"To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them." -George Mason

I know guns are a hotly debated topic...my views are those that my family raised me with, and they have not changed. Jason and I got to spend about 8 kid free hours today keeping our skills tuned up and having a little sporting fun at the same time. Jason's work has a gun and rod club, so a lot of his work friends and their families came out too. We even had a few youngsters join us, they were watched and coached very carefully by their parents and they did a fantastic job. Making guns taboo is about as effective for gun safety as preaching abstinence only is to preventing teen pregnancy. I am not sure just when we will introduce our children to guns, besides the safety ground work which has already been put down and gets refreshed often, but we will be doing careful introductions in the coming years. I do not think our founding fathers had anything wrong, and I certainly don't think we live in a utopian world where there are no bogeymen and the "good guys" have no need to protect themselves.  

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and passed on ... or we will spend our sunset years telling our children's children what it was like in the United States when men were free."
– Ronald Reagan

"A free people ought to be armed."
- George Washington

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson

"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."
- Thomas Jefferson

More great quotes here...

It was a beautiful day, and spot.

There were about 10 of us up there, and the only fatalities were the targets and a tree LOL. 

The club members worked really hard on making all the stands...Jason's design and specialty, and setting everything out for us. 

 
They had a bunch of different "games" and things to do.

Jason spent a bit of time getting the new red dot on the AR fine tuned for accuracy. This is the tree that later, after taking many hits from a couple other AR's, an AK and a few shotgun rounds, fell over. 

 

Then we got started on the Nevada test. This was unofficial, but we did it the exact way you have to now...in the time allotted, to qualify for your conceal carry license in Nevada. Jason and I had just got our CC's for that state before they made these changes so now it is no longer good there until we go and do it all again. 

I am pleased to announce we both passed!...even though we have only been able to go shooting about once a year on average....need to do better on that.
The test consists of...
Step 1- At 3 yards you have to shoot 6 rounds left handed only, reload 6 rounds...by hand, and then shoot those 6 rounds right handed only. You have 60 seconds.
Step 2- At 7 yards you have to shoot 6 rounds 2 handed, reload 6 rounds, and then shoot again. You have 60 seconds.
Step 3- At 15 yards you have to shoot 6 rounds freestyle (one or 2 handed your preference,) reload 6 rounds, then shoot 6 rounds again. You have 60 seconds.
You need a minimum score of 70% to pass. 252 points out of 360 possible is a passing score.
I hate to admit it, but Jason did better than me...he came out with a score in the low 300's and I was at 285. I think I rushed it...the 60 seconds is plenty of time, but it got into my head and I didn't take as much time as I should have. My brothers would probably make me write slow is steady and steady is fast 500 times if they knew ;)

I happened to snap a picture right as the poor fatally wounded tree fell...you can see the dust it kicked up. 

 

Trying out the new red dot on the AR...it is pretty sweet. 

 

 

They did a little "Hillbilly Poker," you got 6 shots at turned over cards, then you made your best hand with the cards you hit. It was a game of luck more than skill really, since you couldn't see the right side of the cards. My pair of 5's was beaten by a pair of 8's for the pot :( 
We played the game with pistols at closer range, then with unscoped rifles farther out and then scoped rifles even farther.

 

 Everyone got to see everyone else's toys...Jason dug this one LOL.

 It was a fun day. The munchkins had fun with our other new sitter, another teenager who lives in our cul-de-sac with her Dad and Aunt. This cul-de-sac is really paying off :)