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The National Shooting Sports Foundation announced this week that it will contribute $50,000 to a new youth target-shooting initiative, the Scholastic Steel Challenge program, developed by the United States Practical Shooting Association and the Steel Challenge Shooting Association. The new program, modeled after the highly acclaimed Scholastic Clays Program, will introduce young people ages 14 to 20 to the safe use of handguns and a speed-shooting handgun competition based on the popular Steel Challenge. The scholastic version has been designed for both neophytes and experienced shooters.
I think this a great initiative. Most accidents with handguns occur out of curiousity and inexperience.
I believe that training youth with the safe and proper way of handling firearms will prvent scores of accidental shootings. Youth who know nothng of firearms can be put into very dangerous situations because of lack of basic knowledge of fiearms and the safe way to handle them.
HI Dan,
Regarding the issue of teaching hand gun handling in the schools, I believe when it is done correctly this would be a great advantage to our communities and law enforcement.
The instruction would need to be done with a multifacited approach, including safe handling of weapons, correct shooting methods, (know your target and beyond) and the damage physically and psycologicaly (the loss of a loved one) that can be done by improper use of these weapons. The instruction would need to involve layers of law enforcement (State police, Sherrif departments, and the coroners office in the locals holding the instruction) Additionaly, the DNR would need to be present to reinforce the importance of “the tools of destruction” a person holds in their hands when in possesion of a firearm.
I will see you at the Deer and Turkey Expo in Madison next weekend, we can discuss further if you like.
All the best, and Joan and I love your show!! Keep up the good work!
Allen McQuinn
I think teaching responsible and accountable young people the functioning, operation and safe use of firearms is a good thing. Awareness dispells iignorance and fear and encourages safety and proper use.
If individuals want to go further and compete, that is their choice and they have the 2nd Amendment to back them up while observing local laws and safety requirements.
Great question on an important issue.
It may be an umcomfortable subject for some families, but it’s important to prepare students to responsibly deal with situations they’ll face sooner or later as they grow up.There are state and NRA hunter safety programs which are positive and effective, but only reach those who voluntarily enroll in them.
We teach driver’s education to promote safety skills and reduce accidents.
We teach sex education to promote responsible parenting and reduce accidents.
We SHOULD also teach responsible gun ownership and handling skills to reduce accidents.
I think it is a good idea to teach handgun safety and shooting skills to high school students and adults. The safety part is most important so as to help prevent accidental shootings. Kids like to brag and show off to their friends. This might include showing off their parents firearm. With a strong emphasis on such prniciples as treat every gun as if it were loaded and be sure of your target and what’s beyond it (don’t point it at folks), the number of accidential shootings can be reduced. As far as the proper way to shoot, I believe it should be voluntary. However, knowing how to shoot could save a life. What you usually don’t read in the newspapers are stories about people who defend themselves in their homes against armed criminals. The NRA magazines publish these stories regularly. Some are pretty scary and point to the victims ability to defend themselves as to why they are still alive. I support our Second Ammendment rights. Thanks for the opportunity to address this issue.
More details would definitely be required here. My real concern is for the safe handling of firearms.
It would be nice if hunter education was required for all shooting sports. Youth are not allowed to own handguns – so I will assume that the parents are closely involved. It would be best if the parents were nearby while the youth were shooting. It would also help if the parents were required to go through the same safety course.