I can understand the frustration at being asked that so many times however I’m surprised you don’t feel honored and proud That you have friends that show so much respect for you to ask you to help them with such an important decision.
As far as the young man I would have pointed him in the direction of a range officer that way he’s away from you and with someone who can get him into training classes. Remember we as the older generation need to ensure who comes after us is prepared and ready.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. You have legitimate points.
If anything, I get annoyed at myself for not being more willing to get involved with prospective and/or new shooters as I know those of us in the gun community need to be ambassadors to those individuals to encourage more and more people to become safe and proficient gun owners. At one time I was very involved, especially with women who were interested or curious about firearms. That was before great groups like
Well Armed Women and others got going. I was also really involved in helping people interested in cowboy and cowboy mounted shooting.
The thing is, as the internet has grown, there are many sources of information that were not available in the past. Granted there is considerable crap from the keyboard commandos, but there is also a wealth of information available for those who just look for it. Most of the people reaching out to me have not done that before they ask me about guns.
If someone came to me who had taken the time to learn the differences between revolvers and semi auto pistols and maybe even watched some You Tube videos first, it would take me far less time to help them.
All that said, I do understand the dangers of both You Tube and the internet. While there can be legitimate disagreements about caliber or operational systems among knowledgeable gun owners, there is a lot of crap out there and a lot of self aggrandizing individuals full of misinformation or deliberate misdirection. Guys like Yankee Marshal with his negative videos on
Boberg because Arnie didn't kiss his a$$, or
Springfield Armory for whatever reason do make learning more difficult. The same is true on many gun forums, but most of that is easily recognizable.
On the kid I mentioned: He was one of those kids with impulse control problems whose mental processes were far underdeveloped for his age. (About 12 I would guess) My belief was that if he ever had any training or access that he would end up shooting himself or someone else. His grandfather is a decent trap shooter and a decent guy and besides feeling sorry for the grandfather, I really felt it was up to his grandfather to deal with the kid.
popularedc.com
