Kid at the range

[Fotheringill]

I was at the local public range yesterday. I left my scoped Anschutz 1913a at home and was just fiddling around with a CZ 452 UL with target sights and a Henry 22 with buck horn sights.

A father has his 11-12 year old son (maybe younger) two benches away and the kid is also shooting at 50 yards with an old, yet nicely refinished Anschutz Savage 64 with target sights at a benchrest setup. Single shot.

The kid aimed every shot and took his time between them. I watched his body position at his bench, finger and his breathing. He was learning. It did me good to see a kid concentrating instead of using a Marlin 60 or a black gun in .223 and whaling away as fast as his finger could move. He was learning discipline and I hope the learning stays with him for life and that he sticks with his shooting avocation.

 

[johnfred1965]

Those are my hopes for my grandchildren as well. My granddaughter is methodical, but my grandson really needs to learn some patience.

 

[dolek]

I was at the local public range yesterday. I left my scoped Anschutz 1913a at home and was just fiddling around with a CZ 452 UL with target sights and a Henry 22 with buck horn sights.

A father has his 11-12 year old son (maybe younger) two benches away and the kid is also shooting at 50 yards with an old, yet nicely refinished Anschutz Savage 64 with target sights at a benchrest setup. Single shot.

The kid aimed every shot and took his time between them. I watched his body position at his bench, finger and his breathing. He was learning. It did me good to see a kid concentrating instead of using a Marlin 60 or a black gun in .223 and whaling away as fast as his finger could move. He was learning discipline and I hope the learning stays with him for life and that he sticks with his shooting avocation.

So whats wrong with a Marlin 60 ? Millions of kids have started with one,not everyone starts out at the top . It's about the sport in the beginning not the material goods.

 

[johnfred1965]

So whats wrong with a Marlin 60 ? Millions of kids have started with one,not everyone starts out at the top . It's about the sport in the beginning not the material goods.

Wish I could find another rifle as accurate as my old Model 60. My brother and I used to shoot the erasers off of pencils at 50 yards! Of course I had steadier hands and better eyesight 40 years ago.

 

[dolek]

Wish I could find another rifle as accurate as my old Model 60. My brother and I used to shoot the erasers off of pencils at 50 yards! Of course I had steadier hands and better eyesight 40 years ago.

I remember the days of steadier hands and good eyes,long gone sadly . I still have an old model 60 my folks gave me,should say my Son now has it .It is the gun that means the most to him .We still shoot it,very accurate once you know when the trigger will break .Has an old Weaver 1.5-4.5 with post reticle,my eyes can adjust to it quite well. Not high end by any means but He sure did learn how to enjoy the sport with it.

 

[Kevin Taylor]

There is nothing wrong with a Marlin 60, or any semi auto for that matter. The issue is the kids that want to Rambo it instead of applying the basics of safety and marksmanship.

It is important to coach these kids and direct them into shooting as a sport, not a hoot on Saturday afternoon.

 

[Fotheringill]

Daleboy-

Kevin Taylor hit it on the head.

My grand daughter started with a Henry I bought for her when she was 12. Then, she also used my CZ 452. Both required patience and discipline. After that, my Marlin 60 appeared at the range. Within 20 minutes, the rate of fire picked up dramatically. We then put the Marlin 60 away, and went back to the Henry and the CZ.

FWIW- I can think of no other .22 rifle that I would choose over a Marlin 60 for the barest survival abilities.

 

[perry42]

When first taking my grandson to the range (he was 10) I let him shoot my 22 scoped Contender. Being a single shot and requiring two hands to break open to reload made him concentrate on making each shot count. He used a rest on the 100m silhouette targets before trying some off hand and creedmoor shots. The Contender is still one of his favorite guns and he is now 20 years old.

perry42

 

[JayHHI6818]

Can't agree more on teaching the basics to young shooters. I started my daughter and son
off with a IZH 46 .177 pistol in the basement. Blew up balloons about golf ball size for fun.
Then its was the Contender with 22 barrel. Son graduated to Encore rifle with a 257 JDJ barrel for deer hunting and has shot 5 deer in three years with it.

 

[snert]

Winchester 67 started me. Then it was a Browning BL22. The BL went down the road...and over half my rifles are single shot bolt, break open or trapdoor. Not saying a buzzgun ain't fun...cause I love shooting an MP5 in 10mm, but when it comes to buying, I am stuck in a rut from 1975....

 

[Downhill]

Started mine on single shots and iron sights. They learned well that way. Now when firing scoped rifles with their friends the others can't believe how well they shoot.

 

[dickn52]

Jeez, I got the OP meaning. And then from the third post down it was hijacked faster than I can type hijacked. To the OP, nicely said.

 

[Papa Charlie]

There is nothing more warming than to watch young people being introduced to the sport for the first time.
I was introduced by my father the military way. My first rifle, he took the bolt out and taught me to disassemble, clean and reassemble. Then dry aiming at a box at the opposite end of the living room then finally, to the hills to fire for the first time. I believe it was that type of training from the operation, to the mechanics to the firing that helped me to develop the respect and skills I have today.
There is so much more for young people to gain from learning how to shoot and shoot properly. These lessons can help develop who they are and how they handle life's issues in the future.