Some 15-year-olds are small and frail, others are strapping young men. I don't know about this one, but regardless of his physical ability to handle a .45, which not all 15-year-olds can, we can probably assume the dad had provided some instructions beforehand.A 15-year-old boy was taken to the hospital Saturday afternoon in extremely critical condition after accidentally shooting himself in the head with a .45-caliber handgun while target shooting with his father at the Wasatch Shooters Association Public Shooting Range.
Education is the key, the pro-gun crowd keeps telling us. Teaching young people about muzzle and trigger control is all it takes. How many personal accounts have we read of gun bloggers who learned from their dads when they were young?
Well, what I say is it's all in the percentages. Like everything else, the vast majority is fine, but you're always going to have that minority that isn't.
As a general rule, I'd say no 15-year-old kid should be handed a .45 caliber handgun and expected to handle it safely. There are exceptions to that rule, but unfortunately this story is not one of them.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Thank GOD it wasn't a FULLY AUTOMATIC WEPPIN, just a SEMI-AUTOMATIC.
ReplyDeleteThe Grandfather pass away and dad decided to go get the guns and take the two boys shooting. Dad had the boys use 2 benches and stood
ReplyDeletebehind them loading magazines. While helping the boy to the right the one to the left shot himself in the neck and the projectile exited
the boys left side of the skull. The boy broke at least 2 safety rules in order to shoot himself. A Colt .45 is way too much power for an inexperienced 15 year old. This is what happens when dad is a complete fool and the son had no safety training. I surprised more beginners are not injured by incompetent parents handing a loaded full magazine into a beginners hands and turning his back on the boy. Beyond Dumb!
One adult should never teach more than one son a a time.
You're absolutely right, Beth. It's surprising that we don't have ten times more "accidents" than we do. It's frightening to imagine how much reckless gun handling is going on all the time. The gun-rights fanatics, who themselves arety" probably very safety conscious, love to pretend this doesn't go on, that "the vast majority of guy owners are like them. It just ain't so.
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