|
 Adults
and kids alike were present, being taught many forms of firearm
safety from the several instructors who were present. The
instructors at Wells Firearms, who have a combined experience of
over 750 years teaching gun safety, had a wealth of knowledge on the
topic and were eager to share.
The training itself was organized into nine different stations, four
inside and five outside. The training inside focused on general gun
safety, as well as how to identify and safely operate different
types of firearms and ammunition.
The stations outside covered a wider array of topics.
These topics included the proper transportation of firearms, zones
of fire, the six carrying positions when hunting, crossing a fence,
and proper use of a tree stand. Mark Miller, the instructor covering
proper use of tree stands, informed his students that accidents
involving failure of tree stands are the leading cause of injury
while hunting.
Safety was at the center of everything taught,
evidenced by how many people were talking about it. Jeremy Wells,
owner of Wells Firearms, when asked of the most important
information this course offers, said, “safety, that is number one
out of everything.” When asked about the importance of offering
classes like this one, instructor John Payne said, “the kids, we
need them to go out there and be safe while hunting.” The students
in attendance had a lot to say about safety as well. Wyatt
Gustafson, one of the students present, stressed the importance of
safely loading a firearm. When asked about the most important thing
they learned, two other students, Easton Catalano and Brier Mosher,
both responded with “gun safety.”
After every student had gone through each of the nine
stations, they had a chance to ask questions with Will Gilmer,
Sergeant of the Department of Natural Resources. With the students
in a classroom setting, Sgt. Gilmer answered several questions from
the students. A few of the instructors also asked questions they
received from students earlier in the day. [to top of second
column] |
Sgt. Gilmer also shared the
importance of firearms safety classes, stating, “every year we
have hunting accidents, they happen. For the kids to come in
here and learn to reduce those, that’s, for me, probably the
number one reason [these classes are important].”
Once the Q and A session with Sgt. Gilmer was over,
everyone had the opportunity to get some lunch provided by the
Lincoln Police Department (LPD). Shawn Pettit, Sergeant of the LPD
cooked hotdogs for everyone. Sgt. Pettit had a very positive view of
the class Wells Firearms was providing, stating, “education, I
think, is the first line of safety. Knowing what hazards are
involved with firearms, and being aware of potential safety issues,
how they work, and injuries they could cause. I think knowing those
is one of the best deterrents in having those mishaps and accidents
happen.” Wells stated the connection between his business and the
LPD is important. He shared that Wells donates a firearm to LPD each
year. Wells also shared that he wants the kids taking his classes to
see the LPD officers in a positive light.
Overall, the safety class put on by Wells Firearms
was very informative and organized. The instructors were very
knowledgeable and eager to share safety information with the
students present. The students took the class very seriously,
modeling the behaviors of their instructors very well. Wells himself
also takes great care to make sure these classes are informative and
safe for people of all ages. “We’re here for the community to
educate on hunter education, and that starts as young as seven. Some
of our students we’ve had come through the course were the young
ripe age of ninety-seven.” Wells continued, saying, “if we can
educate somebody and have the ability to create an impact on
education so that they’re not afraid of firearms… then we’ve done
our job.”
[Matt Boutcher]
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