Milkmaster
Member
One of the best lessons my son could have absorbed happened today. Some of the lesson was on purpose, and some of it was purely by accident. I am grateful for the lesson however it was presented. Bare with me while I share the details.
A couple of weeks ago I welded up a set of hanging/spinning targets from scrap metal at my work. They are similar to what you can buy at the local sporting goods stores. The target metal is quarter inch thick 316 Stainless painted white to show a strike. Today my son and I took the set out for some plinking practice at about a 100 yards with open sights and a pair of binoculars
We started out with the 10/22 Ruger to get some practice and see how the new targets reacted. Open sights at 100 yards hitting a 2 inch and 4 inch target is not as easy as it may sound to some. We shot about a dozen rounds each to find our sight picture and begin making repeated strikes. The 22 rounds exploded on contact and did little more than knock the paint off the metal.
After 50 rounds each of the .22LR, my son and I retreived our Winchester 30-30 for some high powered target practice. Again it was 100 yards with open sights. The ammo was generic Winchester 150gr 30-30 bought at Walmart. We shot in groups of four shots each until the box of 20 rounds was gone. I knew the 1/4" thick targets would not survive a direct hit, but I did not expect the lesson my son learned today because of it. The pictures in this post show the results on the targets.
NOW FOR THE LESSON...
My 14 year old son's eyes were wide with a mixture of emotions from excitement to and including fear when seeing the results on the target pieces. He was pleased at his accuracy and amazed at how the round cut clean through the metal instead of just denting and mangling the target. I explained to him the difference between pistol ammo speed/strength and high powered rifle rounds etc. Now I know this is no news for those of you out there who are experienced and have seen what a high powered rifle can do. However, this picture for my son to see and experience was more than I could have ever talked him into believing otherwise. I took the opportunity to talk again about the rules for shooting and the reasons for them. We discussed how that a .22LR would indeed take a life, but that the tissue desimation by something in the category of a 30-30 was quite a bit higher. Nothing, including all the movies he has watched, History Channel shows on firearms, trap shooting with his 12 ga, or firing 9mm handgun at close range, has made this much impact upon him. The cost in time for me to repair the targets is nothing compared to the lesson and growth I saw in my son today. It is the reason I felt the need to write about it. Sometimes this forum becomes like a journal.
This was a very GOOD day for shooting and learning about firearms in my family.
A couple of weeks ago I welded up a set of hanging/spinning targets from scrap metal at my work. They are similar to what you can buy at the local sporting goods stores. The target metal is quarter inch thick 316 Stainless painted white to show a strike. Today my son and I took the set out for some plinking practice at about a 100 yards with open sights and a pair of binoculars
We started out with the 10/22 Ruger to get some practice and see how the new targets reacted. Open sights at 100 yards hitting a 2 inch and 4 inch target is not as easy as it may sound to some. We shot about a dozen rounds each to find our sight picture and begin making repeated strikes. The 22 rounds exploded on contact and did little more than knock the paint off the metal.
After 50 rounds each of the .22LR, my son and I retreived our Winchester 30-30 for some high powered target practice. Again it was 100 yards with open sights. The ammo was generic Winchester 150gr 30-30 bought at Walmart. We shot in groups of four shots each until the box of 20 rounds was gone. I knew the 1/4" thick targets would not survive a direct hit, but I did not expect the lesson my son learned today because of it. The pictures in this post show the results on the targets.
NOW FOR THE LESSON...
My 14 year old son's eyes were wide with a mixture of emotions from excitement to and including fear when seeing the results on the target pieces. He was pleased at his accuracy and amazed at how the round cut clean through the metal instead of just denting and mangling the target. I explained to him the difference between pistol ammo speed/strength and high powered rifle rounds etc. Now I know this is no news for those of you out there who are experienced and have seen what a high powered rifle can do. However, this picture for my son to see and experience was more than I could have ever talked him into believing otherwise. I took the opportunity to talk again about the rules for shooting and the reasons for them. We discussed how that a .22LR would indeed take a life, but that the tissue desimation by something in the category of a 30-30 was quite a bit higher. Nothing, including all the movies he has watched, History Channel shows on firearms, trap shooting with his 12 ga, or firing 9mm handgun at close range, has made this much impact upon him. The cost in time for me to repair the targets is nothing compared to the lesson and growth I saw in my son today. It is the reason I felt the need to write about it. Sometimes this forum becomes like a journal.
This was a very GOOD day for shooting and learning about firearms in my family.
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