I've been involved in shooting sports since I was in Boy Scouts, back before the crust of the earth had fully cooled, my daughter informs me.
So it's easy for me to forget how intimidating things I take for granted can be to a beginner.
Things like just walking into a gun store or that first trip to a shooting range with a ton of questions and being afraid of sounding dumb asking really basic things. To be brutally honest, some stores and the people in them are intimidating ... mainly because they are jerks.
Like most other interests and hobbies, cars, motorcycles, crafts, woodworking etc. some insecure people are far more concerned with "impressing rather than informing" people. We lose a lot of new shooters that way. Like the guy on a first date that wants to show off his magnum revolver to the new girlfriend and turns her off to shooting sports for life, is just one common example.
Happily, for the most part though, most shooters are friendly folks that like sharing their sport with others and helping out. It's not unusual to offer to let somebody try a gun they have expressed interest in at the range.
Also thankfully, a lot of information is now available online, from Blogs like this to You Tube videos on "How To" (that should always be taken with a grain or two of salt). Just remember that owning a video camera does not make anyone an "Authority" on a subject.
I spent part of this past weekend remembering how it feels to be a beginner with my daughter in law that hasn't touched anything beyond a BB Gun when she was 11 years old. It was all new to her and my son wanted me to go through it with her rather than do it himself. (Kind of like having somebody else teach them stick shift)
I think there are a lot of folks out there like her that are curious but not sure how to start.
Later this week I'll write a little about what she asked and how she's getting comfortable with handling firearms.
