Best Tips for Mentoring New Shooters and Hunters

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Chances are that most of us started out shooting with a close family member while we were little kids. Fun outings with BB guns or rimfire were the perfect way to build fundamental technique. Every shooter needs a mentor, and there are some crucial lessons that can only be learned by lots of trigger time and rounds downrange. However, there’s a lot that can and should be taught right off the bat when mentoring a new shooter. Here’s a few of the vital things that have helped me as a young shooter during my shooting education.

Proper Beginnings

My first “gun” was a Daisy Buck BB gun that I got on my fifth birthday. I was impatient to try it out, but my dad insisted that I first knew how to properly use iron sights. A couple of sketches my dad drew illustrated where and how to aim. After ensuring that I knew roughly understood the correct sight picture, we set up an empty milk jug at about 15 yards. My dad instructed me on how the BB gun worked and showed me how to load it. I was finally shooting. Sporadic impacts gradually turned into consistent hits on the plastic bottle, and that happy afternoon sparked a love for iron-sighted rifles in me that continues to this day.

Many new shooters are taught how to shoot using a red dot or scope rather than traditional irons. Firearms with optics on them are undoubtedly easier to shoot well, and inexperienced shooters find a crosshair simpler to understand and use than a notch and post. However, iron sights are probably a better option to teach new shooters on. They’re simpler, less prone to breakage, and force careful sight alignment for accurate shooting. It’s also easier to switch to a scope from irons than the opposite. After having to carefully align a front post in a rear notch or peep sight before each shot, transitioning to one focal plane of aiming comes naturally. I’m not saying that scopes and red dots shouldn’t be used when teaching new shooters – but it’s smart to ensure that they are proficient with basic iron sights before graduating to a scope.

Speaking of scopes, it’s vital to get the best your budget allows – and this goes for all other equipment as well. Buying quality equipment is vital when it comes to gearing up a new hunter. This especially important when they’re young. A kid with tight boots, clothing that isn’t warm enough, an ill-fitting pack, and a poorly set up rifle and scope combo isn’t going to have as much fun or likelihood for success as one who has been allowed to use good gear. Buy the best that you can afford so that they can have the best shot at making great memories.

The Flinch

One thing that my father has been a stickler about over the years is having a clean trigger squeeze. A clean trigger squeeze is a simple concept to understand, but it can be difficult to execute. When a firearm recoils, the human body’s reaction is to tense up to protect itself. As such, many shooters try to force the shot to go off, punching the trigger with excessive force and tensing up mid-shot. This ‘flinch’ will ruin group sizes and result in more misses than impacts on targets.

Almost every good shooter had a significant flinch sometime in their life. When my father was 15, he developed what he calls a “Boone & Crockett flinch”. I had a struggle with recoil anticipation when I was 12 years old after I shot a couple of high round count NRL Hunter competitions. Thankfully, we both had shooting mentors to help us get through it.

Considering that anyone who shoots enough will likely develop a habit of anticipating recoil, it’s good to know how to get rid of one. There are a couple of ways that you can go about curing a flinch. Funny enough, the most effective method I’ve used is using a revolver. If you or someone you’re helping is anticipating recoil, get a friend or mentor to load the cylinder so that there are two or three empty chambers. Then get to shooting! It’s likely that after a string of shots, the hammer will fall on an empty chamber and the shooter will have tensed up so hard that it’s embarrassing. Repeating this will force the shooter to squeeze every shot off carefully instead of mashing the trigger. You can do this with snap caps in other types of firearms, too. This and dry fire have been my favorite ways of stopping recoil anticipation. Teaching someone to have a good trigger squeeze will be the difference of having tag soup or a full freezer.

Rifle Fit

Now, one big reason newer shooters may develop a flinch is that their gun fits them poorly. It can be tricky to get a firearm tailored to each shooter, but it’s well worth it. For example, my siblings and I vary widely in height, body build, and shooting handedness – I’m currently 5’11, built like an offensive lineman, and shoot left-handed, whereas my older sister is 5’3, right-handed, and pretty small overall. Thankfully, our parents helped us each to get rimfires that fit us. Later, we each got our own big game rifles. My older sister finds her ultralight, right-handed 6.5 Creedmoor to be ideal for deer hunting here in the Rockies. On the flip side, I’m currently using a heavy left-handed 7mm PRC for an all-around big game rifle. Even though she’s tough, my sister would probably struggle with what she considers to be a long, heavy, high-recoiling rifle; never mind that the action is on the wrong side for her! Having the right tool for the job for the specific shooter is a major part of a hunter’s success, especially if they’re a youth.

Make it Fun, Keep it Light

Getting into the outdoors is super fun and super important to keeping the flame of interest in hunting going, especially for younger kids. I was able to get my Hunter’s Education done when I was six years old (old enough to hunt small game). The first game animal I ever shot was a Eurasian dove. I’d been hunting with my dad before, but I’d never actually had the chance to be the one pulling the trigger. It was way more fun! Since then, we’ve made it a point to go out and do as much hunting as we can – spring turkey hunts, summer bear baiting, backcountry excursions for deer and elk, and wandering fields for pheasants have all been great ways for me to continue my hunting education.

Lastly, practice makes perfect! When I got my first rifle - a Micro Midas BL-22 - I made a goal to shoot at least a thousand rounds through it before the year was over. I’d go along to my dad’s range trips when he was testing new rifles, scopes, loads, and such for shooting and hunting magazines. While he was letting his rifle cool in between groups, I’d shoot a half box of .22 LR, and I began to get pretty proficient with it. By the time that one year elapsed since I got it, I’d fired over 1,200 rounds through it.

Fast forward to when I got my first hunting rifle; Even though we had limited space and distance to shoot at the range we used at the time, my dad made sure to help me practice shooting from all sorts of field positions. This included prone, sitting, kneeling, and even offhand shooting for close shots. Nowadays I try to practice with my rifle extensively before going on a hunt, so I shoot from near to far, in wind and in no wind, using and practicing different field positions before I go on a backcountry excursion. Just like any other sport, you won’t have consistent success unless you practice.

Successfully mentoring a new hunter is far more than handing them a rifle and hoping for the best—it’s a thoughtful, step-by-step investment in skills, confidence, and lifelong passion. Quality equipment, practice, and journeys into the backcountry will shape a young hunter’s curiosity into confidence. When mentors take the time to teach intentionally and correctly, they don’t just pass on technical skills—they help create ethical, capable hunters who will carry forward a love for the outdoors. In the end, a good mentorship doesn’t just fill tags; it builds lasting memories, strong character, and a new generation ready to keep the great tradition of hunting alive.

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