Beautiful day at the range with my son!

S

SnakeLover

New member
Today my son and I went to the rifle range. I had gotten him a Crickett .22 and we had been working on the safety/responsibilities aspect. Finally today, we went to the range since I had to check the zero on my rifle for an upcoming antelope hunt.

Target set out around 12 yards. Took a few shots, stopped, talked about eveything and repeated process until around 30 shots had been fired. I took a few shots as well, and my son went wild when I shot a dragonfly that had lit on the target.

At the end of the session and again in the car on the way home, he said "thanks for a great day dad. I had fun".

Today gets recorded in my journal as one of my proudest days! I am a lucky man!!
 
Congratulations!

How old is your boy? I've been trying to get mine more interested in shooting.

Live and let live. Regards from AZ
 
Outstanding ;) Time well spent ;) I can remember taking my son out for the first time when he was three, He fired my 629 .44 with a little help from dad. He and I have been range partners ever since, He's now fifteen. I feel guilty taking something new out for the first time and he's not along.

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We preserve our freedoms by using four boxes: soap,ballot,jury, and cartridge.
Anonymous
 
Excellent!
I am looking forward to taking my daughter out to the range some day. That will be a while since she's only 5 days old. Our major goal right now is sleeping for any length of time during the night.
Would anyone recommend a 'training gun'? for a yungun? Would you go with a rifle or pistol? I have plenty of time to plan but don't get too outlandish.
Snakelover, I remember when my father took me out and taught me to shoot. I will always treasure that and I am sure your son will too. :D :D :D :D :D

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Those who use arms well cultivate the Way and keep the rules.Thus they can govern in such a way as to prevail over the corrupt- Sun Tzu, The Art of War
 
Jeff, my son just turned 7 this spring. Up until recently, he hadn't been overly interested in guns, though we have plenty of squirt guns, cap guns, cork guns, etc.. that he played with.

Apple, I don't know that I could say which would be the best to start with. The one coment I'd make was that most pistols probably have too large of a grip for kids to handle on their own at a young age. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I feel the rifle was a good choice. As long as your daughter enjoys herself, I'm sure she whichever choice you make will be a good one.
 
Good for you. Keep doing it.

I started my kids out with single shot .22 bolt actions and aperture sights, sized to fit them. Did initial shooting on paper and then used reactive type targets from then on whenever possible.

Usually only took one kid out at a time so they got 'exclusive quality time' with Dad, topped off with mandatory stop at a hamburger place.

It has been amazing how much they retained from those early trips. I was coaching my 20 yr old daughter into positions, etc., with my M1A and she remembered everything.

They grow up fast on you so make time to do these things. Other stuff can wait. No one will ever remember that you came into the office on your own time.

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Good job, I have to wait a few more years before my son and I can go to the range. I recommend staying with rifles for a while, then when he is ready a SA .22 pistol like the Bearcat might be fun. Either way, like it says above, it is better to be remembered as a good father than a good employee.
 
Warms my heart!!!! My youngest is interested, and I hope he continues to be so.

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"Any world that I'm welcome to.....Is better than the one I come from"
 
Tonight on the phone, my son retold the weekends events to his grandpa. After they were done talking on the phone, I spoke with my dad. His comment was "Glad to hear he enjoyed himself. Now make sure he continues to get the opportunity, before video games and pokemon ruin his brain".

God I love that man!
 
SnakeLover, thanks for the response. My youngest boy is 8, and he's still not too interested. I like Robert's idea ... take one boy at a time. The family thing doesn't seem to work well, so I'll try it one on one ... with the obligatory hamburger / milkshake stop. ;)

And, Apple A Day, take a look at Marlin's 15YN. I checked out the Chipmunk rifles ( http://www.chipmunkrifle.com/ ), and frankly, they seemed a bit too fragile, and not the kind of thing that would grow with a child for any length of time. The Marlin came highly recommended (off TFL and from others), and I've been much more impressed with its quality. See it at http://www.marlinfirearms.com/rim_bolt.html (at the bottom of the page).

I do like the one-shot, bolt action nature of this rifle. And, I think it is something my youngest boy can be proud of as he grows into it, and begins to appreciate this skill.

Congrats again. Good to hear this kind of story. My oldest boy is becoming more interested, since there is a girl at his martial arts studio who wants to go shooting with us. ;)

Live and let live. Regards from AZ
 
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