A young Shooter and old technology

[country gent]

The other weekend at the club I was testing loads for thenew BPCR rifle. A High wall in 38-55, was chronograping load for consistancy and to get velocity drops. A father and son were to the right a few points shooting. The son ( 12 or 13 years old) would shoot a little with a 22 and while Dad was shooting he would gravitate over behind me watching. Dad came down and got him a couple times and I told him the boy was not a problem that he was very polite and asked questions when I wasnt shooting. The lst time he came down Dad came down I told Dad lets get this out of his system. and I got up and moved to the other side of the bench. Asked the boy if he was up to try it. He sat right down and a short lesson on the high wall and how it worked, the trigger, dry fired a few rounds with it set and sight picture in the scope. I was set up shooting on the gongs at 200yds so we went with that. I talked him thru the first shot on the 6" gong spotting for him and His first shot was just over the top of the gong. Showed him on the spotting board and marked with a push pin. Big smile and he was ready to try again so He blow tubed and loaded another round I told him to hold just below center and he fired getting a nice slightly high hit and the ding from the gong. SMiles got bigger He hit the gong 3 out of 5 shots. Dads was smiling almost as big. Then I got Dad down behind the rifle and he did good also. Both of them were just having a ball playing with that old style rifle and BP loads. Its always a joy to introduce newer shooters to something diffrent from what they are used to.

[Bzcraig]

Excellent!!!

[bullet maker 57]

Good job. Need to keep the young ones interested.

[Geezer in NH]

Well done!!!!:awesome:

[ph4570]

Good time had by all -- very nice.

[NyFirefighter357]

Nice Job!

[MrWolf]

Nice job. Great you took the time to teach.

[Blackwater]

Shooting is about having FUN, unless you're hunting or acting in self defense. And all those who believe the stories about how hard it is to shoot and clean black powder can quickly come to love it by just simply doing what you did. Great job, sir! And it's always great to get the younger ones involved in all the shooting sports. One CAN learn to love the smell of sulphur, and most are shocked at that ... at least at first.

[Half Dog]

That was a great story and thanks for sharing it. I also look forward to hearing the blessing you will be getting.

[jsizemore]

I always carry extra ammo in case some kid, no matter his/her age, gets the itch. Shooting steel gets instant gratification.

[robg]

That lad will remember your generosity for ever.

[nekshot]

kinda funny how helping others(especially younger) learn to shoot is more fun than shooting by yourself.

[country gent]

I completely agree with you NeckShot. I coached juniors at the club in smallbore position and state level juniors in High Power rifle. CCoaching them into a High score was better than shooting one myself. The gleam and smiles were more than enough Thank-you. But whats really interesting is think back Its not the big vactions or tripps that are really remebered but those littler day outings or evenings. Sitting with a fishing pole on the edge of a stream or pond, trips to the elevator and the small bottle of coke and handfull of peanuts with Dad while the corn was processed and the slips made out. All those little things are imbedded in or minds and make us who we are.

[Blackwater]

Amen, Country Gent! Often, it takes such a little thing to make huge, lifetime memories, both for ourselves and for others. And the fellow above who commented about the instant gratification of hitting gongs was right. And the younger shooters really get a kick out of that! Heck! I'm 67 and I still do too! Gongs are probably a good way to make it more enjoyable for the young, but targets teach them real accuracy and bullets placement. IMO, it takes some of both to make the young into real "shootists," and it's really not hard, when you get them going the right way when they're young. My son quickly became a better shot than I was, because he had better eyesight, and nobody could be prouder of that than me! Now, I've got another generation coming up that promises to beat even him! And all I can do is say, "Wow!" and "Thank you, Lord!"

[country gent]

This young man was definitly interested in what I was doing ( I think Dad was too) possibly intriuged by the old rifle and loads of black powder and hand cast bullets. (I was ringing the 6" gong pretty regular 18 ourt of 20 shots at 200 yds) I paint the gongs pretty reqular when shooting them while not having actual bullet holes the spltter does give a good idea. This young man was very attentive and polite while I explained everything to him and was definitly enjoying it, or that he was getting to shoot something other than a 22 lol. His Dad was right there and listening and watching his son but not trying to second guess or offer other information either. When I got Dad down behind the rifle I asked him if he remebered everything from sons start and he told me he wanted the full boat too. So we worked him thru position, trigger pull and sighting. He was grinning and did very good. Both were very respectfull and nice a friendly pair that deserved a little help, and the chance to try something Diffrent. As I was waiting for a range break the Son came down and asked me Can I paint the targets for you when we go down? Dad laughed and told me he would as son would have paint all over him and Mom would be upset about that. It was just an enjoyable day and all involved had fun and learened a little. SO a win win.

[victorfox]

That lad will remember your generosity for ever.

True! I'll never forget our farm neighbour, he was about 72 when we moved close to him, he and my father traded cows and pigs. He liked to tell us tales of werewolves and other beasts and some stories of his own to us little kids. When he learned I liked guns, he went inside and produced a very nice double barrel muzzleloader shotgun, and he let us shoot some caps, and once we shot some black powder blanks. There were a sort of villa in his properties too many houses and kids around to play with live ammo. He's gone for about 15 years, but we never forget him. He was a good old fellow!

[country gent]

VictorFox, Alot of us have that old seasoned nieghbor or gentleman in our pasts. I hunted with the nieghbor man for several years in my youth ( rabbits pheasants quail) since his dauhter didnt want him out by himself at his age. Kept him hunting, fishing and mobile gave me a very good role model and freind. We spent many saturdays walking corn stubble and fence rows. Sam was a good mentor to me and my brother. I learned alot from him and matured alot from his and my Dads guidence. Im now trying to "pay it forward" in his memory.

[victorfox]

Those were the days. We must keep the old traditions alive as much as possible... This is sure great experiences to bothe the giver and the receiver!