|
|
Post by bartiks on Jan 29, 2016 21:42:18 GMT -5
So this one is long overdue since my buddies son is now 16, however I will let you know how we got him and his sister to be safe around firearms.
He was about 6 at the time we were over at my house milling around in the yard and he had a bb gun and was shooting pop cans in my back yard. Not another house in the direction he was shooting for 500+ yards. After each shot he would turn around and say did you see that and the like. After 2 to 3 times of telling him to drop the muzzle of his gun when he turned around he still couldn't get the knack of it.
Well the last time he did it I gave him an ultimatum that "the next time you turn around and don't point your gun down I'm going to shoot you in the foot with it". Now before you go and turn me into CPS for this we are talking a BB gun and with all intensive purposes I would never hurt him intentionally. So as per usual he turns around excited he hit the can. That was it, I went after him to get the gun, he dropped it and ran around the house and my buddy stopped him. After I emptied the entire gun and ensured there was no bb's left in it. I went up to him and fired it on his foot. The only thing that came out of the BB gun was the sound of it firing. Needless to say since then he makes sure the guns he goes out and shoots with it are always pointed in a safe direction.
He has since gone on to help me and my friend teach his baby sister about the importance of proper gun handling technique and uses the story I just told you to drive home the fact always point your gun in a safe direction. To this day when she goes out to the lake with us and shoots her pink BB gun she pretty much drags the muzzle along the ground anytime she moves from point A to point B. |
|
|
|
Post by esshup on Jan 29, 2016 23:10:29 GMT -5
My buddy in Illinois just took the CCW class. He said about 50% of the people in the class probably had never even held a gun. The biggest problem they had was getting those people to keep their finger off of the trigger when they picked up a gun, be it a blue gun or real thing, let alone worry about where the muzzle was.
|
|
|
|
Post by stevein on Jan 30, 2016 10:14:10 GMT -5
I took my son out back with a gallon milk jug. He was playing tee ball at the time so I had him pick up a stick and hit the jug with it. Next I set the jug down in front of a puddle. We backed off about 15 feet and I handed him my empty S&W 36. I told him it was not much bigger than a play gun. I took it from him and loaded it with some hot HPs and shot the jug. Mud and water flew everywhere. He picked up the jug and was amazed at the hole in it. I asked him if he would like to be hit with the stick and he said no. I had him put his fist in the hole in the jug and told him that was what would happen to him or a friend if they got shot. We went on to BB guns .22s shotguns and muzzle loaders.
|
|
|
|
Post by bartiks on Jan 30, 2016 23:50:22 GMT -5
I took my son out back with a gallon milk jug. He was playing tee ball at the time so I had him pick up a stick and hit the jug with it. Next I set the jug down in front of a puddle. We backed off about 15 feet and I handed him my empty S&W 36. I told him it was not much bigger than a play gun. I took it from him and loaded it with some hot HPs and shot the jug. Mud and water flew everywhere. He picked up the jug and was amazed at the hole in it. I asked him if he would like to be hit with the stick and he said no. I had him put his fist in the hole in the jug and told him that was what would happen to him or a friend if they got shot. We went on to BB guns .22s shotguns and muzzle loaders. I guess that is one way to instill the fear in him about what they can do. I will probably do something similar when my daughter gets a little older. |
|
|
|
Post by featherduster on Jan 31, 2016 6:26:30 GMT -5
Just make sure that whatever techniques you use to teach gun safety that you have the child where safety glasses and hearing protection so that when this child goes to a hunter safety course and tells his or her story the instructors will know they had a good teacher.
Do as I say not as I do.
|
|
|
|
Post by jackryan on May 1, 2016 22:18:30 GMT -5
Guns aren't toys.
NEVER point them at anything you don't want to kill or destroy.
They are ALL, ALWAYS loaded.
I learned that when I was about 10. My best friend and I were being stupid with a BB gun. We both unloaded it on purpose to be stupid with it. We just didn't know how stupid we were until he took a BB center mass. Zero penetration. 100% pain, cussing, hopping around.
I didn't need to feel it myself to learn from it. I'm still taking his word for it.
|
|
