Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
Saturdays lately have seen me helping out with the kids program at PGC. You may have seen things I wrote about in the recent past.
Basically, kids get use of a shotgun, shells, clays and some instruction from folks. For 20 weeks the cost is minimal.
The instructor, Bob Willard, should have a statue erected someplace.
Today we did trap with 16 kids doing two rounds each. One of those kids was Katherine.
A bright, friendly 15 year old, Katherine has been in the program for a few months. She's used club guns in both 12 and 20 gauge and is big enough to handle a standard stock fairly well. On station, she could serve as a model for concentration, her focus and committment screwed down tight, as they say.
Like many of the kids using the club guns, Katherine's been working towards getting her own shotgun. She wanted an 870, like her father's. Today he let her bring his.
And gained and lost thereby.
She showed it off, a new Express with the standard 28" barrel, birch stock and matte finish. Had it been a Purdey,she would have presented it no more proudly. I looked it over, less than a box of shells through it according to her dad.
Katherine, like most new shooters, has her problems. Her form hasn't gelled. Her timing and rhythm need repetition to groove in the moves and swing. She works at it and things are coming together.
I joke about The Magic Shotgun, the one that never, ever, misses despite our flaws. Katherine found hers today, and the clays broke very well for her.
Her best round was 17/25. That was about 8 birds better than her prior best.
She had an 11 bird straight going too.
When someone can start stringing the hits together, the steepest part of the learning curve lies in the past. Katherine kept at it, had faith in herself and us and got the payoff today.
In between rounds I checked my choke stash and found a Full Remchoke I wasn't using anyway. I gave it to her dad and mentioned that he needed to buy himself a new 870, because the one they brought now had Katherine written all over it. He agreed.
They left with Katherine walking on air. As the crowd thinned,I eased into the Cherokee and headed for home and the honeydos.
I mused about this. Some kids her age are more interested in getting their butts tatooed. Some are too sullen to hand guns to, some too indoctrinated by the establishment and media about evil machines.
But Katherine has her victories. And in 2012, she can vote. So can most of the others in the program. And they may have an effect on politics and legislation of the future that has its start on Range 7 today.
Like my friend Steve says, "To keep it, give it away"....
Basically, kids get use of a shotgun, shells, clays and some instruction from folks. For 20 weeks the cost is minimal.
The instructor, Bob Willard, should have a statue erected someplace.
Today we did trap with 16 kids doing two rounds each. One of those kids was Katherine.
A bright, friendly 15 year old, Katherine has been in the program for a few months. She's used club guns in both 12 and 20 gauge and is big enough to handle a standard stock fairly well. On station, she could serve as a model for concentration, her focus and committment screwed down tight, as they say.
Like many of the kids using the club guns, Katherine's been working towards getting her own shotgun. She wanted an 870, like her father's. Today he let her bring his.
And gained and lost thereby.
She showed it off, a new Express with the standard 28" barrel, birch stock and matte finish. Had it been a Purdey,she would have presented it no more proudly. I looked it over, less than a box of shells through it according to her dad.
Katherine, like most new shooters, has her problems. Her form hasn't gelled. Her timing and rhythm need repetition to groove in the moves and swing. She works at it and things are coming together.
I joke about The Magic Shotgun, the one that never, ever, misses despite our flaws. Katherine found hers today, and the clays broke very well for her.
Her best round was 17/25. That was about 8 birds better than her prior best.
She had an 11 bird straight going too.
When someone can start stringing the hits together, the steepest part of the learning curve lies in the past. Katherine kept at it, had faith in herself and us and got the payoff today.
In between rounds I checked my choke stash and found a Full Remchoke I wasn't using anyway. I gave it to her dad and mentioned that he needed to buy himself a new 870, because the one they brought now had Katherine written all over it. He agreed.
They left with Katherine walking on air. As the crowd thinned,I eased into the Cherokee and headed for home and the honeydos.
I mused about this. Some kids her age are more interested in getting their butts tatooed. Some are too sullen to hand guns to, some too indoctrinated by the establishment and media about evil machines.
But Katherine has her victories. And in 2012, she can vote. So can most of the others in the program. And they may have an effect on politics and legislation of the future that has its start on Range 7 today.
Like my friend Steve says, "To keep it, give it away"....
