DustyGmt
Member
Took 6 kids out shooting yesterday on my uncles property, ages ranging from 12-17. I personally didn't do much shooting, very lil, only in a demonstration capacity, but after going and shooting 4 rounds of trap at my club, I drove about 30 miles north out to my uncles property where his girlfriend and her kids + a couple of the kids friends were present and wanted to learn a lil about shooting.
My uncle asked me to get up there and help facilitate safety and instruction since there was going to be a group of newbies. Don't get me wrong, if they become serious about shooting or carrying, etc they should definitely seek out a professional, but in terms of getting familiar with guns along with some basic gun handling/safety practices, they could do worse than me and my uncle.
Like I said, I didn't do much shooting but I got just as much enjoyment out of seeing the kids shoot and see them have a good time and give each other props for hitting the center of the target, etc... my uncle has a pretty nice setup, about a dozen steel swingers in a range of sizes and if any of you are familiar with the "odins eye" targets, that was the most popular target to shoot at. The center of the eye is a 6" steel circle that swings backwards and always swings back to the same spot each time.
We started them with .22lr rifles (10/22) and .22lr pistols (Kel Tec PMR30, ruger Mk, SR22, Glock 44, etc) and they were all tickled to get to shoot an array of guns. When my uncle and I decided to briefly interrupt the .22lr shooting with my Glock 9's and his Kimber .45 we saw the eyes get big, call of duty references were made and I could tell the boys were eager to get their paws on the "big guns" and try them. . They actually shot them impressively well, the odins eye target was about 45' away and they were pretty consistently ringing the 6" center plate. I got a chuckle out of how well the 15yo very small framed girl shot the .45 and wasn't seeming to be at all phased by the .45acp recoil.
They all had a great time, myself included and I did go through my own share of ammo but it was worth it and they all seemed to appreciate it and said thank you more than a few times.
I reflect on this and am hopeful that the next generation may not be completely doomed, especially knowing there are many, many others on this forum who are generous with their time and guns/ammo and do the same thing. Things don't look so good for the future of gun owners in this country but if we all can spare a few boxes of ammo and a lil bit of our time showing these kids, it could very well pay off.... I say jump at the opportunity to take a kid shooting or hunting, it's probably our best hope for preserving our thing.
My uncle asked me to get up there and help facilitate safety and instruction since there was going to be a group of newbies. Don't get me wrong, if they become serious about shooting or carrying, etc they should definitely seek out a professional, but in terms of getting familiar with guns along with some basic gun handling/safety practices, they could do worse than me and my uncle.
Like I said, I didn't do much shooting but I got just as much enjoyment out of seeing the kids shoot and see them have a good time and give each other props for hitting the center of the target, etc... my uncle has a pretty nice setup, about a dozen steel swingers in a range of sizes and if any of you are familiar with the "odins eye" targets, that was the most popular target to shoot at. The center of the eye is a 6" steel circle that swings backwards and always swings back to the same spot each time.
We started them with .22lr rifles (10/22) and .22lr pistols (Kel Tec PMR30, ruger Mk, SR22, Glock 44, etc) and they were all tickled to get to shoot an array of guns. When my uncle and I decided to briefly interrupt the .22lr shooting with my Glock 9's and his Kimber .45 we saw the eyes get big, call of duty references were made and I could tell the boys were eager to get their paws on the "big guns" and try them. . They actually shot them impressively well, the odins eye target was about 45' away and they were pretty consistently ringing the 6" center plate. I got a chuckle out of how well the 15yo very small framed girl shot the .45 and wasn't seeming to be at all phased by the .45acp recoil.
They all had a great time, myself included and I did go through my own share of ammo but it was worth it and they all seemed to appreciate it and said thank you more than a few times.
I reflect on this and am hopeful that the next generation may not be completely doomed, especially knowing there are many, many others on this forum who are generous with their time and guns/ammo and do the same thing. Things don't look so good for the future of gun owners in this country but if we all can spare a few boxes of ammo and a lil bit of our time showing these kids, it could very well pay off.... I say jump at the opportunity to take a kid shooting or hunting, it's probably our best hope for preserving our thing.
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