Little man will be opening a long slender box,,

[pposey]

My son is now 8 and he will be opening a TC Hot Shot in the morning, I had a Savage Cub for him but when I ran across the Hot Shot I had to upgrade, it's overall as short as the cub but has a 3 inch longer barrel and is .5 of a pound lighter, and just seems easier and safer for a beginner

I am making a guy at work a killer deal on the cub for his son if his wife will let him get it,,, she isn't really that thrilled,,, mine isn't reallyyyyyyyy happy with me but she will get over it.

Hopefully James will become a real tin can shooter under constant watchful eyes and it will for sure stay locked up with my guns when I can't be with him,,, they make one in pink camo if his sister is interested...

www.tcarms.com/firearms/youth_hot_shot.php

[Rifleman]

I hope you have a great time teaching James to shoot his new rifle. I have some great memories of watching my son open gun boxes, he always loved getting one. One Christmas when money was tight I found an old used 1903 springfield that was sporterized for cheap. I loaded up 100 rds and sighted it in. Christmas was especially cold that year. He was 12 and thrilled to get his first "real" rifle. My son is a pretty big fella, and I knew he would manage the 30-06 just fine in the heavy Springfield. Well after dinner he was chomping at the bit to go shoot it. So we loaded up the truck and went to the range. After getting him squared away, I sat in the truck keeping warm while he laid on the cold ground ( it was about 5 degrees that day) and watched him shoot all 100 rounds and get his skinny butt kicked all over the place. I don't know who had the most fun, him shooting his new gun learning to hold for elevation at the steel plates at different ranges or me staying warm in the truck laughing watching him freeze and getting booted!

[pposey]

Well did some shooting today,,, tin cans filled with water were a big hit from 7 yards, Spud went 24 for 25 and has alot of fun, he is taking it really seriously but is enjoying himself as well, the little baby Encire is really a neat little .22lr, he is already asking for a scope so it will look like one of my guns,,, need to find a small quality scope,,, I have a 1x burris that will be great for him to start with,, and a 2-7 burris compact for later, it would be a bit heavy for this rifle though,

biggest hit of the 2 shooting sessions was placing an empty can on top of a can filled with water,, the top can going 10 feet up or more and water flying everywhere was all the incentive he needed to concentrate on a good hit

says that now he cant wait to go Squirrel hunting,,,, told him he has to get pretty good on targets first

[Rifleman]

When my boy was young we used to load him up and some friends and take him to a dump we use as a range and would put out a case of clay pigeons all over from 50 yds to 200 yds. I would give them 22 rifles and bricks of ammo. They learned to alot about hold over and wind that way and had a great time. I believe in teaching fundamentals, but I also believe there is no substitute for trigger time. I like to give young shooters lots and lots of 22 ammo to burn and a target rich enviroment, they learn much by doing for themselves. Anyway just my 2 cents.

[pposey]

Yep that would be great, can do that some at the uncles place just depends on where those cows are,,,,,,,,,,

[Rifleman]

You mean your not suppose to shoot cows?

[pposey]

Well maybe one young one a year,,,,,

[cfvickers]

My girls have a pink laminated cricket and a Contender 6.8SPC with a thumbhole youth stock with a 12.5 in. pull. When I was a kid from 7 on I hada 4 wheeler and an Anshutz 1452 .22lr bolt action. I would bet that gun has 50,000 rounds through it, maybe more, and it will still shoot with the Ruger Target 10/22.I shot everything from cans to alligators with that thing. I was 10 when I shot the alligator so i think the statute of limitations is out before anyone asks. also I didn't stick around to try to find him. Doubt he died anyway.