First time German shooters

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robctwo

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The guy I practice law with is a high school wrestling coach. A German all star team was spending a couple days in Corvallis, Or and the weather turned normal, wet and damp. They decided to head for a local farm to do a little shooting. None of the kids had ever touched a gun.

I sent a few guns and some reloads, I was booked all day and could not join them.

They apparently liked the Ruger 20 gauge, 10/22, the STI Ranger II in 9mm and the Rossi Puma '92 45 Colt the best. The pictures relate what we all know, shooting is FUN.

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Not the best trigger safety here.

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Good.
Germans have some very different attitudes about things. Nudity is one. Alcohol is another. When I was in Berlin you could buy booze anytime, anywhere, and consume it just about anytime anywhere. OTOH, ask a German about firearms and they thought you were suggesting bestiality. Only police and military should have those.
So it's good to get younger kids like that to see that yes, guns are fun. Yes, guns are safe if you use the proper safety rules. One day there might be hope for that country, that had a glorious tradition of firearms for many years.
 
Pretty neat, bet they will talk about their shooting experiences on return to Germany.
 
I work for a Germany company and have taken a couple of my co-workers to the range when they are here in the US. Both of them were naturals..

Many German men were in the Army (until recently you had to go into the army or do 2 years of civil service) so they have shot before but if they did shoot, the last time was in the army.
 
I know many Japanese nationals who visit (both genders)...and it seems that when they arrive in the States, the very first thing they all want to do is go shooting.
 
Hope someone gave them a safety lesson or two as you didn`t say. In the posted pic,back row. Two guys have their weapons pointed right at each other. Guess they didn`t get the memo.

Sounded like they just loaded up anf fired away.
 
On safety, both adults are good gun guys. I had a little talk with the group before they went out.

Each adult supervised each shooter. They had painted shooting boxes.

They did not just show up and let her go.

The group photo was taken with all guns checked and cleared, but I agree the muzzle control left a lot to be desired.
 
Semi-auto pistol two handed grip should not include the support hand thumb across the shooting hand. First time shooters are often injured with this kind of grip as the rear of the slide will usually cut deeply into the thumb when the gun is fired. This kind of grip is OK with a revolver but not with a semi-auto! Before you take first-time shooters out to the range be sure your instructional technique is up to the task. Nonetheless, introducing visitors from other countries to recreational shooting in the US is a good thing.
 
This should be a requirement for everyone to do once.. Especially if you choose to be anti-gun...

Obviously, if people were more informed, it wouldn't be that hot of a topic in this country.
 
As mentioned above, the 4 rules aren't being observed in the first pic. That being said, it's a real shame that Germans don't get to enjoy some of the best exports their country has to offer, their firearms!

They still produce some decent Olympic shooters though... a shame there's not more recreational centerfire shooting.
 
Yeah, it's easy to nitpick things like muzzle direction and trigger fingers in the first pic, and the kid's grip on that 1911 with his thumb dangerously close to getting hit by the slide...

That being said I like how there is an adult close behind each shooter and the smiles are great.

This is great exposure to firearms...thanks for posting.
 
Three German friends in this area enjoy guns for hunting or simple plinking.
One of them escaped East Berlin a few years Before the wall came down and really enjoys the freedom to have so many choices.

It would be interesting to see the expressions on their families' faces when they are again 'zu Hause' and hear about the rare opportunity.
An English lady who works at the large county recreation area here had a strange, somewhat disgusted (?) expression when I told her about the gun shows less than two miles away.
 
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Did the team's parents give prior consent?

...I wonder how the parents will react when they hear of their children's day out at the shooting range. That could be interesting.
 
Reminds me of a funny but kind of sad situation back in the late 90's. Two 20-ish German exchange students were here in the south,and were given a courtesy opportunity to go plinking with some fellow US students. One gun taken was a semi-auto AK variant. The Germans loved the shooting and took to it like ducks to water. At first they wanted to have their photos taken with the weapons of the day, but then for whatever reason changed their minds with the comments, I'm told, that to do so would not be well thought of back home. Don
 
This weekend is my sister's 10th wedding anniversary. Her husband's best friend made it over from the UK, to surprise them for the wedding.

Fast forward to the reception he finds out that I'm having a shooting picnic the next day and ask if he could join in, and of course he was most welcomed.

Long story short, it probably wasn't the best day of his life, but I, bet it is in the top 20.

I, love it when our friend's, get to see, and participate in a positive experience on the range.
 
Bubba613 said:
Good.
Germans have some very different attitudes about things. Nudity is one. Alcohol is another. When I was in Berlin you could buy booze anytime, anywhere, and consume it just about anytime anywhere. OTOH, ask a German about firearms and they thought you were suggesting bestiality. Only police and military should have those.
So it's good to get younger kids like that to see that yes, guns are fun. Yes, guns are safe if you use the proper safety rules. One day there might be hope for that country, that had a glorious tradition of firearms for many years.
Click to expand...
Well, if they want to get naked and drunk, they probably shouldn't have guns.
 
Well, if they want to get naked and drunk, they probably shouldn't have guns.
Click to expand...

The darn gun made me do it...

Please........ I often do guns and get drunk, but rearly does it lead to getting naked.

CC
 
Hunting and shooting are a "noble sport" as opposed to the US where it is viewed as a commoner's activity. The attitudes are therefore very different. Toss in the time and expense a German, or American living in Germany, has to go to just to participate in shooting sports and you get greatly differing opinions depending upon who you talk to.
 
Of the last three Germans I took to the range (probably 30-35ish years old), one had never fired a firearm of any kind, one had fired a shotgun once, the third had only ever fired a full-auto something. We got a late start, went through from .22s to two 44 mags and a 1911, ran out of daylight after a few 22 rifles and a 223. They all wanted LOTS of pictures!
 
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