The grand kids do not care for hunting; but they enjoy the range. They are well aware, a firearm is unforgiving; and there are mistakes you can only make once. I try to find the range ( very small local range ) unoccupied, so I can focus on teaching the kids. Do I trust them completely, of course not; they are still young & have miles to go; but they do listen to me. Not just listen, they hear me. Only a 100 yard range; so long distance shooting - practice is not possible; but local abandoned strip mines do work well.
That's a great approach, Jimsouth. It's difficult to teach anyone, much less kids, in the middle of a ruckus.
As for trusting kids, it's indeed a risk. When I first taught my son to shoot, I stood right there alongside him, making absolutely certain his aim did not waiver from downrange until his magazine was empty, removed, slide back, and firearm laid on the mat --
still pointing downrange. It's the way my father taught me, and he learned firearms safety from his father, born in 1902, grew up on an Iowa farm, and hunted rabbits and birds to and from grade school with his .410 shotgun.
I still have it. It's an absolutely beautiful piece, in it's rugged simplicity, and I fired it a few times when I was a kid, but I'd never fired it now, knowing what I know about the metallurgy of the time. It's probably safe, but the quality control was a bit lacking and it's much more valuable to me as a collection piece, not for any resale value, but rather, for its intrinsic value, knowing that my grandfather carried it to elementary and high school on a regular basis, along with the other kids, because that's how they put food on their table and defended themselves.
He parked it in the corner of his single-building classroom along with the guns of the other kids, unloaded. He said, "Teacher's rules." Rural Iowa wasn't exactly unexplored territory back in 1911, and while he was the ninth kid in a farming family, meat was often scarce, unless you caught it yourself. He once told me his mom (my great grandmother) mandated a "share half, eat half" rule which she implemented with a very firm hand, as he had six brothers and two sisters. She wasn't above using force to keep his upstart brothers in line, and his father (my great-grandfather) wasn't above decking anyone who refused to respect her.
As a result, they ALL grew up to be very hard-working, very successful, and mostly well-educated people. Of my grandfather's bunch, there were two doctors, two veterinarians, and one married into a Railroad Magnate's family. The vast majority of my grandfather's "wealth," if you could call it that, was by the sweat of his brow, mostly as a traveling salesman. Hearing various stories, including watching him as a kid, I surmise he worked his butt off.
Getting back to firearms...
The difference between 100 yrd and 300 yrd ranges is one of elevation and windage. You can teach both at a 100 yard range and the lessons will most certainly indeed translate to further distances. Other effects, such as allowing for variations in shooter altitude, temperature, relative humidity, and their effects on density altitude, are
subjects for advance study, and, if mastered with a lot of practice, can afford an expert marksman with the right equipment to place shots at distances to a mile and beyond.
I hate to be a Richard, but sometimes I can't help it. The constitution is the key to our continued freedom.
I hear you, WW, but the Constitution itself is merely the foundation. As such, it's only one of many keys required to maintain our continued freedom. Education, including both American and World History, is another. Civics, involving detailed information on how our government actually works is a third. Just the other day, I listed to AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) piping off about changing something in the Constitution either without realizing what that would actually require, or more likely, knowing full well what that would actually require but merely using that as a way to fool simpleton Demoncraps who might bite off on that, saying, "Yeah! Sounds really cool! Less money for the wealthy and more money stolen from them to put into my pocket!"
So, the Keys:
- Constitution - After all, it is "the supreme Law of the Land," and ignorance thereof has created more problems...
- American History - Ibid.
- World History - "Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are bound to repeat them." Dear, Lord: Please let our modern society succeed in teaching even the hardest lessons of history to our youth so that we can NEVER repeat the lessons of history.
- Apathy, as in "Anti-Apathy" being a huge key in getting voters out to actually do what they do best, which is vote.
- Education I - This catch-all includes pretty much everything not covered in the other categories. Various organizations and entities have continuously usurped public education to indoctrinate our youth over the generations, beginning shortly before I was born, but certainly continuing to this day.
- Education II - This includes every Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and the many other classes for which We the People forfeit VAST sums of money (roughly $9,000 per graduating senior) in order that they be educated to a level such that they do NOT repeat the mistakes of the past, but instead, pick up where we left off.
Now, WalkingWolf, does this reassessment of the multitudinous nature of our future "keys" meet with your approval? By all means, if you'd like to add any critical areas I've overlooked, please do! I welcome your input.