A boy's first rifle

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J

Janitor

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A few weeks ago, my nephew's son was turning 13. I wanted to get him his own rifle, and was able to (with little effort) get Mrs Janitor to allow me to get him a .22lr.

They were having a surprise party for him at a ranch/whatever it is where some folks get together and do old west re-enactments.

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A few of his buddies on the porch.


He was there with them most of the day, working on new scenarios with them for the next show. They managed the surprise through working on a new scenario where he was a prisoner to be broken out of jail. They put him in a prison outfit and stuck him in a cell. While he was locked up, the rest of us that were going to be at the party snuk into the main building.

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Some of the people waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting critter.

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Using my knife to open the last present of the evening. (I think the dog was hoping nobody would notice he was inside - otherwise I'm sure he would have been a lot more interested.)

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He's pretty much got it sorted out now.

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Cowboy behind me asked - "Is that like a Henry?". "Not like one."

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He was so happy, his eyes lit up red like demon spawn.

The only down side to all of this, is that it was a few weeks ago and with being horribly busy, and lousy weather - I've not gotten to go down and shoot with him. Still hope for this weekend though. Fingers crossed.
 
Oh, no, Sarah Brady was right! Guns to demonically possess the children!:D

I bought a Henry youth-model for my nephew last Christmas. Great gun, it only needed a sling and an action job and the rifle was good to go.:)

Janitor, thanks for posting those pics. As an uncle of 5, I just love moments like this.

(The dog in the background seems unimpressed though):D
 
+1 on the action job El Tejon. I've already talked with his father about that. I may have to wait a bit, but we'll git her done. I almost bought the youth model for him, but Mrs Janitor aptly pointed out that he's 13, and growing like mad.

The Henry's are great. And since he's so into the cowboy thing, the octagon barrel & buckhorn sights seemed a perfect fit. thumb.gif
 
Janitor, the rifle I bought for Josiah was on the stiff side. So, since it needed a sling, I had the gunsmith clean it up.

The action job does not take much. Stu, my gunsmith, said all he did was stone the action lightly and the buff it, lube it up and cycle the action a few dozen times.

My nephews live in the country and are able to shoot a lot. My brother says that he has over 2,500 rounds through the gun and it is now slicker than . . . well you know what.:D

I confess I was worried about the Henry and high volume shooters such as my family. But the Henry seems to be holding up. We'll see how it goes over the years.
 
Thanks for that info. I might just swing by Ahlman's some time soon and see what the smith says about an action job on a Henry. Sounds like it's not that large a deal.*

He'll get to shoot a lot where he lives too. His father and I put together a 50 yard range on their property a couple years back, and they have a woodlot that (imo) has far too many squirrels in it.

ETA: * He could use a sling himself anyway. :)
 
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He even rated an octagonal barrel, not bottom of the line model! Very nice! I bet he won't ever forget that birthday.
 
Wow!

The look on his face says that he'll talk about that birthday for the rest of his life. If he lives to be 100 he'll tell the great-grandkids about it.

What a wonderful thing to give a kid the gift of that memory. :)
 
The happiness that children can express in their faces is priceless. Very nice, thanks for sharing.
 
The look on his face says that he'll talk about that birthday for the rest of his life. If he lives to be 100 he'll tell the great-grandkids about it.
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...after they ask him why he still keeps that one "old" rifle. :)
 
Next year, get him a small pocketknife.

He's gonna Poke his Eye Out opening packages with that big TAC folder! :D

BTW: Very nice gift, and unfortunately, one most American boys will never get to experiance.

rcmodel
 
...after they ask him why he still keeps that one "old" rifle. :)
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That would just be the best I could ever hope for.

He's gonna Poke his Eye Out opening packages with that big TAC folder! :D
Click to expand...

Guess I'll have to pick something up for him. He aint gettin my Benchmade. :D
 
Great rifle great choice. I have a single shot Ithaca lever action. Who knows how old it is. It was actually my fathers. He gave it to my brother and i when we were kids to learn how to shoot. Then i have given it to my kids to learn how to shoot. So its now been passed down twice. I bet he will be doing the same thing. Those types of guns are the best first rifle guns to get. Whats best about them is being able to pass them on down the family.
 
That looks like the buildings out behind Ahlmans.
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The thought never occurred to me bensdad, but you're right. It does.

Actually, it was at the Moondance Emporium. They even have a photo of Jameson (not in prison cloths) in the lower right hand corner of their homepage.
 
"You'll shoot yer eye out, kid!"

Nice. Does it have "a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time?"
 
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