That's some fine shooting for a 9yo. I still have to focus to not flinch...an effect of my Dad's Ithaca Featherlite Dearslayer...
I started him with a Red Ryder when he was 5, graduated to a .22 at 6. He started with the T/C .243 last year. He has shot more times at 9 than I had by the time I was 18. I may start him on the pistol next year.
Good luck to your son! You have hopefully stated him on a life long addict to hunting and the outdoors.
Same here. Dad put me on a 12guage when I was about 7 and had me shooting trap. 100 rounds would turn my shoulder black n blue. I'm still somewhat of a flinched even though I've shot many 1000s of rounds. A good trigger helps.
I also struggle with a flinch. It is all but cured if I have a rest so my crosshair float is minimal. Several years ago I started making myself apply more and more pressure to the trigger until it surprised me when the gun went off. It is second nature now as long as I have some type of rest. Shooting free hand the sights move so much that I don't have confidence to let the above surprise shot happen and have the sights on target, so I set it off when they drift by...flinch them off is a better description. It is something to do with either the recoil, report, or both that makes me flinch, as I can calmly squeeze off rounds from a .22 freehand without the flinch. Setting the bow off is fine too. Just bumping up to the 22-250 brings the flinch into play. There is always a tree nearby, or I'm packing shooting sticks, so I simply don't take freehand shots beyond 50 yards anymore. A good trigger does help, all my rifles go straight to a Smith to get a trigger job. I like them to feel like placing my finger against concrete and a crisp break occurs once 2.5 lbs is applied.
Been considering a new purchase and maybe applying for a suppressor. If Tikka would just make their barrels a hair thicker at the muzzle... I'd, uh, pull the trigger... I think it's the initial noise as much as percussion, recoil, etc...
Interesting thought, hadn't thought much about how I'd react on a suppressed rifle. I believe my uncle has one, going to have to test that theory out. Thanks for the idea.
Feeling so blessed to have a healthy grandson and daughter this evening! She had him around 2pm this afternoon. Celibrating life and what family means with three fingers of my favorite burboun over ice. Life is good!
Just thought of this. When I turn 46 in Dec, the sum of all my kids ages will be 46. Only time in my life it will happen.
Finally pulled the trigger and renewed my hunting, trapping, and fishing licenses for the last time.... ever (at least as far as this state is concerned)! Looks like y’all are stuck with me for many years to come.
Get the suppressor, you won’t regret it. Unless you enjoy sitting in the stand with electronic muffs on and thinking there is a deer right behind you, only to take them off and realize you were listening to a squirrel that’s 4 miles away and playing in the leaves.
Just tossed my dog a thinly sliced piece of rare ribeye. It bounced off his bed and landed on the back of his neck. Just got to watch him running around the house trying to track the smell of steak for 15 minutes before it fell off. He is sooooo proud of himself for finding it. Until now the only thing he has ever been able to track from any reasonable distance is a bed, sofa, or chaise lounge.
Half day of work today and then heading to "Papa's deer hunting camp" with my son. About three years ago my FIL decided that he wanted his grandson to have memories of his Papa's hunting camp. So at age 4 I took him up for the weekend and the tradition was started. We go to an area about 2 hours away. It is at about 6000' elevation so often it is pretty cold and has snow. This will be the third year. It is supposed to be terrible weather this weekend, socked in with snowstorms all weekend, but going anyway. Bringing all the snow gear and plan on doing some atv rides at the very least. Not sure how much actual hunting in that kind of weather. Going to bring the stainless 25/06 along, but it will take a tank of a buck for me to burn my only tag, with a modern rifle, before the rut kicks off. Another neat thing is also happening this year. My son's great grandfather Burt, on his mother's side, will be joining us and we have a surprise for him. Back in the 70's his wife bought him a muzzleloader kit for his birthday. It was bought more for the project part than the desire for using/shooting a muzzleloader. He sanded and finished inletting the stock, stained it, and browned the barrel. He didn't want to try to shooting it without someone with experience around so it just got hung on the mantle...and stayed there until about a year ago. He then decided to give it to his SIL, my wife's dad. Knowing I'm very into muzzleloaders he immediately brought it to me to go through and asked me to work up an accurate load for it. It is a CVA Mountain Rifle...and wait, it says "Made in the USA" on the barrel. These are fairly desirable, as they have a Douglas barrel on them, 1:66 slow twist for excellent round ball accuracy, rather than an imported barrel. An unfired one like this will demand $600 or better. The kits were under a $100 bucks back in the day. The rifle had some flaws. The hammer doesn't hold well (very dangerous), the set trigger doesn't function right, and the wedge keys are very loose. I found out that the hammer issue was caused from CVA inletting the trigger assembly too much (kit rifles always have some work done to them from the factory) and the fix is to shim it out a bit. I do so and the hammer now holds firmly, the sear would have to break for it to release now. I also make some adjustments to the trigger, and the return spring and now the set trigger is functioning too. A bit of shim work on the stock and the barrel wedges fit very snugly. It is all but ready to go. A patch down the barrel shows the factory grease is still in it, so that gets cleaned out. This weekend Burt will be the first one to fire his muzzleloader he built over 40 years ago.
