Shooting Rifles

Last week I took Parker and two friends to the rifle range. Parker is hooked on shooting and he’s quite good. OK, he's sitting on a stationary bench with a 20 power rifle scope but still it requires skill to consistently put holes on the paper. We’ve enjoyed taking Trevor and Jeremy and their dad, Robert trap shooting but this was the first time they went to a rifle range. Jeremy had experience shooting 22’s but nothing much bigger than that.

The Clayton Arsenal was equipped with a Browning 22magnum which was a rifle that my grandfather gave me when I was 11. We also brought two Winchesters, a 270 which is a mid-sized caliber and the elephant gun – the 375 H&H Model 70. This is no pea shooter. I brought this rifle to Africa in 2005 to shoot this buffalo.

We went to Chabot Gun Club which is an awesome outdoor rifle range. The day was perfect, we had three benches at the end of the 100 yard line and we had ample room to setup the spotting scope to track our progress. The boys proceeded to make good progress with the 22 and the 270 but there were no takers for the Elephant Gun.

Below is Trevor and Jeremy shooting the 270 Winchester

After I fired it twice, they had a chance to feel the percussion and the see the recoil. Parker went first and proceeded to put a hole through the X at 100 yards. Very impressive. What’s funny is that the recoil pushed the gun back straight to his right eye. Thank God for eye protection and a scope with a rubber cushion. It was hilarious watching teenagers fire a big game rifle. Jeremy went next, also put it within 2 inches of the X and Trevor put two more holes on the paper at 10 o’clock.

I’m truly blessed to have the opportunity to teach these great young men how to safely handle firearms and shoot properly. Just as I remember my first experience behind a rifle, I'm sure they will remember this for the rest of their lives. These are the lessons my grandfather taught me and so the tradition continues. Next up is to teach them the prone and sitting position. We’ll see how their steady nerves hold-up without the bench.