Bought my son his first rifle

[.22LRGUY]

My oldest daughter started with a Cub, she's 16 now. Seems to have lost interest but it'll be here if she ever needs it.

^I was going to say the same thing. lol My daughter used to be my shadow for everything outdoorsy. Now she's more interested in her flat iron, iPhone and Starbuck's. I still hunt/shoot/fish...and extend the invitation to my kids nearly every time. Only one taker these days...my youngest son. (14) Enjoying that while it lasts!

So his birthday was today and I finally got to give it to him. Mind blown. I took the advice and stripped off the goodies so we could put it together (together). I also picked up a set of lower rings that might fit him better. I never did shoot it, but it was hard to restrain myself.

His liberal/anti/progressive grandmother pretty much blew a gasket when he started opening his gifts, I started him with a box full of the add-ons and then handed him the basic rifle in a soft-sided case that was the perfect length (thanks to a local shop). Win for everyone that matters. Tomorrow we have a big day: go to the shop and assemble it, ride dirt bikes while we can before the snow flies. Saturday we are driving to my parents' so he can shoot.

Little bonus, I dragged the missus to Cabelas today and she picked a little Buck folder off the shelf to give him. She is as anti-everything as her mother, so this was a huge leap for mankind.

Review with pics to follow.

^I think that's the way minds start to get changed, kudos to you. We have an anti in the family too, she doesn't think much about my hobbies. lol She overheard my nephew and I recounting a recent groundhog hunt one time, and took us both to task. I told her I was VERY eager to hear everything she knows about groundhogs and Ontario farms that have issues with them. That sort of wrapped that up.

As for the scope rings for the Rascal~I had the Savage bases like you have, and found them way too limiting. I ordered an EGW rail for our family Rascal, got it from Prophet River. Way more flexibility with eye relief, able to use lower rings without issue, etc. Looks pretty cool too!

 

[deadman]

Attah-bouy d-man.
Keep nudg'in yer wifie in the right direction and eventually her maw ....................awww heck, whom am I kidd'in.

Yeah I'm not going to hold my breath on changing the mil's mind on anything. Made the mistake of getting involved in a discussion on gun control once. Like so many others, its black and white to her. Make all guns illegal, no more gun crime. Its that simple and there is no more to it. Opened my safe one time for her to have a look inside, THAT was a mistake. But it was worth it to see her head turn completely around.

There is hope for the wife though, I've even had her shooting my 1911! She pretended she didn't enjoy it, but "Just one more mag I guess."

 

[deadman]

As for the scope rings for the Rascal~I had the Savage bases like you have, and found them way too limiting. I ordered an EGW rail for our family Rascal, got it from Prophet River. Way more flexibility with eye relief, able to use lower rings without issue, etc. Looks pretty cool too!

I was thinking these bases are somewhat limiting, and am still considering that EGW rail. Too late for this weekend, but we'll see how he does with what we have.

 

[AB.boy]

I used the DIP rail on my son's rascal and I really like it. You do not need to remove the rear sight and can still use the irons if you remove the scope. I got mine from Kinney's Shooting Supply in the US.

 

[deadman]

Bit of a glitch. We put the Leupold back on today with the new lower rings, and I told the boy to shoulder it to check placement. He picked it up, put the stock to his left shoulder....and said "Dad, its hard for me to work the bolt on the wrong side."

Yes I know he's left-handed, I've known him his whole life. An absolute brain fart on my part, I didn't even think of it when I bought the rifle. Part of me says he will adapt to the over the top method, part of me wants to buy a lefty. Damn it!

I'm a lefty too, but I adapted to a right-handed world. I can do either, I'm mostly ambidextrous. Didn't even occur to me that he was left-dominant when I picked it up.

 

[deadman]

Should I try to train him to operate the bolt with his off hand, and use what we have? Its a rimfire with a bipod, his off hand is basically redundant (as long as he's prone). His right hand could be working the bolt and feeding cartridges while his dominant left could maintain a shooting grip. Or should I find him a lefty rifle? He won't always be laying down with the bipod dinging a resetting gopher target. The other thing to think of is this: its a heavy barrel and he's a small skinny kid. Its not ideal for offhand shooting.

Note: I'm not against the idea of finding another rifle. I would source a Target XP if I were to do it over again. But obviously in a southpaw version. I feel like a bad dad right now......

 

[Magellann]

My son is a lefty as well, but he has no problem with any rifle. He adapted to be able to shoot them all quite well.

 

[deadman]

Mine has too, he shoots everything he gets his hands on. I guess the big thing here for me is that I wanted "his" first rifle to be somewhat catered to him instead of him just "making it work". And I failed miserably on the most basic thing haha.

 

[Sakoman .308]

Mine has too, he shoots everything he gets his hands on. I guess the big thing here for me is that I wanted "his" first rifle to be somewhat catered to him instead of him just "making it work". And I failed miserably on the most basic thing haha.

Sorry to read this op. My dad got his Eatonia model 39 in 1960 @ 12 years. He's a lefty but learned to shoot right handed.
I took a left handed buddy of mine shooting years ago. He was using my dads Remington Model 7 featherweight. He loved the rifle but said he would want his own to be left handed. What do ya do.

I guess I would encourage your son to be comfortable and support him in his love of shooting.
If it takes a left handed rifle to do this, so be it.

Your a great dad, who made a mistake, all is not lost.

 

[kamlooky]

Hayya D-man, furgitt his north oar south pawnism.
Witch izz'izz domanint eye?

Wish me ol`paw gartzs me shewt'in lefty even though I'm a righty.

Lern'im awn hizz gooder eye site side.

Edit tuh note: war'in in tarnayshun did yewse git thet gawd awwwful handle?
I feel like I'm taws'in the devils fork at yew yews'in yer name.........................hence d-man...............

 

[deadman]

Left eye dominant. My other son wants to stop in at Cabelas today on our way out of town to pick up a new rimfire, so I may just see if they have a lefty Rascal in stock. There will always be another kid that can use this one....

I really like the looks of the Savage TR, mulling over a new purchase for myself as well. Maybe .17HMR cause I think I have the .22lr covered.

The handle came from my habit of impulse buying rifles (like today), and what my wife will do to me!

 

[deadman]

I forgot to update this saga. We spent the weekend at the parents', and the kids spent hours every day shooting. Those poor Cabelas targets! The gopher poppers and the spinning triples were ready for the garbage bin when they were done. They went through 8 Fed 525 blue boxes, 1000 Stingers, 400 Mini Mags, 400 Quiets, and a pail of misc that probably had another 2000 in it. Not bad for a crew using nothing but bolt guns in single digit weather.

My oldest son brought his girlfriend along, I had to pry my CZ out of her hands when we went home.

As for the Rascal, the boy figured it out. I'd still like to play around with a different scope mount as he seemed to hunt a bit for a clear view.

Hillbilly pics!

 

[chanman]

As for the Rascal, the boy figured it out. I'd still like to play around with a different scope mount as he seemed to hunt a bit for a clear view.

Have you considered a red dot as suggested by manicmechanic? The Bushnell TRS-25 is pretty compact and needs only a single Weaver/Picatinny slot to mount. I put one on the forward scope base of my Mark II BTV and find I almost prefer it that way to the usual 6-18x scope. As a bonus, you also get an unobstructed view/access of the ejection port.

 

[deadman]

He has gotten the hang of it, I think it was more just needing to get used to it. I think a stock upgrade would be more useful for him.

 

[IanC]

I also have one of these for my son who is now 5 he is a little bigger than average in size. In terms of fit he can shoulder it properly but find the grip to trigger area still quite big for small hands. He gets a little discouraged trying to wrap his hand around and get his finger into the trigger guard.

 

[deadman]

Same here. Its not a very well designed stock for kidlings. Mine has big hands but still can't get a really comfortable, solid grip.