This morning was our firearms range day for the kids who had taken their 12 hours of classroom study. We have the kids shoot from 3 positions, standing, kneeling or sitting, and prone. Five shots from each position. One kid had never fired a rifle before and was apprehensive. He told me he didn't want to shoot. I told him if he didn't shoot he couldn't pass the course and the 12 hours of in classroom study would have been all for nothing. If he wanted a firearm certificate he would have to do it all over again. I asked him why he didn't want to shoot? He said he was afraid it would hurt. He meant the recoil.

I explained it was a 22 rifle and there wasn't any recoil. He was still hesitant. I told him to let a couple of the other kids shoot the first few shots and see if it seemed to hurt them. He did fire the first shot and told me, that wasn't bad at all. He finished all 15 rounds and looked at me and said, "That was fun!"

His parents were watching from the sidelines. His mother made it a point to tell me her son was really nervous about actually firing a gun and thanked me. She said he told her, "Now I know what I want for my birthday!"

And that's why I like doing this.

That is fantastic! I honestly can't imagine being a 12 year old boy and having never fired a 22.

Great deal

It's rare, that's for sure.

My guess is the majority of 12 year old boys in this country haven't ever fired a gun. The majority of those boys who haven't are being raised in a single parent household by a woman.

Thanks for stepping up to the plate and getting these kids started off on the right foot!

Sooo, with the new firearm transfer law they just passed, will it be legal to allow a non-owner of the gun to shoot at such an event going forward? BTW, glad to hear you are doing what you can to further our right to bear arms!

Thanks for giving them the positive experience.

I sure appreciate the hunters ed instructors , it helps up even if they don't fire any at Hunters ed .

we really like to see them at 8 in 3rd grade for air rifle then they go take Hunters ed and then can shoot the powder burning shooting sports.

It hasn't passed yet.

Anything is possible when the democrats control both the house and senate and have a moron for a governor.

For sure

I am a shooting sports coach for 4H out of 10 young men in the 22 rifle program only 2 of them had ever fired a gun prior to entry into the program. In some ways it has made teaching them easier because they haven't developed a lot of bad habits but I was surprised because we live in a rural area.

Excellent work Trapper 7.

Different world we live in these days. I'd bet the vast majority of 12 year old boys have never fired a gun. I remember taking hunter safety when I was 11... it was required for me to be able to hunt (legally, I'd been hunting for several years illegally. My idiotic state did not let anyone under the age of 12 legally hunt). Anyways, when I got the shooting part I shot really well and I remember the instructors being shocked at how well I could shoot. I guess they weren't used to seeing 11 year old girls that could probably outshoot them LOL

I always enjoy range day. Kids who have never fired a gun learn that it can be fun. One of the several reasons I help with the hunter safety program.

We always have a few that shoot really well like you did.

We tell the kids if they have an issue with the firearm to raise their hand. This one kid's Savage bolt action didn't put a shell in the chamber and he dry-fired the rifle. He pulled the magazine and solved the problem himself by pushing the top shell down as the spring for some reason didn't bring the shell to the top causing him to close the bolt over the top of the shell. So, there are some that have a lot of prior experience with a rifle.

this is why I am glad WI went mentored hunting several years ago

this lets you take anyone of any age as long as you are an adult with parents permission you can take them hunting so if you have the 7 year old who wants to hunt they can , catch is you get 1 gun and they have to be in arms reach basically when they have hunters ed they have to be sight and sound for the first 2 years , so they can be 75 yards over if you can see them and yell to them.

if you are on your family property like family farm you are not hunting under a license so then you can hunt small game as you wish game animas like deer you have to hunt under a license.

it was a great compromise to get kids in the field sooner before they found too much interest in other things
while still keeping things safe.