Awesome Dad, your son is going to really appreciate you taking this seriously.
I have no advice for what equipment you need just don't forget to make sure your son is comfortable with what you get him not just physically but mentally and socially its a confidence thing and confidence plays a big part in hitting the target. Please don't think I am trying to tell you how to be a father that is not what I'm trying to do , I am just flashing back to when I was 10.
Another thing I have not seen mentioned is the importance of the right pellet . Whatever you end up with may not accurately shoot the first type of pellet you try It's usually a trial error process to figure out which pellet your gun shoots accurately and consistently. So when you do purchase something come back let us know what you got and ask what pellet it shoots best I am sure there will be no shortage of recommendations.
The little dude and I have had a hell of a year. I take my kids with me a lot to work. We own our own business or maybe the business owns us not sure sometimes. However it allows me the freedom to take my kids with me.
On September 8th, 2024. The little guy was with me when I had a heart attack at work. I didn’t know it was a heart attack. I didn't know til I got diagnosed at the hospital what was happening. All while he was sitting beside me looking so small and trying to be so brave. We think that was my third heart attack. Turns out allot of guys walk them off. But I can tell you this after my wife got there the longest moment of my life was having to tell him goodbye and not know if I would see him again and the overwhelming sadness of not being able to say goodbye to his siblings is something I can’t really explain. It wasn’t going good and it was continuing to get worse. They put me on a gurney, put me in an ambulance, and took me to another hospital. Where I had an emergency catheter while they were trying to figure out why it was getting worse. Here’s what can tell you as a dad. When I wasn’t sure I would wake up from the surgery. I only wanted a few more minutes with my kids. I wasn’t worried about going to heaven. I was worried that they might not know how much I loved them, how proud I was every time they held up the door for someone unasked, or when they said yes sir and no ma’am to a stranger, most importantly when I see them be brave.
The funny thing is that heart attack probably saved my life. We found some issues I didn’t know about that had been with me since birth. Without getting diagnosed I would have probably died in my 50s (I’m 46). This allowed me to change almost everything in my life. I lost 30 pounds and eat completely different.
The easiest part of the fallout was some new limitations and challenges. My little guy on the other hand didn’t want to go places with me anymore because he was afraid I wouldn’t make it back. So I set out to change that. It’s amazing how important confidence is especially when facing fear.
When I was 12 my dad bought me a deer rifle and told me he was going to take me hunting. We never made it. My dad is 71 now and I’m not sure if we’ve even been fishing more than a hand full of times.
I decided to be different. My dude and I went out on opening day of deer season and I shot my first deer with him. PHe had to hold my phone while we watched the Steve Rinela meet eater video on how to field dress a deer. When I couldn’t figure it out. He would rewind and we finally got it. After watching me hunt he decided he wanted to try it. He got his first deer a couple of weeks later. Both of those does are in our freezer now.
Even on the days where we didn’t see deer we would shoot targets. It was amazing to watch him go from being unsure to sure with the confidence and ability to go get his own food.
We’ve done the fossil hunting trip he wanted to do too.
Now we are doing the 4-H shooting. Mostly I’m just trying to say yes to stuff and spend time with him and his siblings.
To be clear I don’t take offense to anything you say. I’m trying to gently push my kids into new stuff and encourage them to stick with certain things long enough to get the confidence you’re talking about. Without being a helicopter parent that’s living through them.
So when he was like I want to try different events at the next event. I was like absolutely. It’s the same with the guns. If he can’t shoot it comfortably or doesn’t like it we move on to something else. I just try to let him tell me without pushing to much of my thoughts on it.
Thanks for bringing up the ammo type. I know it’s that way for every rifle. The all have a preference. But I wasn’t sure it was that important I’m sure rifles. Thanks for that info. I will make sure and test multiple pellets.
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If I stop posting in the next week or two have the sheriff do a welfare check. We’ll finally know how many unauthorized purchases it took my wife to get mad.