The nation’s longest-running (and one of the largest) NRA Youth Shooting Camps took place this past weekend in Bloomington, IL and Guns Save Life members helped teach the kids about the safe and effective use of handguns. For some of the kids, this weekend marked the first time they had ever fired a handgun!
Darnall’s GunWorks and Ranges hosted the event, approaching its 25th year.
Guns Save Life has a long history of sponsoring the camp, and in fact, this is the camp that benefited from GSL selling rusty, broken-down junk to the do-gooders in Chicago for perfectly good cash in 2012.
The GSL Defense Training team ran the pistol line at the camp for 106 campers ages 8-16. We’ve been running the pistol station at the camp for about five years, taking over after the retirement of Jim Hagearty, and turning it into one of the favorite stations at the camp for the kids.
Enjoy these photos from this year’s camp on the pistol line.
Photos by Ashlyn Logue, Hollianne Logue and John Boch.
To motivate the kids, we allow the top five of each relay to shoot center-fire handguns. The kids love it and work hard to get one of those top scores when we finally shoot for score. We provide one-on-one instruction for almost all of the shooting, and close one-on-one supervision for firing the center-fire handguns.
“The Giggler” is hands-down the most popular handgun that the kids always want to shoot. It’s a Kel-tec PMR-16. The kids call it “The Giggler” because it makes grown men giggle when it’s fired. Yes, it has an impressive fireball in addition to an obnoxious muzzle blast.
This young woman’s first time shooting a center-fire revolver. She did better than she thought she would.
This youth camp has a “Cricket” program where kids under 9 who are too young to attend the entire camp can sample the rifle and pistol lines. Katie here is 8-years-old. Earlier in the day, she attended a youth firearm safety class at C.I. Shooting Sports in Normal. After lunch, her dad brought her out to see her older sibling and try her hand at shooting herself.
Her dad, a GSL Defense Training graduate from many years ago, entrusted her to our care and she fired 30 rounds and did great with a Walther P-22.
Another young girl tries her hand at shooting The Giggler. She wasn’t sure at first, but after that first shot, she was hooked. Dad was pretty proud of her as well.
“I want to shoot a .357 Magnum.” No problem. Done x5. Big smiles.
Reading GunNews.
The kids looked up to the GSL Defense Training staff, literally and figuratively.
Hmmm.
As one of the instructors, we had as much fun as the kids did. They were all polite and safe and paid attention. It’s always hot, its always humid, but thanks to every parent who placed their kids in our care. Ill be there next year!
It was definitely hot, but all the kids had smiles on their faces! I didn’t hear any complaints from the campers, just laughs and chatter about how much fun they had shooting, especially those who got to shoot some more exciting pistols!
There is nothing like the look on a kid’s face when they start consistently hitting the target and realize they are good at shooting. You can see the confidence growing right in front of you. What an honor to be part of that. Thank you parents for allowing us to teach your kids.