Sad Sight at the Trading Post

[XXX]

So there I was looking to restock my roundball inventory before
the season starts on Saturday. I notice this 8 or 9 year old kid
eyeballing the various Hawken type guns on display in the rack.
As is usually the case in this day and age, the child is on the
under-disciplined side of well behaved, but I have seen worse.
Anyway he REALLY wants to handle the hawken and the task of watching
him seems to have landed on his grandfather. Since I find his
interest in the traditional rifle curious, I decide to observe how
this plays out. Once allowed to handle the Hawken, the youngster
decides he needs this rifle.Granddad offers that Christmas is coming
up but the decision must rest with his father, who is nearby oogling
the space-age products some people like to call muzzleloaders. It
appears that there is no problem with the child owning a gun, that
the possible hangups are price or other practical reasons. So far,
so good. Eventually Dad himself is beckoned over to judge on the
matter, and he promptly declares with a furrowed brow that indeed,
"Christmas is coming", "but WE don't want one of these old fashioned
guns, were getting you a high-tech gun." The Hawken is then returned
to the rack and the child is dragged by the arm down to a row of
inlines. Lost another one.

 

[playfarmers]

Around here most of the hunters looking for a muzzleloader go with the inlines, and never even give the traditional muzzleloaders a look, if there is even any on the rack. I am in the market for a new percussion gun, and am having quite a time finding much to choose from.

 

[No Deer]

Missed opportunity? Should have gone over and got talking to the kid and grandad. Then when dad came over you may have at least had a chance to talk to him. Never know, with some proper information maybe he could have been converted too.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I think you missed a golden opportunity to make not one, but three converts. Why didn't you talk to him the grandfather and the kid? IF you had offered to take them out and show thme how a traditional gun works, and let them shoot yours, you may have won them over from the dark side. I agree with No Deer on this. :hmm:

 

[wszumera]

The kid had his heart in the right place. We tend to get the toys we wanted when boys when we grow up.

Clutch

 

[TANSTAAFL]

So there I was looking to restock my roundball inventory before
the season starts on Saturday. I notice this 8 or 9 year old kid
eyeballing the various Hawken type guns on display in the rack.
As is usually the case in this day and age, the child is on the
under-disciplined side of well behaved, but I have seen worse.
Anyway he REALLY wants to handle the hawken and the task of watching
him seems to have landed on his grandfather. Since I find his
interest in the traditional rifle curious, I decide to observe how
this plays out. Once allowed to handle the Hawken, the youngster
decides he needs this rifle.Granddad offers that Christmas is coming
up but the decision must rest with his father, who is nearby oogling
the space-age products some people like to call muzzleloaders. It
appears that there is no problem with the child owning a gun, that
the possible hangups are price or other practical reasons. So far,
so good. Eventually Dad himself is beckoned over to judge on the
matter, and he promptly declares with a furrowed brow that indeed,
"Christmas is coming", "but WE don't want one of these old fashioned
guns, were getting you a high-tech gun." The Hawken is then returned
to the rack and the child is dragged by the arm down to a row of
inlines. Lost another one.

You did right by only observing and not interfering in a family matter, for the father was not neutral on the decision, his mind was made up.

 

[Zonie]

"...for the father was not neutral on the decision, his mind was made up..."
______________________________

Or maybe not...
Sometimes kids don't want what their fathers tell them they should have. If fact, as they get older, they will sometimes go 180 degrees from what their parents want. :grin:

From the description of how things went, it was probably best to stay out of the discussion.
I say this because the "timing" wasn't right.
For this to have worked, it would have to be, the kid says he wants one...the grandfather says Christmas is coming... You speak up and say something like "I have one just like that (even if you don't) and she is a real tack driver! It's guns like that which built our Country you know, and they shoot just as well as those new muzzleloaders...maybe even better!"

Then the father can come over and do his thing. In the meantime, you've got both the grandfather and the kid thinking. :grin:

We can at least be thankful the grandfather and father are pro gun. There may be hope for the kid yet!

zonie

 

[Gary]

Later on, that kid could be messed up like I am. He'll be obsessed with sidelock muzzle loaders and develop a total disdain for in-lines. BTW, I was messed up by my pop who refused to allow me to buy a 12 pdr cannon when I was in 4th Grade. It was only $119.95 and I had the money too. :shake:

 

[Slamfire]

We had to buy our youngest a .45 caliber cannon one Christmas, he'd have nothing else. He was a bit disappointed that it came on a naval gun carriage though. After my heart attack, he came to stay, until I was up and around. One day he reached into his possible box and came out with the cannon. We mounted it as a swivel gun on the back porch and repelled a lot of boarders, with that 25 year old cannon! He bought me a Bobcat that Christmas, and got me all wrapped up in this muzzleloadin'. :applause:

 

[TANSTAAFL]

"...for the father was not neutral on the decision, his mind was made up..."
______________________________

Or maybe not...
Sometimes kids don't want what their fathers tell them they should have. If fact, as they get older, they will sometimes go 180 degrees from what their parents want. :grin:

From the description of how things went, it was probably best to stay out of the discussion.
I say this because the "timing" wasn't right.
For this to have worked, it would have to be, the kid says he wants one...the grandfather says Christmas is coming... You speak up and say something like "I have one just like that (even if you don't) and she is a real tack driver! It's guns like that which built our Country you know, and they shoot just as well as those new muzzleloaders...maybe even better!"

Then the father can come over and do his thing. In the meantime, you've got both the grandfather and the kid thinking. :grin:

We can at least be thankful the grandfather and father are pro gun. There may be hope for the kid yet!

zonie

:rotf: You may be right, after the grand kids have been around me for a few days. Son-in-law tells our daughter that he knows the grandson been talking to Gramps, when he gets lectured about being wrong on certain things about a gun or such.

 

[XXX]

Yeah, my read on the situation was that my butting in would
have been viewed as an intrusion. I could be wrong, but it
was over in 2 minutes anyway. My thought process at the time
was that the kid was too whiny and therefore immature for the
responsibility of a firearm and if he were my kid I would be
telling him so rather than catering to him. The father's demeanor
confirmed my estimate of where the child's discipline problem
came from, and it just did not feel like a good opportunity for
a sales pitch. If they had been idly discussing the merits of one
type over another, it would have been different. I am also
generally a shy person with the social defect of minding my own
business, so the role of spur of the moment pitchman does not come
naturally to me.

I'm reminded of the time in the same store where a very attractive
young lady was discussing the purchase of entry level kit for traditional
archery with a salesman. Since that is also my bag and I could not see
a ring on her finger, I started finding the merchandise in her immediate
vicinity to be very interesting. There did not seem to be a male escort
anywhere nearby and I could not believe my good luck. I found him in a
short time though, hanging back, watching, and scowling at my pitiful
attempt to move in on his girl. Lost another one.

 

[mmahlock]

Later on, that kid could be messed up like I am. He'll be obsessed with sidelock muzzle loaders and develop a total disdain for in-lines. BTW, I was messed up by my pop who refused to allow me to buy a 12 pdr cannon when I was in 4th Grade. It was only $119.95 and I had the money too. :shake:

:hmm: And today you have a what? :shocked2: Go on you can tell us. :rotf:

 

[philo426]

I don't really see the attraction of an in-line muzzleloader.Seems to me that they would be harder to clean(no hooked breech)and the primers would be more expensive than caps.Plus they are just plain fugly!Especially the thumb-hole stocked monstosities in the Dick's Sunday circulars in the paper.

 

[tg]

We had a rule here 20 years ago, Dad was always right.....it has changed now....grandpa is always right.

 

[Gary]

Later on, that kid could be messed up like I am. He'll be obsessed with sidelock muzzle loaders and develop a total disdain for in-lines. BTW, I was messed up by my pop who refused to allow me to buy a 12 pdr cannon when I was in 4th Grade. It was only $119.95 and I had the money too. :shake:

:hmm: And today you have a what? :shocked2: Go on you can tell us. :rotf:

I certainly don't have that 12 pdr. I still regret not buying it and being the only kid on my block (or neighborhood or city) with my own artillery piece. :redface: I've got a small, bronze beer can mortar but that's hardly compensation for a full size, authentic 12 pdr.

 

[shmrck1]

XXX,
What a shame! Had a similar experience some
years back. My son and were going to the range,
and he wanted to take a buddy with us. I said
fine, as long as it was ok with his mother(father nowhere in the picture). I think my son
was around 14 and his friend, Tony a year
younger. Well his mother approved and off we
went and nobody had a greater time than Tony.
When he got home and he told his mother what we
we had done she called me, with a scathing report on how I had endangered her son. She would
not listen to any explanation as to the days events and the safety precautions taken.
To shorten this up a bit, Tony was best man at
my son's wedding. They hunt together every year,
mostly bow, but always spend a couple deer days
with the old man in the woods. Tony's mother has
not spoke to me since that day at the range some
15 years ago. The boy has turned out quite well
considering the severe mistreatment on my part
at the range that day :rotf: He still laughs about the day his mother called. He knows the
precautions that were taken for safety that day.
snake-eyes :winking: