Teaching youngsters about gun safety and proper shooting techniques early on in their life is crucial. Fortunately, there are numerous youth shooting programs that can help. The Daisy BB Gun National Competition, held annually in Rogers, Arkansas, is a prime example. Other companies and organizations like Umarex USA, Crosman, 4H, CMP, and the NRA also offer shooting programs. These programs not only impart vital skills but also pave the way for the next generation of target shooters, hunters, and potentially even Olympic champions.
What Programs Hope to Impart to Youngsters
Safety is at the heart of all these youth airgun and firearm shooting programs. Shooters learn about rifles, shotguns, and pistols. They learn how to respect and treat them properly. But safety starts long before anyone ever handles a gun. It starts with core values like personal responsibility and accountability. These core values, along with proper shooting skills, help youngsters become ambassadors for this great sport we love. Some even take up the challenge and become competitive shooters.
Why Airguns?
There is no hard and fast rule that you must shoot a Daisy Red Ryder before you learn to shoot a Ruger 10/22, but there’s a good reason why it makes a lot of sense. Airguns, specifically youth-oriented airguns, are lighter, easier to handle and control, have very little noise or recoil and are designed for shooting in controlled environments.
Airguns like the Embark from Umarex USA, which is the focal point of their Student Air Rifle program, are very easy to cock and operate. The Embark fires a .177 pellet at around 500 FPS and is the sole rile used in their program. With every youngster shooting the same gun costing just over $100, it becomes all about skill and personal discipline and not about money. There’s no air to charge and no CO2 to buy. The Embark is just a simple break barrel with open sights.
Learning shooting basics with an airgun like the Embark, Daisy Avanti 499, Avanti 500, Air Arms T200, or the Crosman Challenger establishes key shooting techniques that easily crossover to bigger airguns and firearms over time.
For those of us who got our licenses many years ago, it was always better to learn how to drive a manual before driving an automatic. If you could drive a manual transmission, then you should be able to get behind the wheel of anything and have a decent baseline to work with. Airguns provide the same function.
There is a Great Need
It’s easy to see the benefits these youth airgun shooting programs bring. What’s not so easy to see is the growing need for younger supporters and coaches willing to put in the time, effort, and finances to support the next generation of shooters. All the programs mentioned above have websites and are desperate for parents, coaches, and folks who are willing to give their time to come and support the kids.
Our most recent visit to the Daisy Nationals highlighted this point. Coaches were honored for having given 40 years to the sport. Many coaches have been there for 10-plus years, but the sport needs more people to step up and commit to supporting the future of shooting sports. If our youngsters don’t have us to help them learn about the great sport we love, then we may only be a couple of decades away from having it all taken away.
