Training .22

[homefires]

I have a 7 year old son and purchased some Colibri ammo in order to transition him from Red Rider to Henry Arms mini bolt. It seems to be the ticket. It's as good or better then a medium powered air rifle and works most well on Rat, Rabbits and the such. Hell I think it would do a medium size dog if done right! Up to about 150 ft it will blow through a heavy tin can. Up to 100ft I can keep them within say a 3" group!!!

If I hand cycle my 10/22 they work well. Much better then say BB or CB Caps!

Only problems found this fare is if you shoot say 10 or 12 and try to chamber a regular .22 round, it will not insert all of the way. As the Colibri bullet is only about 1/2 length the chamber becomes nasty and scummed up!

Hearing protection is not required yet I have him ware them! Practice.

Any Other Ideas???

 

[Yithian]

Switch from those Colibri Shorts to Remington Sub-Sonics.
Still pretty tame but a tad more pep, maybe better accuracy, and no short-fouling.

 

[homefires]

training .22

Colibri are full length cases. It's the bullet that is a bit short.

Jim

 

[Yithian]

See, I didn't know that.
I never used them. Never wanted to.
The Subsonics I have used... in experiments.

I don't know why (lie), but I seem to always go for the hottest 22LR I can find.

 

[homefires]

.22 Training

My thought was to introduce him to handling cartridges, safety in loading, Unloading. Cleaning, and other bolt action basics.

He has to learn a lot more then how to load, and oil a Red Rider! He knows good firearm safety and the rules, but now he has more doors open. I will issue some regular .22 when we are in the field. He's lucky we live in the boonies and can shoot from the front porch. We only have one house about 700 yards from us.

I wish I had a Henry Arms Mini Bolt in .22 Mag.... His little Rifle Kicks!

Jim

 

[Selfdfenz]

homefires

You are correct that the chamber is leading up due to shorter bullet length. I've seen that as well. I have never been able to get that level of accuracy out of either the Colibri or Super Colibri but 22s differ so much any thing's possible. My kids moved away for Colibris and CB Longs as soon as they were better shots than the ammo could demonstarte, which was pretty quick. We shoot a lot of subsonics these days.

The Colibris may be quiet but using hearing protection is still the right thing to do. Given that lead is toxic, and way more toxic to kids than adults, you might want to rethink the idea of having him clean the firearm(s). My son is 11 and my daughter is 9. He started shooting when he was 6-ish, she later. They've fired 1000s or rounds but probably haven't handled the equivalent of 50 rounds or emply cases between them during that time. Neither has cleaned a firearm but they have watched it done countless times and understand the process. I have a nephew who acquired a significant lead exposure. He was in his 20s and let me tell you having seen lead toxicity first hand on an adult it's nothing you want to second guess with your kiddo.

You obviously have access to the I-net. Look up some of the negative health effects of lead on kids and I think you will see gun cleaning is a task better handled by adults.

Best,

S-

 

[FirstFreedom]

First of all, the Colibris and Super Colibris are indeed an excellent transitional choice, being in between a magnum springer airgun & a CB/BB/Flobert cap in power. Definitely not nearly as powerful as a CB cap or other slightly more powerful subsonic round, but enough to kill rabbits, squirrels, rats, and the like with precise aim. Not enough for any dog IMO (except a toy chihauhua - *maybe*). I prefer the super colibris, which are 20 grains @ 500 fps - pretty flat to 15 yards. More than enough knockdown power for birds up to crow size. Would still *prefer* a CB cap or subsonic (short or lr) for squirrels & bigger, over a colibri.

The most important issue, which you didn't address, is the length of pull on the stock for the 7 year old - you need a youth stocked rifle for him to be able to shoot properly.

Edit: my bad - you said Henry mini-bolt, so that's a short LOP youth gun, no? I say, rock on then!

And yes, the "chamber" is leading/fouling up, due to the shorter bullet (AND case, IIRC - I believe the Colibris use a .22 long sized case, not a .22lr sized case). But chamber being in quotes because .22s don't really have a chamber, or more precisely, the chamber has no demarcation separating it from the barrel itself, since it's a heel-based bullet with identical diameter to the case and the chamber and the bore. Regular cleaning of the chamber area is in order.

 

[homefires]

.22 Training

First Freedom:

That's what we do, run the brass brush about 4 times clears it up. It will not take long and he will have the real stuff. They are still good around the house for the garden rats and stuff. I was surprised how accurate they are. I like them and have not tried any other sub sonic ammo. I will not purchase anything made be Fedral again!!!! Last batch I got did the BANG,BANG , DUUP!,,,,WAP! BANG, WOOOOP! BANG, TUMP! Kind of thing!!

Jim

 

[Rmstn1580]

For some reason my Ruger 10/22 jams a lot. When it ejects a cartridge, it gets stuck when the slide closes (it's called a stove pipe on hand guns, don't know what the rifle term is). It only does it on one of them, though (I have two). I don't know if it's the magazine, a dirty slide, or what. Any help?

I have the similar problem with my SiG P220. It never feeds the seventh bullet and you always have to hit the slide release to chamber the last round. My dad says that it's a bad spring on the magazine, but I don't know. That gun isn't cheap and when you pay that much for something you expect it to work. I would hate to get all worked up over a $7 magazine, though. Any thoughts on either of my dilemmas?

 

[homefires]

.22 Training

Clean your rifle and pay attention to the chamber. I have shot 500 rounds in a 10/22 uncleaned (Not Good) and the only time I had one quit was crummy ammo. Ditch the mag and buy a new one. Or if you think your good with it , you can open it up and add a 1/4 turn to the spring. It's just a Hex bolt.

Jim

On the 10/22 as you have two , swap magazines. Dose the problem follow? If it dose, the problems the Mag. If not it can only be dirty bolt, carrier or bad extract. Just hold it up , Mussel up and empty a can of WD-40 into the chamber area while working the bolt. Tons of junk should come running out all over your hands. Re oil and proceed again. I bet it stops it.

Jim 10/22's ROCK!!!!!

 

[homefires]

.22 training

Today we was shooting! Paul was shooting Ping Targets. Steel disc 5" welded together at 90 degrees painted aviation orange. When you hit one they role and jump. Good fun. Paint marks with the Ping and you can see what you hit. Pauls dog "Amigo" ran out from the range side at the wrong time. He took a Colibri in the Toe! Sounds bad? Dog was all right! Bloody toe and will never go down range again. Paul , Will never shoot when his dog is down range. Lesson learned. Colibri did ok. If that was a .22 hp the dog would be missing a toe or dead!


This is why you need to start small! This was my fault! I should have been aware of the dog! I was training my son! I was in control and failed to keep all safe! NOT THE NRA WAY!!!!!!!!

Jim

 

[physics12398]

going off what homefires just said. there's a video on youtube where an FBI guy is teaching gun safety to little kids and shoots himself in the foot. Sorry I don't have the link.

 

[homefires]

.22 training

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth in high school, I had a wood shop teacher showing us how to use a push stick on the table saw. We all took heed when he cut off his thumb! HA!

Jim