Do you let others handle, or shoot your firearms?

[waldonbuddy]

Just curious. I used to let people fire my weapons, but in later years have reconsidered it.

The biggest reason that I don't let others shoot my weapons, or I theirs, is that if something goes wrong it can be a sticky situation. Sometimes accidents happen, and there will always be the question in the back of my mind as, did said person that was handling your weapon do something by accident to damage it, or was it just something that was a defect on the weapon itself.

Case in point. I was holding my brothers Colt AR15 while he when through a fence. The sling let go and the rifle fell burying the tip of the barrel in the mud.

He had just got it, and he was sighting it in that day. While I wasn't doing anything to make the sling fail, I could see the disappointment in my bothers eye's.

Another story. Me, and my cousin were out shooting a few weapons at his father's farm. I let him shoot my new rifle he kept getting jam after jam. I tried the rifle, and it fired fine.
I then let him try again, and this time I watched him instead of looking downrange. He was holding on to the magazine which was making it jam, and it has never jammed since.

Also, you could just mishandle it, and accidentally drop it. Sometimes "sorry" just don't make you sleep better at night. Also, you never know how the person your letting shoot will handle your weapon...........

 

[Boba Fett]

The short answer is, yes I do let others handle/shoot my firearms.


The long answer is, yes I do let others handle/shoot my firearms but on a person to person basis. If I get a bad vibe from the person then I wont. It may be how they have acted around me at the range, how they speak about firearms and safety, even how they are dressed.


As for family, pretty much all of them know how to shoot or at least understand the concept and safety aspects. Friends are the same. So I'm very comfortable letting any of them shoot my firearms.


Accidents do happen. I would hate to have my firearms damaged. But as long as the person wasn't being idiotic, I'd be ok and brush it off as an accident.

 

[semperfi63]

Simple solution -- educate them on the proper operation of the firearm in question, then by all means let them shoot it. In fact encourage them to shoot it. One can never have to many friends that shoot.

 

[buck460XVR]

How else do you introduce someone new to the sport of shooting if you don't let them shoot YOUR gun?


I let others shoot my weapons, but I don't loan firearms, just like I don't loan money. Yes, accidents may happen, but under your own supervision and advice on how to handle that weapon, the risks are small and the rewards large. Besides, some of the funnest guns I've ever had the opportunity to shoot were someone else's.

 

[Tinpig]

Yes-
I like to take family and friends to the range...especially the ones who think they may not like guns and shooting. I try to choose the right gun for the right person and they always seem to have a good time.

I find that good hearing protection goes a long way to making new shooters comfortable. I always have 3 or 4 pairs of 30dB muffs in my truck for chainsaw work anyway.

And although I'm sure of my handloads, I only shoot factory ammo with other people.

Tinpig

 

[MarkDozier]

I surely let others shoot my guns. Sometimes for fun, becuase the let me shoot theirs. Sometimes to get help with a sight or ballistics issue. Soemtimes becuase it is just the right thing to do.
I several months ago got a Ruger MK1 standard pistol. To date that gun has been fired more by "strangers" then myself and it has help bring at lest 3 or 4 new shooters in the sport. Most of them right pretty woman. Your darn right I will elt her shoot especially when I give her one on one insturction.

 

[scifiteach]

"Never hurts to have a second set ofprints on a gun." - Nelson Muntz "TheSimpsons"

 

[Sam1911]

Of course! Weapons are just tools, and I've been the beneficiary of getting trigger time with my friends' collections and new acquisitions just as often (if not more so) than I've shared my own. That's part of the benefit of being a member of a shooting community.

Be as careful as you can be with others' weapons, be reasonable in your expectations of others (e.g.: if you don't want the slide dropped on an empty chamber, mention that before you hand the gun over) and don't worship your weapons as though they were sacred relics. They don't do much good if not used -- and sharing with and educating others is some of the best use they can get!

By the way, if your gun jams when you hold the mag the "wrong" way...get it fixed. That's not supposed to happen.

-Sam

 

[browningguy]

I let people shoot my guns all the time, just took a newbie out Saturday and ler her shoot the .22 and 9mm pistols. I even loan guns out to select friends when they have a need for something I already own.

 

[Enachos]

Of course! I helped introduce most of my friends to handguns this way!

 

[Odd Job]

Yes, I let folks use my weapons, but only in my presence and if I am confident they won't behave like dilweeds.

 

[LeontheProfessional]

Yes, On a regular basis. I enjoy taking people shooting for the first time. I even loan guns but only to family and close friends.

 

[hso]

Yes, I teach new shooters and they use my guns and whenever one of my friends, or I, have something new we're all eager to see it shot and then to try it. We're also very strict of safety and courtesy in handling firearms and that's what I teach new shooters as well so there's little chance for improper handling.

 

[Alex23]

Yes, absolutely if I trust them not to do something stupid.

Firearms are just another piece of hardware. I might feel different if I owned a pair of Purdy's but I don't so I don't.

 

[FROGO207]

I pretty much agree with the second poster. If I can trust the person and after instruction we will shoot some. Them doin' and me watchin' until I am comfortable that they will be OK when I start to shoot. I only had one problem and he WAS an idiot when reloading also. Three tries and I no longer associate with him at all.:banghead: +1000 on the pretty females that want to learn, it's money well spent teaching a looker at the range.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

A very few people ... less than 10.

 

[Dokkalfar]

Basically same thing here. The only way to introduce new shooters is to let them try yours out. My .22s have actually seen tons more use from other people than from my self

As for random strangers on the range, again it depends on how I feel about them. I'm pretty observant in general, so I'll usually notice if one of the people near me isn't being very safe or does something stupid. But if you get to talking to someone, why not let them try yours out? Maybe they were here with a friend as a first-timer, or they might have a nice firearm they'll let you try out.
If you're lucky, you might even find yourself a new range partner/friend!

 

[chevyforlife21]

post 2 kinda summons it up for me, i might not let them shoot something that is in mint condition or very old if its a careful person i will, if its someone that tends to not be careful and dings or scratch the gun then i wont let them see it ill hand them something thats hard to hurt (synthetic stocks).

 

[Dulvarian]

I will let most people shoot my guns under my supervision. I will keep an eye on my friends if I am letting them try out a new gun, especially if they are unfamiliar with the mechanics of a particular one. And they do the same for me. Case in point... loading an M1. That little angle when loading made all the difference and I had no idea.

Most, if not all, of my friends are military (though not the gun toting kind, sorry) and are rather trustworthy in their own right.

+1 on teaching a pretty woman at the range, -1 if your wife is there watching. Lol.

 

[w_houle]

All the way up until I turned 30 I would have answered this question with a no. That changed after I went over to a friend's house and he showed me his Broomhandle Mauser. It was running late, so I placed the pistol on the coffee table and started toward the door when he told me that I could hold on to it and to return it next Sunday. After that, I have changed my thinking to like what Bobby Fett said.




/sorry Boba, Don't kill me

 

[Hatterasguy]

Depends who it is. I usualy go shooting with 2-3 close friends who are very good at weapons handling. We all shoot eachothers guns.

As for random people it depends. Most of my stuff takes pricey ammo so unless they have their own they are not shooting much.

 

[Boba Fett]

sorry Boba, Don't kill me

No disintegrations...this time...

Lucky with the Broomhandle Mauser!
How did you like the Mauser? I've always wanted to get one, but they seem to be a tad on the expensive side.

 

[WardenWolf]

Depends on who it is, and depends on what gun it is. I'm not going to let a kid fire my Mosin Nagant, for instance. It's too much gun for them, and I'm not going to let a kid shoot a gun I know will hurt them. If the same kid wanted to fire my Saiga or PSL, though, I'd probably put it in the bench rest and say "Go ahead." Not much harm can be done with a bench rested low-recoil rifle pointed downrange as long as they keep it against their shoulder.

 

[fireside44]

Don't care if others shoot or handle my weapons. That's half the fun. I never shoot and rarely handle other people's weapons as their tastes generally don't interest me.

 

[Patriotme]

I let others handle and shoot my firearms. I generally take about 10 or more people to the range every year. A few are gun owners but most don't have any guns. Some have never shot before. I've spent 20 years building my current collection and I enjoy teaching non shooters how to handle firearms. I've helped to create a half dozen new gun owners over the last two years and I've taken a lot of other people to the range that bought handguns but never shot them. Even the hunters like getting out and shooting skeet once in a while.
I consider this a good deed and I'll accept the risk of someone dropping my AR in the dirt.