Bob Shell wrote: > On Dec 17, 2006, at 10:59 AM, William Robb wrote: > >> More to the point, what sort of idiot gives a firearm to a kid? > > What? You ain't armin' your kids?? > > Here in the Old South we outfits our chillen wif shootin' irons real > young. They needs 'em fer self defense. > > Bob (who had his first rifle at 12)
Had MY first one at 9! Winchester single shot, with a telescopic sight. Of course, I was taught responsibility at a very early age, and didn't go out shooting without adult supervision until much later. We lived in the countryside, and were taught what was okay to shoot (plinking) and what was not (no living creature, no trees, no private property.) At age 9, i wasn't really capable of independent decisions regarding firearm use, so the rules were few, very simple and firmly administered. I adhered to them strictly, and as a result, had a great deal of fun with it. Back then, country kids used to bring their .22 to school, leave it in the cloakroom, and carry it to shooting after school. Never a problem. Virtually everybody used a firearm of one kind or another. We literally grew up with them in the house. With far more rare exceptions than now, we were responsible, and plenty safety conscious... Long range hole-punching is a great deal of fun, develops hand/eye coordination, and so on. And not the least, develops father or adult/child respect for each other's role in things. Nothing wrong with firearms ownership, it's the irresponsible use thereof that causes the problems. keith whaley -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
