My Boy Messed Up.....

[villaman 9,983]

Mate, I did the same at his age and still not forgotten about it 38 years on

[andyfr1968 772]

Thanks for the replys, lads.

 

As said, no real harm done and Oscar's wiser from his cock-up. I guess I took it rather badly as my boys have always been instructed the same way that I was as a lad by my own Dad. RAF Regiment style. As I said, they've been regularly shooting with me for a good few years now and this is the first and only mess up by either of them so maybe I have become a little lax in my attitude and taken it for granted that they know the score. Never again!!!

 

Cheers.

[Malt 379]

Same happened to my mate when we were kids. He had been gifted an air rifle that was underpowered, so my old man put a spring he lying about in an old BSA mercury. Not long after my mate sliced his thumb open by accidentally hitting the trigger while the barrel was cocked.. My old man felt guilty for a long time after..

 

Like you say Andy, no harm done and lesson learnt mate..

[Giro 2,648]

I done it the other day with my lighting. No damage thank feck...

 

Done it as young lad with a W95 totally fecked the stock & my hand..

 

With the force it split the stock, it opened far enough to nip the skin and closed around it.. In panic i tired to realise my trapped skin and it came away with lots of blood and tears...

 

Worst thing the gun never belonged to me and My dad had to pay for it..

Edited June 18, 2013 by Giro

[goz1960 52]

Always found that the best way to learn is by your mistakes, bet he will never do that again.

[Millet 4,497]

Sorry to p1ss on everyone's parade with the psych-babble bit but I suspect it may not be as simple as giving the boy '...a bollocking that he'll not forget...'

 

What I suspect has happened here is that he (like us all at some stage in our lives) has subconsciously automated a process that he has performed flawlessly at the right time a thousands before. However, on this occasion, he performed it flawlessly at the wrong time thus bringing about this apparently 'brainless' mistake. I say 'brainless' on purpose because that was, indeed, what it was. He was simply carrying out a process that he has automated while not thinking about it.

 

Hands up anyone on here who hasn't, at some stage, driven down a well known road and then suddenly realised that they haven't been taking any notice of what they've been doing and have been driving on 'autopilot' for the last 9 miles. This sort of thing usually happens when you're talking to someone or listening to the radio.

 

It's no different to when you are riding a bike or (in some cases) shooting a gun. Much of what we do every day is subconsciously controlled. It's not until something goes wrong with the automated process that we become consciously aware of the cock-up. Maybe we get a bit too close to the car in front and have to brake a bit sharply, we ride over a pothole in the road and nearly fall off the bike or we pull the trigger at the wrong time.

 

Sadly, as the old adage goes -

 

Good habits are hard to make

Bad habits are hard to break

 

The only thing I can recommend for you (and all of us) to do when our kids are shooting with us, is to watch their every move. If you see them do something wrong, simply stop them tell them In a firm tone (no ranting please) to do it again. Make them go through the correct actions two of three times more while they are thinking consciously about it. Then, for a few times more - before they start the erred process - remind them to 'think' about what they are doing.

 

I am reasonably sure that you'll find this will retrain them to think about what they are doing and so to carry out each move as a consequence of a conscious thought.

 

I suggested the same corrective system to a piano teacher once who found that, after a student had played the wrong note (and was allowed to get away with it without any intervention) in a piece of music, they would usually repeat the mistake time and time again and, thereafter, find it very difficult to get out of the 'bad' habit.

 

This happens because the student's subconscious had incorrectly learnt the music and was playing it as it thought it should be played. This resulted in it being played wrongly each time without the intervention of the conscious mind to correct it.

 

I suggest you try it with yourselves as well as your kids, You may find it helps more than the bollocking.

Can you type that again with bigger letter's... my eye's are poorly..

[ArchieHood 3,692]

Wouldn't have happened with a PCP....................

[lapin2008 1,587]

I went out shooting yesterday with my two lads(11 and 14) and my mate Paul and his boy (11).

 

My two have been coming out with me for the last six or so years and they've been hammered by me from day one about basic gun control and how to handle a rifle. One of the most important safety things that I've drilled into them is DON'T PUT YOUR FINGER INSIDE THE TRIGGER GUARD UNTIL YOU'RE READY TO TAKE THE SHOT!!!!!

 

Anyway, whilst doing some target practice before a mooch my eldest somehow forgot all he'd learnt over the years and managed to pull the trigger on his Xocet while the barrel was open and the gun was cocked. Thankfully the only damage was a bent barrel which I've now fixed but the whole thing could have been so much worse. He got a bollocking that he'll not forget and one which I feel so sorry for having to give but it had to be done.

 

He'll never make the same mistake again, I'm sure but I'm just staggered that he made the mistake in the first place.

 

Never take anything for granted, folks.

 

 

 

Dont be too hard on him mate,

I shot myself in the foot as a kid... literally!

[moxy 617]

No harm done andy and it could have been a lot worse. An important lesson learned. For all.

 

Atb.

[cookiemonsterandmerlin 145]

Grown men with alot of gun handling have made mistakes

 

Glad all is OK

 

ATB Cookie

[pianoman 3,586]

I have a pellet lodged in my left cheek that's been there after 46 years or so. My cousin who forgot his Relum Tornado .22 underlever was still loaded, has never touched an air rifle since that afternoon he saw me flop down into a pool of blood gushing from a pellet-hole in my face.

 

It has made me a very aware of gun safety ever since. I would nowadays be locked up for the type of stack-blowing bollockings I dished out to trainee gunners during my service days who took leave of their weapon safety and pointed a barrel at anyone.

 

Everyone who gets into shooting is going to make a frightener of a mistake at some point. Thank the good Lord Oscar hasn't got worse on his mind. He's a lovely, sensible kid and he'll make a great shooter one day. Because he will never forget this one!

 

Simon

Edited June 18, 2013 by pianoman

[andyfr1968 772]

Thanks again, lads.

 

Simon, if either one of them was going to f**k up I'd have put my money on Toby. That's not to say he's wreckless but he can be a bit of an air-head sometimes. Oscar's normally so studious and sensible so I guess it just goes to show that we can all screw things up sometimes.

 

How are you fixed for this weekend? Your place or mine?? Saturday's best for me.

[smiffie23 67]

Sounds like the embarrassment will prevent him doing it again. And will probably go red even when he's alone and thinks about what he did. Lessen learnt and he is wiser and now safer. Stu

[gurtwurz 792]

"Lessons born of hardship are seldom forgotten"

 

Christ, that was quite profound for me..

[andyfr1968 772]

I am glad to hear he is OK, glad also that the Wobbley is now OK after more TLC (honestly the amount of work you put into that Wobbley)!

 

Bet he woke up when it happened though!

 

That was one of the things that really spiked me, Mike. Money's been really tight this year and the Webley's turned into a really nice little rifle for my lads and to be honest I've taken it out a couple of times myself.

 

When I thought he'd ruined it as at first it looked like the jaws had twisted up I did have a bit of a sense of humour failiure after all the work I'd put in to it. All sorted now though

 

Thanks for the PM. I'll reply properly tomorrow.

 

Edit to add... Only a couple of weeks back Oscar bagged himself eight rabbits with it and I only scored one with my 90

Edited June 18, 2013 by andyfr1968