My boy's first time at the range!

jimmythegeek

New member
He's been curious about what goes on when Daddy goes to the range to shoot guns. He's a young 9, but very mature and conscientious about anything safety related. In fact, yesterday I saw him exhibit instinctive muzzle discipline when a clerk at the gun counter walked in front of him! And he was already all over Cooper's #4 "Be sure of your target and what's behind it" before he'd ever fired a gun. Just figured out by himself that these things need a good backstop.

We talked about the other rules and he had the concepts down fine. So I set him up with a CZ-455, scoped, which was too big for him but worked out ok anyway. All shots off a rest, various expedients to get him in a good position. Next time his baby sister's booster seat is going with us. We started with a blank sheet of butcher paper. He dug it. After 4-5 rounds, moved him over to a typical target with black rings and a red center. He was kissing the 10 ring with his first two shots, and scoring some in the X by the end of the 90 minutes we had. Good groups, so NPOA probably explained the shot placement as much as anything else. It was 25', not 1000 yards, but I'm still proud of my boy.

We tried my Marlin 795 and CZ-75b kadet, too. Loading one at a time in the Marlin kind of hid its light under a basket, but I might let him go 2 in a mag next time. Even off a rest he found the Kadet heavy. I will demonstrate .45acp, maybe next time. We had the range to ourselves, so the Kadet sounded loud.

Only thing I find I have to keep on him about is trigger discipline. Thinking hard about a Savage Cub for x-mas. Or a CZ 452 Scout. The Scout would be another CZ, which I seem to be drawn to, nice quality and I could go from 1-shot adapter to 10 round mags shared with the CZ-455. The Cub is single shot only, but at least it doesn't have a separate yank to cock and good luck unloading like a lot of youth rifles.

We got home with the same # of holes in us as we started, so that's a win, too.

I am looking forward to the day when he and his sisters start outshooting me. I'll make 'em earn it, but it'll rock my world.

Thanks for reading, if anybody did! :p
 

10-96

New member
Man, that's all kinds of great! I got to shoot with my oldest boy a couple of years ago after not really seeing him much for 13 or so years- what a great time it was!

I'm like you, I'm partial to CZ's and think the Scout would be dandy. Did you haul a camera out for photo's? As fast as a father's time slips away- you'll cherish those photographs someday.

Hats off to you my friend for being such a great Dad.

Good read.
 

Pahoo

New member
Best work, you will every do in this life !!!

These days we get too hung up on hanging a price on just about everything. The time you spend with your Kids/Grandkids, is priceless. Currently working with my 10yr. old and he will take his Hunter Safety, this fall. It will be my pleasure to sign his certificate. He knows most of the common calibers as well as the four safety rules. .... :)


Be Safe !!!
 

TheNatureBoy

New member
I enjoyed reading this post. The first rifle my daughter fired was my pellet rifle (scoped). Our set up was about 10 yards away.... A month or so later I took her to the range and set her up with a scoped .22 rifle and let her shoot at a target 25 yards out. She did so well, and I was so proud of her. We've had many father daughter moments and thats one that I will never forget. My hunting buddy has a Remington 22-250 that he wants to sell. She took a look at it, liked it, and in about 2 months I intend to purchase for her. Good post :)
 

baddarryl

New member
Amen. I have had both my kids at the range maybe 3 or 4 times now. I think it teaches them disciple and allows them a level of responsibility and thought about responsibility on a higher level then their peers. Good to pass it on!
 

Dr_Rich

New member
Aww lol this made my morning. Good job man! Its nice to hear things like this. You just don't see this kinda of bounding anymore.

I'm glad you had a good and safe trip.
 

jimmythegeek

New member
Here's the video, short and sweet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsJKPSx_z6Y&feature=youtu.be

This is at the pistol + rimfire range, which has lousy benches for what we're doing. The rifle range would be a little overwhelming, I think, and the closest target is 50 yards.

He's excited to go to a former gravel pit where we can set up some plastic jugs full of water and shoot prone off a bipod. Come to think of it, I am, too!

Since this trip, I picked up a CZ-452 Scout for him. It's a better fit. I thought hard about a Cricket or a Savage Cub. In the end, I figured there's no significant safety advantage of a single shot over a bolt action, and particularly when unloading there is a real advantage over a Cricket.
 

jimmythegeek

New member
speaking of which, here's my eldest

Little bit of a backward lean, but I like the grip and extension. CZ75 Kadet.

She shoots a .45acp 1911 pretty well, too. :D
 

Attachments

  • small.jpg
    small.jpg
    104.4 KB · Views: 93
Last edited:

whitearrow

New member
imho you won't ever go wrong with the cz scout. i,i mean santa, bought my eldest son now 8 yrs old a cz scout with a leupold vx1 2-7x32 two Christmas' ago when he was 6. i need to buy my youngest son which is about to be 2 yrs old in a month a 452 scout before they stop making them. cz has dc'd the 452 action in favor of the 455. i like a couple of y'all gravitate to the cz 452 rimfires myself.
good luck with the little fella and keep spending quality gun powder burnin' time with him as i don't believe that it will be in vain. a boy needs to know how to do certain things and shooting a gun is just one of them. not to disrespect to single moms but i believe that it takes a man to show a man to be a man to quote a bumper sticker that i saw recently.
whitearrow
 

scsov509

New member
Awesome video and great to see you're getting out with your boy to introduce him to the sport. My nephews come over to my side of the State once a summer for about a week or so and I get the joy of taking them out to shoot. Here's a few pics from this past summer with my oldest two girls and nephews, and you can see we're all having a blast!

IMG_0478-1.jpg

IMG_0484-1.jpg

IMG_0493-1.jpg

IMG_0494-1.jpg

IMG_0503-1.jpg
 

scsov509

New member
Dude! Where the hell is the eye protection for the kids?

It's sitting at home in a grocery bag that got left on my kitchen table along with the sunscreen I was supposed to be using that day. But honest, it was a one time offense on my part, we're normally really good about ear and eye-pro, and here's my proof from a previous outing. :eek:

DSC_0622.jpg

DSC_0620.jpg

DSC_0600.jpg

DSC_0577.jpg
 

jimbob86

Moderator
And he was already all over Cooper's #4 "Be sure of your target and what's behind it" before he'd ever fired a gun. Just figured out by himself that these things need a good backstop.

Looks like he is on his way "to Ride, to Shoot Straight, and to Speak the Truth"!
 
Top