So my six year old nephew asked me about the shooting range where I go

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Abner, Jun 22, 2016.

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  1. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    I was rolling down the street with my niece and nephew. We happened to drive by the indoor shooting range where I go. I told my six year old nephew about it. He started asking me a lot of questions. He asked me stuff like: What do they do in there? Do you guys shoot at people? What do they have in there? Do they use plastic bullets? I don't know, all kinds of stuff. I answered all of them as best I could in a manner that he could understand.

    I go visit my niece and nephew again on Friday. I think it is best if I take my nephew in there so he could see for himself what a shooting range is really like. Maybe one of the fellas can show him a real gun. I don't know, is he maybe too young? My sister should be fine with it. She bought me a gift certificate from there last Christmas, she has been inside. She and my brother in law are not against guns, they just don't have any.

    What do you all think? I want to show my nephew what a real gun is like, but I also want to show him that a gun is not a toy.
     
  2. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    I think it's the parent's privilege - if he were 16 it might be a different conversation, but not at 6.

    P.S. Yesterday we took our 11 year old to the shooting range and we just hung out and watched - we have 2 super nice swanky ones in town, so we sat in the lounge area and observed. It was the first time I'd been in. Like your sister, I'm not a gun owner but I support gun ownership.
     
  3. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Yeah, I think I am going to forget about showing him the shooting range. I will stick to taking them to my favorite old school pet shops, and treat them to some ice cream for now. The real truth is I take them to place like that because I love animals, and I love ice cream. :smile: They do find the animals interesting though, and they even want to get some fish that I showed them. More action to follow this Friday.
     
  4. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    When my kids were about 8 years old, I sat them down and taught them the basics of gun safety; always treat it as if it's loaded, the laser rule, etc., but above all I instilled in them that if they see an unattended gun, to stop, don't touch, and notify an adult.

    I then brought out some of my guns, showed them how to check if they're loaded, how to handle them safely, and then let them take turns handling them, under my immediate supervision. After about 5 minutes, they got bored and lost interest. That was it, the fascination was gone, and they were no longer the mysterious taboo that they are for a lot of children.

    About a week later, I tested them by leaving a training gun (inert, not capable of holding ammo or firing) in their play room, to see what they'd do. They both immediately came to me and my wife to tell us, then started arguing about who saw it first.
     

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