One of the reasons we started the Texas Firearms Festival — besides providing a fun, truly unique shooting experience — was to further the gun culture. From its first year back in 2014, we were surprised by all of the novices — people who had never even handled a gun before — who have come out to the Festival along with the usual crowd of experienced gun guys and gals. This year, that group of noobs included my wife.
She’s always been someone without any interest at all in firearms. Certainly not opposed to them…just someone who couldn’t have cared less about shooting. This year, once again, she she dutifully came out to the Festival to walk the grounds. And for some reason she stopped by the Battle Rifle Company spot at the rifle range. There they handed her a BR4 Odin…which she proceeded to use to ring steel at 250 yards. Using iron sights.
BING! Instant newfound interest in shooting.
And that’s why we found ourselves back out at Best of the West Shooting Sports on Sunday.
She couldn’t care less about handguns. For her, rifles are the thing, and she had tons o’ fun punching holes with a 10/22 from 30 out to about 50 yards.
As the People of the Gun know oh so well, the fastest way to change the hearts and minds of anti-gunners (or just someone who was disinterested, as above) is to put a gun in their hands. The most frequent response once they shoot it: an involuntary ear-to-ear grin.
Now she wants to shoot more. With bigger calibers. At longer distances. She’s talking about getting her own rife. Maybe joining A Girl and a Gun. Oh. No.
The moral of the story (not that you haven’t heard it before): if you want to further — and possibly save — America’s gun culture and rights, the best way is to take someone shooting. Who have you taught to shoot lately?