The rifle I should have owned with 13...

M

Marko Kloos

Inactive
Yesterday, my romie and I stopped at our new local neighborhood gun shop (that's Montague's at Downtown West for you K-towners), and I had some plastic burning a hole in my pocket. I walked out with a Ruger box under my arm, containing a NIB Ruger 10/22.

Now, this rifle is nothing fancy, just the plain-jane 10/22 with the birchwood stock, but it's my first 10/22. I grew up in a place where the King's Men get to decide who gets to own guns, and most people just don't qualify for that grave responsibility in their eyes...especially not a kid with a misunderstood affinity for firearms. I would have loved a rifle like this when I was 13, so I guess I am reliving my youth a little.

Random thoughts inspired by this politically incorrect "recreational firearm": Don't ever back down, don't ever concede anything to the gun grabbers. If you do, you may end up with a country where your grandkids can only drool over 10/22s in gun shops, but never own or fire one. This is only my second rifle (my first one being an Enfield Mk.4 carbine), and I can't begin to describe how liberating it feels to hold a long gun that was not issued to me by the state. You tend to appreciate the freedoms in this country even more when you come from a place where they were nonexistent.
 
Intellectually, I understand what you mean about gun-grabber country. Emotionally, since I've owned guns since my first "really mine" .22 rifle some 55 years ago, I don't look upon ANY firearm as politically incorrect.

I fully understand about hoplophobia and Power Over The People, but that's their psychological hangup, not mine. I just regard it as sad that they can vote, run for and hold public office, and otherwise disturb the rational segment of society.

Guess I've read just too much Heinlein, et al. :)

Regards, Art
 
Something very satisfying about a .22 rifle. Fun, cheap to shoot, great practice. Can't imagine not having at least one.

lendsringer, hate to burst your bubble in the least but the king's men did decide whether you walked out of that store with the box under your arm. It's called the NICS check.

Relive your youth & welcome to a land quite a bit more free than most. Still, when even only 7 years old, I (and anybody else before '68) used to be able to walk into a store & buy ammo by the bricks+ as long as you had the coin & even sometimes without if you knew the guy & could get it back to him later. Shotgun shells, ammo for my .243 - no sweat under '68, then we all became more & more suspect and had to start proving our worth. A very sad thing to see what it has become today & I'm very glad I am of an age that I did get to experience those more free days.

& Art's on the money re "no politically incorrect" firearms - no such thing.

& it's not a sad thing that these yahoos can vote & speak their minds at all. That's part of being American & free. It is a sad thing that for some strange reason their foolish ideas are (or even could thought to be) implemented in the least.
 
I came to the same realization

Late in life (40s) I realized that these freedoms we take for granted were for with the deaths of many courageous people, and they are being taken away without a peep. When the "trial lawyers" started trying to drive the gun industry out of business like they had done to the private aircraft industry (among others), I realized I had nothing for the gun grabbers to pry out of my cold dead hands.

My gun collection grew from a couple of airguns to ten pistols and three long guns with another due any day. All were acquired in less than two years time. Four of these are .22s to make it easier to take kids and newbies to the range. Two of those are 10/22's like lendringser's. This Sunday, I'm taking my stepson and his friend, who are 18 and enrolled in a fancy private school. Over the last year, I have "helped" a friend of mine buy three guns: a Mossberg 500 with two barrels, a CZ-75BD and a Ruger 22/45. Before that, all he had was a Norinco .45.

And I live in PeoRepubKalif(PRK). That is my story.

lendringser, thanks for sharing and good luck with your purchase. May it be the first of many.

Regards,

Ledbetter
 
Thanks for your patriotism

The little woman and and myself live on 30 wooded acres in a small, self built log home. Our first project after our house was done, was to build a shooting range with shooting bench and bunker.

We have had many "newbies" fire their first shot here. We have 22 rimfire, 9mm, and a single shot scoped NEF 30-30 that we use to introduce those so inclined to the shooting sports. We can turn this around, one shooter at a time.

We look for super deals on components, and it costs us very little. We have great satisfaction with our project, and the smiles on the faces are the only return we look for.

One of our NEF 30-30's has close to 3M rounds shot thru it, and is still used by the little woman to hunt whitetails.
Again, thanks to all of you for what you have done to preserve freedom.

lendringser, Enjoy your new rifle.-------------Chainsaw
 
labgrade, I'm taking the grumpy, curmudgeonly, non-PC view that these people are criminally insane--and criminally insane people shouldn't vote or hold office.

:), Art
 
I have a scoped 10/22 also. I bought it to teach my children to shoot. I have a blast with it myself. They all really like it, however my 9 year old daughter prefers the old Marlin 60W sans scope. I give her a brick and she is happy all day. The marlin is just a wee bit too large for her and

I would like to buy another 22 rifle that is just a wee bit shorter as I have two younger sons that would like to shoot also. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good kids rilfe? The little tiny 'Chipmonk' is a bit too small.
 
fivetoes, measure carefully for proper length of pull, and cut an appropriate amound off the stock. Save the peice; kids grow. Scrounge an old butt-plate and file/sand it down to fit the stock.

Kids grow quickly; you can re-attach the original piece, later. Then, if needed, lengthen the stock with a recoil pad.

FWIW, Art
 
lendringser,

I know EXACTLY what you mean ;).

Myself, I figure I'm living the perfect life for a 16 year old. :D
 
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