Took my 13 yo son to BV pistol range today

View · by **INOR** on Sat Jul 22, 2017 12:06 pm

First time at the pistol range for him. I've let him shoot my Ruger Mark III Hunter before down at my sister's farm. But today was his first time at the actual pistol range. He mostly shot the Ruger again but I also let him try my Shield 9mm and Walther PPS 9mm. But in those I would only let him load one round in a magazine at a time. I didn't let him shoot the SAR K2 45 though. Lol.

I was really proud of him! He did really well and I was mostly concerned with just observing him for safe practices than his actual marksmanship. Just wanted to make sure that he had his head on straight and was handling firearms safely. He did a great job! Was fun to share that with him.

Observations...the recoil on these small frame 9mm handguns is too much for him right now, so the single round at a time was the right choice. He loves shooting the Ruger .22 hunter. But it's a heavy beast. Think I need to get a smaller framed .22 for him to practice with. Maybe need to find a Ruger SR22 next.

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View · by **Scratch** on Sat Jul 22, 2017 12:42 pm

INOR wrote:First time at the pistol range for him. I've let him shoot my Ruger Mark III Hunter before down at my sister's farm. But today was his first time at the actual pistol range. He mostly shot the Ruger again but I also let him try my Shield 9mm and Walther PPS 9mm. But in those I would only let him load one round in a magazine at a time. I didn't let him shoot the SAR K2 45 though. Lol.

I was really proud of him! He did really well and I was mostly concerned with just observing him for safe practices than his actual marksmanship. Just wanted to make sure that he had his head on straight and was handling firearms safely. He did a great job! Was fun to share that with him.

Observations...the recoil on these small frame 9mm handguns is too much for him right now, so the single round at a time was the right choice. He loves shooting the Ruger .22 hunter. But it's a heavy beast. Think I need to get a smaller framed .22 for him to practice with. Maybe need to find a Ruger SR22 next.

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Good on you for introducing a next generation shooter to the activity in a safe, fun manner!

View · by **OldmanFCSA** on Sat Jul 22, 2017 12:56 pm

GOOD FOR YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Teaching the next generation and enjoying time with your son is very valuable for their and your future.
I only wish my children were closer: my daughter is in Georgia at Warner-Robbins Air Force base doing chemical-biomedical research for them until mid-August, then she goes back to Virginia Tech for her last year getting her PHD. My son is stationed in Spokane Washington while not flying KC135R tankers out of Qatar. He hopefully will be home in October for a few weeks = we always end up shooting something and a lot more.

ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH YOUR CHILDREN - they grow up and move onward faster than you realize.

View · by **Rodentman** on Sat Jul 22, 2017 3:01 pm

What Oldman said. My kids are pretty close and I see my older boy weekly. The other boy is in Champlin, still accessible. They each have 1 child and of course they are precious. Never underestimate the importance of family.

View · by **Holland&Holland** on Sat Jul 22, 2017 6:07 pm

INOR wrote:First time at the pistol range for him. I've let him shoot my Ruger Mark III Hunter before down at my sister's farm. But today was his first time at the actual pistol range. He mostly shot the Ruger again but I also let him try my Shield 9mm and Walther PPS 9mm. But in those I would only let him load one round in a magazine at a time. I didn't let him shoot the SAR K2 45 though. Lol.

I was really proud of him! He did really well and I was mostly concerned with just observing him for safe practices than his actual marksmanship. Just wanted to make sure that he had his head on straight and was handling firearms safely. He did a great job! Was fun to share that with him.

Observations...the recoil on these small frame 9mm handguns is too much for him right now, so the single round at a time was the right choice. He loves shooting the Ruger .22 hunter. But it's a heavy beast. Think I need to get a smaller framed .22 for him to practice with. Maybe need to find a Ruger SR22 next.

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You are on the right track. A small frame .22 is what my kids both started on. I went with the walther P22 but any of them will work great. It is only a couple of years that he will be using it though, then he will be on to bigger and "cooler" guns. Enjoy it while you are still buying .22 ammo. It gets expensive fast when you are paying for more than your own ammo consumption.

View · by **Randygmn** on Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:35 am

INOR wrote:First time at the pistol range for him. I've let him shoot my Ruger Mark III Hunter before down at my sister's farm. But today was his first time at the actual pistol range. He mostly shot the Ruger again but I also let him try my Shield 9mm and Walther PPS 9mm. But in those I would only let him load one round in a magazine at a time. I didn't let him shoot the SAR K2 45 though. Lol.

I was really proud of him! He did really well and I was mostly concerned with just observing him for safe practices than his actual marksmanship. Just wanted to make sure that he had his head on straight and was handling firearms safely. He did a great job! Was fun to share that with him.

Observations...the recoil on these small frame 9mm handguns is too much for him right now, so the single round at a time was the right choice. He loves shooting the Ruger .22 hunter. But it's a heavy beast. Think I need to get a smaller framed .22 for him to practice with. Maybe need to find a Ruger SR22 next.

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Teaching one's child to shoot is some of the most important skills and values that we can pass along to our children. My wife made me wait until my daughter was 13 to go to the range with me. Long before she ever fired my guns, she knew all the firearms safety rules, how to take them down for cleaning and maintenance, and the importance of the Second Amendment and why our family owns the firearms that we do. She even owns her own carrier and plates.

View · by **gun_fan111v2** on Sun Jul 23, 2017 8:56 am

Could not agree with you all more about the importance of teaching kids to be safe and confident with firearms.

I bought two firearms specifically for that - Ruger American .22 bolt action rifle and Browning 1911-22 pistol. First has stock inserts to adjust LOP and second has a reduced size grip.

View · by **LarryP** on Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:48 am

Experience is the only teacher where a person actually learns something

View · by **hard h2o** on Mon Jul 24, 2017 11:16 am

Nice... I assume your kid has been through firearms safety classes.

Been taking my kids to OGC for several years. Mostly shooting rimfire rifles and sighting in deer rifles.

My 18yo daughter can not get through the triggger pull on my S&W M&P 45c. She shot one round from a friends Glock .40 and that was enough for her.

My 13yo son loves shooting the S&W M&P 45c. He is adamant that we need to add a .22 rimfire pistol to the arsenal. That will happen soon.

View · by **INOR** on Mon Jul 24, 2017 2:13 pm

Yes, he completed firearms safety training this past March. I think it's important for kids to go through that regardless of whether they will hunt or shoot firearms. As I told my wife, never know if they'll come across a gun at their friends' houses or elsewhere out and about. Better that they know safe handling than not.

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View · by **yukonjasper** on Mon Jul 24, 2017 2:48 pm

INOR wrote:Yes, he completed firearms safety training this past March. I think it's important for kids to go through that regardless of whether they will hunt or shoot firearms. As I told my wife, never know if they'll come across a gun at their friends' houses or elsewhere out and about. Better that they know safe handling than not.

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Agree. Shold be required learning in schools.

View · by **hopkins** on Mon Jul 24, 2017 4:47 pm

I consider the cost associated with teaching kids proper firearms usage to be just a part of their overall education. Even though I don't have any kids of my own, I have (with parental permission and supervision) adopted about half a dozen kids in the last 40 years. I am proud to say that they all turned out just fine on the range and several are now passing on the lore. Two of the kids grew away from firearms in their lives, but they definitely know how to use them.

View · by **Ghost** on Mon Jul 24, 2017 4:50 pm

yukonjasper wrote:
INOR wrote:Yes, he completed firearms safety training this past March. I think it's important for kids to go through that regardless of whether they will hunt or shoot firearms. As I told my wife, never know if they'll come across a gun at their friends' houses or elsewhere out and about. Better that they know safe handling than not.

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Agree. Shold be required learning in schools.

Some places it is/was, had a GF that shot guns in gym class along with safety training. With all the HS trap teams they really should make it mandatory.

View · by **hard h2o** on Tue Jul 25, 2017 11:07 am

INOR wrote:Yes, he completed firearms safety training this past March. I think it's important for kids to go through that regardless of whether they will hunt or shoot firearms. As I told my wife, never know if they'll come across a gun at their friends' houses or elsewhere out and about. Better that they know safe handling than not.

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Agree. My boy went with 3 of his classmates. A 4th is going to take it with his younger brother. I knew my kids would be taking it regardless of their future affinity for shooting, hunting, or firearms. The 4th classmate is in a liberal, non-firearm owning, household. Great family and they agree that it is important for them to be educated about firearms safety.

View · by **Seismic Sam** on Fri Jul 28, 2017 9:14 am

Ah yes - I'm 68, and have been shooting 22 rifles for 63 years and 22 pistols for 62 years. When I was 5 I found a 22 pump rifle in a closet in the house, and said "What's this??" Turned out it belonged to my mother, and it was a rifle that came from an NRA marksmanship program somewhere. So my dad took me out on the back porch and showed me how to shoot it. (We lived WAYYYYYY out in the country.) In time I discovered that if you took an little frozen orange juice container and put it upside down in a Campbell's soup can and filled the assemblage up with water, a direct hit in the outside can would launch the orange juice container a good 10 feet in the air. When I was 6, my dad went out and bought a new Colt Woodsman, and I had lots of fun with that. Still got the pistol.