Quote of the day
While shooting with my nephews, one got a bit excited and ran forward from the firing line before we called it cold to check the target. I kinda put my arm in front of him and said the range was hot. He stopped. Then he mentioned the four rules; all the range rules; sight alignment & trigger squeeze; and all manner of other things we discussed. He looked at me and said:
Sorry, but it’s a lot to keep up with.
It is, indeed.
July 7th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I’ve taught my 4 daughters, as well as several of their friends, neighbors, and more distant relations, the basics. The first few times at the range, I discount good shooting habits in favor of safety, and fun.
I put up big targets, at short range, and just let the kid blast away. I don’t care a bit if they hit anything or not, as long as they mind the 4 rules and basic range safety. I normally shoot at an unsupervised range, so the rules aren’t that complex.
Good grab, it’s a shame you had to do it. Hopefully, that will be the last time that young fellow heads downrange without checking.
He’s right, there’s a lot to absorb. We’ll work on sight picture, trigger control, and other aspects of marksmanship later, when the newness wears off, and safety becomes second nature.
July 7th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I just finished reading Robert Kaplan’s “Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts” and in one section he’s embedded with some Special Forces guys who are training some locals in Africa, and one SF guy talks about his four-year-old son who has learned to unload and put his cap-gun on safe before handing it to Dad… Just about brought tears to my eyes.