REPOST - Gun Control in MY House from October 2011

There are many people who talk about how gun control is needed to protect the children. I agree. And to protect my seven children, ranging from 18 years old to 8 years old, I have taught all of them about "Gun Control"

It is extremely simple, which drives the gun control activists nuts because it isn't what they perceive as "Proper" gun control.

Here they are in order

1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. And you are ready to shoot.
4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

Lets discuss #1

"All Guns Are Always Loaded"

For the most part this is true in my house. My children all know that firearms are NOT a toy. They have Air-soft guns and BB Guns and Pellet Guns. And they know what each of these weapons can do. How? By seeing just what an Air-soft pellet, BB, Lead Pellet from a .177 Pellet rifle can do to a soda can filled with water. Then seeing what a 36 gr .22 LR Bullet does to a similar can. Without exception, none of the "toys" compares to what happens when the hydrostatic shock from a .22 destroys the can. A .177 pellet will split the can, but not split it wide open and make it jump 3 feet in the air. My children have seen what happens when a load of 00 Buck out of a 12 gauge hits a 3 liter bottle filled with water. It isn't pretty. But it is an extremely graphic representation of the amount of power a firearm has. the same thing when a 7.62X39 or 7.62X51 round hits a 5 gallon bucket filled with water, with the lid on tight. A few times I've had the lid fly over 20 feet away. So my children "KNOW" just how dangerous and deadly a firearm is.

#2 "Never Let the Muzzle Cover Anything You Are Not Willing To Destroy"

My kids have fired all of my weapons at various times. They know exactly how much pressure it take to pull a trigger. I've also demonstrated just how light a weight that actually is, by having them hold a raw egg in thier hand while they drop their hand down onto a table. Try it. Hold a raw egg in your hand palm up, loosely hold it, now put your elbow on a table and let your hand fall naturally. Nine times out of ten you will crack the egg. So the kids know that if that muzzle sweeps across something they don't want to shoot like one of their siblings or me or the house they run the risk of an ND or an AD. Also to help train with that some snap caps come in handy. I shook up one of my know it all kids, I won't say which one, who wanted to carry a rifle with their finger inside the triggerguard with the safety on. With a snap cap in the chamber I asked the child in question to jump out of the back of the truck carrying the rifle, they did and I heard the Click-Snap of the hammer dropping. I then asked them to clear the rifle. And they couldn't because it was little too hard to pull back the charging handle against the weight of the dropped hammer. I made my point.

And that part also covers

#3 "Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger Until Your Sights Are On The Target. And You Are Ready To Shoot"

All of the kids were shocked by just how easy it was to have a ND or AD. So drilling them constantly that their fingers do NOT belong inside the trigger guard until they have sights on target and are ready to shoot really stuck.

#4 "Be Sure Of Your Target And What Is Beyond It"

Demonstrating this to the kids was another graphical demonstration. I set up a 1/8th inch steel plate held up by 2 5 gallon buckets filled with water. One bucket in front of the plate which was my target, and one bucket behind it. And 5 feet further behind that was a 4X8 piece of plywood in front of my berm/backstop. That only took 1 round of 7.62X51 FMJ from my C-91 to destroy both buckets, punching a nice hole through the plate and peppering the plywood with 5 or 6 pieces of the bullet, 2 of those pieces went all the way through the plywood into the backstop. My twin boys were very impressed, until I explained to them that if it wasn't for the berm/backstop those pieces could have gone on and hurt or killed someone.

So as I sit here typing this I stopped to think about just how many weapons there are near me. Without getting up and going to the safe I have 7 loaded weapons, that I KNOW my children will not touch without permission or cause. Not think, I KNOW. My kids know anytime they would like to shoot all they have to do is ask, and I'll get one of the rifles or the handguns out of the safe, and they can run to their room to get their PPP gear. So they don't have the same fascination with firearms that kids who grow up without access or knowledge of them. To me and my children firearms are more of a tool and an enjoyment than anything else. The kids know dad keeps 2 of his revolvers loaded with snake shot for the snakes, and 2 of the shotguns loaded with #8 rounds for the same reason. They know the semi-automatic pistols are loaded with FMJ for the Tokarev and hollow points for the 1911A1. The rifles are loaded with FMJ with an extra mag for the C-91 on the buttstock and a bandolier for the SKS next to it.

My kids KNOW all this stuff. Am I worried about them getting into my guns when I'm not around? No, I'm not. I'm worried about any of their friends who come over and want to play with my guns. Hence I lock my door when I'm not at home. If my 2 oldest daughters need a weapon for any reason they know where the key to my room is and they know just behind the door is a loaded shotgun. They know where the 2 revolvers loaded with snakeshot are as well as where the serious ammunition for both revolvers is. They know where the key to the gunsafe is if they need even more serious firepower.

My kids are "Gun Safe" Many children, especially children in areas where firearms ownership is restricted or frowned upon are not. And THAT is where you get children playing with firearms shooting and killing themselves or other children. They don't know any better. All they know is what they see on television. They see the good guys and bad guys waving firearms around and nobody gets hurt for real. They don't see just how dangerous these tools actually are, they don't see proper safety procedures, or the reason for the procedures.

Gun Control advocates say "It's for the children." No it's not. It's for their own sense of superiority, of I make the rules so they apply to you, not to me and mine. Some Gun Control Advocates actually believe that less guns will equal less crime. The problem is the only way that could possibly be true was if there were no guns anywhere in the world, and no one had the knowledge to make them. Sorry that isn't ever going to happen. If that ever did happen though, crimes would still be committed, people would still be killed and assaulted, just with other items, knives, axes, machetes, screwdrivers, hammers, shovels, rakes forks, pens, pencils, hoes, sticks, rocks, broken glass, many other things can be used as a weapon. The problem is not the item, it is the intent behind the wielder of the item. And that is what Gun Control activists don't understand. Intent, not the item is the problem. I own firearms. I have no intent in ever harming another human being unless they offer violence to me or mine. But several Gun Control activists have threatened violence to others. Don't believe me? Go to Dave Codrea's site and look in his archives. You will find comments, Tweets and posts of Gun Control activists wishing harm and in a few cases outright threatening people who do not agree with their views or who have caught them in their lies. So for them, they HAVE the intent, so I would not want them to own firearms as they might be a danger to myself or others let alone themselves.

I'm going to wrap this up.

Gun Control in my opinion is teaching everyone safe responsible gun handling skills. That should be the only Gun Control that should be talked about.