My daughter is coming to see me today and bringing her boyfriend with her. She mentioned a while ago that she wanted to shoot and I told her whenever she wanted to was fine.
Her boyfriend knows I have a few ARs and wants to shoot one. I just mounted the Aimpoint I bought from my friend so I'm going to zero it today.
I've taught a handful of people to shoot a handgun but never a rifle. I'm no expert on either but decent. Safety is always 1st in my book so that will be emphasized ALOT.
What is a good range for a brand new rifle shooter to shoot at? 25 yards? 100? He's never shot any kind of firearm before.

Do you have a rimfire rifle?

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Do you have a rimfire rifle?

I do. A few bolt, semi autos and lever actions.
Never thought of that as he said he wanted to shoot an AR.

Start with the basics, and then he can try being Johnny Rambo.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Start with the basics, and then he can try being Johnny Rambo.

Excellent idea. Thank you Para.

Muzzle discipline

Muzzle discipline

Muzzle discipline

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Start with the basics, and then he can try being Johnny Rambo.

Solid advice.

Sometimes as gun owners we try too hard to be crowd pleasers, giving new shooters what opportunities they want, rather than what they need.

Let the boyfriend demonstrate he can consistently follow safety rules and basic marksmanship first on the rimfire, before handing him the AR... and when you do demonstrate the AR make sure he sees just how handy you are with it.

Recoil is of no concern. A nine year old girl can shoot an AR15.

Shake the new shooter out of their trance for the magical, powerful, evil AR15 that kills on its own and have them focus on the basics of marksmanship and handling a rifle, by having them first shoot an anemic, boring rimfire fifle.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Muzzle discipline

Muzzle discipline

Muzzle discipline

Absolutely. That and finger off the trigger.
I think I'm going to start the same way with him as I did my daughter when she was 12 years old. We are going to read the manual before we shoot and go over the 4 basic firearm rules.

Something one needs to consider is him bragging to Lord knows who about it. Then you have young'in's dreaming about stealing your guns.
You did not mention his age.

Most likely that is not something to worry about. But at least consider. If he is the type of young person you wish to introduce to shooting. You best know him pretty well.

Good on you for being willing to do it. Just giving you something to consider if you had not to this point.

quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Start with the basics, and then he can try being Johnny Rambo.

Solid advice.

Sometimes as gun owners we try too hard to be crowd pleasers, giving new shooters what opportunities they want, rather than what they need.

Let the boyfriend demonstrate he can consistently follow safety rules and basic marksmanship first on the rimfire, before handing him the AR... and when you do demonstrate the AR make sure he sees just how handy you are with it.

Also solid advice and thank you.

I probably got caught up in it as you say because he's 24 years old and not a child.
I already sent my daughter a message that I'll have the Marlin 22 rifle with me along with the AR. He gets to shoot the Marlin.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Something one needs to consider is him bragging to Lord knows who about it. Then you have young'in's dreaming about stealing your guns.
You did not mention his age.

Most likely that is not something to worry about. But at least consider. If he is the type of young person you wish to introduce to shooting. You best know him pretty well.

Good on you for being willing to do it. Just giving you something to consider if you had not to this point.

They have been together since January of this year and I have been out with them and both have been to my house.
He's 24 and my daughter is 23.
I really like him and it kinda pains me to say that.
He's a good guy, has a good job and treats my daughter great.

Over the years I have picked up numerous AR uppers chambered in 22lr. I have tried Black Dog mags and find that the S&W 15-22 mags work better. More reliable and easier to load by hand. I bought a Boonie Packer ez mag guide or something like that that fits in the mag well to make 15-22 mags fit correctly. They work without it but they wobble a bit. 30 bucks and they fit like it was made for them.

Great fun. All things AR without the price tag.

I'm a big fan of table top pre range instruction. Ranges can be loud, disorienting, and distracting to go over the basics. A short but focused table top discussion and handling goes a long way to a successful day.

That might also be a good time to ask him his intentions with your daughter.

Tell him you won't have it if he's just here to grab brass.

There are several companies making drop in bolt and mag adapters for .223 to .22 conversion of the AR. Some people like them, some don’t. Mine is a CMMG and I have had zero problems with it. I also had a rather lengthy, detailed discussion with a gunsmith about .22 bullets going down the barrel and what issues it might cause. He didn’t see much of a problem.

Cheaper than .223.

Other than shitty accuracy my concern with those is the potential to lead the gas port. I certainly am amazed at how much lead collects in a suppressor for 22's so I would worry about that. Whether its an issue or not I do not know for a fact either way.

All good stuff here.

One other thought is that when you do start with the AR15 is to put an empty mag in the gun, and only allow one round loaded through the gate at a time.

Helps w the semi-auto risks

A S&W M&P 15-22 at about $450 (cheaper if you catch a sale or a dealer that is willing to charge less) and will get you a very similar manual of arms to an AR-15 but in a dedicated .22 platform. I think this is preferable to the .22 drop-in bolts.

quote:

Originally posted by DaBigBR:
A S&W M&P 15-22 at about $450 (cheaper if you catch a sale or a dealer that is willing to charge less) and will get you a very similar manual of arms to an AR-15 but in a dedicated .22 platform. I think this is preferable to the .22 drop-in bolts.

I have one but I didn't bring that rifle out. I used the Marlin 22 semi auto instead.
The M&P has some stuff attached to the rails and I figured it'd be easier to teach on basic rifle with a basic 3x9 rimfire scope.

The young man impressed me yesterday with a willingness to listen to safety rules and how a firearm operates. His accuracy was very good for a 1st time shooter also. A 22 rifle on a bench helps I'm sure. No recoil, easy handling and a 50 yard target.

I did zero my Aimpoint too and told him that a few more visits with the 22 rifle and then he can shoot the AR.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Other than shitty accuracy my concern with those is the potential to lead the gas port. I certainly am amazed at how much lead collects in a suppressor for 22's so I would worry about that. Whether its an issue or not I do not know for a fact either way.

CMMG suggests shooting a couple of 5.56/.223 rounds to clean the gas port.

I have one of those conversion kits. Probably only have put a hundred rounds through it. First few rounds I did have some problems with FTF’s, FTE’s but as it wore in and I greases the bolt literally with Tetra Lube that seemed to help.