Growing up in an environment that has welcomed and encouraged the use of firearms has really helped me become who I am and who I will be in the future. Learning about gun use and safety procedures from a young age has taught me to take responsibility for my actions.

Being able to go out to the range and shoot has always been a treat, something that could be used as a reward for getting good grades or get taken away for not doing so well in school. While using a gun my mind is on what I am doing rather than what a friend said to me, or the project that is due in a few days. Pulling the trigger means that all of my attention is on what I am seeing down the barrel, totally focused on what I should be doing right then.

Being familiar with firearms has opened up a lot of great opportunities to meet and become friends with people that I would otherwise never have a chance to say hello to. They have been able to teach me so much about respecting fellow shooters and the powerful machines that we are using. Listening to their instruction and advice has really helped improve my shooting by a large margin.

I’ve been encouraged to learn how to use and take care of everything from a .38 Special to a 12 gauge, with all kinds of rifles thrown in the mix as well. Knowing how to use such a large variety of weapons puts me in a good position for competition shooting and hunting. 

Being able to tell other kids about shooting and hunting is very exciting and though I have never been shooting with another person my age outside of family members, I really hope that kids will begin to understand that firearms are not something to be scared of.