Son's First Rifle

[73mountaineer]

You might remember that I posted a while back that I was considering re-stocking my trusty 10/22 and giving it to my son for Christmas as his first rifle. He's 15 and I have taught him basic firearm safety since he was old enough to shoot his Red Ryder bb gun in the backyard, so he is ready to move up to the real thing now.

After looking around at the various synthetic replacement stocks available for the little Ruger, I think I found just the trick. Tactical without being silly about it. I think that he will like it, and it is going to be a complete surprise.

Before:


After:

 

[martym]

He's gonna love it!
Great choice.

 

[maxman]

It looks good. The 10/22 is a great choice. Its fun to shoot.

 

[Kentos]

Nice!

 

[SIG9]

What a nice surprise. He's going to love it!

 

[Jim]

Tons of fun right there!

 

[aimsport]

Way to go Dad!

 

[Commander Quan]

Now all it needs is a 100 rd drum mag.

 

[August West]

You did well.

Where did you get that Mack hood ornament?

Mine has been missing since I laid over in Delaware.

 

[PugslyCat]

Congratulations, Steve. I think you hit just the right level of "tacticool" to keep a teenager interested without breaking the bank.

 

[SIG9]

I forgot to ask... now that he has the rifle what's your secret to getting .22LR ammo? Inquiring minds need to know!

 

[73mountaineer]

I forgot to ask... now that he has the rifle what's your secret to getting .22LR ammo? Inquiring minds need to know!

Great question, and a riddle I have not yet solved!

 

[Toothpick]

wicked cool!

Spoiler

I should have got a 10/22 instead of a Rem. 597

 

[73mountaineer]

Thanks, guys, I am pretty pleased with how it turned out and I hope it will make his Christmas. I actually couldn't believe how dead nuts simple it was to do the swap. Literally two screws and it was free of the stock, then just dropped straight into the new one. The whole process only took about 15-20 minutes, and I could probably do it in 10 or less the second time around.

 

[Argonaut]

Great job Steve! I bet he loves it. Now you can spend many happy hours together hunting... for ammo!

I got lucky and found a few boxes at our local gun store for $4 for a box of 50. The jerk that runs the pawn shop was selling them for $25 a box of 50. Keep looking, you'll find some reasonable somewhere.
The gun turned out fantastic!

 

[73mountaineer]

Great job Steve! I bet he loves it. Now you can spend many happy hours together hunting... for ammo!

I got lucky and found a few boxes at our local gun store for $4 for a box of 50. The jerk that runs the pawn shop was selling them for $25 a box of 50. Keep looking, you'll find some reasonable somewhere.
The gun turned out fantastic!

Believe it or not, I have located a garage stash from a local LEO friend and he is checking into a couple other leads for me. Ironically, I can get all the .45ACP rounds I want, but can't buy a box of .22LR to save my life. All I want to be able to do is take the boy to the range while I am off for Christmas to shoot his new rifle. Looks like that will happen, thanks to a friend.

All these jagoff gougers will pay when supply catches up to demand and people remember how they were treated.

 

[Argonaut]

All these jagoff gougers will pay when supply catches up to demand and people remember how they were treated.

You got that right. My dad knew I was looking for some and I had told him about the pawn shop guy. This was before the local shop had any in stock, he went to the new Dicks Sporting Goods to grab some stuff for deer camp and thought to ask about 22lr. The guy said the truck just left, he got a box of 500 for $25. Two other guys overheard them and wanted to buy everything they had, but it was one box per customer. My sons 22 is a single shot bolt action, so we should be set up for a while now. I'm glad you found some, guns are a lot more fun when you can shoot them.

 

[Toothpick]

You got that right. My dad knew I was looking for some and I had told him about the pawn shop guy. This was before the local shop had any in stock, he went to the new Dicks Sporting Goods to grab some stuff for deer camp and thought to ask about 22lr. The guy said the truck just left, he got a box of 500 for $25. Two other guys overheard them and wanted to buy everything they had, but it was one box per customer. My sons 22 is a single shot bolt action, so we should be set up for a while now. I'm glad you found some, guns are a lot more fun when you can shoot them.

Son of a seahorse! This just reminded me that I wanted to go to Dicks today! I was there yesterday and the gentleman said "we get a truck tomorrow and Friday, check then". Shucks...I better remember Friday!

 

[Kilroy08]

I'm envious! My first rifle was a Rossi pump action gallery rifle. Don't get me wrong, still love the thing, but a 10/22 is pretty awesome.

The Ruger BX-25 magazines are pretty hard to beat. Got them for my dad and my brother for Christmas last year, they loved them.

I wish I had better news on .22 ammo. Right now it's luck of the draw. I was talking to an FFL buddy who claims he heard direct from Remington not to expect an increase in supply until sometime next year.

I've been making do with my Ruger GP100. It's pretty bad when .357 Magnum is cheaper than .22 Long Rifle. Sadly, even that won't hold out. Fixins for reloading are hard to come by as well.

 

[73mountaineer]

I'm envious! My first rifle was a Rossi pump action gallery rifle. Don't get me wrong, still love the thing, but a 10/22 is pretty awesome.

The Ruger BX-25 magazines are pretty hard to beat. Got them for my dad and my brother for Christmas last year, they loved them.

I wish I had better news on .22 ammo. Right now it's luck of the draw. I was talking to an FFL buddy who claims he heard direct from Remington not to expect an increase in supply until sometime next year.

I've been making do with my Ruger GP100. It's pretty bad when .357 Magnum is cheaper than .22 Long Rifle. Sadly, even that won't hold out. Fixins for reloading are hard to come by as well.

I got him one of the BX-25 mags as well so I am glad to hear that they work well. I have an old el cheapo plastic 25 round mag for it too, but it is cheaply made and doesn't always seat correctly, plus it kinda looks like crap.

A Ruger GP100 was my first handgun and I loved that thing. Sold it when about 15 years ago, after my son was born. Stupid.