"Well, Shoot!" Said Katie

I am so proud of my little girl. She has a "Cultural Quest" project for her 6th grade calss, in which the students have to explore something new, be it a museum, a type of foreign food, a culture, or . . . a sport. For the last item, excluded were sports like baseball, football, soccer, and basketball, since they are so prevalent.

But not target shooting.

So Kate and I went over to Firing Line in Huntington Beach, CA to attend a 3-1/2 hour class, which included getting on the range and firing a firearm. Kate learned the workings of revolvers and pistols, learned how to load and chamber rounds, how to dislodge a misfire, and the different calibers of ammo.

Above all, however, Kate learned that a firearm is a tool. It is to be respected, not feared. And so she learned a lot about how to handle a gun safely and responsibly.

And she had fun. Katie wants to return and shoot some more. For her first time today, she shot with a .22 semi-automatic. She would like to try a .38 revolver. She also wants to nail one of their "special" targets - a yellow tennis ball hanging from a string. Who can say "no" to something like that?

And to think - some people would say this makes me a bad mommy.