So CSGV is filling their drawers over this picture:
So the good: Teaching our youth to shoot. Eyes and Ears. Looks like a nice safe range to shoot at.
The Bad: I can’t tell what this gun is. If its a .22, then good, if its centerfire, it might be a bit much for him. Still his form is HORRIBLE, and this could lead to bad shooting, bad recoil control of even a mild gun, and injury.
Teach your newbies to lean into the gun. Leaning back is more comfortable for simply holding the gun and making a sight picture, but as soon as you introduce recoil you’re off balance. Also the BIG no-no here is the crossed thumbs. This kid is looking at a potential nasty gash when that slide comes back, and his thumb is right behind it. If it doesn’t cut him it means he’s gripping the gun too low, and again bad recoil control.
Teach them right the first time so they don’t have to go through the pain of bad form, and re-learning shooting skills.
I wouldn’t read too much into the picture.
Commenting from my personal experience; a.) it is entirely possible the picture was simply “show us how you would shoot a bad guy” or b.) he’s holding an empty gun — seldom do you get a picture like that during shooting — especially with a kid that age.
I think the dude trolled CSGV – the comments on their page are PSH in spades; calling it child abuse.
From the pictures on the guy’s FB page, it looks like the pistol is probably a Taurus PT638 (.380ACP) or a small frame that I can’t make out but looks like a .22 lr.
And if that is one of the kid shooting; I wouldn’t concentrate on form the first few shots as much as the safety aspects. Given the pictures on FB I don’t think the dad would let his son actually shoot as shown in the picture.