Share What You Know. Learn What You Don't

[Baltimore_900]

While reviewing the High Road Forum Rules and Regs, I came upon this statement. "Share what you know, learn what you don't."

How many of us stick by this in the Forum atmosphere or at the range? Do we have a teachable mentality or one that puts pride first which usually prevents us from moving forward?

Are we willing to share our knowledge at the range or are we afraid of losing our position on the "Local Shooter Food Chain?" More than once I have seen shooters turn away new shooters at the range or come off condescending in forums and other weapons discussions online.

Recently, at a local range, I witnessed a shooter with what appeared to be a serious 'big bucks' air rifle. It was a Feinwerkbau. .177 Caliber. He was putting one round after another in a single hole at 25'. The father and son next to him were shooting the son's brand new Daisy 880 he had gotten for Christmas. The father appeared to be a relative new shooter himself and was unfamiliar with position shooting and some of the basics of weapon handling although both were strictly adhering to all safety measures and were very careful. They had the Daisy 880 model which included a scope. They were having problems.

Instead of lending a hand, Mr. Big Bucks took to ridiculing both father and son on their 'obvious' lack of knowledge and 'poor choice' of air rifles. The youngster was around 12-13 and was so upset he just put his new Christmas present back in the cardboard box it came in. The father began reeling the target in while Mr. Big Bucks laughed and went back to shooting.

So much for being an ambassador for the shooting sports.

My partner and I have been Life Members of the NRA for more years than we can remember. Clearly, air rifles are a tremendous gateway into the shooting community for many and it has become a discipline unto itself.

As far as we were concerned, Mr. Big Bucks had just successfully alienated two new shooters. We both donned our ear and eye protection and then entered the shooter's section of the indoor range. Ear and eye protection are neither required or necessary for the observation windows.

Cut to the chase? We spoke with the father and son. They took the Daisy back out of the box and between my shooting partner and I, we got both father and son squared away. They learned how to zero their scope. We went over basic weapons handling and of course safety concerns. The youngster went from having tears in his eyes two days after Christmas to keeping his shots in the black portion of the bullseye at 25'. This amounts to an approximate 3" diameter circle which encompassed the 9/10/X Ring. So, what did the "Elitest" attitude do for Mr. Big Bucks? Did it fortify his fragile ego when he ridiculed two new shooters trying out a new Christmas present?

It would have been very satisfying to shut down Mr. Big Bucks in public, but since discretion is the better part of valor, we spent the time getting to know our new shooters. They will both soon be joining the NRA and have a renewed happiness.

Thanks to certain ones plus my own motivation, I personally have learned quite a bit regarding air rifles though I had been shooting competitive High Power since age 11. We all start from the beginning. The last thing the shooting community needs is to alienate beginners.

We will be keeping in touch. They have more than enough space in their backyard for plinking and enough space in their basement to set up a safe and effective BB/Pellet Trap.

So, why not share what you know with those in the learning stages? The ones you help today will be those who will one day coach and reassure others. What will you learn in the process?

 

[Ethan Sackett]

Good job.

 

[Joespapa]

Really nice of you to help Dad and son . I must confess though , I most certainly would not have shown your restraint where Mr. "Big bucks" was concerned. Feel like you hit the nail on the head . The thought of that little boy crying, however, infuriates me!

Ymmv.

 

[hamp sandwich]

You and your friend, sir, are good men. Thank you for doing that, and I admire that you bypassed Mr Bigbucks to do the right thing.. I'm sure that meant a lot to that kid and his dad, and it means a lot to guys like me as well.
Thank you for sharing, and for being a great example.

 

[okey0]

amazing that there are people like that (like Baltimore900)!

 

[Baltimore_900]

You and your friend, sir, are good men. Thank you for doing that, and I admire that you bypassed Mr Bigbucks to do the right thing.. I'm sure that meant a lot to that kid and his dad, and it means a lot to guys like me as well.
Thank you for sharing, and for being a great example.

When I was around 9 years old, I was handed an invaluable piece of advice. "Sometimes, ya just gotta leave some people where they are." Meaning? Using this advice within the context of the above situation, it made far more sense to disregard Mr. Big Bucks and concentrate on doing immediate damage control.

Imagine being a youngster who got his very first air rifle from his dad and then having the chance to shoot it. Major excitement and anticipation, right? Now, imagine having all that happiness and excitement dashed by some egotistical joker who had to ridicule both father and son in order to maintain their fragile little ego? It was more important that both father and son experienced positive assistance, friendship and support.

To get into a shouting match with some clown in public at a shooting range solves nothing and gives somebody ammunition for their next 'anti-gun' tirade. One never knows who might be in the store or observing through the window. Plus, it would have fed into the obvious need for attention Mr. Big Bucks was after.

On the positive, we'll be meeting with father and son this coming weekend. Backyard soda can hunting. Anyone got a good recipe for perforated soda cans?

 

[hamp sandwich]

"Sometimes, ya just gotta leave some people where they are."

Also known as, "The Prime Directive.."

As often as possible, I adhere to that as well.

 

[entropy]

That's why I teach 4-H Shooting Sports, and that's why our County 4-H doesn't own any Walther or FWB airguns or compete in State level shoots. It's about starting them out safely while they have fun and hopefully develop lifelong interest in the Shooting Sports.
The best shooter I had so far did it with a basic Savage .17 HMR. (We shoot airgun and rimfire) 149 of a possible 150.

 

[cslinger]

Jacktard

Good on ya for helping.

I was at a range recently where I was running a couple guns and also my HW45 air pistol.

There was a really nice couple next to me who had just bought an air pistol from Walmart. I tend not to get involved unless folks ask or seem to really need it but these folks asked me to help as their air pistol wasn't working. Well they had a cheap CO2 pistol that I pulled the trigger a couple times to no effect. I dropped the magazine and realized they had loaded the mag with pellets. It was a BB gun only. I told them what was going on, explained what they needed to buy and gave them my HW45 with a bit of tutorial, handed them a tin of pellets and told them to have at it while I figured out how to unload a bunch of crushed pellets from the BB magazine.

30 minutes later I had finally worked the pellets out of the mag and they had gotten to do a little shooting and had a blast. Hopefully I turned an embarrassing, pain in the ass moment into both fun and learning experience. I mean let's face it we've all been there in some respect in front of a woman and we being MEN know all about weapons, stick shifts, hunting etc. and it sucks when we don't. So hopefully dude felt better when I explained that I have done worse and that I was going to have to do something I NEVER DO.....read the manual.

All in all a couple knew folks with only a BB gun at a shooting range hopefully realized that the toothless, drunken, wife beating redneck caricature is just that. Hope they come back.

I have some very high end guns and Airguns and scoffing at another person or there gear is delta bravo of epic proportions.

 

[Baltimore_900]

Men, Directions and Firearms

Women will say we men never ask for directions. We never read manuals. We don't mess stuff up when it comes to fishing, hunting and especially firearms. We are also Delta Force Level Operators. We are the consummate badass, are we not?

Still, we make mistakes. Usually, it is in front of just those people who expect us not to. Secretly, we pray for someone (preferably another guy) to get our butts out of the jam we got ourselves in but to do so diplomatically.

Yeah, we have all been there. We can all remember (if we want to) errors we've made when we first got into the shooting sports. How many times have we put a scope on backwards and didn't realize it until the mounts were tight?

Ya want a real bonehead move? I got one for ya.

Years ago, I owned a brand new Colt Delta HBAR. It was handling beautifully with Federal Match, reloads and Israeli rounds. 200, 300 and even 600 yards. So, what did I do?

For some reason, I got it in my head the rear sight needed to be totally stripped and cleaned. The night before the Colt Gold Cup Match. Guess who never bothered to review the exploded drawings of the rear sight? Me. Well, in the process, a tiny little spring went airborne. Took two hours to find it.

Needless to say, the first rounds were not even on the damn paper. It took four rounds to even see a hole somewhere on the paper anywhere. It got progressively worse from there, believe me. Yet, there I was. Someone who had been competing in High Power since I was 11 making a bonehead move like that and in front of hundreds of people!!!!

The moral of the story is we all can bite the big one. So, imagine how the new shooters feel? Personally, I wish someone had smacked me upside the head before the great rear sight incident.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, huh?

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Unfortunately there will always be that element that thinks they're a step above everyone else. Jerks will never cease to be among us.

It is up to all of us to make sure that we offset that by being helpful and patient with newcomers.

If we're going to have any gun rights at all in 50 years we'd better make sure we recruit and nurture as many new, young shooters as possible.

 

[cat_IT_guy]

Nice work turning a negative situation into a positive one. Many of us had the privilege of learning to shoot from our parents but some do not. When we can kindly and respectfully lend assistance to those it goes a long way toward insuring that they will become responsible shooters and gun owners and continue expanding the sport and hobby that so many of us already enjoy.