kevincott wrote:I am happy to see other responsoble firearms owners admitting their past-times.
Sometimes I feel like I have to hide my owning firearms or the leftists will attack me like Rosie did to Tom Selleck.
While it is true that there are irresponsible gun owners, owning a gun does not make you irresponsible and isn't something you should feel that you have to apologize for.
I met a friend from Japan in Hawaii last year. While out strolling we passed one of the many "gun clubs" in Waikiki that cater to the Japanese tourists. These clubs offer a short lesson and then allow you to shoot several guns, tethered to the firing positions to ensure that the muzzles remain pointed downrage, for a fee. Or should I say for an outrageous fee that they can get away with charging because the Japanese tourists spend freely and can't fire guns in Japan.
Anyway, this particular club had an older asian women outside hawking the club, and when she spotted my friend she started speaking to her in Japanese to convince her to try it. My friend declined and we walked on. I could tell that she was actually curious but ashamed to admit it, so I talked about guns with her for a while and pointed out that although they are dangerous weapons and can be misused, they can also be used and enjoyed safely by responsible people. Then I told her that my father, uncle, brother-in-law, nephew and others of my family all own guns and that when I was younger my father took my sister and me target shooting.
After I de-demonized guns for her, she admitted that she really did want to try a few shots, so I said let's go and we went back to the club. I signed us up for the .22 caliber "course" since this was her first time shooting. Fortunately it was also the cheapest, not that you could really call it "cheap". She was a little nervous at first, but in the end she really enjoyed it. She said it was a lot fun, but that she was surprised that the guns kicked back at her when she fired them. I explained recoil and why I chose the .22 course.
When she returned home to Japan she took her target with her and proudly showed her co-workers, recommending the experience to a friend who was scheduled to take a trip to Hawaii the next week (the friend tried it also and shot
very accurately).
One other amusing moment took place during the pre-shooting instruction. I was the only non-Japanese person there, so when the instructor ran out of Japanese-language instruction cards he asked me if I could read an English card. That's the first time anyone ever thought I could speak Japanese but not English.
cfitz