Be A Mentor

In for a penny, in for a pound — if you know a kid from a single-parent home who wants to learn, be the teacher. Keep the parent close at hand because this is not daycare, it is, well, “gardening.” You’re not just letting a kid enjoy some range time, you’re cultivating a new crop of shooters. Not only will the youngsters benefit, so will you as you remember the gun safety rules and take care to follow them and provide an example.

If you start or get involved in a junior shooting program, be certain to let each youngster keep his or her target. Whatever else this piece of paper might be, to the kid it’s a trophy — something to show mom and dad and even the grandparents. Trophies have a way of building pride and a sense of accomplishment that may not only keep these kids interested, but turn them into future activists who will want to protect the shooting sports and the right to keep and bear arms for the next generation. Because, suddenly, it is their right to keep and bear arms at stake and they’ll want to protect it.