Boy Scouts

Tyrod

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So sometime in January I'm sittin in my kitchen and fiddling around with one of my S&W revolvers and my 22yo grandson starts asking me some handgun related questions. Now what you have to understand about this is that me and the grandson have never been, what you might call, close, even though he's lived next door to me his whole life. His mother has such tight apron strings on him that I was never able to do man stuff with him. His absentee father is useless and mostly unavailable.

It's not like we were hostile with each other and I've done all the things a grandad should do, I was there when he was born. I went to all of his graduations. I was there for some of his band performances I was there when he was awarded Eagle Scout. I've been in his life and see him every day.

In spite of all this the kid is an Eagle Scout and has achieved a high degree black belt in tai kwan do. I don't know which one, but he has to travel out of state to be tested for the next level as he's has had to do for the last 3 levels.

So, after talking to the kid for about an hour about revolvers, which I swear was the longest conversation we've ever had to that point, the kid went home. Later, I'm thinking to myself, I ought to give the kid a handgun. I had bought him BB & pellet guns before and he showed good common sense. I had this Sigma 40cal that I hadn't fired since new. I think I bought it when Clinton was elected. So, the next day, I gave him the Sigma. He was dumbstruck and asked all kinds of questions and we set up a date to go to the range.

On the day we went to the range, on the way, I'm quizzing him about range etiquette and I find out he doesn't know a thing about real guns and firing them. Then I was dumbstruck. I said to him "you're and Eagle Scout, didn't you have to get a merit badge in shooting?". He says nope, his troop wasn't set up for training for shooting and he's only fired a 22 rifle once on a BS campout.

So that's the status of Eagle Boy Scouts and the shooting disciplines.

The sad part of the whole thing is that I have a safe full of 22 rifles and I could have set up some training and shooting for his troop. If I had only known.

His troops new scoutmaster is very much into guns and has put a rifle training program into effect. He takes the kids well up into the high power stuff.

The whole situation was quite sobering. The good news is that when he started whining about the cost of 40cal ammo on a college students budget. I bought him a 22 pistol and we've gone to the range at least every two weeks since then. The bad news is that I'm gonna have to get some pro shooting lessons cause he's getting better than me.:eek:
 
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Wow Great story. unfortunately certain councils in The Boy Scouts of America are starting to lean away from firearms. I work at Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan Scout camp in Pearson Wisconsin our council in northern Illinois that owns the camp just revived a big grant from the NRA and we built a new trap range and ran electricity out so we can shoot. into the evening hours I bring up my revolvers and have some fun after hours. I teach 2 Shooting merit badges Rifle shooting and Shotgun shooting I think that gun knowledge is one of the most important things to have and know

Greg Reinert
Eagle scout
(Bronze Palm)
Makajawan Staff
 

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I received my Eagle badge in 1968 so I am not familiar with the current requirements but I know Shooting was not a Required Merit Badge back then. I did my shooting at Summer Camp otherwise there were no shooting activities available for us.
 
There is no requirement to earn either the rifle or shotgun merit badges to become an Eagle Scout. So a Scout can go his entire time in Scouting and not ever have to shoot a rifle, shotgun, or muzzle loader. There are well over 100+ merit badge a Scout can earn and that is what makes Scouting so great. There is something for everybody. The "Aims of Scouting." are character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness. And this can be accomplished with never having touched a firearm.

Now, in my 30 years of experience as a Scout leader, I have seldom seen a Scout not want to shoot a BB gun, .22 cal or shotgun at camp. They are by far the most popular activities at camp. Kids love to shoot (and burn stuff). 11 y/o Jon Michael McGrath's first exposure to shooting clay targets at Scout Camp started his journey to become a World Champion.

The BSA makes it challenging to conduct shooting session outside of the summer camps and that prohibits a lot of Troops from conducting their own sessions. However, most gun clubs that I know would be glad to hold a shooting session for Scouts if they are asked.

Sounds like you have a great opportunity to impart your knowledge and skill on this young man. Enjoy!
 
Yep, some councils limit the blade length of pocket knives the Scouts carry. No sheath knives, hatchets, or firearms. My son's time in Scouts made me sad, because I knew what he and the other's were missing.

I also figured out that Scouting was an excuse for some parents to spend time away from each other. I knew couples who were so involved in Scouts they did not spend two evenings a week together.
 
I was in a great scout troop back in the early 60s. We shot .22s and bows/arrows at Tunnel Mill Scout camp and did mile swims in a cold mill stream. I got about half way to Eagle and then I discovered girls. ;)

Great job on connecting with grandson. :)
 
For some parents, Scouting is a great way not to spend time with their kids.
 
12 years as a Scout leader. Each year we did two special shooting camp outs. One for the Rifle Merit badge and one for Shotgun Merit Badge. These were by far the biggest camp outs we had as many of the Dads would decide it was a good weekend to spend some quailty time with their sons. ;)
 
A lot of people forget that the BoyScouts were originally founded to train young men in military skills. Today, they're too PC in many cases.

I doubt that most can still build a camp fire. The outdoors is not their focus, so much as social indoctrination.

I hope that some troops are better.
 
I had a Scout troop for years and the boys always enjoyed shooting. To get some idea of how far the Scouts have come from their inception by Baden Powell, when you are in thrift stores or antique stores look through the books for a Boy Scout Field Manual. The old printings have info on trapping, cooking, knives, axes, pack making etc. The newer manuals have info on freeze dried food, goose down sleeping bags and shopping for the "essentials" such as butane stoves and Nalgene bottles. If you can find one of the OLD ones buy it. Good survival info.
Larry
 
I too am an Eagle scout. Not much older than your grandson, and I can say that the only shooting I think we ever did was either with BB guns or archery.

It would have been nice to have the opportunity for a merit badge in small pistol safety and shooting, using .22 or .38/.380, but I think a lot of parents now a days frown on the use of firearms (I know my mom would have certainly been against it). Most likely the reason that most scout camps don't offer a badge like that.

Nice to see that you found something that both you and your grandson can bond over.
 
Gents,

I have been a Cub Scout (vice Boy Scout) leader for the past 4 years. We are always in need of good leaders because most parents today can't be bothered (see post #7 above) to help ouy. In Cub Scouts, you can only shoot archery and BB gun and then only at an officially sanctioned camp. I haven't seen it offered in NC, but in CO, they were always on the hunt for qualified RSOs for their periodic shoots.

I don't imagine Boy Scouts is any different in seeking volunteers. (I expect to find out in another year or so.) You don't have to have a son involved in order to help out. They will take any amount of commitment you have to offer. I know I don't know as much as I wish I did from the older guys. If you find yourself bored, please, please, please consider offering some of your time and experience.

To the OP, just because your grandson has graduated Boy Scouts doesn't mean you two couldn't teach shooting to his old troop. Just a thought.

Thanks for listening,
Herk
 
Gents,

I have been a Cub Scout (vice Boy Scout) leader for the past 4 years. We are always in need of good leaders because most parents today can't be bothered (see post #7 above) to help ouy. In Cub Scouts, you can only shoot archery and BB gun and then only at an officially sanctioned camp. I haven't seen it offered in NC, but in CO, they were always on the hunt for qualified RSOs for their periodic shoots.

I don't imagine Boy Scouts is any different in seeking volunteers. (I expect to find out in another year or so.) You don't have to have a son involved in order to help out. They will take any amount of commitment you have to offer. I know I don't know as much as I wish I did from the older guys. If you find yourself bored, please, please, please consider offering some of your time and experience.

To the OP, just because your grandson has graduated Boy Scouts doesn't mean you two couldn't teach shooting to his old troop. Just a thought.

Thanks for listening,
Herk


Today, there are as many youth involved in Scouting as there were back in the 50's. The problem is that the USA population has doubled since then and the Scouts are loosing ground. It is indeed difficult to recruit kids into scouting and/or find parents who want to volunteer. I personally believe this is due to the fact that many of today parents were never in Scouting themselves.

It is a great program and I have personally known many Scouts who have gone on to serve their country in Iraq and now Afghanistan. And they can all easily build a campfire.
 
I too am an Eagle scout. Not much older than your grandson, and I can say that the only shooting I think we ever did was either with BB guns or archery.

It would have been nice to have the opportunity for a merit badge in small pistol safety and shooting, using .22 or .38/.380, but I think a lot of parents now a days frown on the use of firearms (I know my mom would have certainly been against it). Most likely the reason that most scout camps don't offer a badge like that.

Nice to see that you found something that both you and your grandson can bond over.

Thank you for your comments. While the area of western Massachusetts I grew up in has a proud history of firearm ownership and useage, my dad came back from the war with a very different outlook on guns. There were no guns in my household. I didn't get any exposure to firearms until I went into the Air Force. Thankfully my dad didn't indoctinate me to his ideology of guns. He'd prolly turn over in his grave if he knew how many guns I have. My uncles had Deer, Elk and Moose antlers filled with rifles and shotguns. Not many handguns though. My grandad had all the handguns in the family. Of course, the centerfire rifles were pretty useless as you couldn't hunt anything with 'em. Deer hunting was limited to shotgun only and any other big game had been exterminated. Glad the moose came back.

Being cannon fodder on some god forsaken tiny pacific island beach could change a persons perspective. My own experience many years later was only slightly better, but obviously I have a very pro-gun stance. Not to mention a large collection of pig nuts.
 
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Old Bear, being involved in Scouting has kept more than one couple from divorce. Both husbands and wives have excuses for being away from home and family and being with others. I knew a few people who carried on affairs with other adult leaders. at summer camp in 2001, I walked into the showers around 3:30 a.m. and ran into one such couple.

One does not join BSA to spend time with their son. One on one time really is not allowed. There is alot of emphasis on child protection so no adult is supposed to be alone with any of the kids. Most of our troop lived in my neighborhood and I knew the boys well. I accompanied our kids to the cafeteria to set up tables at each meal; as a few of the adults would scream at the boys for any thing forgotten on our tables, like it was a mortal sin to forget a fork or a few napkins. I marched the boys to the showers each evening, and sat on a wall outside until they were all done. Then I took them to the Scout store and bought each kid a Slurpie. At the end of the week, I wrote a HUGE check for Slurpies, LOL!! I intervened when I saw another adult chewing out a few of our boys, three different occassions. I treated the kids like they belonged to me.
 

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