The gun is perhaps the most fascinating thing to young boys and some girls. So I think it is Very important that they are taught to always respect the power of the gun. The gun is made for killing, not for show or glamour. That’s what your boyfriend/girlfriend is for.
It has been said that there is not much danger in handling of a gun, if carelessness is avoided. Wrong! More people have been killed with an unloaded gun or a gun that has been left available to people who shouldn’t have access to them than people who have been targeted by a gun, I think anyway.
I do agree that most accidents where people have been killed or hurt, is the result of negligence of the simplest rules of safety. Like, never point a gun at something your not going to kill or always treat a gun as if it is loaded. Simple stuff that we all sometimes take for granted.
There are Two types of guns that I want to talk about. Rifles and Shotguns. For the most part we don’t have a lot of hunter’s that hunt with pistols. I know they are out there, I just don’t know any of them and have never hunted with a pistol, unless you consider trying to shoot squirrels with an old Florida special single action 22 pistol. I guess you could call it hunting, because you sure aren’t hitting anything little a long killing anything with it. Maybe if your fastest enough and could run it down and hit it over the head with it.
Let’s talk about the Rifle. The Rifle is a long range weapon and depending on the caliber the best for Big Game. I know that in the mid west states that are band and they have slug barrels for their shotguns that shoot like a rifle. The old timers used there flintlocks and other rifles for small game, but then came the shotgun. If you use the right shot, you usually wont mess up the meat too bad.
I think when they are at the right maturity, that there is nothing better than a single shot 22 rifle for a young and first time hunter. Don’t get me wrong, the 22 is a very dangerous weapon and can kill just like any other gun. But the 22 is relatively cheap to buy and the ammo is not too expensive. It also is a great tool to teach young hunters responsibility. Such as safety about what your shooting at and what’s in the background. The 22 rifle will kill anything that the first time hunter maybe hunting, like squirrels, rabbits, birds and tin cans.
When choosing a shotgun, make sure and get a gun that is from a reputable maker. I have a shotgun that is the prettiest thing you have ever seen. It has carvings and artwork on the body of it, but I’m afraid to shoot it. Why you may ask, well I got it in a trade and one day I wanted to see what it was worth. So I looked it up on the internet and found that this gun was made in another country and was bad to crack and split when fired too much. How much is too much, I don’t know but I don’t want to go blind either.
So what is a good shotgun for first time hunter’s ? I love my 410’s and 20 gauge’s. For the simple reason that they don’t have a lot of recoil or kick back to them. If a kid hurts their shoulder the first time they shoot a gun, they will either prepare for pain when they pull the trigger next time and miss their target or attempt to get away from the kick and injure themselves or someone else. This could also ruin their opinion of hunting. No one likes pain.
The range of most shotgun’s is around 40 to fifty yards on a good day. You may here people boast of making longer shots, but just let them talk. It’s always cheap. About 40 yards is typical with No. 8 shot. The pellets come out the barrel fast but loose speed and knock down at greater distances, and they spread apart covering a larger pattern also.
These are just a few ideas I had about shotguns and rifles that I wanted to share.
Good hunting, God Bless and I’ll catch you down the trail.
Ricky Cooper