My nephew is on the local cub scout shooting team

[MacTech]

And apparently he's *quite* the shot, taking out saltine crackers at 25 yards, IIRC, quite the little sharpshooter he is

Apparently, at cub scout summer day camp this summer, he tried out for the target shooting team and did phenomenally well, he also knew both the Eddie Eagle program *AND* Cooper's Four Rules before any of the other shooters (thanks in part to me teaching him both sets of rules)

Apparently neither my Sis or BIL knew he tried out until he got accepted (both of them are apathetic towards guns) but now my nephew is really getting into it and has been asking Sis and BIL where I go when I go shooting, as he wants to come along

He's even started talking about wanting to shoot clay pidgins with shotguns too

I told Sis and BIL that they all have an open invite at my range whenever they want to go, in fact, I want Sis there on Logan's first range trip, so she can see the range is safe

Looks like Logan may be getting a set of Childs hearing protectors, shooting glasses and a membership at my range for Christmas

And yes, the urge is there to celebrate this by buying him his first gun, but I don't have a huge amount of disposable income, and I don't know what the ATF rules are about "gifting" firearms

Ideally, I'd love for his first gun to be the Ithaca 49 that single-shot lever action that *I* learned to shoot on, but that gun is still Dad's and it's not my place to gift it to him or not, Dad may no longer shoot, but it's still his property

Other options would be taking Logan to KTP, having him pick out his first rifle (ideally a single-shot break barrel or bolt, or a bolt repeater in .22) and I keep him supplied with ammo

I'm really looking forward to seeing him try out trapshooting, apparently that's what he *REALLY* wants to do now, and yes, SM I took a page from your book and already dropped the hint about a H&R Topper Youth in either 20 or 28G

 

[rfwobbly]

That's great news for the kid! I tell the parents in my BSA troop that the only kids that do drugs, internet porn or electronic games all day are the ones that are bored out of their skull. If you'll give the kids excitement they'll stay focused on good things and grow up to be responsible adults. And the 3 things they want most are camp fires, a chance to shoot guns, and to learn to use a pocket knife... all of which come true in Scouting.... and hardly anywhere else in our society.

Go slow with the parents. The best way to introduce them to the idea of shooting is through camping. Make sure they take their son on every outing, which for Cubs is only once or twice a year. But it's very important. When they get into the camping and campfires, then the knives, hatchets and guns will naturally follow.

You should realize that Cubs only shoot BB guns. Webelos can shoot pellet guns. Boy Scouts shoot .22, and when they master that, shotgun and black powder rifle. Some Venture crews shoot pistol.

What you SHOULD do is sponsor his "den" (4 to 8 boys) to get the NSSF Youth Shooting Badge using the BB gun. There's a brand new patch each year and it's free. By the time he's 18 he'll be shooting the target with .22's have 10-12 patches to show his progress over a decade. There's also a shotgun badge for older boys, also free.

Go here to learn more: http://www.nssf.org/jrusa/

Although aimed mainly at Scouting, any Youth group can shoot and earn this badge. If you are connected with 4H, Girl Scouts, AWANAs, Royal Ambassadors, etc then you can have your youth group earn this patch. The kids LOVE it, and the patch allows instant recognition for a goal obtained.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

Good on you. How old is your nephew?

We started our four older grandkids on BB guns at about age five (depending on the kid). Now, the oldest ones are ten, and we can trust them by themselves on the backyard range with their Chipmunks.

Our nephew, Josh, showed an interest a few years ago and, since his parents are not shooters (yet), we took over. He's now 15, and shooting clay pigeons over here pretty regularly. He's also been bringing his non-shooting friends over to learn, which is a win-win situation.