by The comment of the day comes from Paul Erhardt, Editor, of the Outdoor Digital Wires Network. In a discussion about shooting ranges and the need for new and expanded ranges, Paul has this to say in his Between the Berms column:
Ranges are not simply places to shoot. They are the entertainment interface for firearms. Buying a gun is cool. But if all you do is sit around you house looking at it, drooling and bragging online about the shiny new super-blaster you bought, then you are just collecting guns…and dust.
Taking that gun to the range, shooting with others, even entering competitions, is where we fully exercise our Second Amendment rights. And not only do we exercise them to their fullest, we strengthen our rights.
Ranges are where we turn a new gun owner into a gun enthusiast of the highest order. The role of the range is therefore critical.
I never thought of a shooting range as “the entertainment interface for firearms” but that is exactly what they are. I remember the first range I ever went to with my best friend in high school. It was little more than a clearing in a power easement with a 100 yard range. I don’t remember if it even had any benches. But it was place to shoot and you could plink away to your heart’s content. It is where I learned shooting could be fun.
I'm old enough to remember seeing Kids with RIFLES heading to the Dump to do some plinking and nobody would bat an eyelash. And it sure was Fun! But since that's SOOO Politically Incorrect nowadays, going to the range seems to be Fun Time for a lot of us.
That is an excellent point! And I'm with Les, shooting rats at the dump with a .22 was where I learned how to snap shoot!