Air gun at Beaver Hobby Talk

[Margetts]

AIBU to be upset that a child brought an air rifle to a Beaver hobby talk? The child's parent was present when the gun was being shown. Personally I feel that the children who are between the ages of 6-8 are too young and also very impressionable to be shown fire arms.

now I get it, spaces

dunblanemum I am really sorry for your loss.

I did mention to the Beaver Leader that I was unhappy that the talk had happened, and that I was particularly concerned as there was no mention of using guns safely. I felt the mother could have given a 5 minute talk on using guns safely and where this can be done.
I do live in the country and appreciate that guns are required for pest control etc

dunblanemum

My sincere condolences.

I see shooting as a means to kill and that shooting as a hobby is a legitimate way to hone these skills.

i know people shoot for fun and as a hobby. I (and many other like me) will never, ever understand why.

Target shooting is a sport in itself and places no emphasis on killing. There are many sports and hobbies that evolved out of violent or combative pursuits: archery, martial arts/boxing/wrestling, fencing, gymnastics.

These hobbies exist because they recognise the danger involved (gymnastics excluded, maybe) and teach respect and discipline to allow people to practice in safety, for themselves and others. The archery club I used to go to used fields at a local rugby club, and they made a point that no injuries had ever occurred and they were keen to keep it that way; when an ambulance was called it was only ever due to a rugby injury. There was a stringent etiquette borne out of the safety rules. Shooting clubs go even further.

I admit there are pursuits that others engage in that I will never understand, fox hunting being one of them.

Dunblanemum, I am so very very sorry.

Fwiw I completely agree with your post and your reasoning.

I want my ds to try beavers (if he wants - at the moment he is keen)but I would want to withdraw him from any shooting sessions. Would this be ok, do you know? Or would it be the case that 'if you sign up, you sign up for it all'?

Cat89

Apart from this one evening which I wasn't happy with my DC have a fantastic time at Beavers. They do a great variety of activities and have fantastic fun.
The talk with the air gun was by a Beaver and not planned by the leaders.
I would recommend it

OP I am also very anti guns. I try to avoid the DC watching things with guns as far as possible. DS will start Beavers soon and I didn't know that guns have a feature in Scouting. I will look to withdraw him from those sessions.

I have found the posts here interesting, and agree that this is this child's legal hobby and so he was invited to discuss it, but I would have been annoyed at no advance warning and missing the opportunity to emphasise safety.

I am clear in my mind that it's not guns that shoot people, I simply cannot see what possible benefit their existence has for the vast majority.

Dunblanemum I'm so sorry for your terrible loss x

Cat, you can withdraw your son from any sessions without fuss.
My DS has AS, and when a session was unsuitable, there was no issue made of it.

dunblanemum I am sorry for your loss.

OP, I agree with WMittens post. I shoot (targets and occasionally clays) as a hobby. It is a very disciplined sport. There is zero aggression. It is about being calm and controlled. It gets you outside and is very social. It's very safety conscious. Everyone looks at what their neighbour is doing and people often offer "tips" (often unwanted but they get you chatting). Gun ownership is well regulated in this country - we had a home visit with a firearms officer and various records checks before we were granted our firearms licences. I was taught the safety aspects by a former Met Firearms Instructor. A number of people take their children to our gun club and instruct them very carefully. Young people often get into the sport via airguns as they are more accessible (both in terms of regulation and cost).

I do think it is a shame that the safety aspects were not emphasised in this talk though.

Thanks for replies to my question - I'm pleased as most aspects of the beavers groups I've heard about really appealed to me (and ds!)

A bit off-topic, but on a US forum recently someone was reminiscing about how at the age of 12 they were able to buy a .22 rifle from the toy department of a major department store. No license or parental permission required. This was in Florida in the 1950's. I find the contrast with today in Britain amusing.

Amusing in what way londonman ?

Just because you don't understand doesn't make you right. Shooting isn't dangerous in a properly controlled environment and is also an olympic sport.

By far the most dangerous thing a young person can do particularly young men is get behind the wheel of a car.

Boxing is also an Olympic sport, which I'd also like to discourage my DC from participating in. OP isn't saying gun sports should be banned and she's not saying those that participate in gun sports shouldn't.

She's simply saying that guns are an emotive subject for many people. The comments many of you have made are interesting, but they haven't fundamentally changed my own opinion that I don't like guns and don't want my children to participate in gun related activities.

That doesn't mean I don't like people that do like guns. But your chosen activity is not one I like and if Beavers are doing gun related activity, my children will not be participating that day.

toombs I never said i was right, i just said i don't understand. I also admitted that my views on guns are probably skewed due to my experience.
I realise many people shoot for fun and that it is tightly regulated but my child was killed with a legally held gun so i think i am entitled to give my view. You are more than welcome to give yours.
I also completely agree that cars are dangerous, as are many other things in our world, but that is not an argument i am prepared to get into here.

my child was killed with a legally held gun so i think i am entitled to give my view.

I don't think anyone is disputing that. AIUI gun laws were changed as a direct result, so similar firearms cannot be held legally today.

I don't think you are unreasonable given that there wasn't a safety talk, but in reality the talk was probably only a few minutes long. My DS has done his hobby badge and only talked for a couple of minutes at most.

Beavers do not take part in shooting activities as a rule. This was obviously in the context of hobbies outside of beavers. Shooting is available at scout age but is Not an essential part of scouting. Scouts can opt out and the parents have to sign a specific parental consent form.
We don't even let our beavers make lego weapons when we have Lego model making nights

I have never heard of any scout group doing shooting.

Air cadets yes, but scouts?

DunblaneMum, Thanks for your post. I would love to live in a world where the only guns in it are held by the military and the police.

Scouts have their own National shooting squad many of whom go onto the GB junior squad and shoot in international competitions.
Locally it depends on trained leaders and the availability of equipment. So it varies from area to area.

The rules are very strict, the young people take it very seriously. It is only ever target shooting no pictures of people or animals etc. they know that one wrong move or stupid behaviour and they are out for good. It is a very disciplined sport they know the dangers with shooting but in this context it is a paper target sport.