For the next generation

[coloradokevin]

We all stand up and fight whenever legislation against gun rights appears imminent in congress. While I applaud these efforts, I'm starting to feel like a cultural shift in America may put our rights in far greater jeopardy in the not-too-distant future.

Many kids these days are growing up without any exposure to guns. Many parents of these children have no exposure to guns. Add to this the fact that more people are living in the cities, rather than the rural areas where gun use is common, and you can start to see why there's such a logical disconnect between gun owners and gun grabbers.

Moreover, schools these days have effectively turned "guns" into a 4-letter word (granted, it is a 4-letter word, but I think you understand the point I'm driving at). These days the mere mention of a gun in school seems to be enough to get kids suspended... these same kids will soon grow up to become law-abiding voters. These same kids have been indoctrinated to believe that guns are the source of crime, violence, and evil.

So, what do WE do?

TAKE PEOPLE SHOOTING! Find adults and children that haven't had the opportunity to enjoy shooting, and take them to the range. Buy some ammo for them to use, teach them how to responsibly handle firearms, teach them some fundamentals of marksmanship, get them out hunting, and just plain get them interested in guns. Show them that guns aren't scary or inherently dangerous, and help to avert an anti-gun culture shift in this country.

How do we do this?

For starters, when the subject of guns comes up in polite conversation among mixed audiences, you'll quickly be able to identify who hasn't had experience with guns. Many of these people will speak out against guns, given the current climate. Invite these folks to the range. Tell them to bring a friend or two.

If we each took even 5 new people out to the range each year, we could really start to change some opinions on this subject.

 

[izhevsk]

Took someone new shooting the week before last - we had a blast.

 

[Outlaw Man]

Good points!

I'm scheduled to take a coworker who is a new shooter to the range this weekend. I have other things to do and would otherwise back out, but this is the prime opportunity to lay the groundwork.

It's really a shame I don't have that opportunity more often.

 

[coloradokevin]

Just to highlight one of the points I was trying to make about how kids are indoctrinated into an anti-gun culture, please allow me to share a story that popped up in my state today:

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_22524...suspended-imaginary-weapon?source=most_viewed


Here's the gist of the story:

1) a 7-year old 2nd grader was playing outside during recess.

2) The kid threw an imaginary hand grenade at an imaginary box full of "evil things" in an attempt to 'save the world'.

3) The student was suspended for violating the school's policy of: no fighting, play fighting, and no real or imaginary weapons.


When this is the culture we're confronting, we've really got some work cut out for us.

 

[Warrior1256]

Took my 13 yo grandsoon to an indoor range lately. We had a blast!

 

[Mousegun]

I take as many "uninformed" shooting as I can. Uninformed are not necessarily antis but just plain uninformed about guns in general. They do get their information from the MSM and that in itself puts us at a disadvantage.

After a range session and sensible conversation, I find that many people even want a gun of their own but as soon as an incident takes place, they are often right back where they were before, or even closer to being an anti now that after a range session they know more about guns and regain their fears.

It is an uphill battle we face but it seems that with the phenomenal number of guns sold in the last few weeks / months, the hill has flattened out a bit.

 

[hso]

Look for the scouts and scout-like organizations in your area. In addition to the well known BSA and GSA there are American Heritage Girls, Camp Fire Girls and Boys programs, Frontier Girls, Junior Forest Wardens, Navigators USA, Spiral Scouts, AWANA, Royal Rangers, Pathfinders, 4H, DeMolay, etc.

 

[Akita1]

I tell everyone I know and offer to take them. If they freak I usually laugh it off (admittedly a bit patronizingly) as an ignorance thing: if you make it voodoo/tabu, it will be. If you make it as "normal" as a bicycle, it will be.

Started my kids early on airsoft first, then BB/pellet, then bow, now .22; .223 is next.

 

[morcey2]

Just became an NRA Rifle Instructor. I'll be taking the Shotgun Instructor, Range Safety Officer, and Chief RSO courses over the next month or so. (and muzzle-loading rifle if I can arrange my schedule.) It'll apply almost exclusively to Scouting at this point because in the Venturer unit for which I'm one of the adult leaders, it's been nigh unto impossible to find an instructor and an RSO to take the boys shooting.

I'll be teaching both the rifle shooting and shotgun shooting merit badges and, with my brother who's both rifle and shotgun instructor-able, we'll actually be able to train lots of scouts and take them shooting.

Matt

 

[mljdeckard]

I make a concerted effort to get my kids out several times a year. It isn't easy. They aren't old enough for hard training, it's a lot of refreshing the basics. This means time away from MY training and adult students. But I am teaching them to shoot the guns that came from my grandfather. Our lifestyles today are changing. Predictable schedules and jobs are not the norm. We must make time for shooting sports.

 

[bdgackle]

I've found that doing a good job with initial safety instructions is very important -- both so new shooters can be safe (obviously) and FEEL safe.

I've taught a few younger people (mid-teens) to shoot. In all cases, they were children belonging to friends of ours who were themselves not very sure about guns. Lack of experience, or bad experiences in the past led to these attitudes.

Going over the four rules in a calm and rational manner with the kids AND their parents went a long way toward instilling that initial trust that their kids could be safe in this activity. This in turn means everyone relaxes, and can have a good time. It's easy to forget that a loaded gun is a very intimidating thing for someone who has never seen one.

Initial emphasis is always on variety and fun, especially with younger people. With experience, most people naturally seem to want to improve skills and start asking about "serious" technique.

Don't despair, though. The school environment is pretty oppressive when it comes to weapons... but one look at current movies / computer games should tell you that we haven't raised a generation of pacifists. I've yet to meet a teenager that wasn't quite happy to try shooting an actual gun.