Riflemen in training

[rm1911]

Took both boys to range today. My father in law had a Winchester 67 which he gave us besides the Remington 121. The 121 needs some work but the 67 was good to go.

So old school next to the 10/22. The boys are pretty good shots. Lots of metal suffered today.













Getting them ready to do some appleseeds this summer

[DPmax]

Nice job, an Appleseed is a great experience for any age!

[atascadero]

Way to go! Love seeing the next generation being brought up right.

[Ricky-Ray]

Awesome.

Curious, what range is this? I'm assuming the metal targets are provided by the range.

[rm1911]

Awesome.

Curious, what range is this? I'm assuming the metal targets are provided by the range.

A place to shoot. It's in Santa Clarita area. Angeles national forest.

They have 25 an 35 yd plates. Long line plus some farther out. Also a 15 yd pistol plate range. Also 50-100 yd plates on another range. Lots of metal to shoot.

Wish it hard more metal past 100 though. But I can get that relatively close by in sylmar.

[Gutz]

Job well done sir!

[NatesDad]

Very cool. Just dug my old Marlin Single Shot .22 Youth Model out of storage and gave it a good cleaning. It's going to my boy when he's old enough. Which leads me to my question, how old are your boys? Mine is 4 and I've been easing him into the idea of guns and gun safety. Any tips?

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Awesome. The perpetuation of the 2A to the next generation helps to guarantee its future!

[Tripeaks69]

Nice... Bring them to Appleseed, let them get their rifleman patch.


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[cmichini]

I'm liking the boys starting on the bolt action.
That's how my dad started me going.
Gets them to focus on one shot at a time vs. just making smoke and noise.

[rm1911]

Very cool. Just dug my old Marlin Single Shot .22 Youth Model out of storage and gave it a good cleaning. It's going to my boy when he's old enough. Which leads me to my question, how old are your boys? Mine is 4 and I've been easing him into the idea of guns and gun safety. Any tips?

9 and 10 1/2

I'm not expert in any way. Not that anyone of us here needs this restated, but I always stress (especially for non-gun people) that there's a need to demystify and de-hollywoodize the gun. guns are metal and wood. rights on the other hand are precious. I stress appropriate time and place. and that there's nothing amazing or whatever about the gun, that it's simply an object. so I guess when they can understand that perhaps. and I also stress that owning/shooting guns is a good thing, and daddy is not a bad person, nor are you, yet people want to take this away. so they learn other important lessons as well.

and that can begin very early for sure. also, whenever they are mature enough both physically and emotionally. always start on 22's, as they are easy and have no recoil. and quiet. try to get them away from the crowds. going to the range when there'll be 10 guys shooting next to you, the noise will be intimidating.

we're all the best judge of our kids, and if your 4 y/o is ready, then by all means, take them. notice in the picture that I'm not shooting I probably got off 20 rounds all of yesterday. thankfully the bolt slows them down, but they also loved shooting it, I think more than the 10/22. we went through a few hundred rounds.

also, shooting metal is much better. we did a little on paper but as soon as they didn't see a bullseye, or whatever, they got frustrated. hitting metal though, it's hit or miss, and more importantly, immediate positive feedback. (as a teacher, I know the importance of that. and no, we're not all crazy anti-gunners. some of us are actually huge 2A supporters) reactive targets are better. builds confidence and adds excitement.

[LCpl Kutches]

While some may debate that a four year old is a fine age to shoot, a decent pellet gun is good way to start.

No single person can tell you how to raise your children, but certainly ABC's and 123's, your home address, home phone number are the things to focus on at that age in my opinion are the things to learn.

In my home we have two Marines, two Soldiers, Navy Officer/Pilot and we still feel that eight is the minimum age limit to shoot. Of course they can watch us, but we want to make sure their minds are developed and through time they learn full responsibility.

Clearly you are a responsible dad, you will always know what works best for your love ones

[NatesDad]

Thanks for your input, both of you. I myself am just getting back into shooting myself and am trying to ease my son into the idea of guns and if handled improperly, there are serious consequences.

I definitely feel that he is not old enough to shoot yet. If I remember, I was about 10 when I got my Marlin and 15 when I got my Mossberg. Thank you Shotgun Merit Badge!

I agree with the reactive target versus paper and will have to try that out when it's time to take him out.

Thanks again for your ideas rm1911 and lcpl, thank you for your children's service to our country.