It’s July and it’s hot. Really hot. I don’t know about you, but fishing sounds very inviting! I hope you were able to visit the U.S. Open Sporting Clays Championship and check out all the vendors. What a great opportunity to look, touch and feel shotgunnings’ greatest products all in one place. And watch some of the world’s great shooters shoot, all for free!
We are 60 days away from Sept. 1, which begins the hunting season. It seems to go by quicker than it used to. Maybe that’s because I’m 55 and not 15, but I still look forward to dove and early teal season.
With the kids out of school, it’s a great time to practice shooting some clay targets with them. When you take them to the range it might not be a bad idea for dad to not even bring a gun and devote some quality time in helping them enjoy their time at the range.
Before you go, we would suggest you get the guns out and do some gun mount practice. Take great pains to make sure the guns are not loaded and that you safely handle them, even while practicing your gun mount. Just simply handling your gun a few minutes a day before going shooting goes a long way in making your outing successful.
As hot as it is, you probably want to go to the shooting range early to take advantage of the coolest part of the day. Remember, it must be fun or the kids won’t want to do it again. The goal is to want them to come back and do it again, wasn’t it? This would be an ideal time for a group lesson with an experienced instructor just to get things off on the right foot.
We recommend to beginning shooters of all ages to try practicing your mount with a BB gun. It’s great practice and fun at the same time. It’s not only for the kids but the adults too.
The gun we recommend is made by Daisy. It’s been called many things through the years, but now it’s called the “Buckmaster Single Pump Air Rifle.” It comes with an electronic point sight, which will make it easier for you to do what I am about to ask of you. Cut the sights off. You didn’t misunderstand. Cut the sights off. Although it’s a rifle, we’re going to learn to shoot it like a shotgun. You aim a rifle, you point a shotgun. The sights would get in the way.
I realize you would probably find it hard to spend $50 on a new air rifle and BB’s and cut the sights off before you even shoot it. It’s a small price to pay to have a hunting partner for life. (Remember, this gun has an electronic point sight. You can install and shoot it like a rifle!)
There are several advantages when training your move and mount with a BB gun without sights. BB’s are cheap – 6,000 for $6.99. The BB gun is light and easy to operate, allowing you to take a lot of shots in a small amount of time. There is no noise, so you don’t have to wear earplugs. You can actually see the BB hit or miss the target. Greatest of all, there is no recoil – the greatest detriment to new shotgunners. And it’s fun!
How, oh, enlightened one, do you use a BB gun to be a better shotgunner, you ask? Remember, we said you aim a rifle and point a shotgun. Without sights, you have to point and shoot the gun at what you are looking at. What do you shoot at, you ask? An aluminum drink can about 10-12 feet away. The keyword is aluminum. The aluminum is soft enough for the BB going 300 feet per second to penetrate and not ricochet!
Do not shoot at anything hard, because the BB will ricochet, and it’s very dangerous. If you put the can on some thick, deep grass as opposed to bare ground or any other hard surface, when you miss, the grass will keep the BB from ricocheting. Always make sure your background is safe!
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