PERSONAL SAFETY AND LIABILITY ISSUES

My goal will be to keep Safety paramount because firearms can do serious bodily harm and death if not used properly, therefore these pages are solely for entertainment purposes only from a personal liability standpoint.  Please read the Legal Stuff page for additional information concerning liability issues before going any further.  Safety glasses and hearing protection is a must, although I do forgo the safety glasses many times; my bad!

FIREARMS SAFETY IS ALWAYS FIRST

The 12 Golden rules for Safe Gun Handling

1.  Always treat the gun as loaded.
2.  Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
3.  Always keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4.  Always keep the gun unloaded until you are ready to use it.
5.  Never point the gun at anything you don't intend to destroy.
6.  Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
7.  Learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the gun you are using.
8.  Always use proper Ammunition.
9.  Be sure the barrel is clear of obstructions before loading and shooting.
10. If your gun fails to fire when the trigger is pulled, hold your shooting position for several seconds;   then with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, carefully unload the gun.
11. Don't rely on the gun's safety to keep it from firing.
12. Be aware of your surroundings when handling guns so you don't trip or lose your balance and accidentally point and/or fire the gun at anyone or anything.

INTRODUCTION

Our youngest Grandson Xander McKnight Gonzales turned eleven (11) years old this year and I promised him back in the winter, I would teach him to shoot one of my .22 caliber rimfire target rifles.  One of his Dad's friends named Bill Drye had earlier taught Xander to shoot a BB gun, of whom gave Xander some excellent lessons and Xander readily adapted to what constitutes good marksmanship. He was prior taught about sight alignment, sight picture and trigger squeeze and now time to adapt to shooting the .22 caliber rimfire round.

Since Xander would be shooting my target CZ American model rifle which has been glass bedded, pillar blocked, trigger pull reduced to very light, etc., the rifle will not be removed from the bench rest.  I didn't go into any hunting type safety issues at this time, but general firearms safety.

My main goal was to let Xander learn the operation of the bolt action rifle, remove and load the detachable box magazine, place the magazine back into the rifle magazine well opening, chamber a round, sight alignment, sight picture, breath control, squeezing the trigger, follow through, ejecting the spent rimfire casing and chambering another round under my direct supervision with safety being paramount!

He was taught sight alignment, sight picture using the 18 zoom power Bushnell 50MM optics, breath control and trigger squeeze as mentioned earlier.

NOTE:  Xander has misplaced/lost his eye glasses and was shooting a little handicapped, but the scope optics helped him tremendously.  Besides, 52 yards is a far piece, but this particular rifle will maintain excellent grouping at 52 yards as evidenced here. 

Safety is paramount in using and type of firearm and improper usage can cause bodily injury and death.  Once the bullet exits the barrel, there is no calling it back!

XANDER LOADING THE MAGAZINE

XANDER AT THE BENCHREST

Here Xander is getting some lessons on sight picture, sight alignment, etc. before actually utilizing the firing range.

The ATF licensed suppressor was an added plus for Xander and the muzzle report was weak enough where you did not need hearing protection.  Normally, safety glasses is a requirement, but didn't think it was necessary with the .22 caliber rimfire round and might be a problem fogging up with his first lesson.  Next shooting session, I will see how he does with the safety glasses.

XANDER'S TARGET

As evidenced by the above pix, Xander shot the bullseye totally out of this target and is outstanding shooting for the first time with a firearm.  Xander fired a total of forty-nine (49) rounds.

Xander and his sister Lily are both south paws and I shoot left handed myself, even though I am right handed.  I have a dominant left eye and have been shooting that way since I was eleven or earlier. 

I enjoyed teaching Xander to shoot the .22 caliber rimfire rifle and we both are looking forward to the next shooting session, the Lord willing of course.

NOTE:  Bill Drye mentioned earlier, has some serious medical issues and desperately needs our prayers.  Please uplift Bill Drye in your daily prayers!

Web page created by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 07-03-2020.