Sometimes life is filled with contrasts. On recent Fridays I shoot at PGC with the Geezer League,which is the Geezer squad I wrote about recently(I seem to fit right in) and on Sundays I shoot at AGC, with a mixed bag of shooters. It got more mixed yesterday.
Besides the usual suspects, one Dad showed up with what seemed to be an Explorer post with him,maybe 5 adolescent boys ranging from strapping 6 footers to a boy of 4 foot, couple inches and maybe 90 lbs. The small one had his own shotgun, a 20 ga H&R/NEF with a short stock.
I had gotten there early and helped set up.So, I was on the first 4 squads, and we had shot a couple of rounds when the scouts showed up. I heard the adult in charge ask if there were any 410 shells for sale, they needed some for one boy's shotgun. The wheels started turning in my head. As the adult told the boys that one of them would have to wait his turn with the shotguns they had,I stepped forward and told them that I had brought two shotguns and plenty of loads, asking which kid needed a loaner. A 6 footer stepped forward. I got Frankenstein from the car, along with a couple boxes of reloads, gave the kid a very fast course on the 870, and we stepped up to the line, after a fast conference with the rangemaster and the adult with the kids.
I was on post 1, the kid with Frankenstein on 2, the other adult on 3, the little kid with the 20 ga on 4, and another kid with a BPS on 5. This way, at no time was a kid more than 2 posts away from an adult. The round started...
It was obvious that none of the kids had much training, tho they were conscientious about range safety. Stance and mount were awful. But they broke some clays, and the grin on the face of the kid with Frankenstein when he busted his first was worth the trip.
After the round, I asked the adult if I could give a little instruction to his charges. He assented gratefully, and the kids got shooting 101, real fast. I worked on stance, mounting, and sight picture.
The kids,all of them, got into it the next couple of rounds, and started busting more than they missed.While this was happening, a variety of other shooters showed up, including a couple guys I knew who are not exactly known for their patience or people skills. No complaints from anyone. Everyone out there wanted those kids to have a great time.
The afternoon went fast, and after a few more rounds I got Frankenstein back with a fervent thank you.As I was leaving, I asked the littlest Scout how he did.
He looked way up at me,grinned like a possum eating hot roadkill, and said," I kicked their butts". I laughed, but checked the scorecard before leaving. He had shot a pair of 16s back to back, beating out the other boys and a few of the adults with that little 20.
Think about it. How many of us could handle a 5 lb 20 ga, Modified choke, no pad, just a butt plate and still hit 16/25 at ATA style trap? Especially if we just weighed 90 lbs and had a 18 inch shirt sleeve? That boy shot at least 4 rounds(100 shots) and did his best on the last two rounds.
And the point to this rambling tale? Think about it.
I bet none of these kids will accept the PC view that guns are evil. I also bet none of them end up misusing guns, or committing acts of violence. And maybe they'll remember the kindness of an old stranger and pay it forward someday, helping out someone simply because it's a good thing to do and they can.That's a good thing for all of us, both as shooters and as people...
And that littlest kid,with the died blonde punk haircut and the earrings,has himself a victory, and kids NEED victories.
Have a good'un....
Besides the usual suspects, one Dad showed up with what seemed to be an Explorer post with him,maybe 5 adolescent boys ranging from strapping 6 footers to a boy of 4 foot, couple inches and maybe 90 lbs. The small one had his own shotgun, a 20 ga H&R/NEF with a short stock.
I had gotten there early and helped set up.So, I was on the first 4 squads, and we had shot a couple of rounds when the scouts showed up. I heard the adult in charge ask if there were any 410 shells for sale, they needed some for one boy's shotgun. The wheels started turning in my head. As the adult told the boys that one of them would have to wait his turn with the shotguns they had,I stepped forward and told them that I had brought two shotguns and plenty of loads, asking which kid needed a loaner. A 6 footer stepped forward. I got Frankenstein from the car, along with a couple boxes of reloads, gave the kid a very fast course on the 870, and we stepped up to the line, after a fast conference with the rangemaster and the adult with the kids.
I was on post 1, the kid with Frankenstein on 2, the other adult on 3, the little kid with the 20 ga on 4, and another kid with a BPS on 5. This way, at no time was a kid more than 2 posts away from an adult. The round started...
It was obvious that none of the kids had much training, tho they were conscientious about range safety. Stance and mount were awful. But they broke some clays, and the grin on the face of the kid with Frankenstein when he busted his first was worth the trip.
After the round, I asked the adult if I could give a little instruction to his charges. He assented gratefully, and the kids got shooting 101, real fast. I worked on stance, mounting, and sight picture.
The kids,all of them, got into it the next couple of rounds, and started busting more than they missed.While this was happening, a variety of other shooters showed up, including a couple guys I knew who are not exactly known for their patience or people skills. No complaints from anyone. Everyone out there wanted those kids to have a great time.
The afternoon went fast, and after a few more rounds I got Frankenstein back with a fervent thank you.As I was leaving, I asked the littlest Scout how he did.
He looked way up at me,grinned like a possum eating hot roadkill, and said," I kicked their butts". I laughed, but checked the scorecard before leaving. He had shot a pair of 16s back to back, beating out the other boys and a few of the adults with that little 20.
Think about it. How many of us could handle a 5 lb 20 ga, Modified choke, no pad, just a butt plate and still hit 16/25 at ATA style trap? Especially if we just weighed 90 lbs and had a 18 inch shirt sleeve? That boy shot at least 4 rounds(100 shots) and did his best on the last two rounds.
And the point to this rambling tale? Think about it.
I bet none of these kids will accept the PC view that guns are evil. I also bet none of them end up misusing guns, or committing acts of violence. And maybe they'll remember the kindness of an old stranger and pay it forward someday, helping out someone simply because it's a good thing to do and they can.That's a good thing for all of us, both as shooters and as people...
And that littlest kid,with the died blonde punk haircut and the earrings,has himself a victory, and kids NEED victories.
Have a good'un....