A Blast with the kids in the front yard.

[Boerrancher]

The wife and I got our middle son a who turned 8 on New Years Eve a Ruger 10-22 for his birthday along with a self righting squirrel target. I had him and his older sister who is 11, with her air rifle out in the front yard shooting the squirrel target. They wanted me to shoot with them so I got the old 50 cal flinter out and an empty 45LC case. I used the 45LC case as a powder measure. We took turns knocking down the squirrel. The 45LC case was perfect for 25 yards smacking the squirrel. It didn't damage it, and I got to have as much fun shooting as the kids.

All of my 5 kids have grown up around guns. Only 2 of the 5 so far have the love for them that I have. It was just a great time to be able to have something that we can do together besides damn video games. I will admit though my 8 year old has reflexes like a cat and with a bit more time behind a rifle will be hell on wheels to out shoot in a few years.

Best wishes,

Joe

[canyon-ghost]

Keep them shooting! and have some fun yourself!

[Omnivore]

Nice.

[DIRT Farmer]

When my boys were small I made two sets of sillyettes gopher set close, rabbit then squirrel crow and ground hog, spaced from 20 to 75 yards. Many long nights casting 36 balls to keep us entertained.

[Boerrancher]

None of my kids that are interested in shooting are big enough to shoot my smoke poles yet. That is why I am going to start saving and either buy a deer hunter in a 32 or a crocket. I really want to get a crocket though it is nearly 2x the cost. The crocket has a more traditional look and now that I have gotten use to DSTs I don't ever want to go with out them again. I am just afraid that if I buy something that I am not sure that I fully like, that I will not end up happy with it. Where as if I buy the crocket, which has every feature that I like, I will most likely be more patient with it during load development, and not give up on it if there are any problems or difficulties, and it will be better to transition my kids to my 50 cal when they get big enough to shoot it.

Best wishes,

Joe

[451 Pete]

Joe,
I ran into similar situation some years back. Our family had went to Friendship for the spring shoot and the one boy, who was about 7 at the time and who had never shown any interest in my guns , asked me the second day, when was it his turn to shoot. I had a TC Cherokee for just that moment in time but it was 350 miles away, back at home.

After looking around the booths on commercial row, the only kids rifles I could find were single trigger and not very well made. I told a friend about the problem. He suggested taking a full size rifle and getting it cut down. I bought a CVA Hawken for about $100 and took it to the Armoury and told them about my problem. They said " Bring the boy over and we will measure him up. ' The next morning about 9 a. m. the rifle was done. They cut about 4 inchs off of the stock and removed about 6 inchs of barrel, re-cut the front sight and shortened the under rib and ram rod and re-dove tailed the front sight..
It fit my son perfectly and with 25 - 30 grains 3fg and a PRB worked and shot great with almost no recoil. That little rifle holds some great memories. It has an honored place along side some of my other rifles that cost many more times the money than what it did.

You can still buy something like this pretty cheap today, it wouldn't take a lot to make. It would give you something with the set trigger and it could be a great project to work on with your boy. Just one possible other way to go.

Just my thoughts ..... Pete:coffee:

[John Taylor]

Many years ago at a rendezvous my eight year old daughter wanted to shoot with the other kids in the youth competition. The only thing she had ever shot was a BB gun. I had my 54 cal. under hammer so I loaded it light and let her use it. She place second among about 15 young people. Even tho I had to load it for her I was grinning from ear to ear. The gun was to long for her to load and it was amazing she could even hold it up.

[bigdaddy0826]

I have been a caster, reloader for years. I have had a T/C Renegade for about 15 years that I ended up with in a trade for services. Up until this fall I bet I had only put 10 rounds throught the T/C. Getting ready for deer season a buddy of mine wanted to go to the range to sight in an inline that he had gotten for a steal. I took the T/C and the old gym bag full of possibles along to see if it would still shoot. Fortunately I lhad stored the rifle in the back of my safe near the humidity control unit. Even though I had NEVER cleaned the rifle, no rust was anywhere. I had even left the gun loaded. I know, I know.

Anyway , from that day on I have been obsessed with all things BP. I found a Cherokee with a 32 and 45 cal barrels at a pawn shop where my inline buddy was looking for a Renegade. the gun was in 95 percent condition and I picked it up for a stupidly low price. Other pawn shop visits have netted me four more traditional rifles for a total of $200. My 11 year old son had shown little interest in extended range time until he was introduced to measuring powder, centering a patch, and seating a ball. He has learned a great deal as have I. It has been the most fun for the least amount of money I have found in a long time.