I was a TINY dude. Will never forget holding that rifle in my hands. It looked like a cannon. Dad had me aim at a tree and pull the trigger.
Almost forty years later and I still cannot describe the sounds and the colors I saw after the recoiled scope hit the top of my nose square between the eyes. The blast knocked me flat on my back. Blood gushed out. I still have the scar from that incident.
I've been reluctant to shoot any gun since. Maybe it's time to finally overcome that fear?
It’s time.
Yes, it's time. Get a good .22 and learn the fundamentals, and above all safety, then get whatever's comfortable for you to use.
I'm not a big fan of recoil myself. If you're shooting at game, you'll hardly notice it at the time, though.
Way past time. Hopefully not too late.
At 10, I was shooting my grandpa’s 8X57 MM Mauser ‘war trophy’, which is about 60% more powerful than 30-30, (and with a steel buttplate)... and I was a lightweight kid too.
But if you are still leery, start out with a .22 rimfire, or a .223,..... and no scope. Your dad was kind of mean to start you out with a scoped rifle of medium power. Lots of even grown people get banged with scope, even experienced shooters, occasionally if they get careless.
Good people are going to need to be able to shoot, and own something to do it with in the very near future.
I ran the 4H shooting sports program in my county.
Many people ruin kids by trying to impress them with the power and noise of a inappropriate firearm for their age.
The first time I went hunting was at age 12 on Grandad’s TN farm on Thanksgiving. Rabbit hunting with a .22 single shot. I got to go hunting with the menfolk!
When we got home to NC, Dad took me out and taught me how to shoot his shotgun. So at 75 lbs. I was hunting with a J.C. Whitney 12 gauge pump shotgun. I learned early how to handle recoil.
I’m really sorry that happened to you, and I can understand why you wouldn’t want to shoot for fun. I see YouTube videos that are supposed to be funny where a man hands a woman a powerful gun with no training, instructions, or expectations about what’s going to happen and how to counter it.
It really is a good time when safety is respected, plus we’re exercising our rights while connecting ourselves to history and tradition.
I just got back from the range shooting my new pistol purchase for the first time. Part of the fun comes from knowing that I’ll only get more precise with it.
You should try it again when you’re ready!