Grandson and BB gun

[azcoyhunter]

My grandson is 10, he asked his mother for a BB gun for Christmas, she then asked me what I thought, I told her that it would take alot of control, and responsibility of her part to make sure he is careful.

I would love to take him shooting more, I do now but he does not like my HOT .45 LC loads in my Ruger, I could make some reduced loads for him to shoot.

Any thoughts, ideas, opinions.....

Thanks

[Storydude]

Get him a cheap Crossman 10 pump and see if he can show responsibility.

If he can, for his birthday, get him a marlin 60 ;)

[257 Shooter]

Get him started with a BB gun and them move up to a 22 LR. I feel that the 45LC is too much gun to start a shooter on. I started my children with BB gun and wen they showed they could be responsible I moved them up. As adults now I have to keep them out of my stash and make them buy their own ammo. Dad cannont support their habbit and his. I have grreat memories of the process and know you will also.

[oldhickory]

I bought my grandson a BB gun this year, (he's 8). He won't be taking it home with him as he lives in town, but it'll be here for him when he's visiting.

I never had a BB gun myself, dad didn't like the idea of not being able to hear what we were up to...He just got us .22s at age 10.:mrgreen:

[Bullshop Junior]

Get him a cheap Crossman 10 pump and see if he can show responsibility.

If he can, for his birthday, get him a marlin 60 ;)

I do not recommend a auto for a beginner. Besides 22 ammo is hard to get. My first gun other then a BB gun was a single shot 22 hornet :grin:. Get him one of then H&R handy guns then when he gets older you can get him more barrels.

I agree that the 45 Colt is probably too much for him. Even with light loads a 45 Colt is still a powerful cartridge.

[Storydude]

You don't have to fill the 60 with 17 rnds ;)

I"m just biased towards my 60's. First firearm I owned and still plinking along after god knows how many 100's of thousands rounds.

[corvette8n]

I started out my 10yo grandson on a pellet rifle, it was a barrel cocker and he could not do it by himself, so I would cock it and let him shoot. after that he graduated to a Romanian .22 trainer with a single shot sled instead of a mag.
I keep this all at my house as I have a bullet trap and range set up in my basement. When He is twelve his parents will have the option to take the gun home. With a bolt action the rifle can hang on his wall and the bolt be locked up in a safe place.

[Wayne Smith]

When the neighborhood kids got BB guns my boys came to me wanting BB guns. I told them, "No, you can't have a BB gun. A BB gun is a weapon that is treated like a toy. I won't let you have a weapon that is treated like a toy. However, you may have a .22. A .22 is a weapon that is kept in the closet with a trigger lock and is only shot at the range." They were delighted, the neighbor kids only had BB guns, they had a .22. Yes, I went out and got them their own.

Let me hasten to add, this is life in the subburbs, not in the country.

[Sensai]

In my humble (?) opinion, starting a youngster off with a BB gun takes a lot of work. I say this because it's very easy for them to get the idea than a gun can hurt something "a little bit". If you're not careful they get the idea that there are degrees of firearms safety. I have started twelve of my grandkids off with .22s, and taught them from the start that firearms safety is not negotiable, nor is it situational.

The grandkids, so far, have gotten bolt actions, but since I got a Henry H001 for myself, I'm thinking that a lever action may be the next one's beginner.

[Uncle R.]

I once listened to a local dealer explain to his customer that pellet guns are much safer than BB guns because pellets generally don't bounce - and BBs generally do. It made sense to me.

[Bucks Owin]

My grandson is 10, he asked his mother for a BB gun for Christmas, she then asked me what I thought, I told her that it would take alot of control, and responsibility of her part to make sure he is careful.

I would love to take him shooting more, I do now but he does not like my HOT .45 LC loads in my Ruger, I could make some reduced loads for him to shoot.

Any thoughts, ideas, opinions.....

Thanks My little man got his own .22 single shot rifle at age 9 and a single shot .22 "revolver" the next year. He's 12 now and also enjoys shooting my .45 Colt at "cowboy velocities" from sandbags. I believe that teaching the next generation safe gun handling and giving them their own firearm helps them become responsible. The more they know about REAL firearms and what they can do, the less they rely on the nonsense they see on TV for their "gun education". Just make sure shooting is ENJOYABLE for them and don't hurry them into something with too much muzzleblast and recoil. JMO, Dennishttp://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a356/BucksOwin/IMAGE025.jpg He had just hit an empty shotgun hull at 50 yds and was looking to see if I saw it. One of my favorite photos...:wink:

[looseprojectile]

is twelve and shoots a Swedish Mauser carbine regularly. His dad also thinks I can afford his and his son's shooting habit. Who taught him that?
If I had anything to say about it I would have started him with a pistol caliber levergun. Specifically a Rossi trapper. Perfect. A .357 will shoot mild to wild power and he will never out grow it. Shoots as cheap as .22 rimfire. More satisfying.
My first rifle was a model 87 Stevens semi-auto .22 rifle and it did stress the ammo budget. I was sixteen and bought it myself. Thinking back, I was not too responsible, didn't get caught though. I received no instruction. I shot at things in trees and glass and was not aware of how far a bullet could go. All I knew was overheard in conversations other gunners had. Don't assume that the kid knows. Try to get your kid involved in a school shooting program. Yah I know.
Responsible gun handling has to be taught. Most places where I used to shoot are now housing projects. Hard to find a place to shoot now. I feel for those that don't have their own range.

Just my two cents!

Life is good

[Bucks Owin]

See if there are any NRA youth programs around. Excellent way to learn gun handling and shooting air rifle and smallbore. HAVE YOUR KIDS JOIN THE NRA!!! Maybe they'll still be ABLE to shoot in the years ahead..:(

[oldhickory]

You could also try the American Legion, they have youth shooting programs also.

[Echo]

+1 for starting with a .22. I learned to shoot (at a VERY early age) on a Rem Model 12 shooting shorts. Hardly any recoil, cheaper (then) than LR's, and was taught safe practices. The .45LC is too much of everything - too heavy, too much recoil even with reduced loads, &cetera.
I bought a Savage Model 74 for my youngest when he was about 8, then a Colt Police Positive in .38 S&W when he was 11. Down the pike, he went to the Oly Tng Ctr @ Colo Spgs 4 years as a resident athlete in pistol shooting. He doesn't shoot much any more, since he discovered golf and he can take his sticks along on his travels with work.
But starting them young, and doing it right, pays off in more ways than one. Discipline, focus, attention to detail, generalize to other endeavors.

[twotoescharlie]

bucksowin,
where is that kids eye and ear protection?

TTC

[Blacksmith]

My grandsons have been shooting with their father, who learned with a BB gun, and their grandfather for several years. This Christmas they are each getting Rossi Matched Pair guns with .22 rimfire and 20 gauge barrels. Don't tell them.

Blacksmith

[JIMinPHX]

If you go back into an old loading manual, like Speer #11 or older, you can usually find data for "gallery loads". I've loaded a lead round ball in a .44 mag over a small charge of Bullseye & gotten a real little pop gun load. The recoil is like a .22. If you look around, you can probably find a similar load for the .45 LC.

That aside, every kid should grow up with a pellet gun in my opinion. It's good practice for things to come.

[gnoahhh]

I feel each kid is unique and his/her maturity level will dictate what type of gun to start them out on, and what age. I know 7 year olds I would trust with a .22, and 14 year olds I wouldn't trust with so much as a Red Rider.

[Wayne Smith]

I actually started the boys out shooting a Ruger Single Six at the range when they were 5 or 6 years old. This was well before the BB gun question. They were very familiar with the .22, and at 12 my oldest loved my SBH with light loads. They literally grew up knowing how, when, and where to shoot and with gun safety. Now both of them love swords and could care less about guns. I think that will change, we'll see. Oh, they are 28 and 25 now.

[blackthorn]

At age ten my dad (finally) gave in and let me shoot gophers with his .22. My dad was not a hunter or even a "shooter" and the only reason he had the .22 was to shoot the odd pig or beef to butcher each fall. He also shot at stray cats and/or problem stray dogs (we had sheep). The gun was an old single shot winchester "rabbit" gun and it had been run over with a wagon and wired back together. The trigger mechanisim was the two-piece type that has the trigger hanging on a pin through the stock. Because of the wire holding it together it had a hair trigger. The only training I had was being told to be careful because the rifle was capable of killing someone! The shell extractor was wore out and the empties had to be removed with a knife. You seldom, if ever, got a second shot so I believe I became a better shot because of that. Fast forward 18 years and my two boys started out with single shot .22's, at a gun club, with the best instruction I could provide. They are 50 and 48 now, both hunt and only the youngest uses a repeater .22 or 410 on grouse. The older son and I still hunt grouse with single shot .22's and go for head shots. The old winchester got left behind when I left home in 1959 and by then I had fixed the stock so that it was at least safe to handle. My dad eventually passed it on to a neighbour's son who dad thought was as gun crazy as I was.

[jleneave]

I got my daughter one of those .22 single shot "Cricket" rifles last year for Christmas. She was 3 years old at the time. We are lucky enough to live on my wife's grandparent's farm and I have a range set up in the back yard. I have berms set up at 25yds and 100yds. She loves to shoot that little rifle and has already shot hundreds of rounds through it. I am really surprised that she has grasped the concept of firearms safety at her age, now 4. Like a previous poster I have seen teenagers who scare the heck out of me with their gun handling. If you can't tell, I am so proud of her and she don't mind one bit to call out an adult who she sees mishandling a firearm. Several of my buddies that come over to shoot comment on how well she handles a rifle at her age. I truly believe that how safe a young person is when it comes to handling a firearm, regardless of age, is directly reflective of the adult(s) who teaches that young person about firearms.

jody

[canyon-ghost]

Being raised on a ranch, I had a BB gun first, and always. The BB gun let me walk to the backside of the pasture to turn the windmill on and off. It was a type of freedom for a farm kid. I used the BB gun for everything then, graduated up to a .410 single shot that is still in the family (for killing rattlesnakes). Shot the 22 rifle that my Dad bought only once, shot a rabbit. Mostly, it really wasn't about what age I was, moreover, it was self defense against the very nature of the land around me. My buddies? I don't know if they owned BB guns at all, they were more than a mile away and I seldom walked that out.
If a man has the resources and time to teach his children about guns, then he should do that. An NRA Youth program would be an excellent start.

[DevilDog83]

Started mine at 5 years old,,, proper respect for all guns, BB or live ammo,,, keep 'em shooting safe and enjoy the time with them!!

[mroliver77]

Started teaching mine about safety as soon as they could grasp it. Little one went hunting with me very young. I started them on .22 single shot early. My 8 year old(9 now) shoots my 45 BH with small charges of Tite Wad and round ball or 200gr cast.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/mroliver77/029.jpg
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/mroliver77/015.jpg

[lylejb]

I started my son at 7 with a daisy bb gun. We live in the suburbs, so we can shoot BB's in the backyard, but not 22's. It does well enough for pop cans at 25 feet.

At the time, he wasn't strong enough to cock the lever by himself, so this added more safety to his shooting. He couldn't sneek it out on his own.

We keep it right beside my rifle and shotgun. It's treated as a gun, not a toy. I've taught him that from day one.

He's 9 now and has shot my ruger 22 pistol, and some greatly reduced 38's in my 357 revolver.

Unfortunatly, we don't get to shoot as much as I would like. We have to drive about 40 miles to Nat'l forrest to go shoot. I think he would be more into shooting if we could go more often.

Our first outing with the 357 was not great. I had brought some reduced loads (to my standards) without thinking about how much more sensitive he might be. 5.0gr unique with 158gr cast. It was too much recoil/ blast for him to enjoy. After the second round he said " HEY, THIS THING KICKS BACK".

I now use 2.6gr trail boss, the recoil is little more than a 22. He shoots those fine. It took me a couple of weeks to convince him to try it again.

I think you would have to be very carefull with the 45, not to scare him or have him start developing bad habits, like flinch.