Henry mare's leg for kids?

[CraigC]

Sad when you can't even discuss shooting with your own kids without the armchair police getting all frothy. Nobody said anything about turning a 9yr old girl loose with a handgun. If the child is supervised, which we should all assume she would be, the legalities are all irrelevant.

 

[tdstout]

What the heck does BATFEIEIO mean?

It's good that she's shooting, no matter if it's a mare's leg or anything else. My Dad used to let me take his pistol out and shoot cans with it when I was around nine, and I turned out pretty good, lol. But, then again, we were on private property and didn't know that you weren't supposed to.

 

[Ishoot1st]

Yeah i know Craig...i started out my daughter on a .22 cricket at age 6. The discussions i would have with people about having my daughter target shoot or hunt with me often got heated. OF COURSE safety was discussed, practiced, and drilled into her, but a lot of people think its wrong still? I think that early introduction of firearms, and most importantly firearm safety, are the key to keeping kids from being curious and careless around guns.

 

[CraigC]

Me too! What the armchair litigation team needs to realize is that standing at the range and handing a child a firearm does not constitute "possession" by a minor.

 

[ChopperKen]

My daughter has been shooting my handguns
since she was 5 (Ruger single six & 22-45)
I think kids should learn early myself.
If you hunt with your kids you won't be hunting for them.

 

[bigfatdave]

What the heck does BATFEIEIO mean?

when the ATF started adding letters and became the BATFE, I helped.

 

[Ishoot1st]

I ended up buying a henry mares leg for my daughter for her birthday. She used the youth model on 3 different outings and everytime she complained about the weight and bulk of the rifle. We usually have at least a mile to hike into our shooting spot. I think that the tube magazine loaded, is too much weight in the front of the gun for her to hold it up and get good shot placements. Plus she wants to put the scope from her cricket on the youth model, but couldn't bear any extra weight or bulk on it. So....dad had to grab her a new gun and get her excited about shooting this summer, we will pick up her new mares leg on friday. Plus the wife likes to shoot the youth rifle, so i really didn't lose at all. With a little scope and a sling, that mares leg is gonna be a kids dream gun, great for hiking and camping. Plus it holds 15 .22 shorts, thats my daughters favorite ammo, she is more accurate and flinches less than .22lr. I'll post back after we try it out.

 

[CZguy]

I teach shooting to many young people. After they master the basics with a bolt action, they transition to the S&W 15/22. The multi position stock fits darn near everyone.

 

[paintballdude902]

i dont understand where this whole federal law thing is coming from. i read nothinh about her owning it or her trying to cc a mares leg.

 

[Ishoot1st]

I love the S&W 15/22. I have been drooling over that one since it came out, and it has got mostly great reviews so far. That could be dads new toy before my daughter gets it. We handled one and she won't be comfortable carrying and shooting it for a couple years. When we go out, she has to carry her own water, snacks, ammo, and rifle. So if she has a rifle that is too big and heavy, then i usually end up carrying it. The couple times i let her shoot my marlin 60, she got in the habit of dumping rounds quick. Hopefully the lever action will slow her down and make her concentrate more. We both like to dump rounds with my gsg5 pk though 

 

[CZguy]

I love the S&W 15/22. I have been drooling over that one since it came out, and it has got mostly great reviews so far. That could be dads new toy before my daughter gets it. We handled one and she won't be comfortable carrying and shooting it for a couple years. When we go out, she has to carry her own water, snacks, ammo, and rifle. So if she has a rifle that is too big and heavy, then i usually end up carrying it. The couple times i let her shoot my marlin 60, she got in the habit of dumping rounds quick. Hopefully the lever action will slow her down and make her concentrate more. We both like to dump rounds with my gsg5 pk though

I include partially loaded mags in my training. And occasionally let them shoot Remington bulk pac, in order to introduce jams so that they can learn to clear jams and change mags.

I use Federal bulk pac so that it runs right.

Only at the end of the session do I let each one do a mag dump.

 

[doc2rn]

My uncle had one of those henry survival rifles (AR-7) for over 30 yrs. He used it weekly to keep the varmits out of his barn (he was phobic about bats). That thing weighs in the 2 lb range and was descently accurate. They even make an aftermarket 25 rnd magazine for them.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

bigfatdave

Quote: What the heck does BATFEIEIO mean?

when the ATF started adding letters and became the BATFE, I helped.

An answer I wanted to know to a question I was reluctant to ask.

♪ ♫Old MacDonald had an agency, BATF-E-I-E-I-O♪ ♫

ADDED to get back to Opening Post:

As a youth gun the AR7 would not be my choice; the weight is good, but my Armalite AR7 buttstock is bulky for an adult and IIRC the Henry AR7 Survival Rifle I handled was not smaller at all, it felt slightly bulkier. The stock is too large for a child.

If the full sized Henry carbine is too much for the father's six year old camper, and the Henry Mare's Leg is a good fit, hey that's the father's choice.

Personally, I think the social engineers who write crap like the 1968 Gun Control Act looked at the demographic of the typical gun American owner (introduced to shooting as a child by father/mother aunt/uncle or grandparent) and decided that laws restricting youth and guns would break the cycle of the gun culture.

For the shooter who has everything, the mare's leg is a cool gun.
The .22 Henry Mare's Leg has low recoil and can be shot like a rifle with the abbreviated butt to the cheek. It is actually more practical in my book than the centerfire mare's leg versions offered by other manufacturers which can be shot as a pistol, but best with both hands. I do remember a quote from Steve McQueen that his mare's leg in Wanted: Dead or Alive (.44-40) was a pain to learn to shoot well.

Although I am tempted by the ..2 henry Mare's Leg at the LGS, I think I would be better off opting for the Henry Carbine, but I already have a Marlin 39A Mountie, so I end up at Square One.

According to http://www.henryrepeating.com/

The Henry Lever .22 Carbine has a barrel length of 16 1/8 inches, overall of 34 inches, and weighs 4.5 lbs.

The Henry Mare's Leg .22 Carbine has a barrel length of 12 3/4 inches, overall of 25 inches, and weighs a fraction less than the Henry Carbine (4.45 lbs? Must be a heavy saddle ring added to the Mare's Leg!).