GUNS Magazine January 1960 - Jeffersonian

Short 1Ilh" stock is just right for 14-year old girl, if
drop is right, but barrel shown is too long for steady hold.
rest in one hour than can be taught as well from any
other position in a lot more time.
The bench rest may be any steady table or bench with
top approximately 18 by 24 inches. An old ironing-board,
with legs cut off to proper height is fine. The shooter sits
close up, with the top of the rest at his waistline; and
leans a bit forward, resting on both elbows, left hand
supported by a sandbag or blanket roll. (Don't sprawl.)
Sandbags can be made about 6 by 8 inches, of tightly
woven canvas, loosely filled with fine sand. Use two. For
more height, use 8"-long pieces cut from an 8" board.
If bench rest is impossible, use the prone position with
sandbag rest. It's not as good, but will do.
For ammunition, the .22 Short in standard velocity is
lOYz" stock for 20 inch arm (measured from arm pit to
finger tip), an 11%" stock for a 22 inch arm, a 12" stock
for a 24 inch arm, and so on. Anyway, cut the stock to
fit, and when the arms grow longer, use 8th-inch aluminum
plates under the butt plate for extra length.
One other thing about stocks, and this is important: the
youngter's rifle needs a lot of drop. Three inches or more
is not too much. The stock must fit the short arms and
comparatively large head. Our little granddaughter used
her Stevens Little Scout, with 8%," stock and 314" drop
until she was past eight years old.
Many trigger pulls as issued will run around 8 Ibs. A
good gunsmith can usually reduce this pull to around 4
Ibs., where it should be. Don't handicap the little shooter
with a too-heavy trigger. If it's heavy for you, think how
it feels to his small fingers.
The most satisfactory off-the-counter rifles for this
practice are the self-cocking bolt actions, box magazine or
single shot but single shot preferred, wjth stock and barrel
cut to fit. While the hand-cocked models are not necessarily
safer, they shoot as well and are less expensive. Tie a
whang-leather loop to the bolthead to insure a safe grip
for small or slippery fingers. Tube magazine and selfloading
models are not suitable for this type of training.
Good sights are a must. A less expensive rifle with
good sights is a far better bet than the reverse. Most
of the available bolt action models can be had with rear
aperture sights at a slight increase in cost. For rifles
lacking an aperture rear sight, the 22 Sharpshooter model
by Redfield is a good bet and very easily fitted to grooved
receivers. The front sight should be post or blade, with
or without a bead. Sight the rifle in to hit at the top of
the front sight at 50 feet. A .22 rifle sighted in at 50 feet
will be good out to about 45 (Continued on page 48)
plenty accurate and less expensive. For indoors, the .22
c.B. Cap is less noisy but does not have the zip and costs
about the same as the .22 Short. In some stores, the
ammunition may be had at a little less cost bought by
the carton; ten boxes. You'll need numerous boxes of
ammo; charge it to life insurance and education. You will
also need a supply of tin cans. If your kitchen discards are
not enough, there is an unlimited supply in every town
dump.
As to rifles, the only models available that are at all
suitable as-is, are the Winchester Model 67 Boy's rifle,
and the Stevens Model 15 Boy's rifle. The stocks on these
should be cut off I1f2 to 2 inches for a fit for the average
7 to 9 year oIds.• The rest of the "Boys Rifles" are full
size guns that must (and can) be cut down, both stock
and barrel. You must fit the rifle to the child, not the
child to the rifle. Pete Brown's chart on stock length, once
published in "The American Rifleman," recommended a
Remington 517 cut to fit
12 year old girl made her
top shooter in her area.
Rifle was fit for rest or
prone shooting, at bull
targets or (right) cans.
32 GUNS JANUARY 1960