Never mind Halloween, THIS is scary

[cjsmith]

Me answering these questions? Um.

Two guys from my office are going to a nearby gun range this evening. (I would have gone with them, but I get only one chance a year to hand out candy to kids on Halloween. I'll go to the range another time.)

Anyway, I just got asked some really basic questions about how to work a semiautomatic.

*wibble* It's an odd day when I am considered the firearms expert or the firearms safety expert. By anybody.

So I answered. I made sure to note that just because you drop the magazine, you don't know the gun is unloaded; you have to pull back the slide to see whether there's one in the chamber. I slipped that into the conversation twice. Then I took the opportunity to say that ya know, the range personnel are very helpful, and if you have any questions about how to operate a specific pistol, particularly the one you're about to rent, just ask them and they'll be more than happy to show you.

There's a group of interested people at work, and of that pile of folk, I probably am among the most experienced. I think it's time I thought a bit about how best to answer questions.

Comments

[dafydd.livejournal.com]

I think both options are good. Formal gun education is absolutely critical. However, I also think that any opportunity one has to remind people of the inherent danger of firearms should be taken.

So, I think, you did fine with what you had. Tomorrow, if you get a chance to get their reviews of the evening, suggesting a safety course wouldn't be amiss.