Gun Maintenance - It's about time

Yesterday, my son asked me to take him and his girlfriend to the range for some target shooting.  I didn't hesitate.  He told me she didn't have any experience and was interested.

On the way to the range we discussed the safety rules:

• 'A' ssume every gun is loaded. Treat it with respect. It's not a toy even when you know it's unloaded.
• 'C'ontrol the muzzle.  Keep the gun pointed downrange even when unloaded.
• 'T'rigger finger discipline.  The only time that finger should be on the trigger is when it's up and aiming.
• 'T'arget awareness, being aware of not only what your target is, but what is beyond it. Bullets don't just stop after hitting a target, even if you were able to hit it.

I wanted to give them a wide variety of exposure to different calibers and types.  They included:

• .22 Browning Buckmark pistol 
• 9mm PCC - CZ Scorpion Evo3 Carbine with red dot
• 9mm Handgun - CZ Shadow 2 - open sights
• 44 magnum revolver - Smith and Wesson 629 with red dot.
• 5.57 x 45 - Springfield Saint AR-15 with Deadair suppressor - with holographic sight.
• .22 rifle with  4-7x Redfield optic
• 9mm CC pistol - Glock 43 open sights

We spent an hour going over the proper handling and shooting at the Red Dot range. They had a good time and had fun shooting safely.

Afterward I field stripped and cleaned each one.  It took 3 hours to complete.  I watched a little Prime Video with the kids as I sat at the kitchen table cleaning them.  1 hour of shooting to 3 hours of cleaning.  Not exactly something I want to do every Saturday night, but it gave me an opportunity to open the door for these young kids to get a perspective that I don't believe our kids get.  

7 guns field stripped and soaking in cleaner to help remove carbon buildup.

Our youth are exposed to make-belief, and made to think it is reality.  Our world is spreading misconceptions and outright lies, where good is termed bad, and evil labeled as good.  The world is shouting how to behave, and what to believe and ignoring why we should treat everyone with love and respect. That we are all children of a Father who loves us and we should learn to treat each other as brothers and sisters that love each other.

A productive evening, I'd say.