When you think of a shooting range, you probably don’t imagine many families with young children with them. But as it turns out, a lot of people still believe that teaching children how to handle firearms at a young age can provide valuable lessons to them and give them a head start in their abilities to use a firearm.
Benefits of Recreational Shooting
Educating your children on gun safety and gun etiquette can never begin too soon. While many parents tend to think of youth sporting activity as mostly field and team sports related, taking your family shooting provides you a chance to bond with them as well as help them understand the importance of respect, safety, and concentration.
Stress Relief
As adults, it’s hard to believe our kids can experience stress. No matter how modest their stress levels may seem to us, kids still need an outlet, and shooting can be a good stress reliever. It’ll encourage them to put the noise of life to the side while they focus on one thing: their target.
Vision Health
Exercising your eyes is important and learning how to focus on a front sight quickly is a motor skill that can be lost if not practiced. With the growth of the digital age, it’s a good chance for kids to get away from the screen and focus on distant objects.
Mindset and Discipline
Starting kids at a young age will help them learn to operate a gun safely and accurately. As in teaching children how to use any tools, age-appropriateness and level of responsibility of each individual child must be considered. While one may be ready, able and willing to learn at one age, another may not be ready until they have reached an older age. Like most skills, allow your child to go at the pace that is right for them. Over time, they will build confidence and courage that will spill over into other aspects of their lives.
Teaching Kids to Shoot Teaches Patience
In order to line up their sights on a distant target, a shooter must have a good amount of concentration and patience. They’ll learn how to slow their breathing and tune in with the beating of their hearts to be able to squeeze the trigger at the right moment, learn to check their surroundings, and always be aware of what’s going on around them.
In moments of a ceasefire, you’ll be able to explain to them the importance of listening to the Range Safety Officer (RSO) and why you must step away from the lane when a ceasefire is called. You might also walk them through how to properly handle and call ceasefires. These moments will provide you with chances to build moments they’ll think about every time they enter a range because it will be the foundation for their shooting experiences.
Teaching Your Family The Do’s and Don’ts of Shooting Ranges
When it comes to gun etiquette and safety, there are many rules they won’t be able to remember after their first time at the shooting range. For instance, not all of us have remembered to keep our hands off the trigger when getting ready to shoot. And many kids don’t love wearing eye and ear protection. These are just some of the examples of etiquette that takes time and practice.
But it can get expensive visiting the range as many times as you need to be sure you instill that knowledge in them.
To help, we’ve created a special Family Membership so you can visit as many times as you want without breaking the bank. With this membership, you’ll get:
l 2 free gun rentals per month (excluding machine guns and suppressors)
l Unlimited weekday uses of the firearm and bow lanes
l Limited weekend access (one hour of consecutive shooting able to be reserved)
l 5% discount on shop accessories at Guns Inc.
Family memberships include up to four members consisting of a head of household and spouse, and two dependents under the age of 21 with valid FID cards. You’ll have to indicate the same residential address for spouses and once the children reach 21 years of age, they will be eligible to obtain their own individual membership with a valid LTC.
Are There Other Memberships Available?
Hot Brass Firearm and Bow Range offer a wide range of memberships for every type of shooter. Whether you’re a gun person or someone who prefers shooting a bow and arrow, there’s savings available for you, too.
Levels of membership include Limited and Unlimited Brass Memberships, Law Enforcement, High Brass Membership, and Senior Citizen Memberships. There is also a Bow Range Membership for Archery. Be sure to read about our new membership pricing before making your decision!
Hone Your Skills at Hot Brass Firearm and Bow Range
Stop by our range - the longest firearm and archery range in Springfield Massachusetts, for lane and firearm rentals. We are open to the public and offer many different firearms to rent, or you may bring your favorites along with you. Once you’ve experienced our several 90-foot firearm lanes, you may wish to check out the membership options that best suit your family so you can come back whenever you wish.