sobering realization

[bigted]

today i got to have a full day with my grandson for his 10th birthday outting we been planning for mounths.

i have been spotting different 22 rifles to buy for him and intended to leave it up to him which one he wanted for a starter rifle.

low and behold at the cafe breakfast table i sprung this info on him and experienced an erri silence for a couple minutes. knowing something was wrong i asked him if the prospect of getting a new rifle bugged him or if i had said something wrong.

his answer was that he was pretty much set on a tent and sleeping mat with a tarp for windy/rainy conditions and also would like a game for his DS...[ this ol man found out that this DS was a game system that is hand held ].

as my heart fell i realized that he is becomeing his own individule and his likes and dislikes are yet forming. so un-beknownest to him i allowed my heat to settle down and just continued on with our precious day we had planned.

as he picked out the 8x10 tent and the air mattress with the trusty blue tarp i couldnt help but have my heart swell again for his love of the outdoors and camping. even when he picked out the DS game i still clung onto the knowledge that at 10 years old i still have time to continue his introduction into the world of shooting and the fun hours that can be fiddled by with the simple shooting of a 22 in a big rock quarry.

he shot my 38-55 here a couple weeks ago and had fun with it so we will just continue with our quest for outdoors stuff to have fun with and i see the need for this ol man to aquire another 22...maybe a snazzy winchester or marlin or maybe even a henry to just happen to have around when we go out together from now on.

watch your youngens fellas...they will grow up fast and without the encouragment of their elders they may be encompassed with all the new shiney of society and forget all the fine fun we take for granted.

id have sold both nuts and maybe a lung for my grandad to have bought my first rifle but he died when i was 4 so that didnt happen. watch out for our next grneration!!!

[montana_charlie]

watch your youngens fellas...they will grow up fast and without the encouragment of their elders they may be encompassed with all the new shiney of society and forget all the fine fun we take for granted.
They may also be getting a hefty load of 'guns ain't cool' from the teachers at school.

CM

[Plate plinker]

Bigted, by a nice 22 and take him shooting with it and if he has success and fun ask him how he likes the rifle. If he says he does then say that's great because its yours now. Grampas are great never forget that and he won't either.

I have my gramps guns minus the missing 22 :mad: and although they are not fancy they are treasures.

Oh yeah, suggest a 10/22 they is fun and easy to shoot after all what kid don't like blastin a pop can up and down a hill.

[DIRT Farmer]

Don't forget the granddaughters. My 10 22 went West on me, and it is costing my son and his FIL some bucks to keep the girls in ammo.

[Plate plinker]

That's great dirt farmer. [smilie=w: we need more female shooters.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

"Everything I need to know, I learned in kindergarten..." Sadly, ten may be too late to start.
Mine all started by three, ditto with the nieces and nephews and G-kids.

Rich
Sua Sponte

[smokeywolf]

bigted,

He's lucky to have you for a Granddad. He'll likely grow out of the video games. You'll find other things to share; fishing, camping, sports, TV, movies. In 3 or 4 more years you'll be asking him about his girlfriend(s).
After shooting your 38-55, maybe a 22 doesn't seem so exciting.
My 11 and 12 year olds don't want to even pick up anything under 30 caliber anymore. However, I also have a 30 year old who never showed an interest in guns or reloading.

Ideally you teach them the old ways, but the most important thing is to connect with them any way you can.


Also, heed montana_charlie's advice. I've already had a go-round with a school principal about the curriculum focusing on cultural sensitivity and the art of other cultures, rather than math, history, geography, science, and the core subjects.

smokeywolf

[crowbuster]

Sounds like you handled that perfecly. He'll think of you everytime he uses the tent. Your influence on him is still more than you may know. As for the video games, your not alone, stay the course, good luck.

[bigted]

kind words from all. yes i also have 2 granddaughters and the one is a pretty good shot but the other just turned 2 so a few mounths yet...but the fishing is just around the corner for her. my oldest is a good fisherwoman now so her outdoors fun is strong. i got invited to go into the woods here around our home from them to see their "house" / fort they built. it was grand with the old carpet on the floor and the kitchen with dish's that Nanna gave them for such. what a gas and the thought that kids never really change in their heart from the old days to now. i remember making such forts with my cousen in the woods back in Oregon...such fun and now the younguns are doing the same thing...life is good

[Beekeeper]

Don't feel too bad Ted,
Just wait until he finds out girls are fun to be around and smell better than Granpa.
Hopefully she will be a girl that shoots ( your responsibility)

My oldest grand daughter shot ( started with a BB gun and went up to a .223) before she found out boys were fun to be around.
Unfortunately he was from a " No guns in this house " family and even went so far as to tell my Granddaughter to stop seeing me as I was a bad influence on her.
She told him to get lost and now (in college) has a boy friend that is very much into target shooting so I think she will pick it back up soon and ask the old man for her .223.


beekeeper

[bigted]

BEEKEEPER...thats great. i know that my grandbabys dont stand a chance as they all know that gramps is always casting...cooking lube...cleaning and sizing cases...loading and when the weather co-operates he will be found up the road shooting those smokey rifles and generally making a thunder of a noise.

i just gotta keep the influence going and encourage gently the art of fine shooting along with the responsibility.....keeps an ol man young

[Don McDowell]

Ted maybe if you built some reactive steel targets, shaped like different critters the younster could bang away at with a 22 he might bet a better appreciation of real shooting than the electronic stuff he's doing with his thumbgames...
I picked up a set of those self sealing prairie dogs that Du al targets make. they are a hoot to shoot.

[bigted]

ill look into them Don...thanks. i have a gong that is 8 inches in diameter and 1 1/8th thick ...being 2 thickness of metal that i welded together along the circumferance so it would be more impervious to high power rounds...so it rings very good when hit but it has to be at least 50 yards away or the posibility of it pitching lead back is pretty good...dont ask me how i know this...LOL

[Yellowhouse]

Kids sometimes need a changeup...different targets, objectives, routines. My middle grandson is the most avid shooter but I have to work a little to keep him stimulated now that he's building up a big dose of hormones and has other things on his mind. Reloading is a great accessory to the fact as well. What I'd do is go ahead a buy a .22 you think he'd like and let him shoot it exclusively. By and by just mention that you'd like him to have it one day...the rest is up to him and you sure can't force it on them.

[Lead pot]

It's good to get the young ones shooting. Just think back when you first started shooting, yes for me it was 60 years ago when I was first turned loose with a singe shot Win .22 and a box of shorts.:-) my Mother told me in time, I'm getting awful tired eating rabbits isn't there something else you can bring home:-)
I know that things are different now days you might end up in jail turning a 10 year old out with a 22 to hunt or shoot floating corn cobs in the creek but get him something besides a semi to start with and set up one of those dueling trees and you and him go to it.
If a single shot in your opinion is out what young person Boy or Girl dont like a lever rifle like a Henry or a 39.
A semi auto yes they are nice but I don't think it teaches a young one to take careful aim and the basic fundamentals of marksmanship you must teach him.
I see the young ones on out range shooting the 1022's and converted AR's and pulling the triggers as fast as they can till the mag is empty, yes this is fun for them to see the dust fly.
Spend all the time with him. It will be in his memory for ever long after your gone.

Kurt

[9.3X62AL]

They may also be getting a hefty load of 'guns ain't cool' from the teachers at school.

CM

Could be, Charlie. That sort of thing DOES NOT TAKE PLACE in the District where Marie teaches and administers, though. She proudly displays a Glock disassembly mat as her desk pad, and many of her peers and subordinates are active shooters and reloaders. Heck, the Assistant Superintendent does most of the deer cutting-up in town. You would hardly believe you're in California when visiting Ridgecrest--far more like Nevada or Arizona.

Kids don't always come into the gunsports early in life. Our six girls (20 to 37) all now shoot at varying intensities, and a lot of that got more active after babies came on scene. The youngest one takes huge joy in out-shooting prospective boyfriends. She has always been a handful, though.

[bigted]

i gotta say that its nice to be in a group that feels the same way. we sometimes have conteversy but the down deep ideas are the same...this is what its all about.

and we all care about the next generation to carry on traditions and family heirlooms. thank god i dont have my family heirlooms yet as my mom n dad are still fiesty and kickin. but they are being cared for in the family way that has stood the test of time.

my grand-babies are doomed for the same family honer and traditions...they are legal ALASKA citezens and look forward yearly for the gathering of berries,,fish,,,and the meat locker filled so the shiney stuff is just a fad i think but...its a sobering event to come to the realization that familys all dont live in such an outdoorsy state where the former gouvenor considers herself to be protective "LIKE A MOTHER GRIZZLY".

thanks to all that have weighed in on this subject that remains near and dear to my heart.

[montana_charlie]

but get him something besides a semi to start with
I agree on Kurt about selection of the first rifle action. A semi is more prone to accidental discharge when handled by a new shooter, and it makes for a sloppy marksman.

CM

[bigted]

i agree with most about semi-auto 22's. i have one and it is hard for me ... after all these years ...to keep shooting accurate shots with it. the temtation to rely on the next shot that is rite there is hard to overcome.

my choice for him will be a singleshot rifle...maybe a low wall would be fun and gramps would like it too...LOL

[Texantothecore]

today i got to have a full day with my grandson for his 10th birthday outting we been planning for mounths.

i have been spotting different 22 rifles to buy for him and intended to leave it up to him which one he wanted for a starter rifle.

low and behold at the cafe breakfast table i sprung this info on him and experienced an erri silence for a couple minutes. knowing something was wrong i asked him if the prospect of getting a new rifle bugged him or if i had said something wrong.

his answer was that he was pretty much set on a tent and sleeping mat with a tarp for windy/rainy conditions and also would like a game for his DS...[ this ol man found out that this DS was a game system that is hand held ].

as my heart fell i realized that he is becomeing his own individule and his likes and dislikes are yet forming. so un-beknownest to him i allowed my heat to settle down and just continued on with our precious day we had planned.

as he picked out the 8x10 tent and the air mattress with the trusty blue tarp i couldnt help but have my heart swell again for his love of the outdoors and camping. even when he picked out the DS game i still clung onto the knowledge that at 10 years old i still have time to continue his introduction into the world of shooting and the fun hours that can be fiddled by with the simple shooting of a 22 in a big rock quarry.

he shot my 38-55 here a couple weeks ago and had fun with it so we will just continue with our quest for outdoors stuff to have fun with and i see the need for this ol man to aquire another 22...maybe a snazzy winchester or marlin or maybe even a henry to just happen to have around when we go out together from now on.

watch your youngens fellas...they will grow up fast and without the encouragment of their elders they may be encompassed with all the new shiney of society and forget all the fine fun we take for granted.

id have sold both nuts and maybe a lung for my grandad to have bought my first rifle but he died when i was 4 so that didnt happen. watch out for our next grneration!!!

Keep taking him shooting as much as much as you can. Kid's interests change very rapidly during their teenage years and it may be that he will develop an interest over the next few years. If you can take him hunting it would probably help as he can eat the meat he has provided for the family.

There is probably an opportunity also with his girlfriends when they show up. If you can get them interested, he will be interested.

He may regard the .22 as a kid's rifle and another caliber (.38-55) might keep him interested. I am going through that with a 12 year old girl: She has no interest whatsoever in a .22lr ( the caliber she first shot at Church Camp) but she can't wait to get her hands on my buffalo rifle, .45-70 in caliber. Needless to say, I will be loading roundball for her in order to keep the buffalo rifle from launching her and her 105 lb. frame into the air at every shot.

If he has seen "Hunger Games" he may have an interest in archery which can be a lead-in to rifles. I know a number of kids who are really taking the bow and arrow seriously due to that movie.

[bbekalb]

well for a somewhat different point of veiw...
i live in assachusetts so the attitude towards guns here is that they are evil and they will jump up and rape you if you get to close. now, i had only seen guns in video games, and they are what actually got me interested in shooting. the first time i shot a gun, it was my brand spanking new, fresh off the shelf 70 year old mosin nagant rifle. and that was a couple of years ago, and lets just say gun ownership is a slippery slope. you can't have just one.

[Hometek]

+1 on kids having a short attention span. I would keep taking him out to shoot when you can. As long as he is familiar with the shooting sports while he is young, everything is good. Eventually he'll come around. Even if he doesn't, he's will be friendly to the 2nd amendment.

[PS Paul]

Welcome to the forum, bbekalb! You should know about the "stickies" in most of the sub-categories and please be careful...... Cast boolit shooting and casting is a highly-addictive pursuit and one that can use up just as much "free time" as you are willing or able to surrender. maybe more....
Keep on spreading the good word about the wholesome activity that is shooting. A great way to spend time with your kids, obviously it teaches safety, concentration, dedication, responsibility(!) and the value of self-reliance, among other things........

Out here in the Puget Sound area, we have many folks, like you have in Taxachusetts, that are simply "brainwashed" and believe as you posted that guns are animate objects that jump up and cause mayhem and death, turning otherwise honest and law-abiding folks into maniacal criminals and mass-murderers. Like many things in life, honesty and facts have NOTHING to do with the ideas the oppositional buffoons hold dear.
P

[Blammer]

bigted, way to go on the tent choice.

don't force him into anything let him choose, (as you have done) and things will turn out good.

my brother was introduced the same way I was to guns, shooting and the great out doors. My brother has no real desire to go shooting or hunting but he still loves the out doors and has great respect for that, he's a pretty good trap shooter too. :) although he probably only shoots about 4 boxes of shells a year.

I on the other hand....

He may turn into one of them camping and hiking nuts you always see. :)

[bigted]

my heart just melted the other day. doughter came over and asked me if i would take him [my grandson] shooting. i said of course and asked what prompted the request...she said that outta the blue he just asked if it would be alwrite if he asked papa to take him shooting...i promptly dropped what i was doing and out and into the pickup we went...had him setting on my lap going and coming driving the wheel so that helps to...LOL...we were gone for 3 hours and had a genuine blast together.

the other day i seen him home alone for awhile till mom got home so i went over and asked if he would want to shoot a pistol in the yard...he said he had a couple more problems in math homework but i said come on...lets make some noise...had him hitting a small shipping box in no time with the ruger 357 loaded with unique so i think we are on the rite path...what a trip it is...havnt had this much fun since my son started going with me shooting .

such a pleasure to spend quality outside time with the grandbabys...gettin big fast so there is no time to waste.

thanks for all the kind words and encouragment...you all are the best!

[alrighty]

my heart just melted the other day. doughter came over and asked me if i would take him [my grandson] shooting. i said of course and asked what prompted the request...she said that outta the blue he just asked if it would be alwrite if he asked papa to take him shooting...i promptly dropped what i was doing and out and into the pickup we went...had him setting on my lap going and coming driving the wheel so that helps to...LOL...we were gone for 3 hours and had a genuine blast together.

the other day i seen him home alone for awhile till mom got home so i went over and asked if he would want to shoot a pistol in the yard...he said he had a couple more problems in math homework but i said come on...lets make some noise...had him hitting a small shipping box in no time with the ruger 357 loaded with unique so i think we are on the rite path...what a trip it is...havnt had this much fun since my son started going with me shooting .

such a pleasure to spend quality outside time with the grandbabys...gettin big fast so there is no time to waste.

thanks for all the kind words and encouragment...you all are the best!

Sounds like you got a new shooting partner.Congrats!

[Crash_Corrigan]

I started out with BB guns. Then when I was 7 Dad took me out and watched me hammer away at tin beer cans on a plank at 50 feet. He was impressed. I was proud.

Then he dug around in the trunk of his '41 Buick and showed me his first rifle. It was a Savage Model 23 Bolt action with a 5 round removable magazine.

He taught me how to shoot that rifle that day and over the next 10 years I put tens of thousands of round thru that gun. I got pretty good with it and brought home all kinds of small game and gamebirds with that rifle over the years.

When I was 10 he let me try out his Baker side by side shotgun. That worked out OK with upland bird loadings with the low brass. This led to many an evening hunt at the garbage dump for Racoons, Skunks and Possums. At this point I got pretty handy with that old shotgun and took many gamebirds with it.

Then at 12 it was a .22 Colt Woodsman with a 4" tube and a 10 round magazine....tough gun to be accurate with as the front sight was a ground down nail....

Thereafter I got to try out a Mauser .32 ACP and a Walther P-38. These were both highly illegal guns and never had been registered as they were captured from the Nazis during WWII and brought home in a duffle bag....

By the time I became a Patrolman in the NYCPD I was a pretty accomplished marksman and learning how to shoot a .38 Special S&W Model 10 was very easy....

During my training in the Police Academy I won the trophy for the best shooting and the prize was a 38/44 Triple Lock S&W in .38 Special with the nice target sights and gorgeous bluing of the early 60's. It was a shame I could not carry it on patrol....

Many years later after I had retired I got into reloading and casting to save money.....Sure!

Today many thousands of round later I still have the bug and it is incurable....

Thanks Dad!

[toooldtocare]

I will never forget a certain day in life. A few weeks ago at walmart my son put a playstation game back on the shelf and asked if he could get 22 ammo instead. I felt a tear welling up. He is 9. Video games are for the rainy days that we cant go outside and shoot. So WE play call of duty inside. I only wish I could have shot more with my Dad. I missed out. I will make sure my son does not.

[WRideout]

When I was twelve, I shot a single-shot .22 at Boy Scout summer camp, to earn a Marksmanship merit badge. There were about five of us in the group; we were terrible. I could barely keep my shots on the paper at twenty-five feet. Finally the adult leader gathered us together, and told us that he would sign off on our merit badges, as long as we solemnly swore never to touch a gun again. I did not keep that promise.

I have taken my three daughters shooting from the time they were old enough to hold a gun. My nephew went along when he was nine. Now that I live in a different state from my girls, I only visit once in a while. When I do, they generally want me to bring along several guns from my arsenal, and go shooting. I guess I raised them right.

Wayne

[MBTcustom]

Finally the adult leader gathered us together, and told us that he would sign off on our merit badges, as long as we solemnly swore never to touch a gun again.
That is nothing short of sick.:evil:

[RMulhern]

We're dinosaurs guys! In 100 years noone will know where you're buried nor have the rifles you have in your safe now!! I have no hope for the vast majority of the younger generation!!

[cajun shooter]

We all sometimes forget about when we were at that age of don't stay attracted to one thing too long syndrome. It is a natural process of growing up.
Starting out with guns at a very early age because my parents and other kin had just came back from WW11 and knew full well how Hitler defeated Poland in just hours.
Working in a gun store and with the local Junior Deputy Program helped me see some mistakes that most adults have when buying guns for their children.
You don't start them with a semi-auto, lever action or pump rifle. The latter two are better choices if nothing else is available but only loaded with 1 or two bullets at a time. The next thing is to have them taught by qualified personal. I know many of you may take offense at what I just said but there are many reasons for this statement.
Your children will pay much closer attention to a total stranger.
You may be a very good shot but are you able to transfer that needed information in the correct manner? If you say well yes I can and you start with sighting, trigger control, and breathing, then you are wrong.
When I was a police firearms instructor we always had another certified instructor teach our wives as it made for a better supper that night.
The first steps are Range and gun handling safety and all the steps it takes to be safe with all guns.You should then teach the proper nomenclature of all the parts of at least the learning gun.
Range and live fire come after this is done.
Make the range fired at very close so that they have positive results from that first trigger pull.
Under no circumstances should you "show" that person how good you are!! That is a big no -no.
If they are only able to make hits every 4th round and you shoot out the x-ring, it will lead to a fast, lets do something else. Save your expertise for another day.
Don't buy your child a 410 shotgun for his first shotgun, even though it's been done that way for ever. The 410 is the hardest gun to hit with because it carries the smallest shot load offered.
A 20 ga. that is fitted to them in a variable choked gun is a much better choice. One with 3 inch chambers for later shooting is perfect.
Shooting days with the family are some of the best days that are remembered.
I'm not printing this to be a know it all as I'm not but I do have over 30 years of firearms training that includes the FBI, DEA, ATF and several local agencies including the lead POST instructor I also spent time with the LSU Law Enforcement Firearms Training Program for the Police Certification Program run by the University.
If you don't have this type of help available to then the NRA has tons of material on this subject and you may even qualify as a NRA Instructor. Take Care and fun shooting. David aka Cajun Shooter

[nekshot]

lets not give up on these kids to quick! Missouri had a program for a few years that you could take a child hunting99no licence for them only you ) and they could harvest a deer provided they were capable of holding and shooting the gun themselves. Alot of 6 year old kids harvested deer over that program and I recently heard how many new hunters are in the ranks here in mo because of that program and it was a huge amount(I forget the number but it was huge). Just goes to show in the deep heart of an american kid is still that explorer, provider and adventure spirit that we all have in our american genes. Yes the schools and the tv has tried to take it out of their hearts but when a child (or adult) is properly taught they will turn out ok. My greatest joy was being with my kids for their first deer kill and now when my girls turn 21 I buy them a handgun for ccw. That is a true deep feeling of pride seeing them walk out of the shop carrying their first handgun in their name and of course ole nekshot pays the bill!