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Art
01-03-2023, 05:36
Went to the gun club today with our daughter and grandson. I wanted to accomplish two things. One was to correct some flaws in his rifle technique. For that we were using the old Harrington & Richardson Pioneer my dad got to teach me and my brother to shoot when we were just 9 or 10. It was a better single shot for its time, walnut stock, cock on opening action, an actual safety instead of having to pull the cocking piece back and a feed ramp. Unlike last time he was mostly on target. He learned not pulling your head off the stock as you shoot or closing your eyes is conducive to accuracy :headbang: .

Last year I gave him my Remington 870 left hand 12 gage pump shotgun my wife got me for a Christmas present in '75. It came with a 26" improved cylinder barrel and I added a 30" full choke and a 20" rifle sight barrel over the years. I had a youth stock installed until he grows into the walnut. Well the boy has been dying to shoot it so today he got his chance. He is short and slightly built for his age (13) but very athletic. Since he is going to be going duck hunting next year I had him put on the full choke barrel and following the advice of old Ted Nugent I had him break some clay pigeons on the berm. The recoil was a bit of a surprise but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. After busting a few clay pigeons with target loads I set up a patterning target with a life size mallard in the middle of the 30" circle at 40 yards and had him shoot two duck loads (Remington 2 1/2" 1 1/4 oz. of no. 2 steel.) The first target he was a little high on the second he was dead center. He had the biggest grin. :icon_lol: .

By the way, the gun definately shot a full choke pattern. only two pellets were outside the 30" circle at 40 yards on the target on which he centered the pattern.

barretcreek
01-04-2023, 09:36
That will be a lifelong memory for him. It brought back the day my father took me out with a friend of his to shoot the friend's sporterized '03.

bruce
01-04-2023, 11:07
Oh the joy of precious memories in the making! Sincerely. bruce.

Allen
01-04-2023, 11:25
Our days are getting short. Our kids have their own lives now and the grand kids will soon have other interest along the pressures of school, work, driving, jobs and such.

Pictures of the day are always a good thing to have down the road. It's the only way to freeze time and re-spark memories.

Vern Humphrey
01-04-2023, 01:55
He learned not pulling your head off the stock as you shoot or closing your eyes is conducive to accuracy :headbang: .

So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong all these years!!

Allen
01-04-2023, 02:59
So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong all these years!!

Having some accuracy problems myself.

Art
01-06-2023, 02:28
Our days are getting short. Our kids have their own lives now and the grand kids will soon have other interest along the pressures of school, work, driving, jobs and such.

Absolutely correct in every point.

My grandfather wasn't a fisherman but told my parents he wanted to take me fishing. He was diagnosed with cancer the year I was born (1948) and despite the best treatment available at the time died in 1953. Obviously there was no fishing trip. My days are obviously numbered even without my current health problems so I'm on a mission to spend as much time with the kids and grandson as I can and impart as much of what they'll probably not get from anyone else as I can.

Hey Vern, pulling your head of the stock is the kiss of death with a shotgun. I'll bet 75% of the game birds I missed were due to this fault and nothing else.

Vern Humphrey
01-06-2023, 04:48
Hey Vern, pulling your head of the stock is the kiss of death with a shotgun. I'll bet 75% of the game birds I missed were due to this fault and nothing else.
You got that right! I've missed a bunch that way.