Avoiding family Drama

So father in law insisted on giving my boys their first deer rifles. He said he wanted to give them both guns from his collection, but one boy is a lefty. So he showed up today with a brand new left handed savage axis bolt action 308 for the oldest boy, and one of his older H&R single shot break actions in 308 for my youngest. Of course the boys are excited and love their new guns! Very appreciative. We decided to fire off a few rounds from the deck (the advantage of living in the country). I am very concerned about the safety of the break action. The clearance between the hammer to cock and scope is really tight for me, let alone a young kid. I’m worried his thumb could slip off and discharge the rifle. I’m thinking of just going and getting the youngest a new Axis 308. Of course he will keep the H&R as a keepsake. But I don’t want to hurt grandpa’s feelings. How am I too do that without hiding it, and lying, and having kids lie to him? He can be rather strong minded at times. I really do not want to strain our relationship. He just recently returned back into our lives from an argument with his daughter (my wife) after about 5 years over something very trivial. I slightly hinted to wife about this and she says she is not getting involved. We probably will never hunt with FIL. We typically hunt around home in shotgun zone but next year the youngest is old enough to hunt and we are planning on sending in to hunt St. Croix near Hinckley. Definitely feel between a rock and a hard spot here. Any ideas?

You are responsible for the kids safety. If you believe the gun to be unsafe buy a new gun. As you mentioned keep the FIL’s gun and give it back to the kid when he is a adult and responsible for his own safety. Should the subject ever be brought up explain the situation to your FIL and thats that.

Be sure both boys write a thank you letter and maybe include a photo of them holding their new prized guns.

As always this is my opinion only and is not to be taken as having any value.

Maybe one of those hammer extenders that bolt to the hammer – giving a secure spot to out your thumb to the side of the scope? If this gun has the drop-bar hammer striker, I would see no inherent danger when cocking.

You can buy a hammer extension for a few bucks.I did it with a Henry rifle. (Same issue). They are universal so righty or lefty, no problem.
Install yourself in 5 minutes.

I agree 100% with Dutch. No need present back to father n law as a hard no. Be gracious and appreciate it. But your son hunts with what is safest for him to operate- period!

Just be honest with it ahead of time. Before you even go buy the new one, or extend the Hammer, have a short conversation with him about it.

It’s when people get blindsided, $hit tends to hit the fan.

Just be appreciative that he gave them gifts and get a Hammer extension or taller scope rings. If you still feel it is unsafe then wait a couple years until you feel safe with them using it. You know grandpa is gonna ask the kids after deer season if they shot any deer with his guns which I’m sure would really make him feel proud

Coletrain27 wrote:

Just be appreciative that he gave them gifts and get a Hammer extension or taller scope rings. If you still feel it is unsafe then wait a couple years until you feel safe with them using it. You know grandpa is gonna ask the kids after deer season if they shot any deer with his guns which I’m sure would really make him feel proud

We are definitely appreciative. Hell I’m just glad he’s decided to come back around and be part of the boys live’s. That’s actually a great idea about the higher scope rings! I agree Dutch about safety. I’m hoping he understands.

Thanks everyone!

Family drama can be temporary. A misfire in the wrong circumstances can be life-changing. Don’t take chances.

I’m totally with you Drifter, it’s a safety issue. I’m not a fan of hammer guns for young hunters and no way would I want to introduce this safety issue.

Be aware hammer extensions have issues. They can come loose and slip off causing the hammer to fall

Also the added weight can slow the momentum of the hammer and cause a failure to fire. I had this happen with a Contender and it cost me a buck.

Get the gun you feel is safest.

Well he could be a new member of IDO. Maybe you will have all sorts of new drama. Buy a new identical gun for the other son. And grandpa a fishing rod and reel. And while you the boys and him are fishing talk about it.

mike

Some of the hammers actually have a shim that needs to be put into place by pulling the trigger so the hammer can actually contact the firing pin. W/O the shim being raised buy trigger pull the gun cant fire.
Take a close look at the working components and you will see if this gun will actually be capable of a drop hammer fire.
I forget the era when shims began being used as a common safety feature but I know Ive seen them in guns from the late 50s or early 60s.

In addition, you can buy taller scope rings.

Ron wrote:

You are responsible for the kids safety. If you believe the gun to be unsafe buy a new gun.

Dutch and Ron, said it. What ever happen next is your responsibility.

Personally I would be surprise if the FIL would disagree with you about safety…

I have a youth single shot with the same issue you are talking about with clearance between scope and hammer. I bought a hammer offset that bolts onto the hammer so it can be cocked much easier because the offset is off to the side eliminating the clearance issue.

I have several singles any newer manufactured singles have a transfer safety bar . I have added hammer spur extensions also. Uncle Mikes makes them and a few other manufactures ,as Grouse said they can come loose . I went through a couple before i found the sweet spot for the install. Mine do not move . You could take it to a gunsmith and get their recommendation also .

mark-bruzek wrote:

Some of the hammers actually have a shim that needs to be put into place by pulling the trigger so the hammer can actually contact the firing pin. W/O the shim being raised buy trigger pull the gun cant fire.
Take a close look at the working components and you will see if this gun will actually be capable of a drop hammer fire.
I forget the era when shims began being used as a common safety feature but I know Ive seen them in guns from the late 50s or early 60s.

What you are describing is called a transfer bar safety or some variant of a hammer block safety.

I don’t know if or when H&R began utilizing a transfer bar safety. I have seen it on some single shot guns, but I cannot say what brands they were, so I would want to make absolutely sure this feature is present on the H&R model in question before even considering handing it to a young hunter.

There are just so many things that can go wrong with a hammer gun in the hands of a young hunter, even if they don’t involve an accidental discharge. Fingers and thumbs get mashed by dropped hammers. Young hunters forget to pull the hammer and miss an opportunty and are discouraged. Gloves get pinched in the hammer workings. Etc, etc, etc.

IMO times have moved on and it’s just one hassle kids learning to hunt don’t need. Appreciate it for what it is–a memory of the way things were and the people who used these tools to hunt.

BTW, I am NOT against old guns and teaching young people to use hammer guns.

I have my Great Grandfather Edvard’s Winchester 1897 that he bought brand-spankin’ new in 1903 or early 04 for what then was a princely sum of money. Every family member in the line to inherit this shotgun has shot at least one pheasant with it. So too will my sons, but we’ll choose an appropriate and safe time and place and they’ll do it under the right conditions.

And then it will go back in the safe for generations to come to enjoy.

Dutchboy wrote:

You are responsible for the kids safety. If you believe the gun to be unsafe buy a new gun……
…….
As always this is my opinion only and is not to be taken as having any value.

1. Somehow BK got me as author of that quote. But I don’t disagree.
2. “As always this is my opinion only and is not to be taken as having any value.” …. I’m putting that in my quote file for posterity.

My dad started me out with a single shot 20 gauge with a hammer. I hated that gun. So hard to cock for a young kid. I started my son with a Mossberg 20-gauge pump with one shell.

I’d buy an identical gun and tell grandpa he just didn’t feel comfortable shooting it at this time and let the boys share the single shot for when they feel more comfortable as a plinking gun they both can share. good luck

Buy an identical new rifle, and enjoy the rifle grandpa gave on plinking days. In fact, it would be really nice to invite grandpa over for some shooting with the kids. I’m sure your kids would like that, as would grandpa. He’ll understand, just don’t make a big deal about it with him. In fact you could invite him to come along when buying it, and then you all could go home, or to a range to sight it in, and of course bring along the single shot for some fun plinking.

Buy the see-through scope rings. It raises the scope up so the hammer will clear better. Problem solved