I made a fundamental error gifting a .22 rifle,,,
I forgot to take into account the physical size of the recipient.
Several months back I gifted .22 rifles to the three sons of a dear friend,,,
I had a surplus of very good rifles that I never shot anymore.
It was a delightfully satisfying experience.
On the Sunday of this past Memorial Day weekend,,,
I gifted two more firearms to the daughter and son of my oldest friend.
The daughter is 19 years old (almost 20) and is a junior at TCU,,,
Her dad okayed the gift so I presented her with my venerable Ruger LC9.
It is the "Lady Lilac" color and she loved it,,,
She also got a Twisted Industries .22 adapter kit.
So with 3 mags for each cartridge, lilac shooting muffs/glasses, and a cleaning kit,,,
She is now well armed with a good pistol that will be cost effective in practice.
She mastered switching from 9mm to .22 LR quickly,,,
And was soon putting holes in a paper plate at 15 yards.
I felt very satisfied with the gift and her reaction to it.
I didn't do so well with the .22 rifle I gifted to her 10 year old Brother.
I gifted him a Savage Mk-IIF that I purchased new a few years back,,,
He also received two 10-round mags and one 5-round mags,,,
I mounted a new Simmons 3-9x2 scope on it.
My "fundamental" mistake was not considering the fact that he's a small-ish boy.
The rifle is simply too long for his short little arms to accommodate,,,
He couldn't get any kind of cheek/shoulder weld,,,
Nor could he see through the scope.
I was so proud of myself in the choice of a quality firearm for him,,,
I know for a fact that the rifle will hold a 1.25" group,,,
That's at 50 yards with bulk HV ammo.
It was almost painful watching him sit at the bench,,,
And try to hold the rifle on the bags,,,
And still look through the scope.
Fortunately I do have a solution for this dilemma,,,
I own a Crickett "My First Rifle" that I'm sure will fit his small frame better.
So as soon as I can arrange it,,,
I'll take him to my rifle/pistol club range,,,
And see if we have better results with a more size appropriate rifle.
He'll still get to keep the Savage,,,
He'll grow into it in just a few more years,,,
But in the meantime he will have a rifle he can actually use.
I have no idea why I didn't think of this problem beforehand,,,
I think I got caught up in the excitement of gifting,,,
And gave him the rifle I would have wanted.
Oh well,,,
Live and learn.
Aarond
.
I forgot to take into account the physical size of the recipient.
Several months back I gifted .22 rifles to the three sons of a dear friend,,,
I had a surplus of very good rifles that I never shot anymore.
It was a delightfully satisfying experience.
On the Sunday of this past Memorial Day weekend,,,
I gifted two more firearms to the daughter and son of my oldest friend.
The daughter is 19 years old (almost 20) and is a junior at TCU,,,
Her dad okayed the gift so I presented her with my venerable Ruger LC9.
It is the "Lady Lilac" color and she loved it,,,
She also got a Twisted Industries .22 adapter kit.
So with 3 mags for each cartridge, lilac shooting muffs/glasses, and a cleaning kit,,,
She is now well armed with a good pistol that will be cost effective in practice.
She mastered switching from 9mm to .22 LR quickly,,,
And was soon putting holes in a paper plate at 15 yards.
I felt very satisfied with the gift and her reaction to it.
I didn't do so well with the .22 rifle I gifted to her 10 year old Brother.
I gifted him a Savage Mk-IIF that I purchased new a few years back,,,
He also received two 10-round mags and one 5-round mags,,,
I mounted a new Simmons 3-9x2 scope on it.
My "fundamental" mistake was not considering the fact that he's a small-ish boy.
The rifle is simply too long for his short little arms to accommodate,,,
He couldn't get any kind of cheek/shoulder weld,,,
Nor could he see through the scope.
I was so proud of myself in the choice of a quality firearm for him,,,
I know for a fact that the rifle will hold a 1.25" group,,,
That's at 50 yards with bulk HV ammo.
It was almost painful watching him sit at the bench,,,
And try to hold the rifle on the bags,,,
And still look through the scope.
Fortunately I do have a solution for this dilemma,,,
I own a Crickett "My First Rifle" that I'm sure will fit his small frame better.
So as soon as I can arrange it,,,
I'll take him to my rifle/pistol club range,,,
And see if we have better results with a more size appropriate rifle.
He'll still get to keep the Savage,,,
He'll grow into it in just a few more years,,,
But in the meantime he will have a rifle he can actually use.
I have no idea why I didn't think of this problem beforehand,,,
I think I got caught up in the excitement of gifting,,,
And gave him the rifle I would have wanted.
Oh well,,,
Live and learn.
Aarond
.
