Saw this on another forum and thought all here would appreciate reading how a 13-yr-old called out a duffer on the range. Demonstrates the value of training and the impact of positive feedback. Bet that boy keeps his shotgun pointed the right direction hereafter!
I've shown my girl how to properly handle a weapon around the house a lot, the basics: all guns are loaded and there's a round in the chamber, until you can verify there's not - trust nobody - not even your memory. We have also gone over what to do, what not to do, and what to expect at the range. But I haven't ever taken her to the range until today. I wasn't thinking it would be crowded (outdoor National Park range), but it was really crowded. If it wasn't for the 30 mile one-way drive, I would have turned around. But she wanted to go too and I wanted her to take a few live fires at the range.
As usual, I always wait until there's a cease fire to walk up and grab a bench. We had to wait a while before there was an empty bench. I have the cases out and am getting all the gear ready when I hear my girl YELL at the guy next to us, "POINT THAT WEAPON DOWN RANGE". I look over and the guy is loading his shotgun with the barrel pointed sideways down the benches.
She's usually pretty shy, so it really threw me off to hear her yell at someone she doesn't know. There were a couple of 'you tell him' and 'atta girl' from the crowd, but the look on that guy's face just getting called out by a 13 year old girl in a pink Sponge Bob hoody was priceless. I look back at her give her a smile and she says, "you would have whipped my ass if I did something that stupid".
She shot the 22 and shot well, but I told her, I was much more proud of her range etiquette than her marksmanship. She wants to shoot the 9mm next time and I think she has earned it.
I've shown my girl how to properly handle a weapon around the house a lot, the basics: all guns are loaded and there's a round in the chamber, until you can verify there's not - trust nobody - not even your memory. We have also gone over what to do, what not to do, and what to expect at the range. But I haven't ever taken her to the range until today. I wasn't thinking it would be crowded (outdoor National Park range), but it was really crowded. If it wasn't for the 30 mile one-way drive, I would have turned around. But she wanted to go too and I wanted her to take a few live fires at the range.
As usual, I always wait until there's a cease fire to walk up and grab a bench. We had to wait a while before there was an empty bench. I have the cases out and am getting all the gear ready when I hear my girl YELL at the guy next to us, "POINT THAT WEAPON DOWN RANGE". I look over and the guy is loading his shotgun with the barrel pointed sideways down the benches.
She's usually pretty shy, so it really threw me off to hear her yell at someone she doesn't know. There were a couple of 'you tell him' and 'atta girl' from the crowd, but the look on that guy's face just getting called out by a 13 year old girl in a pink Sponge Bob hoody was priceless. I look back at her give her a smile and she says, "you would have whipped my ass if I did something that stupid".
She shot the 22 and shot well, but I told her, I was much more proud of her range etiquette than her marksmanship. She wants to shoot the 9mm next time and I think she has earned it.
Attagirl.
