Spring is at the doorstep. The trees and flowers are starting to bloom, and it is beautiful. There are so many great things about spring, mostly the sense of renewal that nature and humans share. Spring is also the time that kids are ready to get out of the house after being held captive by old man winter for several months. This is the perfect time to think about a constructive, positive, and meaningful activity for your child to get involved in. For me, the obvious answer is shooting sports!

The Henry Youth Lever Action In .22LR

GUNS ARE NOT EVIL

Hopefully, if you are reading this article then you already know this, but if you are questioning youth shooting sports, or are completely against them, then just take a minute to finish reading this article. There are so many benefits to learning to shoot at a young age. Youth shooting programs require following rules, build discipline and good moral character, and they aspire to achieve leadership, responsibility, self-control, and a healthy dose of friendly competition and sportsmanship. However, first and foremost, it is FUN!  

IT'S A MENTAL THING

Shooting is 90% mental. Most shots are predetermined before the bullet leaves the barrel, and learning to control your mind and focus (literally) takes a good bit of willpower. Training their mind to work in coordination with their body will give them an overall sense of accomplishment. If you cannot control yourself, you shouldn't control others. In other words, shooting sports help develop leadership skills. When at the range, kids must focus on the tasks at hand. They learn to block out all the distractions of modern life and truly focus on a task. No video games, no drama, and totally in touch with their mind and body. As your child advances in the sport, they will develop physical benefits as well. Good posture, stronger muscles, steadiness, follow-through, muscle memory, and a head held high with confidence.

The Winchester Youth Super-X 20GA Shotgun

RESULTS THAT PAY OFF

Still not sold? Alright, then I have one word for you - Scholarships! Your child doesn't have to be a quarterback or soccer star to get sports scholarships to college. The list of colleges with shooting sports teams continues to grow, with Rifle Teams being the most popular. Scholarships are offered by the NRA, ROTC, NCAA postgraduate, individual state and private donors, just to name a few.

THE OLYMPICS

Dream Big!! The last Olympics were in 2016. In Rio, 390 shooting athletes competed for medals in 15 different events. The Olympians compete in six men events, six women events, and three mixed team events. Of the 15 events, the focus is on 3 disciplines; pistol, rifle, and shotgun. The pistol events are rapid-fire pistol and air pistol, the rifle competitors shoot from 3 positions; standing, kneeling, and prone, and trap and skeet are the obvious shotgun competitions. Don't feel intimidated by such a big competition or goal though. There are also Youth Olympics, local competitions, and the most important competition of all, competing against yourself. New shooters and youth shooters should look forward to breaking their own personal records. This is the beginning of success.

The Savage XP Youth in .243 Winchester

IT'S FUN, IT'S FUN, IT'S FUN

Let fun be the motivation for you and your child to start in the shooting sports. Make it a family event! Watch them grow into confident young men and women. Become involved, shooting clubs always need volunteers to help. Safety is of utmost importance, so the more, the better. Volunteering for youth shooting sports are also great for retired individuals. Come and share your life experiences while training our youth in an American tradition.

The Savage Rascal Youth In .22LR

THE RIGHT STUFF

Classic Firearms has a great inventory of youth rifles. We have great selections for competition shooting, hunting, or backyard plinking. You can't go wrong with a Savage Rifle for a new shooter. Savage makes several models for youth in a variety of calibers, with or without scopes. Your child will love the choice of colors that we have available in the Savage Rascals. Savage boasts the accuracy of their rifles and easy ergonomics that make for a comfortable shot. From beginner to advanced, Classic also offers youth rifles from Mossberg, Henry, and Weatherby. We have an even larger selection of youth shotguns from all of the brands that you know and trust; Remington, Winchester, Rossi, Mossberg, Henry, and many, many more. We have .410GA
to 20GA
, pump-action
, and break-action
shotguns for young men and young women. For youth pistols, click on the search tab and enter air pistols in the search field to introduce you to air pistols that you never knew existed. You're gonna want one for yourself! For the older kiddos, take a peek at all of our .22cal pistols!

The ATI GSG 1911 In .22LR

SUMMED UP

Hunting, skeet and trap shooting, a day at the range, or backyard milk jug shooting; make it a family event! Shooting sports for our younger generation is definitely a positive youth development activity. Shooting offers so many benefits and can be relatively inexpensive to get into. Your child will be proud of their new skills, and even prouder as they grow and advance to a point where they can see improvement. So get outside and enjoy some youth shooting (or adult shooting) fun! Shop All Long Guns
Shop All Hand Guns