G&G (Grandkids & Guns)

[cmansguns]

How many of you "ol timers out there remember your first time being allowed to shoot with your Dad, Grandfather, or a friendly old farmer or neighbor that just saw that gleam and desire in your eyes yet knew you were to young to buy or even handle big bore handguns?

I don't usually publish pics of family on public forums, but the other day was just an exception, and the Lounge is more private than the public side anyway.

So my Grandson, Gabe just turned 14 and has shot and is pretty good with his own pellet and BB rifles and gas powered handguns, but he and his Dad were over to the house and my son Andy said: Hey Pop...Gabe has something to ask you.

He said now that he is 14 & can shoot at the local indoor range where I am a Member, could we all go shoot some of my "real guns". I said sure, what would you like to shoot?

He picked a 22LR, Model 34 Kit Gun, my Son said how about the WWII guns (Navy Victory 38/Ithaca 1911A1), and I said: Gabe how about I bring the Winchester Model 94 in 30-30 rifle..just for fun.

Wow!!! What a day at the range. He was very, very good with the 22 LR putting them all right in there at 50 feet. But...man-o-man you should see the smiles (and accuracy) of that boy shooting the 38 and the 45...right stance (taught well by his Dad), right safety protocol all times...but 1st round with the rifle, he backs off..shrugs his shoulder...remembers what he was told about cheek weld, and proceeds through 2 boxes of 150 gr Win White Box.

We did manage to assault my ammo stash fairly decent, with 200 rounds 22LR, 100 rds. 38 Special, 100 rds, 45 ACP along with the 40 rds of 30-30.

I didn't really get to shoot....having to much fun watching son and grandson having a blast...harking back some 62 years ago when I was invited to the local Rod & Gun for some shooting after passing my first Hunter Safety course done in the basement of the local PD Department.

In a way...........this is what shooting sports and collecting is all about for me.

I don't know if I can post more than one video so I'll just pick the Win 30-30 and see if any others make the cut.

PS: Can't seem to upload a video, using manage attachments, so I'll just post without them but believe me I had as much fun "shooting video's" of that young man as he did shooting the "real guns".

 

[lihpster]

And with the 2578th pick in the 2021 draft, the Firearms Enthusiasts select Gabe, out of the great state of Virginia! interesting fact, Gabe is the third generation of active shooters in his family. A great addition to the team!

 

[bigwheelzip]

Never fired a firearm until after retirement, but it was something I'd been looking forward to doing some day, and I enjoyed it greatly.

I haven't been able to take any of my grands out shooting the first time yet because they live far away, but I had the chance to "borrow" a strangers grandson for a bit of range fun. I told of this on the forum once before, when it happened five years ago.

Someone Else's Grandson

 

[pawngal]

My Grandson lived with his Mom and with no Grandpa on that side, I was the one to first take him to a shooting range at 11 or 12. Iowa law at that time was no handguns to kids under 14 yrs old. So his shooting was with a 10/22 Ruger, a Browning BL22, and a Henry 17 HMR. He much preferred the lever action ones. At 14 he was shooting my Buckmark and soon there after my M66. He is 19 now and a better shot than me. I must have done something right!

My granddaughters live some distance away but each have had a couple of range trips with a single shot Crickett 22 at ages 8-10. Covid messed up their visiting last summer so hopefully we can make it this summer.
If they remember the safety stuff they will get to try the Buckmark.

 

[Rustyt1953]

These were posed photos of my grandson Logan and my grandson Ian and his dad, Ray commemorating their first time shooting in 2015.

 

[lihpster]

My Grandparents weren't shooters. But the first gun I ever shot, of any kind, was a Remington .22 pump when I was about 5. My mother held it to my shoulder and worked the action while I looked through the scope and randomly pulled the trigger. Been pulling all the triggers I could get my finger around ever since. As I sit, typing this, I can look up and see that old Remington pump in the corner. I can't say the same about my mom, but it is one of the many memories of her I treasure.
When you introduce someone to shooting you may be making memories that will long outlive you.

 

[Racer X]

Mom's brother was a police officer, and my dad grew up in rural Idaho, where his dad was a deputy sherriff. I was fortunate to be taken shooting a few times when I was young, and later on air rifles at camp, and .22s at Boy Scout camps.

I think learning properly at a young age safety and responsible fire arm handling is key. If the youngster doesn't want to continue, that's fine. But they now know how to be safe, and hopefully if they are around, prevent idiots from making painful and possibly fatal mistakes.

I have my dad's, and his dad's firearms, and some from even further back from the early 1800s.

Teach them properly, and let them decide what's next. It's the mystery and "taboo" that gets kids killed.

We have a 10 yo nephew we uncles are going to teach this summer. .22 revolver and .22 bolt action rifle, then auto loaders when he is ready.

 

[Golddollar]

I don't have any children or grandchildren, but one day I got to be a living history exhibit for a little girl. Years ago I was at a rifle range in Maryland to shoot my flintlock rifle. Several benches over was a little girl with two men I assumed were her father and grandfather. As I went through each step of loading the flintlock, I could hear the father telling the little girl what I was doing. I'll admit that I am a ham actor, so I remember being a living history exhibit for this little girl like it was yesterday.

 

[lihpster]

I don't have any children or grandchildren, but one day I got to be a living history exhibit for a little girl. Years ago I was at a rifle range in Maryland to shoot my flintlock rifle. Several benches over was a little girl with two men I assumed were her father and grandfather. As I went through each step of loading the flintlock, I could hear the father telling the little girl what I was doing. I'll admit that I am a ham actor, so I remember being a living history exhibit for this little girl like it was yesterday.

My father used to give talks and put on shows in some of the state parks here. Give a talk, have a Q&A with a display of all kinds of period gear, light a fire using flint and steel, fire off a squib load in a muzzleloader and take a bow.

 

[delcrossv]

Too young for grandkids (yet), but my kids really like shooting:

Daughter #2 with the 66-4 (transitional 6" M&P on the table

Daughter #1 with the Mod 1950 .45acp

#2 son with IIRC the target triplelock

#3 Son with the Mod 1899

#3 son with his favorite- the Ladysmith target

You get the idea- the next generation collectors starts at the range with present collectors.

 

[Golddollar]

My father used to give talks and put on shows in some of the state parks here. Give a talk, have a Q&A with a display of all kinds of period gear, light a fire using flint and steel, fire off a squib load in a muzzleloader and take a bow.

That is so cool!

 

[lihpster]

That is so cool!

He also had a yearly gig in one of the local grade schools. A fourth grade teacher used to have him in every year when they were studying the time period. Every year, he'd get an envelope with a bunch of thank you notes from the kids to "Mountain Man Joe". When he'd light a fire using flint and steel in the classroom it got the biggest response.

Of course he wasn't allowed to bring any of the guns. Apparently they thought he could do more damage with a single shot muzzleloading rifle than the 2 tomahawks and 6 knives he had with him.

 

[Chubbo]

Grandkids & guns.

I was pretty much deprived of a shooting education, taught by my superiors. My Dad wasn't an active shooter, and only two of my uncles, were. The kids that I hunted, and shot with, were mostly self-educated on the matter.
By age 16, I had done the research, obtained the signatures required to obtain a membership to the Columbus Police Pistol range, in Columbus, OH. Two of the influential people's signatures needed, were the police Chief, of an Ohio city, and the Columbus OH Safety Director. After becoming a member of that range, I found that the, extremely strict, Range officer delighted in ejecting safety-rule breakers, for the slightest offense. I was never charged with an offence, or ejected. The point being, my self- education, was competent.

 

[fkd713]

G&G

Got the chance to show my 5 YO grandson how to shoot this past Sunday. Used my S&W 41 PC with red dot. He was a great listener which for him is unusual. We all had fun. I don't know who was more proud, me or his mom. He rang steel 9 out of 10 shots. Hope to do more over the summer.

 

[YkcorCal]

I was lucky growing up in the country during the 1950s-1960s so my father and grandfather pretty much taught me gun safety with a "rod of iron" approach and set me lose on my own gun range behind our house and my grandfathers farm/ranch with hundreds of acres of land with my own .22LR revolvers and .22LR rifles. What an education, I worked around the family country store getting paid in .22 ammo so I fired hundreds of rounds a day either in practice on the range or hunting in season for what ever was available. I grew up in a "gun culture". My uncle even made my first .22LR single shot rifle for me because standard rifles were to big and I couldn't hold one up. I don't remember how young I was but know I was very young. He made one for me and his own son; my first cousin.

Good Times!!! I look back on with great fondness and nostalgia! You can truly never go home anymore. I often wish my parents had never sold my grandfathers little ranch stead with an old well that you could drop a receiver down and hand crank some of the coolest sweetest water up. From the hill you could look down over the largest pond to the far hillside and over to the barn and watch to cattle graze in the pasture across the small dirt country road that divided the poverty. I miss that as it only exists in my mind now. A man bought the land and planted it over with hair thick pine trees after tearing down the barn and moving off the old farm house. A pity really, it makes tears run down my face thinking about it. All that was and is long gone....

 

[wundudnee]

I have had my grandson shooting since he was pretty small. As he got older I let him shoot bigger and bigger calibers. When he was about thirteen I started taking him to Tulsa both spring and fall. When he was fifteen he got his drivers learning permit so I let him drive home from Tulsa. When he was sixteen I gave him my old Lincoln TownCar.
He's 21 now and just out of the Army. He now knows more about firearms than I ever did. Now he hauls me around. A really good kid/man.

My wife's two grandsons live in Madison, Wisconsin and have never had a chance to learn to shoot. When they come here to the wilds of Kansas I take them out back and we shoot. After I got them familiar with safety and function I let them shoot the Ak, Ar, SKS, Mosins, FN/FAL and several revolvers. I told them it made me proud to make shooters out of Madison liberals.

I told them to go home and tell all their friends how much fun they had. The following year I gave them each a nice Winchester model 67 for Christmas.

They called me this year and told me they were interested in joining a range and asked me advise on buying a handgun. It made me feel good.

 

[YkcorCal]

I have had my grandson shooting since he was pretty small. As he got older I let him shoot bigger and bigger calibers. When he was about thirteen I started taking him to Tulsa both spring and fall. When he was fifteen he got his drivers learning permit so I let him drive home from Tulsa. When he was sixteen I gave him my old Lincoln TownCar.
He's 21 now and just out of the Army. He now knows more about firearms than I ever did. Now he hauls me around. A really good kid/man.

My wife's two grandsons live in Madison, Wisconsin and have never had a chance to learn to shoot. When they come here to the wilds of Kansas I take them out back and we shoot. After I got them familiar with safety and function I let them shoot the Ak, Ar, SKS, Mosins, FN/FAL and several revolvers. I told them it made me proud to make shooters out of Madison liberals.

I told them to go home and tell all their friends how much fun they had. The following year I gave them each a nice Winchester model 67 for Christmas.

They called me this year and told me they were interested in joining a range and asked me advise on buying a handgun. It made me feel good.

Thank God for people like you!!! Great minds think alike!

My only grandson that cares about guns and hunting lived in Massachusetts at the time but he kept coming to visit his grandpa on the Gulf Coast of Texas where I was at the time after leaving Wyoming. Now he hunts and fishes and will inherit my guns and fishing gear. HE, HE! I never pushed him but just let him go at his own pace as he wanted to and asked for help. I am so happy I could BUST! I gave him my Remington 7600 in .35 Whelen the last time I physically saw him because he wanted to take up Black Bear hunting and there in no better rifle for fast jump shooting Whitetail Deer or hunting Black Bear.

I have four grandsons in Colorado who could not care less. Go figure.