A fun day Plinking

[Lew]

My brother and I went to our local pit for some plinking. We took the 7year old, the 9mm taurus pt99af, 500 rounds of junk UMC (cheap walmart ammo) and 2 12 packs of "Dr. Thunder" soda from walmart. Good for targets not drinking. Absolutely vile soda. But the cans are red so make a good target and being cheap they are still full when shot so they POP really well. We took some pre made targets and a staple gun. Couple ear muffs and trash bags. We always leave with more trash in the bags than we brought in so the pit will stay open.

It really was just for fun and rather informal. I did however pace off 25 steps and fired 3 rounds into a premade paper target.



This was two handed standing slow fire.

I replaced the paper with 2 side by side colored construction paper and let loose with 30 rounds as fast as I could literally yank the trigger. 21 hits to one sheet. Not a machinegun but fun anyways. My brother took this photo with my camera phone, yet he managed to capture brass in the air, next to my right ear.



Cameron is shown here having his turn at a few cans. Got one for the day not bad. I am going to have to get a Ruger Mark I, II or III .22 cal for him though. Maybe a New Englander survival rifle .22 Something small and light for him. Any suggestions on a first gun? I am picking up a BB gun but I was thinking of the days where we go to the range....



A great day shooting.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[P95Carry]

Lew - all range days are good

I have a 22/45 Ruger and love it but - for real early days do think a 22 revo can be better - get the basic skills hones before using a semi.

A Single Six Ruger would IMO be great if you can find a used one - in fact even a humble herotage would provide much inexpensive practice and plinking. For a rifle a 11-22 or Marlin 60 if a semi deemed useful, otherwise look out for a Czec type bolt 22 perhaps.

[mkeBob]

Great day when father and son get a chance to shoot together. I too would recommend a small .22 revolver over semi-auto for this young shooter. Hope you shake those soda cans prior to shooting, makes for a bigger pop.

[rocky]

Personally , I would suggest a rifle way before a pistol for new shooters. Rifles are much easier to learn to shoot, with the longer sight radius and much steadier hold.
My daughters , 10 &11 like shooting my 10/22 , but the stock is a bit long. They shot a .22 Crickett bolt gun and loved it. (shorter stock, light weight)
Final thoughts -pistols are for fighting , no need to teach battle skills till they are a bit older. Rifles are safer , as much harder to shoot yourself others on accident. Also you can tell where a rifle is pointed easier,and have more control over it while training shooters.

[Lew]

Awesome, some REALLY GOOD points, to all. I think you are right in that a rifle is easier to control the barrel direction. A must to the young and new to the sport. I found that for better control that day, I would load one single round for him and let him shoot it while "hovering" protectively behind him. He was WELL informed on proper range rules, but I did not choose to test him. The Taurus can be a handfull even with an adult size hands, not from kick but the FAT grip of a high capacity.

I had totally forgotten this, but a .22 revolver was the first hand gun I had ever fired. I can't believe I totally forgot that one. I loved that ol' gun. I have to look into getting one just for me!

Oh, and no It was not untill I was doing the write up that I remembered to shake the soda before shooting it... oh well. Just have to go back out and shoot somemore!!!

[BigEd63]

Personally , I would suggest a rifle way before a pistol for new shooters. ....... Also you can tell where a rifle is pointed easier,and have more control over it while training shooters.

I agree with that 100%. The Crickett or Chipmunk are both great trainers. Also CZ-USA and Marlin have youth rifles that are single shots.

[jowgafist]

cant go wrong with ruger 10/22

[Wayne]

Ruger just came out with a shorter 10/22, it may be worth looking into.

For a pistol (I'm a pistol kind of guy so I say let the kids start off with a pistol also) you can look into a Browning Buckmark or that Ruger thing (j/k, the Ruger is a good .22).

But, as has been said, a day at the range is a good day .

Wayne

*I don't think that I've properly welcomed you to CC, so on that word, Welcome

[craze]

I too feel a .22 rifle is a great place for a young shooter to start off with. Not only because of the safety factors mentioned in other posts but it is much easier for a kid to hit with a rifle. Nothing builds confidence in a new shooter like watching those pop cans fly.

[Old Chief]

Another fun thing is baseball sized baloons. My kids and grand kids really enjoyed them. I started all of them on a Ruger single six and a Ruger 10-22 or the old bolt action Remington 22LR that I grew up with. Rifles are good teaching tools and fun to shoot as well.

[Sheldon J]

Ah yes teach them while they are young, did mine and have never regretted it one bit.

Now a real nice single shot .22 riffle of your choice is a real good learner gun, having to reload after every shot helps drive gun safety home, and teaches them accuracy when the one round counts.

I ended up buying one of those over under .410 / .22 then when they got good I turned them loose on the red squirrels with the .410. Now years later they are all NRA life, and have their CCW.