{"id":14894,"date":"2018-03-24T18:34:09","date_gmt":"2018-03-24T18:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/?p=14894"},"modified":"2018-03-24T18:34:09","modified_gmt":"2018-03-24T18:34:09","slug":"kids-guns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/kids-guns\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids & Guns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

When I was growing up cartoons only came on TV on Saturday morning. There were no video games, and fun was mostly found playing football, cowboys & Indians, or army. Everyone in my family was a hunter and guns were a part of our life and my childhood. I killed a lot of small game and a few deer before I ever kissed a girl. Times have changed.<\/p>\n

In most families both parents work. Many kids spend many hours a week at daycare. Evenings are cluttered with homework, television, sports, and extra curricular activity practice. Weekends are filled with soccer, football, baseball and similar endeavors. As parents make an effort to find a moment of sanity, or catch up on chores, kids often end up watching episode after episode of Sponge Bob or other silliness.<\/p>\n

I have four children, two are now adults, the others teenagers. They\u2019ve been exposed to guns their entire life. The youngest three enjoy shooting or being around guns; the oldest could care less. I\u2019m responsible for both the gun interest in the youngest and the lack of the same in the oldest. Let me explain.<\/p>\n

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Teaching kids about guns and how to shoot is a lesson in responsibility hard to find anywhere else.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When my oldest was five I started taking him to the range with me. He was excited about the adventures \u2013 I thought because he liked guns. In reality, his enthusiasm came from the opportunity of doing something with dad. I assumed his gun interests were similar to mine. He learned to shoot rather well, but I noticed he quit having fun. I realized I\u2019d made a serious mistake.<\/p>\n

When my next oldest son was four, I got him a BB gun and we cut photos of animals from hunting magazines and taped them to cardboard boxes. We went on hunts in the yard, and it wasn\u2019t long until he\u2019d killed all sorts of paper<\/em> animals. At five, he progressed to a .22 rifle that was light enough for him to shoot off-hand.<\/p>\n

After a few shots on paper, so he could see he was hitting what he aimed at, we graduated to fun targets. With mom at work we\u2019d raid the fridge and steal vegetables. We took crackers out of the cabinet, bought some balloons and lollipops. I even ordered some swinging steel plates. Why, when he shot these targets there was a reaction; sometimes an explosive one. He found this exciting but also demonstrated to him the destructive power of a firearm.<\/p>\n

\"\"
My son Bat with his second deer, taken at age seven on Christmas Eve. He used one of those\u00a0evil<\/em> rifles other kids now want banned.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When he turned six a friend who builds custom rifles loaned me one he\u2019d put tougher for a small kid. It was too heavy for him to shoot off-hand but the stock fit, the trigger was crisp, and it was chambered for a cartridge that did not knock his boogers out. I let him shoot a few shots at a deer target and three weeks later he killed a spike buck. It was a heart shot at 60 yards he still brags about.<\/p>\n

Since then his interest in guns has become more professional. He\u2019s more eager to learn how they work and anytime he has a chance to shoot a gun like he uses when he plays his Modern Warfare game, he\u2019s excited. Still, I make sure that whenever we shoot its fun. I try to end each shooting session with a game or challenge.<\/p>\n

This has had a cascading effect on the other, younger kids. My son runs in the house to tell mom about the cool things we did or how well he shot. Our two girls want to be part of that excitement. They associate shooting with fun. It\u2019s my job to make sure that does not change.<\/p>\n

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My wife training to protect her family at Gunsite Academy. The mom makes a difference. Where they lead, the kids will follow.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This has even had an effect on my wife. She was not a shooter when we met but she was not afraid of, nor did she have any aversion to guns. Over the last few years our son\u2019s shooting enthusiasm spread to her. She\u2019s been to Gunsite Academy<\/a> multiple times, she\u2019s hunted in Africa, and taken several deer here at home while hunting on her own.<\/p>\n

Here is a lesson for husbands and fathers: Mom\u2019s matter \u2013 where the mom leads, the kids will follow.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

My mother was a hunter and shooter, and so are my sister and I.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
My wife Drema, with the first animal she killed. A gemsbok that not only fed our souls, but our hunger.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Safety is of course a concern. You need to ingrain firearm safety into your kids. When I was in Junior high school, we were all given the hunter\u2019s safety course. Get this; we even loaded shotgun shells in the gym and shot clays on the baseball field. That won\u2019t be happening anymore but the Hunter\u2019s Safety Course is a great safety education experience for a youngster.<\/p>\n

With my son I made sure he understood gun safety, and never refuse to let him see or handle a gun as long as he exercises proper protocol. I also encourage him to call me out anytime he sees anything unsafe. When he does, I listen. If he\u2019s wrong, I explain why and if he\u2019s right, I admit my mistake.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Raised with guns, wicked video games, and as a hunter, Sabastian “Bat” Mann<\/a> has graduated Gunsite Academy, spent time in Africa hunting and guiding, won his school’s Wendy’s High School Heisman award, and will head to college this fall to become a marketing expert in the outdoor industry. This is the terrible thing guns can do to a child.<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Getting kids interested in shooting is really very simple but you have to understand their interest in shooting is driven by different things than yours. A half-inch group will mean little to a seven year old but an exploding tomato will mean the world. Here\u2019s a simple test. If you\u2019re out shooting with your kids and they\u2019re not smiling, you\u2019re doing it wrong<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A Psychologist on Kids & Guns – Samantha Mann<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Samantha Mann<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Parents employ methods of discipline loosely based on scientific principles of a behavior modification theory called operant conditioning. Any reward, or more specifically a positive reinforcer is defined as any event following a behavior that increases the frequency of that behavior. Therefore, if you are trying to increase the amount of time that your child is shooting, what happens immediately after the trigger is pulled must influence them to do it or want to do it again. The positive reinforcer they experience can come from you, such as a pat on the back, or from the target, such as a dynamic reaction.<\/p>\n

Any parent who has given the horsey ride and heard the squeals and the \u201cdo it again!\u201d understands this.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Guns unfortunately create a loud noise and sometimes kick. Both can lead to a certain amount of anxiety. This relates to a behavior modification theory called classical conditioning. Many children – and even adults – are afraid of guns for that very reason. Introduction in gradual increments is the best approach, and be smart; start with a .22 LR. Remington\u2019s CB loads are a low noise option. When the child asks if the gun will kick or be loud, be truthful; help them prepare for what\u2019s coming. It only takes a single bad experience to instill fear in child. If the fear is strong enough, one instance can create a lifelong phobia.<\/p>\n

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Samantha on a deer hunt with her father. circa – 1983<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If done intelligently, shooting and hunting are excellent activities to share with children. They will learn much more than just how to shoot or how to hunt. They will develop good self-esteem, coping skills, relationships, self-reliance, and independence, while experiencing healthy recreation and an overall philosophy of life and death. This will reduce their risk for delinquent behavior, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and even giving in to peer pressure.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kids learn things while hunting. Things they cannot learn anywhere else.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was growing up cartoons only came on TV on Saturday morning. There were no video games, and fun was mostly found playing football, cowboys & Indians, or army. Everyone in my family was a hunter and guns were a part of our life and my childhood. I killed a lot of small game and a few deer before I ever …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2579,2522,2500],"tags":[668,111,267,2785],"class_list":["post-14894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial","category-hunt","category-shooting","tag-firearms-safety","tag-gunsite-academy","tag-kids-and-guns","tag-shooting-instruction"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hujZ-3Se","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7542,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/youth-day-at-the-range\/","url_meta":{"origin":14894,"position":0},"title":"Youth Day at the Range","author":"gunwriter","date":"September 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Living in a small town has its advantages. So does living in a community and a State where the ownership and use of firearms is not frowned upon. Even when kids are the ones doing the shooting. This weekend marks the fourth annual Youth Day at the Range which is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"kids and guns\"","block_context":{"text":"kids and guns","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/tag\/kids-and-guns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/logo-300x146.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12065,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/kids-guns-and-kissing\/","url_meta":{"origin":14894,"position":1},"title":"Kids, Guns and Kissing","author":"gunwriter","date":"September 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent my childhood with a gun. Before I really kissed a girl I was out hunting on my own. I take that back. When I was in 1st grade some girls held me down on the playground and kissed me repeatedly. It was a traumatic experience. In my defense,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "SHOOTING"","block_context":{"text":"SHOOTING","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/shooting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"d-2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/d-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/d-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/d-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/d-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12647,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/rifle-sights-for-kids\/","url_meta":{"origin":14894,"position":2},"title":"Rifle Sights for Kids","author":"gunwriter","date":"November 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"One responsibility of a father should be to teach his kids how to shoot. We are finally starting to see guns and sights that make this easier. The rifles are coming configured for smaller stature shooters and sights are available that offer no magnification and permit both eyes open shooting.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "HUNTING"","block_context":{"text":"HUNTING","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/hunt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7508,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/on-the-cover-of-the-rolling-stone-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":14894,"position":3},"title":"On the Cover of the Rolling Stone","author":"gunwriter","date":"September 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I've never been on a magazine cover. This is a good thing; publishers want people to actually buy their magazines. However, your kids or one of your friend's kid could be on the Shooting Sports USA magazine cover. Annual Cover Photo Contest\u00a0\u00a0We got a late start on this for 2013,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Gun Magazine Cover\"","block_context":{"text":"Gun Magazine Cover","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/tag\/gun-magazine-cover\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2M&P-12","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/2MP-12-201x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7331,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/gunsite-bound\/","url_meta":{"origin":14894,"position":4},"title":"Gunsite Bound","author":"gunwriter","date":"July 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On Saturday Bat and I will head to\u00a0Gunsite Academy\u00a0for a week. Bat will be training with\u00a0IL Ling New. He will be using both\u00a0his 1911 in 9mm\u00a0and his\u00a0New Ultra Light Arms rifle in .243 Winchester. The goal is for Il Ling to give Bat some fine tuning on his weapon handling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Firearms Training\"","block_context":{"text":"Firearms Training","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/tag\/firearms-training\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Gunsite-Gate-1-272x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7583,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/moms-matter-most\/","url_meta":{"origin":14894,"position":5},"title":"Moms Matter Most","author":"gunwriter","date":"October 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"You could call this the \"M cubed\" or \"M3\" rule. For firearms to continue to be a part of the American culture, it will take moms to make it happen. North American Hunting Club Muzzle Break Blog Those of us in the firearms industry often ponder what the future of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DEFENSE"","block_context":{"text":"DEFENSE","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/defense\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"If this is your mommy, you'll probably be a shooter too.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Mom.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14894"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14907,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14894\/revisions\/14907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}