Today I nabbed a Rossi Trifecta (22,243,20GA) with a Simmons scope and travel bag from a local pawnshop.

This is our first weapon. Right now it's with a gunsmith being checked for safety and operability and such.

My son is 7 and really wants to learn to shoot.

I'm 39 and haven't shot a gun since my honorable discharge in 1995.

I'm looking for pointers and advice on anything from what ammo to buy to problems I may encounter with the weapon.

Thanks, Ryan

If it's not a youth set, order a youth buttstock from Rossi, so his LoP is correct. You'll probably need to put a slip-on recoil pad on it for him at that age also. I just introduced my nephew at 12 to the 20 ga. and he only shot it once then went back to the .410. I put the limbsaver on it and he shot it a couple more with less issues. You can get Limbsavers in the Winchester nameplate at Wally world for about 19 bucks. If you get the youth stock on it too, the slip on recoil pad can hold a neatly folded washcloth or cardboard out to a level where it will be close to your LoP without switching stocks.

Probably a matter of personal taste, but unless he doesn't see well, I'd start him off with irons too. Starting a kid with a scope ruins him if he doesn't have one or breaks it. If he learns irons, you just take the scope off and gtg.

Welcome to Shooters Forum, SkyWest!

Good advice from Tacklebury...I would add a couple of additional pointers.

1) Buy him a bunch of 22LR ammo and set him up for successful shooting, with "fun" targets at reasonable ranges. Shooting lots of 22 is the key to your son learning to enjoy shooting and to shoot well. Let him shoot almost as much as he wants, or set a limit on how many he can shoot in one session. If you notice him starting to get bored with it, as 7 year-old boys can sometimes do, quickly find a more interesting target, or call it a day. (NOTE: Paper bullseye targets get boring for kids pretty fast. Consider soda cans on a string, metal "spinners", or steel plates that ring out when hit. I once printed out full-color sheets of mythical "bad guys" for my son to shoot at...he loved it!)

2) When stepping up to the 243, and again with the 20 gauge, use some kind of recoil absorbing shooting rest, like a lead sled. Also, make sure he has very good hearing protection, as much of the recoil that kids perceive is actually the muzzle blast from more powerful cartridges. With the bigger cartridges, you want to do the opposite of what you did with the 22LR; only let him shoot a few at a time, especially the first few times he shoots it. I would strongly agree with Tacklebury on using irons for the 22, but if he will eventually hunt with the 243, consider putting a decent quality scope on it.

As far as ammo for the 22, it won't matter much, at first. If you want to take the time to figure out which ammo your gun likes, buy 5 of 6 different types and test them with your gun, under controlled shooting conditions. Your son won't care a whole lot, as long as he can ring the steel from whatever distance you are shooting from! I hope you and your son have a great time learning to shoot, and thank you for your service to our country.

Thanks. That was exactly the sort of stuff I was after. Thanks to both.

You have found the best site on the WWW. You are going to have a great time with your son in the shooting sports. Stay in touch and ask away with the questions. There is a wealth of knowledge here.

Great find on that gun but instead of modifying it for him I would do like I did for my son and daughter at that age. I started them out with a BB gun small enough and light enough for them to handle and practiced gun safety, range safety and shooting techniques, mostly off hand shooting till they were pretty consistent then moved them to a 22 single shot cut down to their size. Replaced the stock when they got to about 10 because both were larger than the average munchkin that age.

I never pushed them, if they asked if they could shoot and if it was at all possible I dropped everything and we went out to shoot. He has the rest of his life to grow into your Rossi, don't hurry him. About the time you get to thinking it's your gun he will own it.

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No problem and great ideas from broom_jm also. Reactive targets increase the fun alot.

If you reload go to Hodgdons site and note the instructions for downloding CF cartridges-that 243. Load him some 80% or so loads and he will do good.

Even cans. Especially with subsonic loads in the .22 - you hear the retort, see the can move then you hear the ping.