Thread: city kids and shooting

Most rural kids and many urban ones are familiar with firearms from a young age, so it was a bit of a surprise to me yesterday to see just how non-intuitive a shooting stance is to those unfamiliar with it. Had a couple of teenage boys from inner-Auckland on the farm, and I thought I'd show them what this shooting thing is all about. I showed them how a 10/22 works, the correct way to hold a rifle, all the things to be aware of with semi auto in particular, then let them have a go. They both did the same thing, put the stock over their shoulder and try to see the sight while leaning so far backwards it was surprising they didn't fall over. Maybe this was some kind of natural aversion to getting too close while firing? They had no difficulty grasping the mechanics of how a 10/22 functions, but it took me ages to get them to understand the way to hold it, to have the stock against (not over) the shoulder, to lean a bit forward rather than right back, and to get their faces down close enough to develop a cheek weld. One of them couldn't even see the red dot for ages, his head was so far off line.

It's no wonder some people are so far removed from firearms reality, I would have thought just watching tv and movies would have taught them something about holding a firearm.

Anyway, after a bit of teaching I let them empty a mag or two into the dam for the full bullet splashing experience. The big grins made it worthwhile.