Toombsy Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 A few weeks ago, when I was staying at the folk's house, I had arranged a session with my dad at his local clay ground. My young daughters were being looked after my their grandma, and when I was packing the gear in the car my eldest (9) said that she wanted to come with me. I had to let her down because I thought she would be bored, and only found out just how much she wanted to go until I got back. I had a chat with her and found out that she didn't just want to go along for the ride and to watch - she genuinely showed an interest in having a go. So I got to thinking... She's far too little for the 12-bores, and I didn't want to put her off on her first attempt, so I made a call to the club to see if it's okay to bring along the .22 rimfire and have a go on their range as a visitor. The club secretary was only too happy to let us have a try, so I gave her a call and asked if she would still be interested in having a go with a 'quiet and little gun' shooting at still targets. She almost screamed down the phone with a definite yes. Brilliant. On Saturday I got the rifle out in the folk's back garden and showed her how it works, what to do, what she needs to see through the scope, how important safety is and let her ask a load of questions. She was still keen to go. Then in the morning we turned up and were shown where to go, what to do and told a few rules, and left to our own devices for me to zero the scope. That was perfect - no rush, and we had the 25m range all to ourselves for long enough to get her started. She loaded her first magazine, clipped it into the rifle, took aim using the bipod to take the weight and under a little guidance gently squeezed the trigger. The bullet struck home an inch off the bull. She took another look through the scope and saw the little hole. One huge grin followed from both of us. "Again?" "Yes please daddy!" so I told her to pull the bolt back, the case flipped out and I had to save it for her to keep, and she pushed another bullet into the chamber. There was no stopping her, even when the range started filling up. The chap on the next table took us both by suprise when he let rip with a .22 Hornet, but the noise never put her off, and neither did wearing the ear defenders. She absolutely loved every minute of it, and even after 50 shots she never missed the target, but the bullets were starting to get a little further from the bull so I slowly wound up the session before she began to miss. It was just such a great couple of hours watching her and passing on all those little things that my dad taught me, and on the short drive home she quickly asked when we can go again. Looks like we've got another potential shooter in the family, and looks like I'll be saving for a decent 410 ready for next summer There's been many things that have made me a proud dad, but that short session really tops them all. I'm still grinning three days later As a footnote, if there's anyone reading this who knows of a reasonable secondhand O/U 410 for sale in the Cambridgeshire/Lincolnshire area, please let me know. Thanks for reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 always good to hear the youngsters getting into it. Keep it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shotgun666 Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 nice one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonySmith Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Nice one Toomsby.. I know exactly how you feel. I am also looking for a OU 410 for my lad, but he is really happy with his Baikal SB 410 at the mo. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Aww that is so nice. I love it when kids get so excited about the sport. There is still hope for the future yet! I have a friend who is trying to get his niece into it, she is about 8 but she is scared of the gunshots, but she still wants to have a go, so he is going to start her gently with an air rifle and work it up to get her a .410 or a 20 bore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanl50 Posted August 26, 2009 Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 Fantastic. what a lovely little girl you got. must have been lovely for you but where has she put the case?? lol Regards Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hezbear Posted August 26, 2009 Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 Glad to hear about your kid getting involved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhiannonBW Posted August 26, 2009 Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 How wonderful that she's so interested. And of course, it's always nice to see another female keen on shooting. Rhiannon x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toombsy Posted August 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 Thanks for your comments I got a good feeling about this - I reckon she's going to be a shooter for life Finger's crossed her mum doesn't chuck a spanner in the works... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted August 26, 2009 Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 great news and a great write-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humperdingle Posted August 26, 2009 Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 That's a lovely story - Hope she keeps up the interest. My wee lass has had a few shots with an air rifle, and she seems to be a bit of a natural. Unfortunately, 3 weeks ago, she was diagnosed with leukaemia (She's 9 aswell), so all that stuff will be put on hold for the next while. On the upside though, shooting might be the ideal thing for her to do when she wants to get out, but not do anything too strenuous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldrick Posted August 26, 2009 Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 Toombsy, I am usually a fairly miserable sod, but your post made me grin like a Cheshire cat. Infectious enthusiasm is a great thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.