Mentoring for our gun rights.

[twoclones]

With the current anti-gun vs pro-gun climate, I've been thinking about ways to get more gun owners out of the apathetic mode and into the defensive mode. One thought I have been trying to act upon is the passionate approach. I figure that when one is more passionate about owning guns, it's easier to get them more passionate about protecting the Second Amendment.

My approach is this...
I knew that the young fellow down the street liked to shoot his .22 rifle so talked to him about handguns and learned he had never fired a handgun. Last week I offered to take him to the range so that he could fire an assortment of my collection. He accepted.

We spent 2 hours together. I instructed him in safety and shooting plus supplied all the guns and ammo. He fired .22LR, .22 Mag, .380 auto, .38 spl, .357 Mag and got to handle, but not fire, .500 S&W revolver. It was great fun!

When we got back to my place and cleaned the guns, I offered to buy him a one year membership in the NRA. My jaw dropped when he asked what that was!!! After my description and giving him a tour of www.nraila.org he accepted my invitation and I bought his membership.

In the past year I have bought NRA memberships for 4 young shooters. One was a soldier in Iraq so I have no idea who they are but they're getting the magazine.

Anyone care to follow my example and get more young shooters involved in protecting our rights?

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[Sun195]

I offered to buy him a one year membership in the NRA. My jaw dropped when he asked what that was!!!

Just tell him it's a Facebook group - he'll sign right up!

But seriously, good on you for doing this. I've taken folks to the range before and it has always been a positive experience for them. I've never thought about buying them a membership in NRA - good idea.

The challenge is finding these opportunities - they're infrequent for me & I'd like to do more of them.

 

[Mutoman]

This kind of work is far more effective than legislation in keeping gun crime and incidents low. Young people need mentors more than ever, and teaching the responsibility of firearms encompasses many of those valuable lessons that many of them do not learn in their current environments. Respect, responsibility, and charity (in the sense of helping others), are needed components of a gun society, and needed characteristics in our citizens.

I once took shooting, a young man (in his twenties) who was raised in a gun fearful family. He had never fired a gun and thought only evil things came from the weapons. He was touring with a band from Portland, which included members that I knew and had been shooting with before. They coaxed him to come with us on one of our "the boys are in town, let's go shooting" adventures. After some safety lessons, we put this young man behind a shotgun and threw some clays for him. I remember the smile on his face after he pulled the trigger for the first time; it was worth a million bucks. The kid shot all day with us and remarked later how much fun he had and how he realized the sporting potential in guns now.

Frequently, I'll get a visit from these young men, showing me their first or their latest firearm purchase, or one of them will call asking advice on a gun they want to buy. Mentoring is one of the best things that come out of growing old.


Good work!

+1,000,000

 

[Thunder]

You just don't find good men to do that anymore. Thanks Muto for being there for the kids.

-Anthony

 

[Mutoman]

You're welcome Anthony, did Kyle ever buy his own gun?

 

[AGCR]

My experience is that distancing myself from the NRA is the best way to attract new shooters. That organization has so intertwined itself with embarrassing right wing social causes that it has tainted the whole gun rights movement. As soon as I say I don't belong to them, people are way more likely to (1) buy my magazine and (2) ask to be taken out shooting. Now as is usual, I have a good backlog of people who want me to take them out.

 

[twoclones]

My experience is that distancing myself from the NRA is the best way to attract new shooters.

We need to get more responsible gun owners interested in defending the Second Amendment. Distancing your self is your choice but I hope you're not bad mouthing any gun rights organization to sell magazines. We need to be united.

Aside from mentoring, I've been actively convincing gun owners to get their concealed carry permits. I figure a large percentage of voters with CCW permits is something any politician seeking re-election must take into consideration.

I have been surprised at the reasons some gun owners use for not applying for their permit... For example: One had been told by a friend that some guy the friend worked with had said, "CCW permit holders are put onto a State website along with sexual predators." He'd never seen the website but refused to get a CCW because he didn't want to be listed there...

After a year of trying unsuccessfully to convince him no such website existed, I accidentally stumbled upon the solution. When I told this guy that fear of government, and gun rights organizations, was the most effective propaganda the anti-gun groups had developed, it struck a chord with him. A month later he phoned to say he'd signed up for a concealed carry class! I was happy and shocked...

One down, many, many more to go...

 

[AGCR]

We need to get more responsible gun owners interested in defending the Second Amendment. Distancing your self is your choice but I hope you're not bad mouthing any gun rights organization to sell magazines. We need to be united.

I actually don't need to badmouth the NRA because for the reasons I mentioned previously, at the national level, their vocal endorsement of causes outside the relm of gun rights proper has caused too much disunity already. The first thing people ask me is usually if I or my magazine is associated with the NRA. As soon as I say no on both counts, people are almost always willing to give what I have to say a chance.
However, I associate with NRA folks informaly, such as last week while covering a gun training class for the Longshoreman's Union, but actually joining would only hurt my cradability which has gone a long way so far in speading the gospel of John Browning.