Posted on 12/12/2012 5:38:05 PM PST by RightFighter
Beginners should start with NRA Certified trainingI would recommend training
from an NRA Certified Instructor
NRA Gun Safety Rules
Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction
Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot
Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use
Annoy your ex. Get him an AR with one of those .22 conversion kits. And tell the weenies on this thead to go stuff themselves.
He is your son, too.
I ask not because I care about your house rules versus hers, but it appears she is the primary custodial parent.
If you want to give your son a gun as a gift, one that stays at your house for him to hone his skills,under your supervision, that's up to you.
If you think giving a teenager a gun you know he must hide from his mother is a good idea, I think you need to ask for help as to why you would consider doing that, not what type it should be.
I also like the Ruger .22LR semi-automatic that I think is a great gun as well.
Ummmm....I’m his FATHER. I don’t rent him for the weekends.
It can also be a lifetime possession. I still break out my first .22 from time to time, a 46-year-old Mossberg single-shot that I got at just a little less than his age. Still shoots as sweet as the day I took it home. Best of luck, and may the spirit of the season include ammo in the stocking!
I agree.
You can buy a real AR-15 and get the conversion kits.
Replace the bolt carrier group with the one in the kit, and you’re ready to go.
http://www.armalite.com/Categories.aspx?Category=e12e2236-9dab-4a1a-a015-47b56da84038
Is but one example of these conversions that apply to the entire platform.
You are supposed to teach him to respect his mother. I am not the only one that said quit waving a red flag in front of a bull. You are just trying to get his mother’s goat and it is plainly obvious.
Funny that I’m being attacked for doing something that my ex-wife might not like. At least I said what the circumstances were. I was perfectly open to feedback from people saying “I really think that you shouldn’t get him a gun now” as one poster said. I’m not sure how I’m being a jerk by wanting my son who is growing up in a very dangerous world to learn to shoot and be responsible with guns. It’s not like I’m going to send him back to mom’s house with it. If she doesn’t want a gun in her house, that’s fine with me, as long as she doesn’t try to tell me what I can have in my house.
My recommendation is to get him a .22 rifle. If you can find one, get an old Winchester bolt action with a magazine. This will teach him marksmanship, gun safety, and responsability. Get him a cleaning kit along with the rifle. I would use the NRA commands when he shoots. Especially the rule that no one goes down range when the range is hot.
I would stay away from pistols until he learns to always keep track of where the muzzle is pointing. Kids wave pistols around too much.
My kids love shooting a .22 and the .30 M 1 carbine. I would stay away from semiautomatic rifles for a couple of years. You might take him hunting starting with a single barreled 16 gauge shotgun.
The Ruger 10-22 is a well made firearm and dead nuts dependable. It would likely be a rifle your son could use till he has grandchildren.
Learning sight picture, breath control and trigger control is important to a foundation in marksmanship. It will carry over from 22s to literally anything he would ever shoot, hand gun, long gun, shotty, etc. And it is much easier to learn with a bolt action, but can be taught using something like a 10-22, or even a BB gun (I learned with a BB gun, 50,000 BBs and a basement “range”).
Handguns are fun, but difficult to use for learning the fundamentals. Plus the 22 rifle is a legal small game hunting weapon in most states.
As to your EX wife, let her teach tree hugging and sensitivity when she has custody, but you have every bit as much right to raise YOUR son as you see fit, and teach him your values.
Just WOW. The OP asked about recommendation about a gun. He wasn’t asking about how to handle his ex-wife or his relationship with his son or anything else in his life for that matter. You are way off base.
It is hard to believe from your comments that you are prior military. Attorney, yes military not so much.
I bought both of my kids AR’s for gifts at the ripe old age of 12. Had their names engraved on the stripped lower recievers adn we built them up together.
Their mother went crazy about it because she hated guns. My position was that they were my kids too, and what I did with them while they were with me was none of her concern.
FWIW I didn’t appreciate her serial shacking up with her new boyfriend(s) either, so what’s the difference here?
I started my oldest son out with a Marlin 22 cal. rifle at 8 yo. He took the Ca. hunter safety course at 8yo and passed it the first time and has hunted ever since.
I just gave my oldest grandson a 22 cal. Marlin, for his 10th birthday.
You are awesome. Don’t let the troll bother you. It’s attacked several people on the thread and has added nothing to the argument. Good luck.
One of my chief issues with her side of the family has always been that they cuss like sailors. They talked to him like that when he was a baby, and I complained about it. Her mother really got on my case about that and told me that he was just a baby and they would never talk to him like that when he could understand. Today, they’re worse than ever (his mom included).
So, I should just take that, I guess, because she’s his mother, but I have to be worried that I don’t offend her sensibilities by getting him a gun and teaching him to use it safely.
Since there is no way that your ex-wife would allow him to keep the gun there is no reason to not get a real AR-15. Get a 22 LR conversion kit for it, too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.