its how I learnt (all those moons ago)

There are some great tips on pistolshooting here:

www.bullseyepistol.com

Update - the Triathlon was today, and Master H-K scored 560/1000 - as compared to 320 the first time. Needs 700 to 800 really to be in the mix, but that is a way off yet. Still enjoying it which is all that really matters.

Thanks again to all for your advice!

Originally Posted by Hobo-Ken

Update - the Triathlon was today, and Master H-K scored 560/1000 - as compared to 320 the first time. Needs 700 to 800 really to be in the mix, but that is a way off yet. Still enjoying it which is all that really matters.

Thanks again to all for your advice!

Well done to the lad - and his instructor! :D

Originally Posted by Hobo-Ken

A request for advice:

I have the enviable (or otherwise!) task of teaching my 9 y.o. son to shoot (air pistol). With no background in instructing on the pistol (and pretty limited pistol shooting experience) I would appreciate any advice. The shoot (part of Pony Club Triathlon) consists of 10 x 4 sec exposures at 7m, one round at each. He is currently (with very little experience) scoring around 400 to 500 (HPS 1000 - i.e 100 pts per shot if you hit a 10) but needs to be at 600 to 700 to be "up there" with most of them, and a few more to be competitive. First shoot was 320 so we are improving...

Any top tips on what he should be doing, how I can help him improve, pistol marksmanship, posture, technique etc would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

FWIW, the weapon he is using is a Weihrauch PW 40 HCA.

It's good to hear that the Pony Club is still encouraging shooting. How many of the other children's organisations still do? I suppose ACF and CCF are a given, but what about ATC and Sea Cadets? I heard a rumour that the boy scouts no longer have it as one of their badges. Is this correct?

Thought I would bump this up to the top by way of an update - and further thanks to all for their advice. We have worked a bit on this in recent months, and HK Jr is now able to score 700 to 750 on average. We had an 840 on Sunday which got him first place (to the surprise of us both) in his class in the Tri - but he goes up a class next year and the standards there will be higher. But hopefully we can get up towards the 900 mark in time.

Essentially we have concentrated on getting the posture right with an emphasis on stability, holding the pistol properly, and taking just enough time rather than firing the shot too quickly. They have four seconds though this is often interpreted quite liberally I suspect by the range staff. When they go on to turning targets, of course, there will be a bit more pressure.

Actually, the big leap forward has been convincing HK Jr that a firing point is a place for quiet focus and concentration, and thinking about the next shot rather than the last - and not a place for idle chitchat and pfaffing around worrying about how his mate in the next lane is doing etc etc. He is also beginning conceptually to think that 8s and 10s are good, and that 6s and below are not really worth having. So it's all about mindset really.

Thanks again
HK