by It is often said that one of the best ways to inoculate people against the gun prohibitionists is to take them shooting.
Yesterday evening I took the Complementary Spouse’s brother-in-law and nephew shooting at the Top Gun Shooting Sports in Arnold, Missouri. Scott may have shot a couple of times when he was a boy but not since. Grant is your typical 14-year old who is into skateboards, video games, and YouTube. Grant had shot an airsoft gun but never a true firearm. He had been asking his dad if they could go shooting sometime.
After dinner, we trekked over to Top Gun which is one of the nicer indoor ranges and shops that I’ve ever visited. I brought a Ruger 10/22 and a Ruger Mk II target pistol, hearing protection, and safety glasses.
 |
|
| Grant with the Ruger 10/22 |
I started Grant out with just one round in the carbine. He was a little worried about the recoil but I assured him that with a .22 it is very light. He later said he was both excited and a little scared. I’d say he handled it very well – his first shot was in the bulls-eye of the target. We progressed from there to multiple rounds and he did just fine. I had sent him a YouTube video with the Four Rules and he had watched it beforehand. He did well on the safety aspect as well.
 |
| Scott with the Ruger Mk II pistol |
I started out Scott in a similar manner to Grant and he did equally well. One of the best moments from the evening was when Grant turned to his dad and said, “This is fun!” Scott agreed.
 |
| Grant shooting the Ruger Mk II |
We spent about an hour and a half at the range. Actually they had to shoo us out as they wanted to close up. When we got home, Grant told his 12-year old sister all about it and said she needs to go. Next time I think we’ll have two lanes and two more new shooters!
Taking a new shooter out is one of the best things we as gunnies can do. Tom Gresham always talks about it on GunTalk and he is right. When some anti tells them guns are evil and only meant to kill, they will know better. I think if we all commit to taking just one new person shooting a year and making it a fun experience, it will be the best insurance we could have in protecting our Second Amendment freedoms.
