Believe it or not, we’re in the middle of a golden age in terms of firearm knowledge and learning. Information is available through a Google search and there are communities of active instructors and firearms professionals that vet knowledge to ensure it’s quality (or not).
As such, beginner firearm owners can go quickly from 0 to 60 with their knowledge base.
But, for a lot of people, there is apprehension about firearms.
A.) Quite a few people weren’t raised around guns. They may have been in the house but they weren’t actively trained on how to use them.
B.) Media makes guns look scary.
C.) Politicians have invented all sorts of imaginary terms for describing guns.
And for those people, some of them have kids in the house. We’ve heard too many bad stories revolving around when children get their hands on guns. The tragedies usually stem from one thing: not understanding how guns work.
We’ve covered articles about talking to children about guns. We’re generally curious, though, for our readers:
What age were you introduced to firearms?
We’re looking for a few stories to touch upon in a future article.
If you’ve subscribed to our Facebook group, you can send us a message and briefly tell us what your experience with firearms has been since being a child. For reference, tell us where you feel you are now in terms of comfort with firearms.
Here’s the ideal: we want everyone who picks up a gun to know how to handle it safely.
That takes time, patience, and dedication.
When it comes to children, we’ve always advised:
- Treat the child that a firearm is a tool.
- That tool should be treated as if it is loaded at all times.
- It should never be pointed at anything that he or she does not intend to shoot.
- Finger should always be off of the trigger until ready to fire.
- Choosing targets also involves knowing what’s behind and in front of them.
- Guns don’t hurt people. Guns in the wrong hands hurt people. Be the right set of hands for that gun.
As we’ve seen with several stories we’ve covered, children educated with guns can end up saving lives in a home defense situations.
It can also open up some exciting opportunities for extracurricular activities such as marksmanship programs and civic engagement.
As concealed carriers, we take the lives of those around us seriously.
Feel free to write in via our Facebook page or through our regular page to tell us about your stories of growing up with guns and how it’s changed your life.