Discissions on dozens of newbie gun owners

[HILLBILLY-06]

While reading many new post's lately on other forums, there is the topic of "panic buy" and "all these new idiots at the ranges" and "they're too dumb to own a gun".
Well I only have one question for to ask....
"what ever happened to mentoring and teaching" the ones that dont know any better?
When I am at the range and see people who are obviously oblivious to what they should be doing, I try to help them. I try to get involved on a level they can understand, instead of screaming at them the foul nature of what they done wrong, then coming onto a chat room and bragging about how dumb the other people were at the range.
As a member of a CMP affiliated range, I find it important to get involved and not let the uneducated just remain so.
Whats your input, anybody?

Information

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[muffett.2008]

No need, the World ends tonight.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

No need, the World ends tonight.

I forgot about that.

Hillbilly
I think your comments are well stated. We need to welcome and aid new gun owners. I grew up in a home with no firearms and was fortunate enough to have some nice folks teach me safe gun handeling, marksmanship, sportsmanship and fellowship.

[Midmichigun]

HillyBilly,
You are 100% correct on this.....
To keep our hobby going forward (regardless of Black Rifle or Mausers or Enfields) we must add to the membership rolls constantly. This is done by fellowship and training!
I was fortunate to grow up in a gun owning family, which hated handguns and black rifles.....
We all come from different backgrounds!

[HILLBILLY-06]

Thanks everyone, for the support on this subject. I really did hate to see the "down talking" and bad oppinions that a few bad apples had on other forums about "all the new gun owners" that were showing up.
I kind of look at it like this, "When I was growing up" and yes even to this day, Mentoring is how I learned from others along the way. "It wasn't always my Father, or my Grandad" that showed me how to do things. Sometimes, as often as not, it was a complete stranger, or maybe even a friend that just knew what I needed to know. "I learned" how to fish, and how to clean them, and how to pick the bones out of the pan fish (Bream) we call em down here. "I learned" how to safely handle, maintain, and shoot, long before I ever got to go hunting. Now Dad was the first to take me Hunting, and His Dad was the first to take me fishing.
But it wasn't until Highschool, that I started going to the range with my friends after school and homework was done. It was my friends, that first took me up in the mountains, Deer Hunting, and Turkey Hunting. My goodness, I owe a lot to people I don't know, and some that I do know. So they way I see it, I need to keep those traditions strong, by doing my part to "share the stuff I Know" to help others who lack that knowledge, or perhaps just need a little help with thier technique, or a pointer here and there.
Thanks agian for the good input, I didn't mean to go on so much about it. I will do my part along the way, when others need my help. I hope we all will....
HILLBILLY-06.

[TDH]

The range I belong to (annual fee) sees a lot of new gun owners every year. We have certain range officers thart love to yell and scream and throw their weight but we also have others that explain errors quietly and calmly. When it comes down to it we are all range officers. If you see someone having problems stop, offer help, teach. I have had several new gun owners in my workplace ask for help and I have been more than happy to take them to the range and get them started safely which includes familiaization of the fire arm and basic firearm safety starting with assume every firearm is loaded until you yourself have checked it.

[Col. Colt]

We had better all welcome these "newcomers" to our fold, and encourage and help them. Once they are "full members" and have learned, they will be helping all of us keep our Rights! CC

[Bill Hollinger]

Whatever we do folks, this is a great topic but let's not turn it into a political topic.

Hillbilly has brought up a wonderful topic. We all need to help the new guys and all the rest will fall in line.

[jmoore]

I tend to let folk do their own thing at the range until there's something that indicates they really need some assistance, coaching, or, very infrequently, chastising. Usually a few friendly words are all that are needed.

But it does pay to keep an eye on folk! Once I was watching a couple of fellows a couple of postions over from where I was shooting "dance around" some sort of large bore African hunting rifle. Mostly entertaining- (Good thing there's guides in Africa to keep their clients from being the prey was the thought watching this pair.)- until I noticed them chamber a round, pull the trigger after quite a few minutes, watch them wonder why the rifle didn't go off, eject an empty case, and procede to load another round...At which time I most definitely hollered for a "cease fire"! Seems the bullet from the "dud" went down the bore far enough to allow the next to chamber, but just barely. In all of their gyrations, they thought they forgot to put a new round in..