As someone that went through this program, I can’t stress enough that the takeaways here go far beyond marksmanship; the program makes sure of it. Because of merely attempting to get the Riflery merit badge I have a profound respect and safety awareness for guns, and all I used was a .22 bolt-action rimfire, which is about as basic as it gets. At the same time I’m aware that being halfway good at maintaining and using one are skills that must be cultivated and are not easy to do nor intutive. If I had to use a firearm now, I know that I’d have to use it at close range to be any good.
And unlike most americans (according to statistics) know that you should unload the firearm before cleaning, storage, or hiding in an oven. Its the main difference between the states and nations that require a firearms license. Even one day of training before letting people buy a firearm drastically changes outcomes.
Nobody scares me more at the range than adults who rent a gun who clearly have no experience. They’re often simultaneously confident and dangerous. Kids at the range are afraid of getting in trouble so listen to people telling them how to be safe, but adults are the fucking worst.
Here in Canada we have that very issue with police at the range (my range had to ban them in groups). The mix of overconfidence and need to show off while having less safety training then regular people is a deadly recipe.
It really is.
As someone that went through this program, I can’t stress enough that the takeaways here go far beyond marksmanship; the program makes sure of it. Because of merely attempting to get the Riflery merit badge I have a profound respect and safety awareness for guns, and all I used was a .22 bolt-action rimfire, which is about as basic as it gets. At the same time I’m aware that being halfway good at maintaining and using one are skills that must be cultivated and are not easy to do nor intutive. If I had to use a firearm now, I know that I’d have to use it at close range to be any good.
And unlike most americans (according to statistics) know that you should unload the firearm before cleaning, storage, or hiding in an oven. Its the main difference between the states and nations that require a firearms license. Even one day of training before letting people buy a firearm drastically changes outcomes.
Education is key in firearm safety.
Nobody scares me more at the range than adults who rent a gun who clearly have no experience. They’re often simultaneously confident and dangerous. Kids at the range are afraid of getting in trouble so listen to people telling them how to be safe, but adults are the fucking worst.
Here in Canada we have that very issue with police at the range (my range had to ban them in groups). The mix of overconfidence and need to show off while having less safety training then regular people is a deadly recipe.