A good deed today? Being an ambassador to the shooting world

[Kimio]

Probably has been said and done numerous times, but it certainly makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I help get someone a bit more interested in the shooting world.

Was at the range today test firing a new rifle that I've recently acquired, when a gentleman came up with his teen aged son and elementary school aged daughter (Couldn't have been more than 8-9 years old).

Anyway, initially I saw them borrowing some ear muffs from the range check in. Politely I asked if it was the kids first time shooting, to which the father replied, yes. I offered them a few extra foamy ear plugs so that they could double up on hearing protection (We had quite a few folks firing -06 or .308's today, to include myself).

A little later, during the cease fire (outdoor range) I noticed he only had one handgun (A walther of some flavor, in .380). Stepping up to the plate I offered to let he and his kids shoot my .22 M1911 to help ease them into the sport, and so they could learn the basics.

Long story short, the kids had an absolute blast, and I even heard the little girl asking her dad when they could come out again.

There's my good deed(s) for the day I suppose. Funny since the guy kept on wanting to pay me for the .22LR they used, to which I declined. Watching the kids have fun was enough for me.

[BobCat45]

A very good deed indeed, and you should be proud!

Staring them off with a .22 rifle would have been ideal, but starting them off with a 22 pistol with some mass to it beats a small, light .380 by a long shot.

I hope you see them at the range again.

[AL45]

Great job Kimio!

[10-96]

Good job Kimio! I hope they become regulars out there.

Does my heart good to know there's still good folk out there.

[SamNavy]

Back in January was at a local range. Dad and son (12'ish) sat down next to me. Kid has a brand new GSG MP5 clone in .22lr. Obviously a X-mas present. Kid was practically wetting his pants. Dad showed him how to load the magazines, chambered a round, fired one, then gave it to the kid and walked away to join his wife on the pistol range. The kid had no clue what he was doing.

I watched closely and prepared to duck.

He put the first 5 rounds in the 25yd overhead baffle before I stopped him.

ME: "Hey man, what are you aiming at?"

KID: "Nothing."

ME: "Tellya what, see my target down there, try aiming at that."

Next couple rounds still in the baffle... I figured out what the problem was.

ME: "Hey, see this little metal circle here, it's called the rear sight. You gotta look through the rear sight at the front site... can't just use the front one."

Everything else went downrange'ish until he emptied the magazine and then he didn't know what to do, so he set the gun down and started to get up.

ME: "Hang on, I'll help..."

And I did help him... a lot. Even let him shoot my Savage MKII FVSR. He said, "the scope makes it easier"... and I agreed.

The Dad came back an hour later... and to my complete and utter astonishment, the kid actually thanked me. The Dad said nothing.

I felt pretty good.

[Rob228]

I did something similar last week. After 13 years active duty I am now in a commissioning program at CU Boulder, completely randomly I had one of the Navy women in a similar program ask me to teach her how to shoot a pistol, as she decided "it is time to invest in a pistol and a carry permit"

One of the best students I've ever had, we dry fired for about twenty minutes at my place then went to the range and alternated between one of my 1911's and a Ruger 22/45.

She took to it like a natural and asked to go again, as is my custom I covered the range fees for a first time shooter, won another one over and taught some valuable skills.

[Shotgun Slim]

You guys make me proud.

[SPEMack618]

Too good gun deeds this past week:

Guy in the headquarters section got his kid an M&P-15/22 for Christmas. Said kid has shot it exactly 250 times sense Christmas.

Well, he got a brick of Federal .22 LR because no kid should be denied shooting his rifle because, we as a gun culture, are bunch of hoarders on occasion.

Also, the Brigade Civil Affairs Officer, who is probably the most professional and competent person to ever hold that position, busted her pistol quals this past quarter. I spent the better part of a Saturday in my backyard with her, my Buddy's 92FS, and ten boxes of WWB hard ball.

[aarondhgraham]

Good on you my friend,,,
It's a good thing to treat a kid.

It's rimfire ammo well spent I say.

Keep up the good deeds,,,
They will come back to you manifold.

Aarond

.

[missshooter]

Nice job Kimio!

I love how people at the range can be so welcoming to newcomers. Well, I guess it's not always the case, but I've had good experiences, and hope to run into someone like you when my kids are old enough to join me in a few years

[Kimio]

I strive to help newcomers, especially children, get into the world of firearms. I had the misfortune of being raised in Illinois and having my mother being fiercely against just about any kind of weapon being placed in my hands (A Thai superstition of gifting or giving a weapon as a gift is that the person may come back and kill you with it or something)

Fortunately she's not like that anymore, my step father helped to change her mind at least on having guns in the house.

Ultimately, I view cases like the kids at the range this past weekend as giving another child the chance to get into the sports early on, where I didn't get the opportunity until I was roughly 20 or so. That and the fact in a firm believer that new shooters should start with a .22LR :P

[Unlicensed Dremel]

If a "good deed" is arguing incessantly with gunhaters at HuffPo, theBlaze, Rawstory, NY Times, Daily KOS, and all the other blissninny leftist lemming cesspools, then yes, I do a good deed every day.

[hvymax]

Great job. I keep the Basic rifle, shotgun and handgun course posters handy at my house so I can give impromtu safety classes whenever a concerned parent of one of my kids friends is over. I also invite friends over with their kids to give them a proper introduction to safety and marksmanship. You don't even need a real range to teach marksmanship. Anywhere you can hang a blanket you have an instant softair range. Giving beginners a good 22 that is easy to shoot with goes a long way to building confidence allowing them to quickly move up to their comfort level. Having extra plugs and beginner friendly guns along is a great way to help others discover what a great community we really are.

[Paul B.]

My story is a little different. I'd been shootin at the range and was in the process of packing up when a small group of me started to set up next to my bench. Two were Anglo and four were Orientals, three of which spoke no English. Turned out they were from Japan and wanted to shoot handguns. The firearms they had on hand were borrowed from others and neither of the two Anglos really had much of an idea how to work a 1911 style gun and neither could figure out how to load a single action. Definitely the blind leading the blind. I'm the main firearms instructor for the Hunter Ed classes I'm involded in so I offered to give them a hand. I figured I better before somebody got hurt. Guess in japan anyone instructing has to prove his knowledge which turned out to be a good deal as I got to shoot the indivicual firearms. I gave then the usual safety lecture I always give about muzzle control, demonatrated I could actually hit the target more than once and then showed each individual how to operate the firearm. Those guys had a ball, especially when I broke out my S&W 629 .44 Magnum.They got to play Dirty Harry. Their two hosts were filming the whole thing so they could show their friends back home what they were able to do here. I had to leave but I did leave some happy campers.
Paul B.

[hvymax]

I love hosting international guests. A few years ago an Irish friend called and said his brothers were coming for a visit and asked if they could come over to shoot. I asked if he wanted me to call a few friends to make it a real American experience and he said wonderful and that he would buy the ammo. He wound up buying 5000 linked 7.62, 5000 5.56, 5000 9mm, 2500 7.62*39 and 500 12 ga and 44mag. Between that and the Gatling it was quite a day.

[xssv]

That was very kind of you. Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness mean the most. Well done.

[DaleA]

Between that and the Gatling it was quite a day.

(There's a phrase you don't hear everyday.)

I'd enjoy any pictures you have of the event especially firing the Gatling.

[4V50 Gary]

Well done Kimio in promoting the sport. It's best to start kiddies or novices out with something they can handle. I hate the videos where somebody gives a novice a firearm they can't handle, give them no or improper instruction and then laugh their arse off when their victim falls down or gets kicked badly because of improper shouldering or handling.

I was at the range when someone I knew asked if I had a left handed 22 rifle for his wife. I did but instead of "22 LR" it was a left handed .223 AR with two boxes of bullets. She had a blast (but used only one box).

[JWT]

Sam Navy's tale is down right frightening. What were that kid"s parents thinking?

Congrats to him, Kmino, and others who take the time to work and coach youngsters who want to shoot. It's the future of the sport and needs folks like them. Well done sirs.

[SPEMack618]

Originally Posted by 4V50 Gary

Well done Kimio in promoting the sport. It's best to start kiddies or novices out with something they can handle. I hate the videos where somebody gives a novice a firearm they can't handle, give them no or improper instruction and then laugh their arse off when their victim falls down or gets kicked badly because of improper shouldering or handling.

Just today, Miguel posted video on his blog entitled "Girl grun fail compilation." In said video, numerous young ladies are handed various guns that no novice, man or woman, should be shooting. Of course, there is the expected girls getting knocked on their butts, scope bites, etc. etc. All to the amused chuckles of their "boyfriends." A fellow commented that videos like that give nothing but credence to the claim that girls aren't capable of using firearms for self defense.

Which is pure bull crap. A short 150 pound brunette might not be able to use a PGO Mossberg 500, but then again, why should be using that?

I hate the fact that my girlfriend carries a Ruger LCP .380. I don't like DAO, I dislike the sights, and I dislike . 380 ACP as a cartridge. But at the end of the day, I don't carry it. She does. And that gun in her purse (Sorry Pax; it's a process) is better than the Ruger SR-1911 Commander in the safe.

Maybe one day, she'll feel comfortable carrying it, and we can have a cool couple moment as she tosses me a spare mag as we're fighting off a Commie Commando Squad, but until then I'm not gonna force her to fire something she doesn't want to. And I'm especially not gonna put a video of it on YouTube.