Take someone shooting

My goals for this site are to improve marksmanship skills and give people fun ideas for getting the most out of their shooting experience. As a shooter, I am constantly looking for people to go shooting with who might have better shooting skills than my own. By watching people who have incredible talent with a rifle or a handgun, I can improve as a shooter. What I failed to realize was that other people stand to gain from my shooting experience.

In the last couple months I have had the pleasure of being the "noob" in a group of extremely talented long range shooters. I got to be the guy getting the most of the experience as I watched, listened and learned tips from a professional marksman as well as a few hobby shooters who simply enjoy putting shots on target at ranges that would make most dizzy to even think about, 785 yards to be exact, or nearly a half mile. I've also had the pleasure of taking an inexperienced shooter to the range.

I know there are those that might read this and cringe, but there is a lot of joy in taking someone who is new to the sport to the range. Once we got past the safety discussion and placed the targets, I got to watch someone embrace a firearm with all the excitement of a kid opening a new toy on Christmas morning. I got to be the one who helped him get the hang of shouldering the rifle and learning how to compensate recoil by leaning into the weapon. I helped him work through trigger squeeze and taught him the basics of sight alignment. Before the day was over, I had the pleasure of watching him shoot the centers out of clay pigeons at 100 yards.

This friend of mine may never come to be a firearm enthusiast. He may never fantasize about spending all of his money on new guns or accessories the way I do. I do know that this person had a great time going to the range and won't likely turn down and invitation to go back. It made me realize, as an enthusiast, that the best way we can protect our rights as gun owners and our sport is to take someone shooting. It doesn't matter whether they are skilled with a firearm or if it is their first time actually pulling a trigger and sending a projectile screaming from the barrel. Taking someone shooting is a great bonding experience and one that neither will be likely to forget.