Email from my daughter brought tears to my eyes (merged thread)

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Sam Fisher

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Email from my daughter brought tears to my eyes

Got home this evening and when I logged on I saw that I had mail. My 13 year old daughter knew I went duck hunting last Saturday and when I opened my mail she asked me if I would teach her how to hunt. She said the only thing she has shot is a BB Gun. (the one I bought her when she was 7 years old). I immediately wrote her back and told her I would love to teach her and that we would first start out by going to the range, letting her learn to shoot. My heart is swollen with pride and it's a wonderful feeling knowing my daughter wants to learn firearms.

Well boys, it looks like I'm in the market for a .22! :)
 
Sam F.,
Buy a copy of Robert Ruark's book, The Old Man and the Boy as a gift for her as well as a Good quality .22 or 20 ga.
Life is good.
Cherish that young'un sir.

Adios
 
Sam ........ I can easily identify ...... indeed, cherish that young lady.

My daughter now is 28 and still lives in Uk ..... no guns of course. She and her hubby tho were over on a trip in August and they were around here quite a bit .. managed 2 visits to range (see pic ... where she is capably shooting my P97) ..... and oh my .. after a whole year (their last visit) she still shot well and enjoyed... amazing after a 12 month gap.

She commented later after getting back - how much she wished she had a gun or two and could enjoy more shooting ...... sadly she can't ...... not there.

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I used to take her and my son (2 yrs younger) to range regularly as little ones .. and over time taught em both the basics .. they got to stage of good competence with .38 spl and some .22 rifle very capably.

My son is here and shoots when he can ... he progressed and joined me in some compo shooting and now has his GP 100 and 7mm mag ...... and still loves it. Hunts every year.
 

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Thanks for the kind words guys.

My father wasn't a hunter or a shooter when I was growing up and later in life I always wished I had a gun that was my dad's that I could cherish. Now, I'll have the opportunity to buy my daughter her first gun and hopefully this will be the one she keeps for the rest of her life.

Should I start her out with a single shot .22 and a single shot 20 gauge? I have a Savage Model 29, .22 pump. Or should I buy her a new rifle and shotgun instead of a used one? I'm kinda leaning towards a new one.
 
Sam .... I doubt it would matter much what you get her for the first ... she will I am sure cherish it anyways.

I have a Marlin 60 . great lil plinker and even modest tack driver too! I got mine from wally World when they were hardly over $100 three years ago ..... fine lil rifle IMO.

I know many favor 10/22 .. another option and still not too pricey really.

Single shot still not to be sneezed at of course and one of those ''training'' single shot bolt Romanian's on offer are worth a thought i think.

Whatever you get her .. she will be in 7th heaven i expect!:)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quite forgot the shotgun aspect!! Hmm .. well 20G still can be quite ''fierce'' .... maybe a 28G or a .410 .. good starting point perhaps.
 
Take her with ya when ya get one, a new one preferably, and all the trimmins (eyes, ears, cleaning kit, etc). Maybe the Boy Scout Merit Badge book on Marksmanship as well.
Look at the CZ 450 series in .22 lr for a lifetime quality rifle.
http://www.cz-usa.com/product.rimfire.php
Once she gets into that, and you gauge her success, look into something that will bust clay pigeons and other flying and hopping thingies.
But you and she should read Ruark for a proper mindset about hunting (methinks) or something like his writings (Ortega's Meditations on Hunting comes to mind) for the proper respect toward our place as hunters and relationship as stewards of the outdoors and wildlife.
Some of my best memories are of squirrel hunting with my Dad. Not so much the actual moment of the kill, but the time spent walking and BS'ing in the woods as equals... as friends. He knew a lot about Indians hunting and their relationship with animals and tried to pass that on to me at an important point in my life.
Learn as you go. About her. About you.
Too Cool.

Adios
 
but the time spent walking and BS'ing in the woods as equals... as friends. He knew a lot about Indians hunting and their relationship with animals and tried to pass that on to me at an important point in my life.
Learn as you go. About her. About you.
Click to expand...
Well said baba .... this is indeed the ''icing on the cake'' ....... it ain't all about shootin and killin ... at all.:)
 
Hey guys (and gals), I think I found the perfect firearm for my daughter!!!

Springfield's Scout. It's a single shot .22 and a .410 all in one! It's a clone of the United States Air Force Survival Rifle. Whatta ya think?
 
I think a bolt action .22 is the ideal way to start out. Teaches patience and control. 10/22s are great fun, but I often see kids blasting away like they can't wait for the next shot. I'm repeating myself from another thread, but I second the recommendation for the CZ 452. Particularly the scout model, for smaller shooters.
 
Sam,
I'd have to disagree. The odd trigger on the M6 Scout would not make it a good platform to learn from.

I started my boys on Single shot .22 youth rifles (they can often be found at gunshows reasonably priced), single shot 20 gauge shotguns and a Ruger Standard Model .22 auto pistol.

Start her out with the four rules, a lot of dry fire to familiarize her with how to manipulate the weapon and then at a close range for immediate positive feedback. Nothing turns off a novice quicker then trying too much gun or too difficult a shot right away. .22 LR is cheap, shoot a lot of it.

Jeff
 
"found the perfect gun" thread merged with parent.

And if we're gonna keep talking recommendations, I'll be moving this to Rifle Country. Anyone wanna chime in on the "congrats" part before we go? :)

-K
 
and oh yeah... to the rifle.

Another vote for the CZ line of .22s. Scary accurate! They do have a smaller youth model I believe, but at 13 she likely wont need it.

The Scout has a niche... training a new shooter is not it.

I'd suggest searching Rifle Country for "first rimfire " Much wisdom there. As to the shotgun... no clue. But if she's asking to go bird hunting, that seems the place to start, yes?



-K
 
I agree that while the Springfield model might look like the best of two worlds, you'd be doing her a disfavor in the long run. Trigger and .410 makes for frustrating shooting at the outset.

If its a combo gun you're after, check out Savage Arms www.savagearms.com 20 or 12 ga combo with a .22lr over a 20 bore or a .223 over a 12 (or somesuch combo). $500 or so tho'. Better looking (tho still awkward to my eye) than the survival metal combo from Springfield (but beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say)

I think EAA imports some Saiga combos as well, but don't quote me on that.

http://www.remington.com/firearms/shotguns/fi_870_16ga.htm

Some would offer the opinion that a 20 ga is too small/light for ducks and such, so check out the Remington 870 16 ga youth model on the above link. Ammo might be a might more expensive than 20 or 12 bore and maybe scarce as well, so that could be a bad thing. But at $332 MSRP you could probably buy the shotgun for her and also have your local WallyWorld order some 16 ga loads from Remington/Distributor or just bite the bullet and order a case or two (or three... skeet/clay pigeons, duck/pheasant and maybe quail/rabbbit loads) from your local FFL.

I'll stick to the recommendation for the CZ as a lifetime quality .22 however. Not too pricy either. I'd avoid the Scout since she's already 13.
As other's have stated, its just my opinion and its worth every penny ya paid for it. ;)

You could begin by ordering some catalogs from those mfg's in her name and have her look through them.
Nothing wrong with a Winchester 9422 and a 1300 as a set of starter arms either tho'. Little more money on the .22 end of the deal when compared to the CZ. Marlins good too.

Happy Hunting Sam

Adios
 
Don't forget the Rossi long guns with two barrels, one in rifle caliber and the other a shotgun. Only have to worry about getting one stock to fit and modify as she grows.

And don't overlook the Thompson Center Contender. Start out with a .22 barrel and add as she grows. With the new version being released I am hoping to see the older frames drop in price.
 
I think what I'll do is buy her a new .22 rifle and a new shotgun. Only because I really don't have anything suitable for a 13 year old except for the Savage .22 pump. When my time here on earth comes to a close she'll get everything I own anyway, so for now I think she should start out on a new gun that is more suited for her size and inexperience.

Thank you all very much for your suggestions. They were a big help. I really appreciate it.
 
Sam, that sounds good. It looks like your daughter's a good kid. If it isn't impertinent (I don't have any children, but I was one, once) I'll offer this:

A good .22 will be a source of warm memories for the rest of her life. Whether new or used, find one that she likes and whose quality of manufacture gets your approval. I second the idea of searching for "first rimfire" and "first shotgun" for recommendations.

One thought about .410s: I used one for my first season of hunting doves, quail and pheasant at age 13. I remain convinced that, for birds or for clays, a .410 is an expert's gun. Shooting a .410 that first season, I became convinced that shooting was hard and that I just wasn't any good. I couldn't tell if I was improving or not; I missed almost all of the time. I had the chance to borrow a 12 late in the season a couple of times, and it's hard to describe how grateful I was to find out that my impressions had been a little too pessimistic. A 12, 16 or 20 gauge gun that fits your daughter would be a wonderful present.
 
Another vote for a cz 452...can get it as pretty or plane as you want it. Scout comes with a single shot adaptor, but you can buy one from cz for $10 that will fit any 452. Downside is the mags are expensive (IMHO). $30 for a 5 or 10 rounder. But then again, marksmanship and hunting doesn't require 15+ mags. As she gets better and is a safe shooter, there's a guy on rimfirecentral.com that sells a trigger kit to lower the pull weight, and he also has different rear sight blades. I love mine to death, just seems to always run out of ammo too fast.

Nismofun
 
UPDATE!

Thank you all for your kind words and suggestions. I decided to buy a 1973 Romanian bolt action, detachable magazine fed .22 rifle for her first gun. It is in very nice condition. The stock is a bit rough but I want to get her involved with the "refurbishing of the gun". I (we) plan on tearing it down, cleaning it, oiling and lubing it and setting all metal parts off to the side while we go about giving the stock some much needed TLC. I'm hoping this draws her closer to "her" gun and gives her a better appreciation of it. It's a gift to her from her daddy, but it is hers to cherish.

Thanks again everyone.
 
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