Sending
big caliber, center-fire rounds down range is quite gratifying, but sometimes a
little less is more. So it came to be that I was heading to the range with two "dad guns," my Highwaymen CD cranked, a cold Mountain Dew in my paw and a brace
of .22 rifles in the truck.
Two
of my three dad figures were shooters to one extent or another. Step dad not so
much so, but dad and dad-in-law had owned guns. All three are long passed away
but remain dear to me in their own ways. Shooting their guns is like spending
time with them.
I
had an hour or two to fritter away. Got up too late to do much around the house
and had volleyball at noon. So I figured it was a good time to go plinking with
some dad guns. I selected two old .22 rifles from the gun vault.
One,
a beat-up Mossberg 152, was dad’s. As a kid, I spent untold hours with this gun
on the eternal quest for bunnies and squirrels. With it I learned to use peep
sights and by taking it apart started my armorer hobby.
The
other had been dad-in-law’s. I dearly loved the man and still enjoy time with
his guns. He had more expensive taste than my dad. His rifle is a Weatherby
XXII. He was an old-school southern gentleman and, in a moment of weakness, had
proclaimed, “Son, for a Yankee, you ain’t half bad.”
Kris
Kristofferson was starting to sing “Desperados
Waiting for a Train”
as
I started an hour and a half of plinking
away. Groups were pretty good, even with
the
mish-mash of differing ammos I used. Rattling tin cans was as fun as ever and the reminiscing wonderful.
.22s
rock for a couple of reasons. They’re not too noisy. Ammo is generally cheap and
easily available. Recoil is nearly obsolete and, generally, accuracy is pretty good. They also excel for casual plinking and putting some small game into the stew
pot.
Moreover,
many of us started our firearms shooting with .22's that had been given to us by
a dad-figure with whom we shared a bond. A .22 remains a great tool to use when
introducing a new shooter to the sport; it can create bonds that endure.
Years
from now, the son, daughter, nephew or whomever will go to the range to shoot
the .22 you gave them and will remember you as they shoot. I had pleasant
memories as I shot; they will too.
In
the store we have several brands of .22's, and optics to go with them. Rifles are
from Remington, Mossberg, Chiappa, Henry, Smith & Wesson and Ruger.
Any time is a great time to introduce the next generation of
shooters and the .22 rifles are the perfect platform for that.
