Took my son to the range for the first time today

[fencer]

I bought my son his first rifle for Christmas. A lever action, Golden Boy 22 from Henry Repeating Arms.

He has been shooting a pellet gun for a couple of years now and can recite the 10 Commandments of Firearms safety from memory.

Naturally, he wanted to take it out Christmas Day but I told him he had to read the manual with me a couple of times and show me that he knew how to render the gun safe, load and unload etc. Well today was the day. I am a member at Ames Rifle and Pistol Club and we had the whole range to ourselves. They have an outdoor pistol/plinking range that you shoot from a heated shed.

Needless to say he had a blast and I was real proud of the way that he remembered all of the safety rules even though he could hardly keep still he was so excited. It was a great experience akin to the day that he caught his first fish.

We got home and the first thing we did was clean the rifle together. He cleaned it while I supervised and inspected etc. Then we put the trigger lock on and put the rifle back in the gun safe. As I was cleaning up and disposing of the used patches he said, "Dad, can we go again tomorrow?"

Funny how the simplest things in life are still the best

 

[Muzzy]

Excellent story! What age is your son?

 

[fencer]

Jake will be 10 years old in a couple of weeks

 

[SMagee]

Nice story and Nice rifle. If taken care of he should be able to let his son shoot it.

 

[Dirtypacman]

Good man +1

 

[Jedhed]

That's Great! Thanks for sharing!

 

[TonyDedo]

Threads like this give me hope for the future.

 

[jenlynn724]

That's fantastic!! I'm glad he had a good time. My son (9) got his first rifle for Christmas as well.

 

[fencer]

That's fantastic!! I'm glad he had a good time. My son (9) got his first rifle for Christmas as well.

Just curious, but do you mind my asking what you got him? I know conventional wisdom says bolt action and I strongly considered it, but I figured that the large capacity with the lever action would really make him enthusiastic. And yes, a couple of times i did have to tell him to slow down and focus on the shot, front sight, breathing etc.

I will definetly have him professionally coached and am sure he will use a bolt gun. Maybe for next Christmas.

 

[jenlynn724]

Just curious, but do you mind my asking what you got him? I know conventional wisdom says bolt action and I strongly considered it, but I figured that the large capacity with the lever action would really make him enthusiastic. And yes, a couple of times i did have to tell him to slow down and focus on the shot, front sight, breathing etc.

I will definetly have him professionally coached and am sure he will use a bolt gun. Maybe for next Christmas.

We got him a Mossberg 802 which is a .22 bolt action. My son also had to be told to slow down, more than once.

 

[Mike-Mike]

Sweet.

 

[pernox]

Excellent!

You'll both remember this day for the rest of your lives.

 

[SecondAmdFirst]

Good Christmas bonding memories....glad you two had a good time.

 

[Blitz1]

Excellent!! Congrats to both of you.

 

[second]

Awesome, those henrys are fun!

 

[Arto]

If you have any old golf balls, they make awesome fun targets for a Henry Lever 22 - real easy to get a "hole in one" too

[ps -Get a Bore Snake for cleaning - then the whole gun experience will be fun]

 

[Windwalker]

Great story, Fencer. You're giving that boy memories of you, and the experience, that he'll carry with him for a lifetime. Well done!

 

[DJMc]

AWESOME! Just absolutely awesome! Congrats to those who got the new rifles and those who gave them. Well done!

 

[wahsben]

Good for you and your son! It is great to teach them right and start them young!

 

[newenglandshooter]

Not only will it be an important memory, but you are giving your son the opportunity to acquire a potentially life-saving skill that will be useful to him his entire life.

I also feel that competence in the use of tools (guns, hammers, whatever) imparts upon children (and people in general) a kind of autonomy and confidence that can't be gained any other way. This kind of skill can't be gained through a book, or even through another person. Books and people can guide you, provide you with info, feedback, etc. (and children obviously need this kind of guidance when they are using tools, particularly firearms), but at basic level, shooting is a skill that you must learn by doing. At the most essential level, you must teach it to yourself. You must feel how your hands, eyes, breathing, etc. work. Nobody can get into your brain and do that for you. People really benefit from this kind of experience.

Good on ya!

 

[supton]

Congrads.

My kids (2&4) got some Nerf guns for Christmas, the kind with velcro. The four year old doesn't understand grip, sighting etc, no matter how I try. Anyhow, at one point he got real sad and said "I not the best" and wanted to stop shooting (they had been shooting for all they were worth but missing the felt target). I lined him up, and finally he got one to stick, to which he shouted "I the best!"

[Later, I had a richochet, and it stuck to my sweater. The kids then took to sticking them to me, all the while yelling for me to shoot. Fun stuff. If they weren't so young I'd start looking for a youth rifle.]

 

[Marcus5aurelius]

Awesome job!

 

[jpattersonnh]

Very cool rifle!! What happened to the days of the hand me down? (Gotta show my age)
We should have a NES Kids shoot!! My younger boys are 10 & 12. We go shooting quite a bit. I take them to a 100 yard pit since most clubs only allow 1 guest. I got a portable bench for Christmas. Sound like a good idea for the kids to meet other kids w/ the same interest? Did not intend on a highjack!

 

[MisterHappy]

Excellent! Teaching them to shoot with you is better than running up and down a soccer field with them!

At Southborough Rod & Gun, we're fortunate to have a strong Junior program, both in .22 ( winter) and Trap (Nice weather). If we didn't have a strong, dedicated bunch of adults to lead it, though, we'd be nowhere!

If you club doesn't have a Junior program, then you should start one..especially if you have a kid - the NRA Qualification Program is a good fit, we've found, and the patches get the kids' interest....

I know that some clubs are not as kid-friendly as others, but if we don't get them shooting, they'll all be on the G-D Wii games, thinking that's the same thing.

Guess that's my last rant for the year - Happy New Year to all !