Schmuck Alert on the Gun Range

I went to the range yesterday evening, not expecting to do anything but have a little fun shooting a few rounds.

I ran into two schmucks instead.

Schmuck #1 was some big guy trying to impress his non-shooting girlfriend with his manliness. He was popping of his .44 mag, then demanding she give it a try. No, I am not kidding. I later found out she had never been to a range before, never even fired a gun before.

Finally, he pulled out his .45 and popped off several rounds. "Here, baby, your turn" he called out to her. She was so scared she actually started crying. This insensitive jerk really ticked me off. I called him over, and while we were alone, I asked if he would mind if I offered to let his girlfriend fire my .22. He thought that might work, even if "it wasn't a real gun," which ticked me off even more. "It is real enough for me. I sure wouldn't want to take a round."

I always take the .22 mag to the range, no matter what other gun I may practice with that day, because I run into people who have never fired a gun. It is light, not "scary" looking, and it doesn't make much noise. No recoil issues. It is a great beginner gun (and a lot of fun for those more advanced). Plus ammo is cheap.

Long story short, she liked the .22. She enjoyed shooting it enough that she pestered the boyfriend to go rent her one so she could keep shooting.

Schmuck #2 was an uncle taking his nephew out to shoot. This man chose to be a drill sergeant and take all the fun out of shooting. After each shot he offered a loud (and usually not nice) critique.

We are acquaintances, so he came up to me during a break in the action and complained about his nephew's "crappy" shooting.

I asked him why he was making this such a negative experience for his nephew? As long as the kid followed safety rules, who cares if his form wasn't completely perfect? Who cares if there were some flaws? If the kid loves to shoot, that's all that matters at this point. Make it safe, fun, and stop being mean. And move that target up from 30 feet to 10 feet so he can hit the target. He's not a Marine, he is a kid.

Schmucks like these two give gun owners a black eye. Guns are dangerous, so we should never stop emphasizing safety to beginners or first-time shooters (heck, my experience shows they understand they don't know anything about guns, so they listen very carefully to safety instructions - unlike some 'advanced' shooters who 'know everything').

But shooting should be fun for people. If they aren't, or if we are rude, we simply turn people off.

We may fight much of the war to preserve 2nd Amendment rights in courtrooms and in legislative sessions. But we can win so many hearts, and open up so many minds to the importance of the 2A through safe, fun times at the range. Conversely, we can tick people off and shut their minds for them permanently if we behave like a schmuck.