Still, it was my kind of range day!
My son turned 10 last Friday. I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday, knowing full well he'd want to go shooting. He is a chip off the ol' block, after all!
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
His buddy had never fired a real gun before, and I love to get people started in the shooting sports, so I gladly agreed. His father and I co-lead our sons' Cub Scout Webelos den, so I called him up, made the invitation, and included the father. The four of us arrived at the range, and after a brief safety discussion, we started with a bolt-action .22, my son's favorite, the one I customized for him many years ago:
![Image](http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m2/Ysabelkid/Weapons/2008-05-07Marlin15YN1.jpg)
I like to start with bolt-action .22's. Low noise, no recoil, and easy to be accurate with even for a novice (thus building confidence). Plus, easier for me to make sure they are being safe. He really enjoyed shooting it.
We then moved to the Henry H001L "Large Loop" lever-action:
![Image](http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m2/Ysabelkid/Weapons/2008-05-07HenryH100L1.jpg)
They all got a kick out of this. We were shooting the "Barney" targets I posted about many months ago. A lot of fun to shoot (the father really enjoyed this!).
We then moved to handguns, and I broke out the Ruger Bearcat:
![Image](http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m2/Ysabelkid/Weapons/2008-05-07RugerBearcat1.jpg)
This is the one they ended up firing the most. I let my son do a lot of the instructing of his friend, with me hovering to make corrections and ensure safety. I didn't need to do the former, and only had to reinforce muzzle control a bit. I was so proud when my son was teaching him how to load the Ruger. "Load one, skip the next one, then load the next four. Pull the hammer back then ease it down, using your thumb, by squeezing the trigger. The firing pin is on an emtpy chamber..."
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
Last we took out the High Standard Supermatic Citation Model 104 semi-automatic pistol:
![Image](http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m2/Ysabelkid/Weapons/2008-05-07HighStandardSupermaticCit.jpg)
The boys really loved shooting this, but after a magazine each it started to jam every round. The slide stop was engaging after each shot. When I cleaned it this evening I took the grip panel off on that side, and the stop just fell out - the spring is mangled. Oh well, I'll need to get a new one. This one originally belonged to my son's grandfather (my Father-in-Law). BTW, all of these belong to my son!
We had a ball, and I got another young sprout hooked on shooting. A good day for all!
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)