That's my boy!

[str8shooter]

My son went on a Boy Scout outing over the weekend and rifle shooting was one of the activities. Here's a couple of his 50 yard targets using a no name .22 bolt action with a simple v-notch and bead sight system, and the cheapest .22 LR ammo to be found. These are 5 round groups, even though you won't see that many holes.

His first group, then with a quarter on top for perspective



Then after seeing his first group and trying to compensate for the gun sights



Maybe not National Match material yet, but he made me proud! (sniff)

He was the youngest scout to advance to First Class in the history of his troop and is well on his way to becoming an Eagle Scout. I am a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts of America because they are an organization that teach skills and virtues which most youth groups seem to think are outdated. The NRA recognizes the value of the shooting and gun safety skills taught by the BSofA and often sponsors training classes as well as gives a special certificate of achievement to scouts who earn the rank of Eagle.

[RocketFoot]

My kids dropped out of cub scouts because they never did anything like shooting and only camped once per year! I don't blame them. I'd like to get the interested in the Civil Air Patrol in a few years.

Congrats on you boy's shooting skills!

[sgt7546]

I have no comment on BSA or NRA, but congrats to the proud dad and his marksman son....Great job.

[steamtownwelder]

Congrats to your son, That's some fine shooting. I'm an Eagle Scout and I advise you to help your son stick with it. Most scout troops are like the ones Rocketfoots son was in. Look beyond the troop. The BSA Owns a HUGE ranch in new mexico(Philmont Scout Reserve) where I spent a few months wandering 12 years ago. Theres also the boundry waters in Minnesota and they have a huge one in Florida. Make sure your son takes advantage of as much of these things as he can, regardless of what is being done at the troop level.

[SuperMoose]

I'm an Eagle Scout as well. Boy Scouts was where I learned to love guns along with backpacking and camping. Tell him to keep with it and (not that anyone does anymore) but don't let people discourage him or call him gay for doing it. I'm 21 and never had a problem, actually people told me they thought what I did was pretty neat.

[lal]

You sound like a good Dad, congratulations to you and your son, Scouting is a wonderful program, keep up your support.

[Reactor Jack]

Originally Posted by RocketFoot

My kids dropped out of cub scouts because they never did anything like shooting and only camped once per year! I don't blame them. I'd like to get the interested in the Civil Air Patrol in a few years.

Congrats on you boy's shooting skills!

I am a CAP leader in Pittsburgh. CAP more or less prohibits shooting sports. Hard to believe that a civilian auxiliary to a US armed force would take such a stance. When your kids are coming of age have them look us up.
Both BSA and CAP (and Sea Cadets and YM) are all great programs. I know a lot of our CAP cadets have a bad idea regarding Boy Scouts, and I tell them they different programs with different goals.
I learned to shoot in Boy Scouting, and I am an Eagle as well. It is something that will follow you for the rest of your life. To anyone with boys in scouts that are thinking of quitting before Eagle, talk them out of it. I know that gets hard, especially when the two liquids of adolescent young men conspire against you (perfume and gasoline). I know of several men that now regret dropping out, including a brother of mine. When he went to apply for colleges he was cursing seeing that check mark on every application.

Not to hijack the thread. Great shooting. Keep him interested.

[RangerBEH]

I am a CAP member as well. They take a show no force position. though cadets going through encampment do learn to shoot M-16's. I have had a CAP magazine up on the wall of the squadron for years, its the front and back cover. the front says CAP takes position against firearms and the back is a picture of a cadet in a gillie suit holding an M-16. talk about mixed messages......

[bgeddes]

Great shooting, you should be proud.

I learned to shoot at Scout Camp at the ripe age of 13. I dropped out of Cub scouts when I was young and got interested in the Boy Scouts from a family friend. Our Scoutmaster was a Marine Drill at one time in his life and took pride in his ability to introduce new shooters to the sport and help them excel to the point of reliable marksmanship.

As others have said, make sure you son get hooked to a troop that is run by the Scouts, not the Scoutmasters, and that the troop participates in every outdoor activity possible. My troop camped almost once a month.

Congrats to your son, hope he can stick with it...

Another Eagle Scout