MN Firearms Safety

Our class on April 29th was a busy one that started with an introduction of Bruce Falcon, another certified instructor who will be working with us on Range Day.  In the three minutes he spoke, hopefully everyone picked up his message; it’s up to you to make sure others are safe and responsible with firearms.  If someone in your hunting group is not behaving properly, it’s up to you to say something.  I think everyone will agree that Bob and I agree 100% with Bruce.
 
Knowing what was planned for the evening, it was hard for me to try and talk and keep everyone in their seats.  I don’t know if my anxiousness was noticeable, but I am guessing it was.  I don’t think there is a better way to spend a class time than having a shotgun or a rifle in your hands for most of the time.
 
The things we worked on during class are really important topics and all go to your awareness and experience.  Shooting positions and using the iron sights; field carries and zones of fire; fence crossing and laser shooting.  Hands on, hands on, hands on, what more can I say.  How about practice, practice, practice for all the students.  A lot of the things we did last night might have seemed fairly simple, but each has its logic that hopefully was conveyed clearly to you.  Without sounding too redundant, but to make my point, shooting positions, make like a rock.
 
After our late night discussion about class time behavior, Bob and I agreed that there were a couple concerns worth passing on again to everyone. (This is of course, providing our students take the time to read our weekly blog about the class.)
 
You need to pay attention to the instructors.  We agree that how we were set up last night allowed the eyes to wander to the most interesting activity, and Ricky’s assortment of laser targets definitely appeared to be the most interesting.  But that wasn’t a surprise, his imagination and creativity always wins the attention and Bob and I were well aware eyes would be wandering that direction.
 
However, it really is important to try and stay focused on what the group is doing.  We enjoy students asking questions, it is a means of learning.  But if you are daydreaming or watching another group and then re-ask a question that was just answered, what does that say to the instructor?  If you recall, Bruce said firearm accidents don’t happen when you are paying attention to your firearm and your surroundings.  Logically then, that would suggest accidents occur when someone is not paying attention.
 
If you are not sure, don’t just do what your fellow student does.  Bob mentioned this at the start of class last night.  During the course of our hands on stations, I noticed one group that wasn’t sure on getting into a shooting position.  One student made an attempt and three others looked at him and I could hear each of them think, “Oh, I’ll do it like he is.”  So instead of one person being in the wrong position, now I had four.  We are here to teach you.  If you are not sure, please ask and we will help you during class time.  When it is testing time, we can’t help you and if you rely on your neighboring student, what happens when he is wrong?
 
So here is a good formula:  Paying attention + asking questions = Learning!