Ignorance/Apathy Today

[Jason Storm]

Went to a local gunshop/shooting range to get some boxes of 5.56mm ammo for my AR-15 shooting next Saturday. Suddenly, as I walk inside, I see 2 boys, about 6-8 yrs. old handling their father's 9mm Luger pistol and aiming it in everyone's direction. As I passed by them, I told them without embarrassing them to everyone that it isn't a good idea to point the gun in front of customers at the store. The boys' father, hearing what I said, acknowledge his mistake and accepted responsibility. He then quietly scolded them for doing that. Good on him for being honest. But why he had to wait until someone like me correct them is what makes me wonder. Doesn't matter if the gun is unloaded. All guns should always be treated as if they are loaded. And to handle guns like that in an irresponsible manner is another accident/tragedy waiting to happen. I see someone handling a gun in an irresponsible manner, I point it out. Again, no one should take gun safety for granted until it is too late.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[oneshot]

These knuckleheads will be a statistic in a few years.

[QKShooter]

Good thing that one of the two boys didn't have the hiccups.

[Badey]

Stories like this make me amazed that there aren't more stories about children shooting people with their parents' guns...

[FLArmadillo]

These poor kids and their knucklehead father will be a statistic in a few years.

Fixed

[ghost tracker]

Every SINGLE time I ask the question "how stupid can people be?" someone breaks the existing record!

[jblives2ride]

seen the same thing at Academy was wasting time while the wife was at an appointment, guy and wife or grilfriend pointing at everything and waving gun around, I politely said I would rather he didn't point it my way and the salesmen then began to get nervous so I went to the other end of the counter came back after they deceided on a gun only to find out the girlfriend was buying the gun for him which i then noted to the salesmen was against the law... what do you do?

[ArkhmAsylm]

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As I see it, the mistake wasn't that he let the boys point the firearm at everyone...it's that he was letting them play with it.

[dukalmighty]

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As I see it, the mistake wasn't that he let the boys point the firearm at everyone...it's that he was letting them play with it.

Exactly,because one day and it will probably be sooner than later "Dipstick" will lay down his loaded Luger and one of the kids will pick it up point it at somebody and pull the trigger

[ccw9mm]

The boys' father, hearing what I said, acknowledge his mistake and accepted responsibility. He then quietly scolded them for doing that. Good on him for being honest. But why he had to wait until someone like me correct them is what makes me wonder.

This is the toughest part about horrible handling/safety procedures: it's ingrained, it's well-practiced, and it passes from generation to generation without the slightest thought.

Like you, I try to point out crappy safety procedure whenever I find it. It can easily become a life-or-death situation. If not then, then in future. And without correction, it's entirely likely to be exactly that.

Each and every mentor with firearms that I've had has spent the first portion of every get-together focusing on and stressing the fundamentals, basic safety, basic handling regimen. Likewise, I've done much the same each and every time I've introduced someone else to firearms, focusing on the safety and handling basics.

With one "student" in particular, I realized his training as an engineer and zero prior firearms experience was an opportunity. I brought out a dozen different rifles and handguns to the range. One by one, we stressed safety, the nature of the given firearm, its basic stripping, reassembly and function, its basic use, and the basic differences between it and the others we'd been handling. We didn't fire more than a few magazines through each, before moving on to the next, but by the end of the session, we'd been through the basic safety regimen well over a dozen times, done basic clearing, stripping and reassembly more than a dozen times, and understood from the inside out the reason why each firearm could be a danger until it was treated as loaded at all times.

[OldVet]

seen the same thing at Academy was wasting time while the wife was at an appointment, guy and wife or grilfriend pointing at everything and waving gun around, I politely said I would rather he didn't point it my way and the salesmen then began to get nervous so I went to the other end of the counter came back after they deceided on a gun only to find out the girlfriend was buying the gun for him which i then noted to the salesmen was against the law... what do you do?

Why? Is buying a firearm as a gift against the law in TX? I've bought a gun for my son as a gift and he's done likewise. It's not a "straw purchase" as we both are legally able to buy guns.

[ghost tracker]

I've bought & gifted guns as well. But I didn't buy it FOR them. I bought it for me...to GIVE to them. Have I broken a Federal Law?

[Jason Storm]

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As I see it, the mistake wasn't that he let the boys point the firearm at everyone...it's that he was letting them play with it.

Exactly. That's the part that I don't get. That father should have either have his pistol holstered or cased. Glad I am back to outdoor shooting again. Indoor ranges got too many morons like them Not knocking indoor ranges but it's from what I have experienced shooting there. That shooting range has had a history of safety violations and a suicide (heard about one that occured as told by my supervisor). And this would not be good on them if another mishap took place. I hope that father and his 2 sons learned from that experience and I do not take very kindly to unsafe gun handlers. And I don't care who they are. I see someone handle a gun unsafe, I will point it out and can be very harsh with grownups. Better for them to get chewed out and learn from it than to learn it after a tragic mishap as a result of someone's negligence.

[pittypat21]

seen the same thing at Academy was wasting time while the wife was at an appointment, guy and wife or grilfriend pointing at everything and waving gun around, I politely said I would rather he didn't point it my way and the salesmen then began to get nervous so I went to the other end of the counter came back after they deceided on a gun only to find out the girlfriend was buying the gun for him which i then noted to the salesmen was against the law... what do you do?

Why? Is buying a firearm as a gift against the law in TX? I've bought a gun for my son as a gift and he's done likewise. It's not a "straw purchase" as we both are legally able to buy guns.

I've bought & gifted guns as well. But I didn't buy it FOR them. I bought it for me...to GIVE to them. Have I broken a Federal Law?

The way I understand it (and I'm pretty sure it's this way), it's only a straw purchase and therefore illegal if you are buying a gun FOR somebody who cannot legally own/purchase a gun for themselves.

[oneshot]

The way I understand it (and I'm pretty sure it's this way), it's only a straw purchase and therefore illegal if you are buying a gun FOR somebody who cannot legally own/purchase a gun for themselves.

^^^^^If someone pays for the purchase,^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

and the person for whom the firearm will belong to is the one filling out the paperwork, that is not a problem.