16 years old

T

the blur

New member
My son, 16 years old, about 6' tall. average build. He thinks he can handle my .30-06..... He never used a scope before. He does clay shoot rather well.

I have some 150 grain ammo that I plan to start him off with, but I'm still afraid the scope will smash his face. The managed recoil ammo is no where to be found at this time of year.

any body teach a teenager to shoot a big kick rifle ?

I do plan to give him my .243 first, and let him learn the scope a bit. But I feel that may make him think it's too easy.

Then he wants to shoot slugs from my mossberg, because the boy scouts taught him how to shoot trap with a 20ga shotgun, he thinks he's up to the challenge........
 
Let him shoot the 30-06. But first teach him about cheek weld and eye relief. If he does get scope-to-eyebrow, it will only happen once. One of life's lessons.
 
I went from a .22 to a 30-06, with no problem at all. The .22 had a scope, but no recoil so it wasn't really the same thing. I never got hit in the face with it. I did get hit in the face with a scope from a muzzle loader though. I don't think a 30-06 is too much for a 16 year old. If it is, get a slip on recoil pad.
 
I'm sixteen, six foot, one-hundred forty pounds, and shot my first scoped rifle just this year and I started off with a .300 Win Mag. My dad told me all about proper eye relief and how there shouldn't be any fuzzy little black edges when your looking down it. Then he put the rifle in my hands, freakin' huge by the way, and told me to shoot. I looked right down that scope and fired, kaboomed me a watermelon, and loved every moment of it. I say prepare him as best he can and he'll learn from experience. I'm quite relieved I did not receive a scope to the face considering what I was given and even though I know absolutely nothing about him I think your son will do fine with a .30-06. Good luck to you sir and let us know how it goes whatever you decide on.
 
Had to chuckle at your post. Several years ago I talked like crazy to get my wife to shoot my Remington BDL 06. I told her to hold on firmly, well the scope caught her in the forehead and glasses. Needless to say, she hasn't shot it since and she has never let me forget it.

I don't think you can over prepare them for the recoil but he can handle it.
 
If he wants to shoot it, let him. We can only give our children the tools to live life, it is up to them to use them.
 
This is one of those "fork in the outlet" things, it'll only happen once!

For real tho, I think he'll do alright. I shot the 30-06 for the first time when i was 15 and i fell in love! Theres something about the kick and the bang that made me fall in love...
 
Remember Uncle Sam trained young men your son's age to shoot 03 Springfields.

Cheek placement and eye relief are just part of the program.

Get him something fun to shoot. Pumpkins, watermelons, milk jugs ect. Make it fun. Making it fun work wonder whether it is a 6 year old with a Daisy or a 16 year old with a Remington.
 
Most problems with scopes hitting the forhead are due to the scope being mounted too far to the rear.
I mount my scopes so that the rear of the scope is about even with the rear of the bolt. That is a little too far forward to be ideal for offhand, but is just right for sitting or prone - or over a bench.

If the scope is mounted properly and he is instructed in the way to shoot I would not worry about the 30-06. It doesn't kick as hard as a 12 gauge.

Regards,
Jerry
 
I think I was 15 when I got my mosin nagant m44. The guy at Big 5 actually tried to talk me into a .22, but i already had a .22. I was determined to get myself a full sized rifle and the dealer wasn't going to talk me out of it. My only other gun was a .22lr. I'm about 5'9'' and was around 145 pounds at the time. He can handle it, dont worry. Us kids are tougher than you think :) He will either absolutely love it or hate it. the chances of him hating it are essentially zero seeing that he actually wants to shoot it. Don't even worry about that load to give him, just hand him the rifle and a box of ammo and take a step back...
 
Hello all,
I took a few women shooting a few weeks back and let them shoot my Marlin 94 in 357 mag. and one of them got to close to the scope, so I told her "Welcome to the half moon club.":D

She didn't think that was funny:o

Happy shooting
Scott5
 
Teach him as best ya can. Give him a good demonstration. Then let him have ago. He's got it to do. But he'll be fine. Hell at 16 I thought I was all grown up LOL. Now its 23 years later. Wish I still knew everything I knew then.
 
Most problems with scopes hitting the forhead are due to the scope being mounted too far to the rear.
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Nope--it comes from the instinct of putting the optics against your eye--as in binoculars. For those who don't shoot, it doesn't feel right to have eye relief--they always get too close, and then find out the hard way why that's not a good idea.

Don't even worry about that load to give him, just hand him the rifle and a box of ammo and take a step back...
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Yup--that's about all you can do. He'll either do it--then brag about it for the next month, or he won't. An '06 is well within a 16-yr old's handling capabilities.

My son started shooting my 6mm remi off my lap at 4. He started shooting my 7mm rem mag by himself at 8. He's 14 this year and hunting elk with my mosin. Yup--I'd say your 30-06 is do-able. ;)
 
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the blur said:
My son, 16 years old, about 6' tall. average build. He thinks he can handle my .30-06..... He never used a scope before. He does clay shoot rather well.

I have some 150 grain ammo that I plan to start him off with, but I'm still afraid the scope will smash his face. The managed recoil ammo is no where to be found at this time of year.

any body teach a teenager to shoot a big kick rifle ?
Click to expand...

:)A .30-06 isn't exactly a "big kick" rifle... and a six foot sixteen year old is very capable of shooting your rifle, I was shooting 8mm Mauser (basically the same round) at 14.

As said before, if he can handle a shotgun, he's more than ready for the '06.
 
if it was me and i was really that worried about it i would have him aim at the target and then very carefully move his head away to the side before firing (he will most likely miss but the idea would be to get an idea of the recoil while discharging the weapon in a safe direction). just be sure to do it from a bench and rest so the bullet lands near the vacinity of the target.

It probably really isnt necessary though, just make sure he pulls the rifle into his shoulder nice and tight so it doesnt really have anywhere to go.
 
He isn't going to have any problem with that 30.06. It will recoil but he'll get the hang of it pretty quick. Besides, if he shoots clay, he isn't go into shock over the recoil.

As far as scope to eyebrow, it happens. We've all done it and sooner or later, we'll all do it again. My 45-70 Gov't got me the last time I did. I wasn't cut, but it did sting just a bit. :o
 
My father and uncle combined to put me in the '06 bidness when I was 16. About 5'-11" and 125 pounds. A 1917 Enfield. That steel buttplate danged near beat me to death!

Didn't keep me from grinning ear-to-ear, though. Lord knows how much GI Ball ammo I burned up that summer. :D
 
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