I've been trying to get my daughters into a youth gun safety course for a couple of years, now. The course is inexpensive, and the instructor is great, but he only takes one student at a time. You have to sign up months in advance, and the girls have not been interested enough to commit themselves. I figure if they are that lukewarm, then I'm not going to push it. They know the basic safety rules from what I've taught them at home, but range rules require that they take the safety course, first. There are no other ranges in the area where I can take them.
They just got back from a two week visit to relatives in KY and TN. My uncle operates a brand new range (Sport Shooters) in Madisonville, KY. He took them shooting, giving them private range time before the range opened, one morning. What a treat! They got to shoot a Walther P22 (.22 semiauto), a Glock 19 (9mm), an S&W 317 (.22 8-shot revolver) and a Beretta CX4 (9mm carbine). They got home during the day on Friday, and when I got home from work, my youngest greeted me at the door with a quick hug, and then ran upstairs to get her targets. She was thrilled and so proud. They shot the handguns at 25' and the carbine at 100'.
On one hand, I wish I had been there and that he had asked permission, first, but on the other, I'm so glad they had such a positive experience. I know he would not do anything to jeopardize them. My younger daughter shot 30 rounds and kept a 4" group, except for two fliers. My older daughter kept it to about 6". Suddenly, they are very interested in making time for the range safety course, and they really want to go shooting with me.
