My daughter's first centerfire experience
- Thread starter bassjam
- Start date
- Status
chicharrones
needs more ammo
Nice. 
Just don't let her paint that 1894 pink!
Just don't let her paint that 1894 pink!
Mn Fats
Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2017
- Messages
- 2,372
I suppose I should of specified that when he got the RR he was 6 years old and had to put it on the ground and use all the leverage he could possibly get to cock it as he was a little short of man power. That got old after 20 or 30 shots.
buck460XVR
Member
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2007
- Messages
- 10,087
I was not chastising the OP, just giving a suggestion. Good grief. I have helped teach Hunter safety to youths for the past 30 years. Sorry iffin I tend to error on the side of safety and not chest thumping. Without knowledge of the bullets being used, the age and condition of the steel plates or the angle they are at, 15 yards is, IMHO, a "tad" too close for a centerfire rifle, especially since the OP stated, she was "ringing" them with virtually every shot. While one wants new shooters to have quick and easy success, they also need to be challenged.
Again I give a big Kudos to the Dad for passing it on....his daughters expression says it all. Last thing she needs is a scar on that pretty face.
No offense intended. Just clarifying the situation. It's technically a centerfire rifle, yes. As far as the bullet's velocity is concerned though, which is what matters, it might as well just be a standard 9mm target round out of a pistol and that's even if he's using high end HP defense rounds, which is doubtful. It's standard practice to shoot center fire pistols at steel at 7 yards.
Last edited:
ontarget
Member
Good job Dad. It's great to see our daughters getting into the sport. Sons too. But then we expect that more or less.
Hokkmike
Member
Annie did a good job Mr. Oakley.
(from a fellow low ender)
(from a fellow low ender)
buck460XVR
Member
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2007
- Messages
- 10,087
From Gong-Shot.com manufacturer of steel gongs.
This is where I'm at. While 15 yards may be acceptable, under a perfect scenario, we do not know what the scenario is. If 15 yards is minimally safe, why not back off to 25? My standard 38 125 JHP loads that run right around 900 fps outta my Smith 637, run just under 1300 fps outta my Rossi M92 lever. I would't shoot the Rossi @ 7 yards with that standard .38 ammo, even tho you say it is safe, cause again, I prefer to error on the safe side. Standard practice to shoot centerfire handguns @ 7 yards? Who's centerfire handguns? While I might shoot the 637 @ 7 yards, I certainly wouldn't shoot my 686s, 629s or the X-Frame at 3 times that with standard loaded ammo. Type of bullet, angle of the steel to the shooter, type of steel and condition of the steel are all just as important as velocity/caliber when it comes to safely shooting steel. You want to assume all of the above in the best case scenario, but me, I consider the worst case scenario when it comes to shooting safety. I'd guess the OP's scenario is somewhere in the middle. I have 4 stations of Steel Gongs set up at my personal range. 40, 80 120 and 200 yards. Handguns, regardless of caliber, are never shot closer than 40. If my grandkids or others, can't hit a 8" gong @ 40, I hang a 12". Safer IMHO, than a 6" @ 20 and just as easy to hit. While is safe with frangible bullets at any distance when using the right target, target stand and proper PPE, one needs to consider what is really being used. WallyWorld FMJs at scrap yard steel hung perpendicular to the shooter, not so much.
Again, not chastising the OP. What he did was great and the smile on his little Girls' face is testimony to it. My suggestion was only to keep her safe and to keep her challenged, in order to keep her loving to shoot. Over the years I have seen a single negative experience by shooters at a young age, reduce or diminish completely their love of the shooting sports. I have seen kids that got rained on with shot pellets during duck season, never go again. I have seen kids who shot a gun that recoiled too heavily or did not fit them properly(one reason I suggested youth stocks) and thus they got a stock to the nose/scope to the eye, scared to even try and shoot again and if and when they did, had a 'ell of a flinch.
Like you, I am not intending offense, just clarifying my position.
I'm not sure what you mean by "who's centerfire handguns". Obviously the owner or brand is irrelevant. Go to any professionally run defensive pistol class and you'll probably be shooting steel at 7 yards at some point.
Of course you can't do that or you wouldn't go shooting at all. There's always some element of risk involved. Wearing good eye protection and not shooting at too much of an angle brings the level of risk of shooting steel down to acceptable levels. It's impossible to completely eliminate all risk with an activity like target shooting. You can only minimize it.
OP
OP
bassjam
Member
Thanks everyone. I'm not giving up my 1894 yet! I may end up getting her a 39a as her first rifle, but she's actually more into handguns and is pretty darned good with my Buckmark and Mark I but says they're too heavy, so a Mark III/IV 22/45 Lite is another option.
And I understand 15 yards is a tad close with steel, but I gotta get her hooked with making "hits" before we move further away. These are all light .38sp handloads anyway as well, there isn't much energy behind them. She's been hit with .22 ricochet fragments from handguns before at that distance as well, she understands the danger.
And I understand 15 yards is a tad close with steel, but I gotta get her hooked with making "hits" before we move further away. These are all light .38sp handloads anyway as well, there isn't much energy behind them. She's been hit with .22 ricochet fragments from handguns before at that distance as well, she understands the danger.
Obviously people will make up their own minds about risk tolerance, but if you insist on 15 yards of distance for any handgun (or pistol-caliber-carbine) steel shooting, you won't get to shoot Steel Challenge, USPSA, or most other modern gun games. Which may or may not suit one.
For whatever it's worth, the stuff that scares me is close steel shot with low velocity FMJ rounds... those .45 hardballs don't splatter, they just dent a bit...
OP
OP
bassjam
Member
That's been my experience as well. I'm shooting at 3/8" AR500 steel, and the few times I've been hit with ricochets the .45's are the ones that can actually sting! I don't shoot my 1911 when my daughter is with me for that reason.
As someone who has RO'ed a few thousand USPSA runs that included steel targets, I have been "zinged" with lead/copper spall many times. A handful of times, it even drew a little blood, though nothing that even required a band-aid. As long as you are wearing safety glasses, the splatter seems unlikely to do serious damage. It's the bullets that stay intact that are scary. You want to make sure that you're driving the bullets hard enough to splatter (which is easier with bare lead or plated or moly-coated bullets than with heavy, closed-nose jacketing), but not so hard they damage the steel.
- Status