Author Topic: somthing for the grandkids (Read 1202 times)

timber1952 · « **on:** April 08, 2010, 07:31:36 AM »

Out of the blue grandkids 12 year old boy and 13 year old girl said they wanted to learn to shoot a rifle. Everything I own is to much for them so I bit the bullit and went out to the local mom and pop and got a handi 44 mag with the short barrel. Should be a good starting point for them. Going out to the garage and load up a couple of hunred round of 200 grain lazercast and 6 grains of trail boss .Start lite and work up as they learn to handle a 44 mag.

Avyctes · « **Reply #1 on:** April 08, 2010, 07:48:26 AM »

I should think a nice .22 would be a better 'starter' for young kids. The .44, especially with a short barrel, will probably not do much to put the love of shooting in their blood. I got my son a .22 Henry lever action youth model; and to coax my wife into the shooting hobby years ago I bought her a Ruger Mk1 off my Dad that I'd sold him years prior. The .22 is the best place to start for newbies. Practically every kid who learns to shoot learns on a .22. It's cheap, you can shoot it all day long without painful repercussions, and did I mention it's cheap? Get them something fun, like a Henry, or a 10/22, or maybe one of the .22 AR designs. The .44 mag is not a good starter for kids. And another thing is you mentioned that they wanted to learn to shoot a rifle, but you got them a revolver. We all know that it is considerably more difficult to become proficient with a handgun. A nice handy light carbine is much easier to get good with. Good luck whatever you decide to do, but I hope you reconsider before you let that little girl drop the hammer on a .44 mag as her first taste of shooting!

Daman · « **Reply #2 on:** April 08, 2010, 07:51:12 AM »

Sounds fun. I hope you all enjoy the new Handi!

Welcome to GBO!!!!

He did not get the kids a revolver, he got them a 22" Handi rifle if I am correct. I do agree on the 22. Just put a 22 WMR Sportster on layaway for my little cousin to start on. But that said squib loads in the 44 won't be to bad for a 12 year old.

Daman

timber1952 · « **Reply #3 on:** April 08, 2010, 08:09:02 AM »

It has the 18 inch barrel. This is why i am starting out with a slow moving bullit to stat out with ,only 850 fps no recoil that i can see. That out of revolver . no kick at all

Doublebass73 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 08, 2010, 08:23:17 AM »

That load through a 44 Mag rifle will have no recoil, perfect for a kid.

Winter Hawk · « **Reply #5 on:** April 08, 2010, 08:54:06 AM »

Avyctes,

Notice that he got a Handi in .44, i.e. a rifle, not a revolver.... He clarifies further that it has the 18" barrel. With a light load and ear protection that should be good for the kids. I'm thinking seriously about getting a .357 Handirifle "for my son" before Bud's Guns raises the price on them some more! Last week they were $195, today they are $227...

-Winter Hawk-

timber1952 · « **Reply #6 on:** April 08, 2010, 08:59:06 AM »

Who knows, if both kids like to shoot it I may be force to buy another one so they will have something to shoot. If they can handle 44 mag maybe 357 mag to ream out to maxi. later

timber1952 · « **Reply #7 on:** April 08, 2010, 09:03:04 AM »

New to posting on fourms. one finger at a time. love it here , reason i went with Handi is the information i read on this web site

Mac11700 · « **Reply #8 on:** April 08, 2010, 09:14:27 AM »

Ear/Eye protection...Ear/Eye protection...Ear/Eye protection...just cause it is a light load is no reason to stat them down a path of hearing loss..and protecting their eyes is equally important.

Good Luck with teaching them how to shoot..and hopefully you will have many years of shooting enjoyment with them..

Mac

timber1952 · « **Reply #9 on:** April 08, 2010, 09:27:01 AM »

Mac got the eye and ear protection before I got the rifle I have hearing lost from not taking care First thing on my list

canon6 · « **Reply #10 on:** April 08, 2010, 10:06:06 AM »

timber, you are on the right course. good thinking

Doug

timber1952 · « **Reply #11 on:** April 08, 2010, 10:22:15 AM »

When you are young and know everything you do stupid thing . You have to take care of what you have befor you loose it

Mac11700 · « **Reply #12 on:** April 08, 2010, 11:29:05 AM »

Quote from: timber1952 on April 08, 2010, 09:27:01 AM

Mac got the eye and ear protection before I got the rifle I have hearing lost from not taking care First thing on my list

Excellent..Might I also suggest getting a nice nylon shell holder and putting some soft foam under it for a soft cheek piece as well..When I was teaching my daughter how to shoot rifles and shot guns..having the soft cheek piece took all of the face slap out of firing them..and as a result allowed her to concentrate on the target..instead of worrying about the recoil..She has never developed a flinch because of doing this...What we take as granted about the recoil on our cheeks from the stocks..it's new to them and they don't and as a result..many wind up developing a fear of pulling the trigger or flinching when they do....It's just a way of keeping it fun...Heck..I still use them on all of my rifles too..and when going up in recoil to some of my loads..the really help..

Good Luck

Mac

gendoc · « **Reply #13 on:** April 08, 2010, 11:31:40 AM »

timber, you done fine !!!!

my 12 year old grandson layed down his 22 bout 3 years ago....
" now i'm ready for your guns "... he said

so its been that way ever since

he likes the 45/70, .460 and casull. most of all he likes my #1 ruger in max....
so i had to get him one in handi. and its perfect

he likes big bullets and bang/flop results

timber1952 · « **Reply #14 on:** April 08, 2010, 11:53:24 AM »

Dad a great guy but like most there are not enought hours in the day or week for him to do for his kids. Now that im an old fart i understand what my father had to do to make a living. I think its my job right now to help him out. Beside that grandkids are more fun. they are more willing to listen and learn. Teach them the in and out of shooting right and I wiil have shoot mate for the rest of my time on earth

gendoc · « **Reply #15 on:** April 08, 2010, 12:53:05 PM »

AMEN...........WELL PUT !!!!!!!!!!!

Spanky · « **Reply #16 on:** April 08, 2010, 05:08:02 PM »

44 mag Handi is perfect for a kid to learn on and they won't outgrow it either.

I love mine and wouldn't part with it.

Spanky

necchi · « **Reply #17 on:** April 08, 2010, 06:31:12 PM »

Quote from: timber1952 on April 08, 2010, 11:53:24 AM

Teach them the in and out of shooting right and I wiil have shoot mate for the rest of my time on earth

Right on Grandpa,,there's another saying''

"If you teach yer kids to hunt,,you won't be hunting for your kids!"

Antietamgw · « **Reply #18 on:** April 08, 2010, 07:28:14 PM »

Quote from: Mac11700 on April 08, 2010, 09:14:27 AM

Ear/Eye protection...Ear/Eye protection...Ear/Eye protection...
Mac

Yes! Plugs and muffs are a good idea. It can be tough to get hearing protection that fits. Muffs alone can get pushed out of place. Doen't take much movement to lose the seal, especially with long hair. Finding the right load is the fun part but IMO, finding the right ear/eye protection is alot more critical. Enjoy!

PawPaw · « **Reply #19 on:** April 09, 2010, 04:22:06 AM »

There's a reason that my sign-in name is PawPaw. The most important people in the world call me by that name.

Couple of years ago, my wife said "The grandkids are going to start asking to hunt with you. Maybe you should pick up some rifles if you can find a deal on them." Now I've got a couple of shooting buddies who are always willing to go to the range. Or to the deer lease.

To my way of thinking, Handis are perfect for grandkids. Good accuracy, inexpensive price-point, and having a single-shot teaches them the value of basic marksmanship. It's easy to clear the firearm and easy to clean it. It's a great rifle for an old fart with a bunch of grandkids.

timber1952 · « **Reply #20 on:** April 09, 2010, 07:10:58 AM »

Just went down and became , (me and my wife ) the newest member of the local rod and gun club. I knew we had one but with being able to walk out to the swamp never needed to. Guess its time (never to late I hope) Gives the grandkids a solid shooting platform to start out on .Why a didnt join befor I dont know. May be having the kids shooting will help Me!!! git my self more together.

wreckhog · « **Reply #21 on:** April 09, 2010, 07:21:54 AM »

12 and 13 are not young. In other countries, soldiers carrying adult size weapons are that age. Centerfire Handi is perfect, as long as you can afford it. If you want to teach them gun safety and marksmanship on the cheap, a BB gun works too.

Avyctes · « **Reply #22 on:** April 09, 2010, 07:30:33 AM »

Ah, I thought handi was a mis-spelling of handy (given 'bullit' and 'hunred'). Should have been capitalized

Anyway, I just never heard of a Handi. I still stand by my opinion that a good .22 rifle is a great starting point tho'. Give a kid a .22 and a brick of ammo, and you've given him hours of fun. But sounds like they'll have fun with their Handi as well. Good luck and enjoy teaching your grand kids!

quickdtoo · « **Reply #23 on:** April 09, 2010, 09:08:09 AM »

This IS the H&R Centerfire Rifle forum afterall, stick around, you'll learn a little, Handi-Rifles are great US made hunting firearms.

Tim

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H_&_R_Firearms

http://www.hr1871.com/default.asp

Sourdough · « **Reply #24 on:** April 09, 2010, 09:19:53 AM »

You did good. Not only will the Handi .44 Mag be a good starter gun, but can later be used for some serious hunting. Now go out and teach them how to have some fun. Remember a reactive target helps get their interest going and keeps it going much better than paper. A target that spins or explodes when hit. I use clay targets at the end of a paper shooting session. That way the kids see instant results from each shot. A bunch of plastic soda bottles filled with water and sit on a rail also works good.

My son and his buddy got the most fun with a .22RF and a couple of old soda bottles. They would make it skip and move along the ground with each shot. they would have competitions to see who could move the bottle the furtherest with the same amount of shots.

Old Fart · « **Reply #25 on:** April 09, 2010, 09:39:41 AM »

What a great way to get them started.
Good job gramps!

gcrank1 · « **Reply #26 on:** April 09, 2010, 12:18:49 PM »

The easiest and cheapest reloads for the pistol caliber chambered guns is a sneeze worth of powder and a round ball thumb pressed in with a smear of lube over the mouth (the case, not yours). Just like a 22 on steroids, not much noise, no recoil, but lots of smack where it its.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #27 on:** April 09, 2010, 01:57:32 PM »

A little off topic, but speaking of smack....Was on a blackpowder trail walk once at a pre-1840 Rendevouz, one of the fellas dry balled (loaded his percussion Hawken with no powder under the ball), he removed the nipple and sifted a few grains of 4F priming powder into the fire channel and replaced the nipple and capped it up, aimed at the base of a large maple tree and expelled the dry ball, the ball hit the tree and bounced right back and hit him square in the possibles bag, hard enough that it coulda done some serious damage if it hit anywhere else!! So be careful with those light loads and whatcha shoot at.

Tim

PlainsHunter · « **Reply #28 on:** April 09, 2010, 02:16:41 PM »

There's nothing more fun than fixing a rifle up for your grandson....Here's one I just completed for mine...Just the way he wanted it

.....By the way he's only 6yrs old. I guess grandpa will have to break it in

Zen

Lon371 · « **Reply #29 on:** April 11, 2010, 12:44:16 AM »

Great choice. I bought one for me and my boy took it

So I got the .357 mag now Maximum. Both are great fun to shoot and good enough to hunt with. Should be hoot for the youngens to start out with. After you get them shooting safely, you will be able to move to hunting loads. Hunting loads have no recoil in the .357 mag, max, or the .44 mag.

Thank you for bringing the youngens in to the shooting sports. To many of them now days are stuck in front of the computer or game machines.

Lonny