Originally Posted by
Molly
I gave a young boy a brand new 22 rifle yesterday, and it got me to wondering about the rest of you guys. What are you doing to pass your love of shooting along to the next generation? We should ALL be doing something. You wouldn't believe the number of fatherless youngsters in our neighborhoods and churches. Me, I keep an eye out at the gun shows for well used .22 rifles, and give them a good reconditioning with Oxpho Blue, some fine sandpaper, mebby a little stain, and some urethane spray semi-gloss. They generally come out looking pretty darn good, if I say so myself. The new rifle was a sort of exception, as I didn't have any used at the moment, and the kid was hanging on every word of our deer hunting plans.
I take a lot of kids out to give them some very basic safety instructions, and teach them how to shoot. Girls, young and old, are a special delight to teach, mostly with 22's that won't kick them. I usually have to break the older boys from an attitude of "I know all about this because I've seen it on TV." The ladies approach it a bit more carefully. They take the attitude that "I don't know anything about this, so I'm going to pay attention and do EXACTLY what he says. That way, if anything goes wrong, it'll be HIS fault!"
When I get a kid that shows a bit more enthusiasm than usual, I let him try out one of these reconditioned 22's. If his (or her) interest seems to grow, I make them an offer: The gun will be theirs (their mother's) as soon as they can put five shots close enough together at 25 yards that a nickel will touch them all. And they can try for as long as it takes, and as many trips to the range as it takes. There's not too many that can't train themselves up to the necessary skill level, given some time, some gentle instruction and a bit of encouragement.
That's no mean feat, but it's not too hard for a kid with good eyes and real interest. It'll give them their very own REAL gun and the skill to keep up their end of a squirrel hunt. More to the point, it produces kids who know the safe way to handle a gun, and it produces women who won't go into hysterics when they see a gun in their husbands or sons hands.
Hmmm. If I can do it, so can you. Anyone got a 'back of the truck seat' grade 22 rifle laying about they'd like to see put to good use?