5yr old & AR, a great combination

[MtnBiker6510]

Took my 5yr old boy to the range today and decided to let him graduate from single-shot to centerfire. My 16" AR with collapsible stock was perfect.
With these rifles being so popular, if anyone is considering what centerfire to start kids on, these are great. My 5yr old is too small for nearly everything on the market for young shooters. Here is a list of points that make it an ideal 1st centerfire:
1. Collapsible stock allows better cheekweld than anything "youth" sized that I've tried.
2. The trigger resets loudly enough to allow me to watch his trigger control, The safety is easy to see and operate.
3. The recoil is minimal
4. The noise is "LOUD", which should put a big smile on most little people
5. The front post/rear ring sights are easy to see & red-dots are even easier.
6. Magazine easy to seat, load & empty
7. Magazine makes good monopod for little people
8. Controls are easy for Parent or Guardian to handle while shooter is behind rifle without disturbing position.
9. For kids the AR has a cool factor of 11 on a 1-10 scale making it easy to get them out from in front of "Max & Ruby" on TV.

Here is the smile to prove it works.

 

[rugertoter]

Awesome! He looks like hes having a pretty good time.

 

[Mark 1911]

Good for you! That's a lucky young man. And thanks to you, he will carry a healthy attitude about guns into the future.

 

[mvician]

 

[9mmfan]

Good thing you didn't bring a 5 yr old GIRL!

 

[CBR1000rr]

These are the days I simply CAN NOT wait for! What a great way to spend some quality time with your son while teaching him valuable lessons! FANTASTIC!!!

 

[andyoz]

My 5 year old handled a Ruger pc4, with some assistance due to adult stock, and his first question; "Do you have more bullets for this?". I don't know who had a bigger smile, him or me!

 

[Kutnupe14]

That's a cute kid...
(oh, and Im not Catholic)

 

[92LX]

Agreed on all points.

My 6 year old got "his" first rifle at 5 and we shot at rotten tomatoes from the garden. Only difference we had a .22 upper.

Makes for awesome family fun!!!

 

[davedolli]

Thats one happy little guy, good job!

Dave

 

[REvans3608]

Very Nice Post!!
My sons are 18, 20, & 21, they started shooting right after they started walking and they still get that smile when something goes BOOM (as does their Dad). They have tremendous respect for firearms, great fire control, and extreme range discipline.
Nice to see another Dad passing it on!

 

[Colt556]

Awwww..... such a cute and happy kid! I never had any of my own but been around a few. Great job!

 

[1911ly]

Range time always makes great father son time! You are never to young to learn gun safety and respect for weapons and what they do. I wish I would have started with my son at a earlier stage! Enjoy making the memories!

 

[GunSlinger]

That smile is worth a million bucks! Way to go dad!

 

[RedneckReject]

For kids the AR has a cool factor of 11 on a 1-10 scale making it easy to get them out from in front of "Max & Ruby" on TV

I can't wait for the day mine is old enough. Mostly because I hate Max & Ruby. Where are their parents, anyway?

 

[alloutjdm]

hhaa man he looks like hes having a blash

 

[repeter1977]

I have to agree, the AR is a great platform to learn from, for those reasons as well. Granted, I learned off a different 22 rifle, years ago, but this is a great one, and as you said, the loud bang factor really helps. Although a bit more expensive, the SCAR is another great one, for exactly the same reason. Had one out at the NWI meet and shoot recently, and we had a couple kids going back and forth on the two. They were ok with the AK, their first time, but they all loved the SCAR and AR, until it was 22 time (cause 223 rounds are abit more expensive). While not my kids, it was great seeing them loving the sport that i grew up loving, knowing all the family time we had when I was growing up, doing the same thing.

 

[cj7jeep81]

nice. i just bought 3 lowers (one for each of my boys), primarly because i wanted to build another lower with a collapsible stock for them to shoot with. i bought them a youth .410, and they liked it, but the kick was a bit much. although i did finally find some .410 handgun ammo this weekend, so anxious to see how much lighter that is.

 

[MtnBiker6510]

nice. i just bought 3 lowers (one for each of my boys)...

Thats a great idea. I've been thinking of buying 2 10/22's for my boys, which I probably will still, but getting 2 stripped lowers so they can each have their own starter centerfire is a great idea & I can put them together a little at a time. Plus when they are older they can shoot/clean their own, cuz I hate cleaning AR's.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Thats a great idea. I've been thinking of buying 2 10/22's for my boys, which I probably will still, but getting 2 stripped lowers so they can each have their own starter centerfire is a great idea & I can put them together a little at a time. Plus when they are older they can shoot/clean their own, cuz I hate cleaning AR's.

yeah, plus the added bonus of if they ban all this stuff again, they should be good to go. kinda cool also, I happened to get three with sequentially numbered serial numbers. now the only problem I have is I'm only buying one parts kit/stock to get them running, and trying to decide who's to build I'll probably just do the 3 year olds, and let the 6 and 9 year old argue it out