Outdoor Adventures
Friday, December 19, 2008
If you are thinking about or have already bought your child a firearm for Christmas, even a BB gun, please take a couple of things into consideration. Are firearms safe in your home?
It troubles me that some parents don’t want their children to be around guns. I can understand this and respect their concern, but it also bothers me to read or hear about senseless incidents when kids are involved where perhaps proper education concerning safety around firearms might have prevented a tragedy.
Parents should realize a child’s age isn’t the most important factor when deciding whether they should be exposed to firearms. Mindful, responsible parents know their child better than anyone else. One concern is, can the child follow directions and handle responsibility? Is the youngster mature enough to make decisions that will ensure his or her own safety and the safety of others? And, last but not least, do the parents themselves have the knowledge and experience to give proper instruction in the basics of firearm safety?
Supervision and instruction on basic firearm safety rules should also be a part of the child’s Christmas gift, if they are to receive a firearm for a gift. Hands-on instruction and training, repeated over and over, along with a thorough understanding of the safety rules, will teach the child nothing can be taken for granted concerning firearm safety.
If a new gun is on your child’s Christmas list and you are still a little apprehensive about giving such a gift, you might want to have your child sign a Firearms Responsibility Contract. In this written contract, the child promises to learn and obey all the rules of safe firearms handling.
Get a copy of the Ten Commandments of Firearm Safety, review them and discuss their meaning. A promise should be made by the child to never play with firearms because they are not toys. This includes BB guns and air rifles.
Where children are concerned, firearms should be used only withpermission and under the strict supervision of a responsible adult. Treat every gun as if it were loaded and never aim it at something you do not intend to shoot. It should be clearly understood there will be an automatic forfeiture of shooting privileges for whatever length of time agreed upon if the Firearms Responsibility Contract isn’t adhered to.
An Automobile Responsibility Contract may come into play in years to come when a decision is made to turn the young driver loose with the family vehicle for the first time. Knowing the youngster’s ability to follow directions, handle responsibility and his or her trustworthiness will make this decision much easier.
If you already own a gun, always remember to unload the firearm carefully and completely before taking it into the house. Never load a sporting firearm in the home. Always make sure that firearms are securely stored in a location inaccessible to children. Ammunition should be stored in a separate location, locked up and inaccessible. Place firearms in their proper storage location immediately after returning from a hunting trip or a day at the range. When you remove your gun from storage, always recheck it to confirm that it is still unloaded. It is a gun owner’s responsibility to make sure firearms are not casually accessible to anyone — especially curious young people who might be looking for Christmas presents.
Make it a point to attend a hunter safety education class in 2009 if you haven’t already done so, even if you don’t plan on becoming a hunter. Basic survival, ethics and responsibility, conservation and the basics of firearm safety are taught and provide life lessons to all that attend.
For more information on firearm safety education, programs and events, contact the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. at 203-426-2359, or visit the foundation’s Web site at www.nssf.org.
Feathered friends
A White Christmas has meant a lot to our family through the years and the way things look, there is a good chance we will have one this year. By Christmas, we are really into bird watching and their supplemental feeding. The snow and cold seems to isolate the birds from what’s left of their natural food sources and readily brings them to our home feeders. Don’t get me wrong, we appreciate watching the interaction of our feathered friends throughout the year, but Christmas just seems special.
A bird feeder, whether it is handmade or purchased from a store, along with a supply of seed, makes a great personal gift, something that is useful and can be enjoyed not only during the holidays, but throughout the year. And if you really want to go all out, a bird identification book — such as the classic Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds (Eastern Region), by John Bull and John Farrand Jr. — along with a pair of binoculars would seal the deal, make a fine Christmas present and introduce someone to an activity they can enjoy the rest of their life.
Birds also need a good source of clean water, so you might as well put an outdoor water heating element for birdbaths on your list. Locally, you can expect to be visited on a daily basis by cardinals, juncos, house finches, American goldfinches, blue jays, Carolina wrens, chickadees and several species of sparrows and woodpeckers. Black oil sunflower seed is common fare for all the birds mentioned.
Today, as I look out onto the snow-covered yard, it’s hard to believe that last Sunday the weather was in the fifties and I was turning composted grass clippings and leaves over in the garden when I spied a nightcrawler extending out nearly a foot. I had noticed a couple of robins in the yard Saturday and, though we still have plenty of winter left, thoughts of purple martins returning and spring bulbs and flowers blooming in an array of beautiful colors brought a smile to my face. Wifeus was filling the bird feeders and I motioned her over to see the nightcrawler.
The thought of one dangling from a jig or trailing a bottom-bouncer, enticing a big walleye to strike, gave us something to look forward to. Watching the birds interact at the feeders, and knowing good times and warmer days will come, always helps us endure these long, cold Kansas winters. We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.