a gun safety course for kids

8/13/2019 A Gun Safety Course for Kids

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A Gun Safety Course for Kids

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Preface

My name is Marc. I am a retired Certified Firearm Instructor. I have beeninvolved in teaching gun safety and education to both kids and adults for abouthalf of my life. I have studied the 2ndAmendment (the right to keep and bear

arms for about the last t!enty seven years. I am a membership recruiter for the"ational #ifle Association and at the end of this e$book% I&m going to give you thechance to get a 'unior Membership in the "ational #ifle Association !ith yourparent&s permission of course for only fifteen dollars ()*+.,,.

I first got started teaching gun safety and basic gun handling to children !ay backin the early *--,&s. For me teaching gun safety and basic firearm education isboth a hobby and a passion. I put a eb site online in *--/ calledMarcs GunSafety and Firearm Education Site.

I published this eb site using the free eb space allotted to me through myInternet service provider. In a fairly short period of time this eb site got prettypopular and I 0uickly outgre! the !eb space. In 'anuary 2,,, I started1avehe3uns.com and as of this !riting if you 4google& the term 4gun safety rulesfor kids& or the term 4firearm education& 1avehe3uns.com gets the top spot inthe !orld. As you can see it is al!ays a !ork in progress as it should be Isuppose.

his e$book is totally free. I&m not going to charge anyone for do!nloading andreading this e$book. 1ome !ould say that I should charge at least a couple ofdollars but I have found out that thousands and thousands more people !illdo!nload it read it and pass it around to others if it !as free than if I chargedeven one dollar ()*.,, for it so it remains totally free. If you !ould like to make

a voluntary donation so that I can continue this effort it !ould be gladlyappreciated and put to good use.

http566!!!.1avehe3uns.com6contributions.htm

First I&m going to tell you a story. hen !e&re going to go into a little history ofgunpo!der and the invention of the gun and then !e&ll tell you !hat to do !henyou find a firearm some!here in an unsupervised situation. hen !e&ll moveonto a !hole bunch of rules. hen !e&ll going into the latest statistics onaccidental gun$related deaths ammunition kno!ledge and little more. hennear the end I !ill give you the opportunity to get a 'unior Membership to the

"ational #ifle Association for only )*+.,,.I care deeply about keeping children out of coffins due to the mishandling of aloaded gun. oday the chance of a child dying because of the mishandling of aloaded gun in the 7nited 1tates is about a million to one (*,,,,,, to *. 8ut tothe family and friends of that one child this encouraging statistic !on&t be anycomfort.
http://www.savetheguns.com/contributions.htmhttp://www.savetheguns.com/contributions.htm


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I hope to teach both the child and the parent the truth on this issue. My hope andgoal is to 9ust be one gear in the machine that continues to bring accidental gunrelated death do!n to the lo!est conceivable level and keep it there. on&t you9oin my effort? All you have to do is read !hat I have to say and give this e$bookto somebody else. If you can give this e$book to ten (*, people chances are good

that in a single year !e can keep at least one child out of a coffin. 'oin me andspread the !ord.

8ut first here&s a story that I&d like you all to read.

It&s a bright and sunny 1aturday morning% it&s one of those mornings 9ust after thebeginning of the ne! school year and a couple of !eeks before the actual end ofsummer. :on&t tell the kids that it is still actually summer though. For mostschool$age children summer ends !hen school begins.

'osh is ten years old and has 9ust begun fifth grade a little more than one !eekago. 'osh and his family live in a city of about fifty thousand people. hey live on

the outskirts of this city in a 0uiet family$oriented neighborhood.

here had unfortunately been some illegal narcotics dealing some arrests anddomestic violence and general unpleasantness going on closer to the middle ofthe city !hich !as really only about a fifteen minute drive a!ay. It seems as ifthe past couple of years the city !as attracting some residents !ho used to live ina much larger city about forty five minutes a!ay a city that !as about t!ice thesi;e of this one but !ith more than t!ice the crime illegal drugs andunfortunately the violence that comes !ith it.

About half!ay through the summer of this year there !as a rash of break$ins inthis 0uiet neighborhood. 1ome of the homes had things stolen from their yardsthere !ere some loud parties further do!n the street that lasted much later intothe night than they should have. 8ut even more disturbing !as the increasingnumber of daytime home robberies.


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department had no leads but they kept saying that they !ere !orking on it.hen about ten days later a guy !ith the same car fitting the same description!alked right into the yard of an elderly man !ho !as raking his la!n took outthe same handgun and !alked him around the house and forced him to point outthe valuables that !ere in the house.

After these t!o troubling occurrences many families in the neighborhood beganto think a lot about ho! to protect themselves 9ust in case this thug chose theirhouse ne>t time. A handful of families chose to purchase ne! firearms to keep atthe ready if this thug decided to use their home to finance his ne>t illegal drugbuy.

'osh the ten year old fifth$grader had 9ust eaten breakfast. =is :ad had cookedsome home$made !affles from a ne! batter recipe he found on the Internet andcooked them on his ne! !affle$maker they got. 'osh&s friend Ale> ne>t doorcalled and !anted him to come over and play video games until lunch$time.

'osh loved to play video games and he !as dressed and ready to go out the doorin about three minutes. 'osh assured his :ad that he !ould be home for lunch bynoon. In a flash he !as out the front door and over to his friend Ale>&s house fora morning of playing =alo on Ale>&s dad&s ne! $8o> @, game system.

Ale>&s dad !as a gun o!ner but not really a serious one. Ale>&s :ad had a singleshot t!enty gauge shotgun in the bedroom closet that !as many years old andkind of rusty inside the barrel. It !as not really a great option for home defenseand he didn&t kno! if it !ould fire. 1o he and his !ife decided that it !ould be agood idea to get a ne! handgun for the house 9ust in case the bad guy in the bluesedan tried to break into their home !hile they !ere there.

Ale>&s dad and mom decided to buy a semi$automatic .@/, ACB pistol for homedefense. he guy at the gun shop said that it !as good enough and reliableenough and !as !ithin their budget so they bought it and brought it home. heyhad not really decided !here they !ere going to store the pistol. hey didn&tdiscuss !hether to put a trigger lock on it or not and they didn&t talk about!hether or not they !ere going to keep it loaded.

ell let&s 9ust say that Ale>&s dad and mom made a lot of mistakes and did notplan very !ell. hey decided that if they needed it to protect the home from anintruder they probably !ouldn&t have the time to load it. 1o they decided to keepit loaded. hey came home !ith a trigger lock for it but they thought it !as

difficult to lock and unlock it and they didn&t use it. hey 9ust thought it !ould bebest to keep it in their bedroom in a dra!er right underneath !here the televisionand brand ne! $8o> game system !as.

hey sho!ed the ne! pistol to Ale> !hen they brought it home. 8ut instead ofseeking good solid gun safety information and carefully teaching their son aboutsafe gun handling and the rules on ho! to handle a firearm safely they 9ust toldAle> not to touch it.


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1o 'osh and Ale> !ent to Ale>&s house to play some games on the ne! $bo>.After about t!o hours of playing Ale> started to get bored. Ale> got the idea that'osh might !ant to see his parent&s ne! handgun they 9ust bought. Ale> thoughtit might be under the bed so they got on the floor and looked. "ope not there.Dhe said. =o! about in the closet?D said 'osh in a !hisper. It didn&t seem to be inthere either.

hen one by one they !ere 0uietly opening and closing the dra!ers in thebedside table and bureaus. Ah ha.D said 'osh. I think this might be it.D It !asin a ne! bo> !ith a picture of a gun on it. Ale> immediately recogni;ed the bo>and said Ees !e found itD 'osh couldn&t !ait to see it and lifted the bo> fromthe bureau dra! and pulled off the cardboard cover. Ale> !anted to be the one tosho! off his parent&s ne! gun so he 0uickly took the bo> a!ay from 'osh rippingit a!ay from his hands.

ithout !asting any time Ale> lifted the shiny black pistol from the bo>. 'osh

commented in a hushed tone ho! a!esome he thought it !as. It !as 9ust like ontelevision or in the movies he thought. ithout !aiting 'osh tried to take thepistol from Ale> because he !anted to have a turn to hold it. 8ut Ale> had nointention of letting him have it. Ale> kne! ho! much trouble he !ould get into ifhis parents found out that he let a neighbor see the gun let alone hold one.

8ut 'osh !as persistent and tried to grab it from Ale>. =e got a hold of the barreland pulled on itG Ale> felt the pistol slam into his hand and heard the blast comefrom the pistol. Ale> couldn&t control it because he !as never sho!n ho! to andhe dropped it on the floor. 'osh sa! an orange flash in front of his face for a briefmoment and !as shocked by the sound made !hen the gun fired.

'ust as Ale>&s dad came rushing into the bedroom like a bull in a china shop 'oshnoticed that his head hurt. he top of his head hurt like he had been !hacked!ith a baseball bat. Ale>&s dad hollered out here is the gunD 8ut Ale> !asstill surprised by the gun 4going off& and he !as partially deaf from the sound.he sound of the handgun discharging left both of their ears ringing. AgainAle>&s dad shouted and shook him. here is the gun??D

he 0uestion finally registered !ith Ale>&s brain and he pointed to the floor !herehe had dropped it. Ale>&s dad picked it up put it back in the bo> and put thecover on it. Ale> began to reali;e ho! much trouble he !as in and he started tocry tears streaming do!n his face. 8y this time 'osh&s head really started to

hurt. 'osh touched the top of his head and it !as all !et. =e looked at his handand sa! that it !as blood.

'osh let out a sound that !as partly shriek and partly cry. Ale>&s dad&s attentionimmediately !ent to 'osh and he sa! that he !as hurt. here !as too muchblood on top of 'osh&s head that he could not see !here it !as coming from. In afe! seconds of sheer panic Ale>&s dad had a phone in his hand and !as dialing-** for paramedics to come to the house.


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After the -** call he called 'osh&s parents and they all !ent to the hospitaltogether follo!ing the paramedics in the ambulance. After 'osh !as seen by theemergency room physician it !as determined that he !as not in serious danger.he .@/, ACB bullet !ent through 'osh&s scalp but never penetrated his skull.After being sutured up and getting an overnight stay in the hospital 'osh !as onhis !ay to getting better. 'osh !as one of the lucky ones.

(The above story is fictional. Any similarities to real events or actual people are merelycoincidental. Hoever! very similar stories happen each year."

"o! after having read this scary story !hat do you think Ale> did !rong? hatdo you think 'osh did !rong? :id you learn anything from this story?

If you ever find a gun in an unsupervised situation !ith no adults you shouldstop in your tracks and think. Eou should not pick up the gun you should nothandle the gun and you should not even touch the gun. hen you should leavethe area !here you found the gun and go tell a trusted adult !hat you found and!here you found it.

hat did Ale> do !rong in the story? Ale> got the bad idea to go looking for agun that he kne! !as in the house !ithout any adult supervision from a parent.hat !as !rong of Ale> to seek out a gun in the home to handle by himself and itput both himself and his friend 'osh in danger.

hat did 'osh do that !as !rong in the story? 'osh helped Ale> look for the gun!hich !as !rong. 'osh stayed in the area !here a gun !as found !hich !as!rong. 'osh argued !ith Ale> and tried to take the gun !hich !as !rong.

8oth Ale> and 'osh did things that made the situation very dangerous. hatshould Ale> have done? Ale> should have left the gun alone and should not havetried to look for it and sho! it off. hat should 'osh have done? 'osh shouldhave told Ale> that looking for a gun in the house !as !rong. If Ale> continued tolook for the gun 'osh should have left the home and told his mom or dad thatAle> tried to sho! him his dad&s ne! gun.

ould 'osh have gotten Ale> in trouble? 1ure it is very likely that Ale> !ouldhave gotten into trouble !ith his parents. 8ut keeping Ale> safe is moreimportant than keeping him out of trouble.

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A Message to Parents

his story could have been much !orse. 'osh could have been killed or he couldhave been physically or mentally disabled by the bullet. About one (* child per!eek in 7nited 1tates dies as a result of mishandling a loaded firearm in the agefive (+ to fourteen (*H year old group.


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If you are talking about all children from birth to say nineteen (*- years oldabout three (@ or four (H children per !eek die because of the mishandlingand6or unsupervised mishandling of a loaded firearm. In the year 2,,* onehundred eighty t!o (*/2 children aged nineteen and under had to be buried bytheir families because of this.

Many more children suffer a variety of in9uries as !ell. 1ome of them arerelatively minor in9uries re0uiring stitches or sutures and pain medication. teen (*. I encourage the parent to read this e$bookith theirchildren. 1ome of the concepts outlined in this e$book may be a little comple> tocompletely understand for a child as young as - *, or ** years old. Children fromBre$ through @rdgrade should be taught as much of this information as theparent thinks they can handle and absorb.

In this e$book I hope to give you the tools and information you need to avoid thistype of in9ury altogether and help prevent parents from having to call a funeralhome for their child&s funeral services and burial. I got started teaching gunsafety many years ago and I !ant to take this opportunity to thank you forlistening to !hat I have to say on this sometimes controversial topic. here is alot of misinformation and bad advice on this topic and my hope is to sort it outfor you and tell you the truth.


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safes !all safes security cabinets handgun lockbo>es trigger locks and cablelocks are some common options.

For myself generally speaking my personal firearms are in a sturdy gun safe thatis lag$bolted to both the floor and the !all studs !ith a pick$proof door lockingmechanism. he more secure the gun safe is the less the possibility thatunauthori;ed hands !ill touch them or steal them. For me my firearms areeither concealed on my person in a holster or they are in a gun safe. Firearmsshould not be loaded and left lying around the house.

Eou can be assured that if you get an un!elcome visit from a home burglar theyare 0uite familiar !ith the clever hiding place that you might have chosen in yourhome for a self defense firearm. 8ut I also think and have al!ays believed that itis a far better thing to gun$proof a child than it is to child$proof a gun. 8ut logicand even some state la!s dictate that a combination of both is best.

he 2ndAmendment to the 7nited 1tates Constitution !as !ritten in a time !hen

all males !ho !ere bet!een the ages of * and , years old met regularly formilitia e>ercises !hich included gun handling and marksmanship instruction.1ince the Militia Act of *-,@ that nearly mandatory instruction doesn&t e>istanymore.

ell before the age of service in the state militia at age * children even youngerthan that !ere out hunting and bringing home !ild game for the family dinner.oday of course most young children at age si>teen and under do not receivecompetent firearm safety and marksmanship instruction from a military bodyand they are not typically out hunting by themselves at age ten. imes havechanged indeed.

Eou cannot get around these responsibilities easily. 3un safety is more of alifetime commitment than simply meeting a fe! limited responsibilities andobeying a fe! rules. Firearms and children can indeed be together !ithoutincident. Firearms have been around since sometime in the late **,,s to theearly to mid$*2,,s. 1ome historians nail the date do!n closest to the year *2@2in China. Ees that&s not a typo that&s the early thirteenth (*@th century.

=o!ever there !as the discovery of a sculpture of a man holding a bombard !ithflame and a pro9ectile emerging from it that has been tentatively dated to thelater **,,&s. I !ill speak more about this sub9ect in the 48rief =istory of the 3un&section belo! and again in the 4Common Kuestions and Ans!ers& section near the

end of this e$book.

1o you can very plainly see that the history of firearms cannons and hand$cannons is unclear and sub9ect to debate. 8ut generally historians believe thatthey originated in China sometime bet!een the late **,,&s and about the year*2@2. he inventor is unkno!n.


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1ome historians believe that the first use of hand$held cannons to fire a pro9ectilein Jurope !as during theSie#e of Sevillein 1pain in the year *2HL. 8y the timeChristopher Columbus sailed to the America&s in *H-2 firearms !ere pretty !ellentrenched in human society. here !ere appro>imately t!o hundred forty five(2H+ years of firearm development bet!een theSie#e of Sevilleand Christopher

Columbus sailing to the Americas.=ere is a photo of a firearm that !as dated to the late fourteenth century (*@L@A.:.5

his is a 4hand cannon& or later a 4handgonne& dated to about *@L@. Aftersi> hundred thirty five (@+ years of product development bet!een the4handgonne& above and modern times !e have this fine specimen !hich isa 1ig 1auer B22 Jlite 1tainless that !as ne! for 2,,/.

imately eight hundred seventy eight (/L/ years of firearmdevelopment from the firstFire $ance to the year 2,*, at this !riting children ofevery age have been around firearms of every type. (I !ill speak aboutFire

$ances a little later. For e>ample in 1!it;erland it is practically mandatory forable$bodied males of age eighteen (*/ to be in the military and keep maintainand properly store a fully automatic machine gun. Jven though machine gunsare properly stored in many homes in 1!it;erland there are still strict rules andmilitary regulations that must be closely follo!ed.

he 1!iss have shooting ranges in almost every to!n and they&re almost ascommon as finding a donut and coffee shop in the 7nited 1tates. For them it&san aspect of their culture and they&re proud of it as they should be. he latestannual statistics I&ve found indicate that 1!it;erland has only about si>ty eight(/ murders committed by someone using a firearm in the entire country per

year. As a comparison the City of Chicago Illinois had +,- murders in 2,,/!hile in the country of Ira0 in 2,,/% !e had @*H 7.1. 1ervicemen killed in action.

he City of Chicago !here guns are very strictly controlled and the 2ndAmendment has been bra;enly infringed upon is a prime e>ample of the totalfailure of gun control la!s to affect the criminal mind or the violent felon&s accessto firearms.


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In 1!it;erland the gun related death rate is five (+ murders committed !ith afirearm for every one million (*,,,,,, citi;ens. At 1!it;erland&s gun$relatedmurder rate the 7.1. !ould only have about H murders per day instead of theappro>imately @, per day that !e currently have.

1o the country of 1!it;erland !here there is a 4gun culture& that e>ceeds that ofthe 7nited 1tates the murder rate is more than seven times ($L less. If the7nited 1tates had the same gun$related murder rate as 1!it;erland !herefirearm o!nership is nearly mandatory the number of murders by peopleutili;ing a gun !ould drop from more than -,, to 9ust over *+,, in the 7.1.but I digress.

In the early days of our constitutional republic every male bet!een the ages of *and , !ho !as able$bodied could carry a firearm and march !ith it belongedto their o!n state&s militia. Jvery so often sometimes monthly these men !ouldgather train drill and practice their firearm safety marksmanship and militaryskills. In most states these militia drills !ere mandatory as I have already

mentioned.

As time !ent on and throughout much of the */,,&s !e sa! many decades ofrelative peace most of the state militias fell into a state of neglect. hey did notmeet as often did not train as often and eventually the state militia system fellinto a state of disrepair mostly through a lack of funding. After the 1panish$American ar in */-/ many in the federal government as !ell as in the statemilitias themselves sa! a need to revive and reform the state militia system.

hat is !hy theMilitia Act of %&'!as passed. his act reorgani;ed the statemilitia systems as a component of 7nited 1tates military and limited it to men

aged *L to H+ years old. his act also divided all males in this age range into the)r#ani*ed Militia and the +nor#ani*ed Militia. he


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he "ational #ifle Association !as incorporated in */L* 9ust si> years after theend of the Civil ar to promote basic firearm education firearm safety andmarksmanship instruction. he "#A !as formed by 3eneral 3eorge ingateand Colonel illiam Church and they sought to promote and improve upon thefirearm handling and marksmanship for their troops. #eportedly 3eneralingate and Colonel Church !ere unhappy !ith the safety and marksmanship oftheir troops during the Civil ar.

he "#A has gro!n to more than four million members in the past *@- years.he "ational #ifle Association is still the largest and most effective group in the!orld for promoting basic firearm education and marksmanship.

he very first Bresident of the "ational #ifle Association !as 3eneral Ambrose8urnside. 3eneral 8urnside !as also a 3eneral during the Civil ar. =ere is aphoto of 3eneral 8urnside.

General Ambrose Burnside

As you can plainly see 3eneral Ambrose 8urnside had some seriously impressivesideburns. :id you ever !onder !here !e got the name for sideburns? ellstop !ondering. hat&s right. 1ideburns !ere named after 3eneral 8urnside thefirst Bresident of the "ational #ifle Association.

I have been personally involved in this issue for more than half of my lifetime. Ican state !ithout a moment of hesitation or regret that teaching your childrenho! to properly handle guns ho! to clean them correctly and getting theminvolved in the "ational #ifle Association is of the highest importance.

If you&re not a current member of the "#A I encourage you to 9oin no! or rene!your membership here5

http566membership.nrah0.org6default.asp?campaignid#,*L/,L

his special eb address is my "#A Membership #ecruiter address and usingthis address can save you )*,.,, off the normal )@+.,, membership fee for a one(* year regular membership. hat&s right.


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is only )2+.,,.But you must use that address above to get the $10.00 off.

If youd like to learn more about the benefits and the costs ofmembershi in the !ational "ifle Association# lease go herefirst$

htt$%%&&&'Sa(e)heGuns'com%nra*membershi'htm

My hope is that this e$book entitledA Gun Safety /ourse for 0ids!ill aid you inhelping to understand your role as a gun$o!ning parent !ho has young childrenin the home. Jven if you don&t currently o!n a firearm statistically speaking atleast one or both of your neighbors do o!n at least one gun.

According to the 8ureau of Alcohol obacco Firearms and J>plosives and theFederal 8ureau of Investigation it has been estimated that about H+N of each ofthe nation&s households contains at least one firearm. Americans purchase about

H.+ million of the estimated /.+ million of ne! firearms manufactured in the!orld each year yet accidental firearm related deaths are at their all$time lo!s.I&ll talk more about that later on in the book.

Jven if your child6grandchild does not live in a home !ith a firearm they need tokno! !hat to do if they ever find a gun in an unsupervised situation. Many yearsago the parent of a child !hose son !as unfortunately killed in a firearm accidentat a neighbor&s house contacted me by e$mail. =e thanked me for my efforts butlamented and !as saddened that this information that I provided !as too late forhis son.

Eou see his son !as actually killed in a very similar fashion to 'osh in the story I

told at the beginning of this e$book. My goal is to make sure that you the readernever have to deal !ith that yourself. I have received an e$mail from a youngfriend of a child !ho !as accidentally killed through the mishandling of a loadedgun as !ell. My hope is that you read my thoughts take this issue seriously andthen pass this message on to others.

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A Brief +istory of the Gun

here are do;ens and do;ens of people that I have spoken !ith about firearms

and gun safety over the years !ho think that guns are a fairly ne! invention.hey seem to have a general idea that guns !ere used in theAmerican-evolutionary 1ar !hen Americans declared their independence from 3reat8ritain in *LL. Most often these people !ho don&t have any real kno!ledge ofthe history of the gun are people !ho tend to support gun control la!s.


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to the very comple>. I&ve had 0uestions submitted to me from children !ho askCan you convince my parents to get me a pellet gun for Christmas?D and I&ve had0uestions like Are the guns used in movies really like that?D I&ve had one younglady of about thirteen years old e$mail me and ask me !hat to do because her bestfriend !as killed in a gun accident ne>t door.

8ut by far the most common 0uestion I get from kids is hen !as the first guninvented and !ho invented it?D ell that&s not as easy a 0uestion to ans!er asone might think. Eou see guns are a lot older than you might guess. 3uns are notsomething that !as invented for theAmerican /ivil 1ar or theAmerican-evolutionary 1ar. hey are much much older.

he first time a firearm !as recorded as having been used in a battle according tosome students of history !as during theSie#e of Seville in the year *2HL. he1iege of 1eville !as a battle in 1pain bet!een Christians and Muslims under ingFerdinand III. According to 8ishop Albertus Magnus (**-@6*2,$*2/, the firstuse of gunpo!der in Jurope to fire a pro9ectile occurred during this battle.

!enty years after theSie#e of Seville in the year *2L #oger 8acon !rote do!nthe e>act formula for making gunpo!der in his !ork )pus Ma2us. In the year*@H the Jnglish Army used cannons against the French Army at the 8attle ofCrecy. 8y *@H metallic hand cannons !ere being made in Italy. 8y *@L, there!ere many references in various !orks of literature of guns on ships. In the year*@/* the to!n of Augsburg 3ermany !as recorded to have supplied thirty men!ith hand cannons. he term handgun (handgonne !as first used or at least!ritten do!n in the year *@//.

In the year *H*, the matchlock musket !as invented. he invention of the

matchlock musket is !here !e get the term 4firearm&. he term 4firearm& camefrom the shooter&s arm that !as used to hold the match that !as used to set offthe hand cannon through a touch$hole at the rear of the matchlock. he termfirearm !as a variation of the term 4bo!$arm& and 4dra!ing arm& that are stillused in archery.

he oldest surviving gun is a bron;e gun dated to the year *2// that !as found inChina in the modern$day Acheng :istrict. he earliest depiction of a firearm !asa sculpture found in a cave in the Chinese 1ichuan :istrict dated to some time inthe late **,,&s many historians believe the first gun !as made in China by anunkno!n individual. 1o you see the ans!er to !hen the first gun !as invented isnot simple at all.

3un po!der !as probably first !ritten about in the3henyuan miaodao yaol4e!hich !as a aoist te>t tentatively dated to the mid$/,,s. aoist monks andalchemists had been searching for a substance that !ould lead to immortality.he discovery of gunpo!der !as likely a byproduct of this e>perimentation.:uring the -,,s the Chinese !ere using gunpo!der in fire!orks to celebratemilitary victories and other events.


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1o the timeline of gunpo!der and guns is still some!hat unclear but I&ll bet thatyou 9ust learned something that you !ere not a!are of. o briefly recap thehistory of the gun !e kno! there !as e>perimentation !ith gunpo!der in Chinain the mid$/,,s the apparent sculpture of a gun in the late **,,s the firstrecorded use of guns used in battle occurred in the year *2HL. I&ll go into this

sub9ect again later in the 4Common Kuestions and Ans!ers& section.he invention of the matchlock musket !as in the year *H*, Oeonardo :a Pinciinvented the !heel$lock musket in the year *+,, and the first semi$automaticmetallic cartridge handgun !as invented in the year */-2 in Austria. he historyof firearms itself is interesting isn&t it?

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Gun +andling in the Mo(ies and Cartoons

If you !ant to kno! ho! badly one could possibly handle a loaded gun you really

don&t have to look much further than your television. In my opinion it is bothhurtful and negligent to constantly depict the reckless mishandling or firearms inthe entertainment industry.


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In each of the previous three images theATeam The Terminatorand yes evenTom and 5erry the characters all have their trigger fingers resting on the triggerof the firearm and they are not ready to fire it. hat violates one of the three basicrules of safe gun handling. "ever touch the trigger of the firearm unless you have

properly lined up your front and rear sights you have checked your target and!hat is behind and beyond it and you are actually ready to fire.

Blacing the trigger finger on the trigger !hen you&re not ready to fire the gun isthe most common error in safe gun handling.


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ids listen to me closely for a moment. If you !ould like to learn the best !ayand the right !ay of handling a gun you should listen to me and your parentsand do not pay any attention to ho! people on television and in the movieshandle their guns. Eou and your parents should seek out proper instruction at alocal gun club or through a Certified Firearm Instructor !ho has been certified bythe "ational #ifle Association&s raining and Jducation :ivision.

?

Kids# &hat if you find a gun some&here?

here has been a marked increase in the percentage of violent crimes committedby young people in the past fe! decades. eens are committing a higherpercentage of crimes than they used to. his rise in youth violence has obviouslyincreased the possibility that an abandoned firearm could be found in an area!here young people tend to gather such as parks and playgrounds. Jven though

murder rates have fallen teenagers are responsible for more of them than in thepast.

Finding an abandoned handgun in a dumpster in your neighborhood at aplayground at a park or some!here along a roadside can happen and doeshappen. he vast ma9ority of accidental firearm shootings among childrenhappen !hen an unsupervised child finds a loaded gun some!here and thenproceeds to mishandle it because of a total lack of kno!ledge and proper gunhandling skills.

It doesn&t matter if the gun is found outside at a playground or inside a home in a

neighbor&s bedroom closet an attic or in a bedside table. If you find a gunsome!here you are not allo!ed to touch it. he only time you should handle agun is !hen you&re being taught properly ho! to handle a gun by a parent or by agun safety instructor at the firing range.

Adults should not handle any unattended firearm that they might find outsideeither. It could have been used in a violent crime and may have importantevidence on it such as fingerprints blood human tissue :"A or other evidencethat may be destroyed or contaminated by handling it. It is also 0uite possiblethat it is loaded and ready to fire as !ell. In addition the area around !here thefirearm !as found might also have important evidence in a criminal case such asfootprints threads of clothing hairs fibers or tire tracks. It&s important not todestroy any evidence that might be in the area.

If a gun is found unattended outside an adult should stay in the general area butnot so close as to destroy any evidence and keep everyone a!ay from !here thegun !as found. he police or local la! enforcement agency should be notified assoon as possible and a la! enforcement officer should be brought to !here thegun !as found. "JPJ# bring a gun that you found unattended outside to the


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!as partially his story that !as the inspiration for the beginning of this e$bookand the story of Ale> and 'osh.

=is son !ent to a neighbor&s house to play for a fe! hours and the parents !erenot home. =is son&s friend took him to his parent&s bedroom and he got out hisfather&s brand ne! .HH magnum revolver. he revolver !as loaded% the barrel!as pointed in the !rong direction and the young boy pulled the trigger on thehandgun to 4sho! off& his daddy&s ne! revolver and ho! cool he thought it !as.he .HH magnum bullet hit this man&s ten year old boy right in the side of thehead and thre! his body into the bedroom closet.

In a flash the youngster fle! out of the house and over to the neighbor&s house!here his friend lived. In a frantic panic he told his friend&s dad !hat 9usthappened. =is friend&s dad rushed ne>t door to find his son bleeding badly fromhis head. ithin moments this youngster !ould die in his father&s arms on thebedroom floor of his neighbor&s house.

hen I spend my time and effort !riting this e$book relating these stories to youand trying to teach you the right !ay to think about guns and ho! to handle themsafely and under proper supervision I&m doing it because I care about you andyour family. Three or four families this ee6are going to go through the samething that this dad did. About three or four kids !ill die this !eek because theyor someone close to them mishandled a loaded gun.

hree or four kids this !eek in the 7nited 1tates !ill have their lives cut shortbecause of this. hese three or four kids !ill never be able to go on a first date!ith a girlfriend. hese three or four kids !ill not graduate high school or buytheir first car or go onto college or get married or have kids of their o!n.

If you take anything a!ay from reading this and learn anything from this e$bookkno! that there are many people in your life that love you and care for you anddon&t !ant to see you get hurt. I care about making sure that you don&t get hurtby mishandling a gun yourself and I care that you don&t get hurt by someonearound you !ho is mishandling a loaded gun as !ell.

1o let&s get back to the chapter&s purposeG hat if your friend goes and gets outhis parent&s gun to sho! you? Oet&s do a little role playing shall !e? Oet&s pretendthat !e&re both friends and !e !ent over to another friend&s house. he three ofus play basketball in the drive!ay for a little !hile and !e get thirsty and goinside the house for a drink.

t? I&m looking at you as my friend for guidance. Oet&s pretend


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that I&ve never seen a real gun before. ell me !hat to do. :o you remember?1


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he truth is that any guns in the house that are not specifically for immediate usefor self defense purposes and are under the direct control of an adult should belocked up !here unsupervised children and irresponsible adults cannot get atthem. 3uns should not be left 9ust lying around the house.

3uns found outside the house are even Mt !e&ll talk about handling a gun in adifferent situation altogether. In this ne>t section !e&ll talk about ho! toactually handle a real gun !hen you have the permission and supervision of atrusted adult and you are in a safe environment to do so. Oet&s start learning thecorrect !ay to handle a real gun under supervision. "e>t !e talk about theThree -ules of Safe Gun Handlin#.

?

)he )hree "ules of Safe Gun +andlinghat is safety? hat does safety mean? It means to take actions to avoid gettinghurt or killed. hat are some of the things you do all of the time to keep safe?

Eou put on your seatbelt !hen you get into a car. Eou never talk to strangers. Adults !ho you don&t kno! !ill not ask

for directions. Adults that you do not kno! !ill not ask if you !antto see his puppy and they !ill not offer you candy outside of=allo!een that is.

Eou al!ays look both !ays before you cross the street. Eou never chase a ball or a Frisbee into the street. Eou al!ays !ear a bicycle helmet !hen riding a bike. Eou stop drop and roll around on the ground if your clothes ever

catch on fire. And you "JPJ# handle guns !ithout supervision until you kno!

!hat you are doing and you are totally familiar !ith the rules of safegun handling.


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here are many gun safety rules out there. In fact there are do;ens of rules andtips concerning gun safety that I&ve come up !ith over the years. At last count Ithink I&ve probably come up !ith close to fifty (+, of them. 8ut !e&re not talkingabout all the gun safety rules 9ust yet. In this section I&m going to speak about thethree basic rules of actually handling a gun safely.

1ome of the rules in this section and the ne>t section re0uire that you kno!something about the basic parts of a gun. hen !e are talking about handgunsfor instance there are three ma9or parts of a handgun. hey are the F#AMJ the3#IB and the 8A##JO.

heframeis the main structure of the handgun. he #ripis attached to theframe or in most cases is actually part of the frame itself. he grip is the part ofthe handgun that you hold onto !hen you are handling the gun safely. hebarrelis the third basic part. he barrel is a hollo! metal tube. hen theammunition cartridge fires the bullet !ill move do!n the barrel and e>it thebarrel very 0uickly.

=ere is the same picture of the handgun sho!n above but no! !e see a mostlydifferent set of parts that you need to kno!.

In this picture the hammer rear sight slide front sight mu;;le trigger guardand trigger have been added. he mu;;le is 9ust another name for the area at theend of the barrel.


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anything you !ould never shoot at. Any!ay you !ould like to say it% thefoundation of all gun safety is to point the barrel of the gun in a safe direction.

Bointing a gun in a safe direction means to point it in such a !ay that if it !as tobe fired nobody !ould get hurt and there !ould be no other serious damagedone if the gun !as to be fired. 7sually the safest direction to point a gun is atthe ground or at the floor in front of you. 8ut do not point it straight do!nbecause your feet are there. Boint it at the ground or floor and slightly to yourside.

he second rule of safe gun handling is !010" ),.C+ )+0 )"IGG0".!)I/ 3,. A"0 "0A-3 ), S+,,)' his is the second most importantrule of safe gun handling. "o gun !ill fire all by itself !ithout a person making itfire. A gun is fired by pulling the trigger on a loaded gun.

here is a natural tendency to put your finger inside the trigger guard !hen thegun is picked up. he television and movies constantly sho! people handling

guns !ith their fingers on the trigger as I have already mentioned. here is ahuge danger in automatically putting your finger on the trigger of a gun !hen youpick it up.

Eou have to condition yourself to automatically place your trigger fingeralongside the gun !henever you handle one. here is "JPJ# any e>cuse forhandling any gun !ith your finger on the trigger if you&re not actually ready tofire it at a target.

In this photo you can see that as I am handling the gun my finger al!aysremains alongside the gun and it is resting on the frame and "


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OJAPJ =J A#JA5JOO A" A:7O =A A1 Ft section.

reat every gun you are authori;ed to handle as if they !ere loaded eventhough you kno! that they are not loaded. Jven though the gun may beempty al!ays treat it as if it !as loaded. Kee your finger off of thetrigger'


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8e absolutely certain of !hat your target is and !hat is behind it andbeyond it. 1ome bullets can fly three miles or more if they are discharged!hile pointed up in the air. If you&re shooting at a target and there is ahouse behind the target someone could get hurt. Also do not shoot at9unked cars refrigerators or abandoned propane tanks because you 9ust

don&t kno! !here the bullet could end up.

Check to see if a gun is loaded each time you pick it up even if you 9ustchecked it. hen handling a gun it is essential to kno! !hether or not it&sactually loaded.

Al!ays !ear eye protection and ear protection such as shooting glassesand ear plugs or ear muffs. It&s very important to protect your eyes andears !hile shooting.

"JPJ# try to take a gun a!ay from someone by pulling on the barrel.Bolice officers have to train intensively and very often to master firearm

disarmament techni0ues. :on&t try to take a gun a!ay from anyone!ithout proper training.

"JPJ# allo! horseplay or fooling around !ith a gun. "JPJ# fool around!ith a real gun or pretend to play 4co!boys and indians& !ith one. "ohorseplay ever.

AOAE1 avoid the natural tendency to place your trigger finger inside thetrigger guard of a gun. A misplaced finger on a trigger is probably themost common cause of an accident.

:o not rely on the gun&s mechanical safety catch. he mechanical safetieson firearms are not foolproof. Eou should use them if they&re availablebut do not mishandle a gun 9ust because the safety s!itch is on.Mechanical safeties can and do fail to !ork.

Make absolutely sure that you&re using the correct ammunition for the gun!hen you go shooting. 1hooting a gun !ith the !rong ammunitioncartridges in it can be very dangerous.

8e certain that the barrel is clear of obstructions before shooting it. 1tuckbullets gun cleaning patches and other 9unk that could be stuck in a barrelcan be dangerous if a cartridge is fired into them.

:o not alter or modify your gun unless you really kno! !hat you&re doing.Incorrectly modified guns can be very dangerous to both shooters andbystanders.

Oearn everything you can about the gun you are about to use. no! themechanical and safety aspects of each gun you handle and kno! e>actlyho! to load and unload it before attempting to do so.


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For one of the most complete listings of gun safety rules found any!here in the!orld go here to my eb site5

http566!!!.savetheguns.com6safetyQrules.htm

?

Shooting at the Gun Club or Shooting "ange

At some point most everyone !ho is even slightly interested in the sub9ect offirearms !ill get an opportunity to shoot a gun at a gun club real shooting rangeor even in a sandpit. hat should you e>pect at a gun club? hat are the rules?ho do you listen to? hat is shooting a gun like? ill I get hurt? I !ill try toans!er these 0uestions as best I can for you.

hen you arrive at a gun club or shooting range there !ill probably be a list ofrules posted there for everyone to see. he sign may say something like 4#ange#ules& or something similar. Eou should read these rules to make sure you don&tdisobey any of them and get removed from being able to shoot there by the #ange1afety ceptions for 1mallbore #ifle =igh$po!er and 1mallbore1ilhouette. Maintain the proper target height to ensure that thefired pro9ectile after passing through the target hits the desiredportion of the backstop. his !ill reduce the possibility of ricochetsand pro9ectiles escaping the range safety fan or property.

:esignate a range officer !hen none is present or assigned.

7nload open the action remove the maga;ine and ground and6orbench all firearms during a ceasefire.

:o "


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Al!ays keep the mu;;le pointed at the backstop or bullet trap."ever allo! the mu;;le to point in any direction !hereby aninadvertent discharge !ould allo! the escape of a pro9ectile into anouter area.

3enerally speaking here are some common range commands for both adults andchildren to kno!.

5Ceasefire6 Ceasefire means to stop shooting immediately. "ot !henyour gun is empty but right then. 1top shooting and take your finger offthe trigger.

5.nload6 he unload command means to remove the maga;ine andunload the chamber or cylinder.

5,en All Actions6 he open all actions command means to lock openthe slide cylinder or bolt. he action is all of the moving parts of a firearmthat help you to load and unload the gun.

5Bench All 4irearms -o&nrange6 hat simply means to lay the gundo!n on the shooting bench keep the barrel pointed at the target and stepa!ay from it.

5Check# Change or ut u targets or Mo(e ,ut6 hat means thatthe range has been declared as being safe and you are authori;ed by the#ange 1afety


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Eou are not alloed to !alk do!nrange to look closely at your target !hile otherpeople are shooting !ithout calling for a safe range first.

Firing ranges and gun clubs are very strict concerning gun safety and follo!ingthe rules of the range. Jven very e>perienced shooters are sometimes caughtdoing something considered unsafe by the #ange 1afety


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population in 2,, !e !ould have seen *,*HH Americans dying as a result of aloaded and mishandled firearm. 8ut instead of *,*HH accidental deaths in 2,,!e sa! 9ust H2. hat is a rate that has fallen ninety four percent ($-HN. hisphenomenal success ho!ever is not being reported on in the ne!s.

hus !e have saved -+,2 American lives in 2,, because accidental firearmrelated death has become so rare. #ight no! as I type this in early 2,*, thepopulation of the 7nited 1tates 9ust !ent over @,/.L million. 1tatistics onaccidental gun related death in the 7nited 1tates is maintaining a rate of 2 deathsper million.

his huge drop in accidental death due to the mishandling of a loaded gun ofabout $-HN is a huge success story. his has occurred !hile both the populationhas gro!n tremendously and the number of guns in 7.1. homes has risen toabout 2H, million and Americans add about H.+ million guns to their homes eachyear.

hat some reasons for this big drop? 1ome of this success is due to the freemarket. Beople have demanded safer firearms and the gun makers haveresponded. Beople have demanded gun safes handgun safes trigger locks andtrigger locking cables and the manufacturing industry has responded. Firearmeducation in the 7nited 1tates has gro!n e>ponentially and there are more thanL,,, "#A Certified Firearm Instructors teaching gun safety coursesthroughout the country.

he "ational #ifle Association&s Jddie Jagle 3unsafe program created in *-// bypast "#A Bresident Marion =ammer has been a huge success. he Jddie Jagleprogram has reached 2H million children in all fifty states and the program has

been taught in more than 2/,,, school systems civic organi;ations and gunclubs. Another aspect of this truly successful story that is sometimes overlookedis the medical advances and the 0uality of care at America&s hospitals and theshort reaction times of emergency medical technicians.

8ut one thing you can be absolutely certain of is if you kno! the child or the adultin the casket at the funeral home !ho died due to the mishandling of a loadedgun this success story !ill mean absolutely nothing to assuage your grief orconsole you. I !ant to reach out to you no! and thank you for reading this andpaying attention to !hat I have to say here on this topic.

An important step in keeping kids safe is to get a 'unior Membership to the

"ational #ifle Association. o learn more about it go tohttp566!!!.1avehe3uns.com6nraQmembership.htm

?

"eal Guns or )oy Guns
http://www.savetheguns.com/nra_membership.htmhttp://www.savetheguns.com/nra_membership.htm


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1ome accidental gun$related deaths each year are due to young children !homake the mistake of thinking that a real gun is actually a toy. I do not havestatistics available for ho! common it is for a child to mistake a real gun for a toygun but I do kno! that is does happen.

he parents or grandparents of a child that has been in9ured or killed by themishandling of a loaded gun !ill not care about the success of gun safety trainingor the unlikelihood of a child mistaking a toy gun for a real gun.

1ome firearms today are made specifically for the licensed concealed carry permitholder or those in Permont and Alaska !ho can carry a gun !ithout a permit!ho !ish to carry a small and very concealable gun in a pocket. Ees some gunscan fit in a pocket and !eigh less than a pound.

he brand ne! #uger OC# is a five shot .@/ 1pecial revolver !ith a polymer(plastic$like frame that !eighs only *@.+ ounces. hat is onlyan ounce and ahalf more than a can of soda.

http566!!!.ruger$firearms.com6products6lcr6inde>.html

=ere is a photo of a handgun that I&d like you to take notice of as !ell.

http566!!!.naaminis.com6lrifle.html

his is a revolver made by a company called "orth American Arms. It is a .22caliber revolver that !eighs 9ust four ounces (H.+o; and is 9ust four inches (HD

long. If you think you could very easily tell a real gun from a toy maybe no! Imade you think t!ice about that huh?

3enerally speaking there are a fe! !ays to tell !hether or not a gun is real or is atoy. All toy guns are re0uired by federal la! to have an orange or red plastic tip atthe end of the barrel. Also most toy guns are made of plastic and have very littleor no metal in them. If a gun that you think is a toy seems heavier and more solidfeeling than you think it should be it could be a real gun.
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/products/lcr/index.htmlhttp://www.ruger-firearms.com/products/lcr/index.html


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If you or someone you kno! is handling a gun and you don&t kno! if it is real or atoy you should remember !hat Jddie Jagle says. Oet&s go over it again shall !e?

1


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plode and pieces of the cartridge may fly in any direction.

he bullet !ill likely fly out of the case and hot gunpo!der !ill also fly out in anydirection. Any of these things could cause personal in9ury and I very stronglycaution you to treat cartridges !ith care. :o not mistreat ammunition cartridges.Blease hear me on that.

hen a cartridge is fired in a gun the firing pin hits the top of the primer seen inthe image above !hich is in the hole in the bottom of the case. he primer sendsa sho!er of sparks into the case !hich ignites the gunpo!der. he gunpo!derthen burns almost instantly.

he gunpo!der generates heat and gases !hich very 0uickly e>pand !ithin thecase and then sends the bullet do!n the barrel and on its !ay to the target. heenergy developed by this process is enormous and it is important that you get agood idea ho! much energy is developed.

he pressure inside the chamber is huge !hen the cartridge fires. Chamberpressure is typically measured in pounds per s0uare inch designated as B1I.he .@+L Magnum cartridge pictured above generates about @+,,, B1I. hat&sright. he chamber pressure of a .@+L Magnum is about seventeen and a half (*LR tons per s0uare inch

he bullet that comes out of the cartridge comes out very very fast as !ell. 8ulletvelocity is measured in feet per second. Feet per second are designated as FB1.hat is ho! many feet the bullet moves in one second. he velocity of .@+LMagnum bullets that I have pictured above is typically one thousand fourhundred fifty feet per second (*H+, FB1.

If you&re traveling along at high!ay speed in a car the ma>imum speed limit isusually + miles per hour. he .@+L Magnum bullets can move at a !hopping


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nine hundred eighty eight miles per hour (-// MB=. Ees that is almost athousand miles per hour. Bretty fast huh?

About the fastest bullets that are currently available are the .@,S4, Acceleratorthe .22, 1!ift and the .*L #emington. hey can fire bullets bet!een H*,, andH2,, feet per second. H2,, feet per second is the same as 2/@ miles per hour.he ama;ing part of the fastest rifle bullets available is that they can fly as fast as/6*,ths of a mile in 9ust one second. hat&s right. he fastest .22, 1!ift riflebullet can fly .L-+ miles per second.

he modern metallic firearm cartridge is an ama;ing device that can generatemany many tons of pressure and can make a bullet fly more than three 0uartersof a mile in 9ust a second. Ammunition should be treated !ith care.

:o not crush an ammunition cartridge in a vise. :o not bang an ammunitioncartridge !ith a hammer or a rock. :o not put an ammunition cartridge in a fire.:o not put live ammunition cartridges in the trash. Ammunition is to be treated

!ith respect and handled only as it is intended.

"o! let me talk 9ust a minute about bullet energy. he speeding bullet hasenergy associated !ith it. he speeding bullet !ill hit a target and knock it overor put a hole in it dent it damage it or even destroy it.

he bullet !ill hit a target !ith this energy and the energy is measured insomething called a foot$pound. A foot$pound is the energy it !ould take to pickup a one pound item one foot off of the ground.

1o therefore if I say that a .@/ 1pecial bullet hits a target !ith @,, foot$pounds ofenergy that means that the energy in the bullet is enough to lift @,, pounds a

foot off of the ground. A large rifle bullet like the .@,$&, can move very 0uicklyand the bullet can develop about 2-,, foot$pounds.

he energy of such a bullet can lift 2-,, pounds a !hole foot off of the ground.he bullet can fly as far as three and a half (@ R miles a!ay too. Ammunitioncartridges are not toys and should never be played around !ith.

?

Suer(ised Gun +andling ,nly

I !ould like to take this opportunity to convey to you some of my o!n personalfeelings on the matter of children under age eighteen handling a gun. It is myopinion that children under age eighteen should only handle a firearm underadult supervision. Ees I kno! some of you !ill disagree !ith me on this but I&mgoing to take the risk of letting my feelings be kno!n on this issue !ell because Ican.


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he child under age eighteen should be a!are that it is "perienced adult. All I amgoing to say on this sub9ect is that children under age eighteen sometimes thinkirrationally and I stand in disagreement that it is okay for parents to allo!children under age eighteen to handle and shoot real firearms on their o!n!ithout supervision. his is especially true if the child is not completely andappropriately trained.

Ees I kno! that even pre$teen children !ere out hunting for food many decadesago for the family. his is 9ust an opinion and I&ll let it stand right there !ithoutsaying another !ord on the sub9ect.

?

Common 7uestions and Ans&ers

I have fielded 0uestions from kids for many years on my eb site. 1ome of the0uestions are serious matters and some of the 0uestions are interesting ones toans!er. I !ill try to ans!er a fe! of the most common 0uestions that kidsans!er.

2ho in(ented the gun and &hen &as it in(ented?

his is the most common 0uestion I get asked. At times I&ve been askedthis 0uestion three of four times a !eek. e don&t kno! e>actly !hen thefirst gun !as invented !here it !as invented or !ho invented it.

3un po!der originated in China bet!een the years /+, and -,,. 8ut it!asn&t yet true gunpo!der. It is likely that Chinese alchemists !ereattempting to make an eli>ir for the Jmperor of China to eat and drink!hich !ould give him eternal life. At some point in this e>perimentationand formulations a po!der !as created !hich burned brightly. Oater it!as used in fire!orks to celebrate military victories and special occasions.

his incendiary po!der !as likely made of a nitrate such as saltpeter

along !ith charcoal sulphur and perhaps a fe! other ingredients. Apo!der that appro>imated the recipe for gunpo!der is believed to havebeen first published in the year *,,H but it !as not yet true gunpo!der.he first publications of true gunpo!der !ere !ritten and published by#oger 8acon in *2H/ and *2/ and Albertus Magnus in Jurope around theyear *2/, but it !as 0uite clearly being made !ell before that.


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he oldest gun that I have a picture of is the one in the photo belo! fromabout the year *@L@.

he earliest recorded use of a gun in a battle !as likely at theSie#e ofSevillein 1pain in the year *2HL. 8ut there has been some skepticismamong historians as to the validity of that fact as the document thatreported firearm use in *2HL !as !ritten many decades after the battle.=o!ever it is pretty clear than incendiary po!ders !ere first used inbamboo poles to fire hardened clay pellets as early as *2+-.

8efore that in the year **@2 the T7An Shou /hh7n# $u an account of the1iege of :eTan records the use of devices calledfire lances. A fire lance!as a tube filled !ith incindiary po!der at the end of a pole likely

bamboo. It !as used mostly to scare and intimidate the enemy.Jventually the percentage of saltpeter !as increased to make a bigger bangand a bigger flame on these fire lances. hen pro9ectiles like stones andhardened clays sticks and arro!s !ere used at the ends of the fire lancesto thro! pro9ectiles as !ell as flames. Oater the si;e of the pro9ectiles !ereincreased to fit the sides of the tubes !hich created more pressure andshot the pro9ectiles out more efficiently.

e do not kno! if the very first gun !as invented in China or not forcertain but there has been a sculpture found in China that seems to depicta type of hand$held cannon that !as shaped kind of like a vase called a

bombard from the later **,,&s perhaps made in the **/,&s. he sculpturedepicted flames and a cannonball coming out of it. "obody kno!s forcertain !hen it !as made. It !as the first depiction of the developmentfrom fire lances into hand$held cannons as far as I can tell.

=istorians disagree considerably on the sub9ect and on !ho the actualinventor !as. he actual first inventor !asn&t recorded or the evidence hasbeen lost. Many historians have arrived at the conclusion that firearms!ere invented in China at some point after the year **@2 and before theyear *2,,. hen the efficiency and effectiveness of a fire lance officiallybecame a firearm nobody kno!s for certain but it is fairly clear that it !as

during the late **,,&s or early *2,,&s and in China.

Firearm technology migrated from China to the Middle Jast then toJastern Jurope estern Jurope and finally to America in the *,,&s !iththe arrival of Juropeans at 'amesto!n and the Bilgrims at Blymouth andthe Buritans in the Massachusetts Colony. 8ut keep in mind that !henChristopher Columbus discovered the Americas in *H-2 he and his cre!had guns even then.


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2hat do &e ha(e guns for?e o!n and use guns for many different reasons. It&s likely that the firsttrue guns !ere used for battles in various !ars and conflicts. hey !erealso used many hundreds of years ago for hunting and they are still usedfor both !arfare and for hunting. 1elf preservation other!ise kno!n as

self defense is a natural right of all human beings. 3uns are used fordefensive purposes about ,,, times a day in the 7nited 1tates.


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Can you hel me &ith some gun information for my school&ork?I certainly can. I have helped hundreds of children over the last t!entyplus years !ith their home!ork on the sub9ect of guns. I have helped themget information for classroom pro9ects presentations and speeches.Actually to tell you the truth I really en9oy helping young people like that.

It&s one of the reasons I even have a eb site to begin !ith.2hat is guno&der made of?

he original gunpo!der called 4black po!der& today !as made from threeingredients. 8lack po!der !as made from saltpeter sulphur and charcoal.Another name for saltpeter is potassium nitrate. Modern smokelessgunpo!der is made from a combination of nitroglycerin andnitrocellulose.

?

4inal 2ords

In this final !ords section I&m going to sum up the most important parts of thisgun safety course for kids.

he gun !as first used in battle according to at least one source inthe year *2HL. here is evidence that the Chinese first shot ob9ectsout of bamboo tubes filled !ith gunpo!der attached to polesaround the year **@2. here has been a Chinese sculpture found ofa soldier firing a vase$shaped hand cannon called a bombard fromaround the last half of the **,,&s. 1o the point is that guns arenothing ne! to humanity. he Chinese supposedly first used

gunpo!der to fire pro9ectiles in the year **@2 !hich !as eighthundred seventy eight (/L/ years ago at this !riting.

:o not handle a gun like you see in the movies on television and oncartoons. Most often guns on television and in the movies arehandled incorrectly and dangerously.


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a!ay. his is the most important information I !ant you to takea!ay from this course. Blease pay attention.

here are three rules of safe gun handling. hen handling a realfirearm under adult supervision at a firing range or other safe areayou should AOAE1 point the gun in a safe direction. AOAE1keep your finger off of the trigger unless you are ready to fire.AOAE1 keep the gun unloaded until you&re ready to use it. he43olden #ule& of safe gun handling is to al!ays point the barrel in asafe direction.

8e a!are that there are many more gun safety rules and I&ve comeup !ith about fifty of them. Brotect your eyes and ears% be sure ofyour target and !hat is behind it. "o fooling around use thecorrect ammunition% avoid the natural tendency to place your fingeron the trigger like you see in the movies and so forth. 1tay safe byobeying the rules.

(see http566!!!.1avehe3uns.com6safetyQrules.htm for moreinfo

1tay safe !hile shooting at the gun club or shooting range. 8ea!are of all of the rules kno! and use the range commands andhave a safe attitude at all times.

8e a!are that the sub9ect of gun safety and accidental dischargesthat result in death is one of the most successful stories of all time.Jven though there is many more guns in the 7nited 1tates and ahuge increase in population !e have about five and half times

(+.+ fe!er accidental gun deaths than in *-@, !ith almost fiveand a half times (+.+ more guns. 1ince the highest rate ofaccidental gun$related death in *-,H the American population hasrisen more than @.LH times but the number of accidental deaths hasfallen tremendously. he rate of such accidents has fallen $-HNsince the highest rate in *-,H.

'ust be a!are that sometimes it&s not so easy to tell a real gun froma toy gun. If you think a gun might be a toy but you&re not sureyou kno! the drill by no!. 1


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#emember my opinion on gun handling. I don&t think childrenunder the age of eighteen should be out shooting real guns on theiro!n !ithout adult supervision.

:o not hesitate to ask 0uestions.


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essential for any child !ho lives in a home !ith gun o!ning adults or !homay eventually !ant to buy their o!n firearms.

)here is nothing more imortant in my oinion thanteaching them gun safety rules correctly and getting themin(ol(ed in the !ational "ifle Association as early asossible'

ithout the children of today being involved getting trained gettingproperly educated learning the truth about guns gun o!ners hunting andthe real history behind America&s right to keep and bear arms ourfreedoms !ill suffer as a result. oday&s children !ho get involved in the"ational #ifle Association as a 'unior "#A Member are the 2ndAmendment protectors and defenders of tomorro!.

I personally can trace my ancestral roots to not one or t!o but threeseparate families !ho came to America on theMayfloer in the year *2,

as the Bilgrims. Members of my family have seen every moment ofAmerican history. I take my freedom seriously.

he freedoms and liberties that pre$e>isted our country the liberties that!ere fought for and !on the freedoms that are natural rights of all humanbeings and the freedoms embodied in the Constitution of the 7nited 1tateshave been preserved and protected all of these years by past generations ofAmericans. "o! it&s our turn.

It is essential and indeed fundamental to the future of human freedom inthe 7nited 1tates for the children of today to learn the truth about ourrights and the inherent liberties of a free citi;enry. ithout a sound andtruthful kno!ledge of these freedoms they !ill certainly fade a!ay andfuture generations of Americans !ill not even reali;e that these freedomshave been lost.

he best !ay in my opinion to start any youngster out on the right trackconcerning guns gun safety and our 2ndAmendment rights is to get theminvolved in the "ational #ifle Association !hen young and teach themproperly.

9)o reser(e liberty it is essential that the &hole body of theeole al&ays ossess arms# and be taught alike# esecially

&hen young# ho& to use them'''9Richard Henry Lee (173217!"# %dditiona& Letters 'rom he'edera& 'armer 17))

ith an "#A 'unior Membership kids !ill get a subscription to8nsi#htsmaga;ine. It is "#ATs monthly maga;ine for 9unior members and it catersto all ages and skill levels among them. From the youngster eager to learngun safety and shoot his first 88 gun to the high school smallbore


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competitor on her !ay to cellencein the shooting sports.

o learn more about8nsi#hts maga;ine you can visit the!ebsite.

o get an "#A 'unior Membership no! you should visit this!ebsite.

t.

-ISC/AIM0"
http://www.nrapublications.org/ins/index.htmlhttp://www.nrapublications.org/ins/index.htmlhttp://membership.nrahq.org/default.asp?campaignid=XR017807http://www.savetheguns.com/nra_membership.htmhttp://membership.nrahq.org/default.asp?campaignid=XR017807http://www.nrapublications.org/ins/index.htmlhttp://membership.nrahq.org/default.asp?campaignid=XR017807http://www.savetheguns.com/nra_membership.htmhttp://membership.nrahq.org/default.asp?campaignid=XR017807


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Choosing to bring a handgun or any firearm into your home for that matter is avery personal decision that should be !eighed very carefully and not taken lightlyand !ithout deliberative thought.

he images used in this e$book are the property of their o!ners and are used heresolely to demonstrate to children ho! inappropriately firearms are handled in theentertainment industry.

Fair 7se 7nder itle *L 1ection *,L of the 7.1. Code

1ection *,L contains a list of the various purposes for !hich the reproduction of aparticular !ork may be considered fair such as criticism comment ne!sreporting teaching scholarship and research. 1ection *,L also sets out fourfactors to be considered in determining !hether or not a particular use is fair5

*. he purpose and character of the use including !hether such use is ofcommercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes

2. he nature of the copyrighted !ork@. he amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to thecopyrighted !ork as a !holeH. he effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of thecopyrighted !ork

http566!!!.copyright.gov6fls6fl*,2.html

8ecause of the fact that the images in this e$book are strictly of a critical naturethe images constitute an infinitesimal aspect of this !ork and this e$book iscompletely free of charge !e are !ell !ithin the traditional boundaries of Fair7se doctrine in using those images.

8ecause of the fact that I cannot give complete individual and hands$oninstruction to the reader I !ill not accept any responsibility !hatsoever for anyuse unintentional omission or misuse of the te>t pictures or any informationcontained on !!!.1avehe3uns.com or contained !ithin this e$course.

he reader on behalf of himself6herself and spouse children heirs e>ecutorsand administrators hereby release and forever discharge any claim that !e orthey might no! or in the future have either in la! or e0uity against Marc =.#ichardson 1avehe3uns.com Click8ank.com =ostCentric.com or Commission'unction Oink1hare Ama;on.com Berformics or any of their agents servants or

employees in any !ay relating to or arising out of either or both of usparticipating in any of the information or instruction or omission thereofcontained on this eb site or e$courses no matter ho! said claim is designated.I have carefully read and understood this !aiver and its terms. I understand thatI am assuming full and complete responsibility for any in9ury or loss occurring toeither of us (spouse included or any of us arising in any !ay out of the abovementioned activities. I6e have e>ecuted this !aiver voluntarily and !ith fullkno!ledge of its significance.


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V Copyright 2,,,$2,*, by Marc =. #ichardson All #ights #eserved"o part of this e$course may be reproduced or transmitted in anyform electronic or mechanical including photocopying recording or

by any by any information storage and retrieval system !ithout the

e>pressed and !ritten consent of Marc =. #ichardson o!ner of!!!.1avehe3uns.com. If you&d like to use it for anything 9ust e$mail meand ask first.

?

More Information

If you&d like more information on the sub9ect of gun safety and kids I can suggestsome books and videos for you to purchase to learn more about gun safetyfirearm education and the truth about the 2ndAmendment&s right to keep andbear arms.

8n Search of the SecondAmendment from :avid .=ardy. his is to date thebest and most accuratedocumentary ever put ontothe small screen on thesub9ect. (*** minutes.

Clickhere for more info

The Essential Second

Amendment Guidefromayne OaBierre J>ecutivePice Bresident of the"ational #ifle Association.(*+L pages

http://www.savetheguns.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000MCDAJY/savethegunsco-20http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1935071165/savethegunsco-20http://www.savetheguns.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000MCDAJY/savethegunsco-20http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1935071165/savethegunsco-20


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Gun Safety ith Eddie Ea#lefrom the "#A. his is thevideotape that is sho!n atthe Jddie Jagle 3unsafecourses for children Bre$

through @

rd

grade. (Lminutes


Gun 9roof :our /hildren;Hand#un 9rimerfromMassad Ayoob. Mas Ayoobis one of the top names in thecountry in the firearmtraining industry. (HL pages


,-A Firearms Sourceboo6from the "#A. his is thebest source I have found for9ust about everything youever !anted to kno! aboutfirearms.(+@H pages

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000IVDBF2/savethegunsco-20http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0936279052/savethegunsco-20http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000IW4SR6/savethegunsco-20http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000IVDBF2/savethegunsco-20http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0936279052/savethegunsco-20http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000IW4SR6/savethegunsco-20


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The


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hanks for reading.

a gun safety course for kids

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