Sunday afternoon

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The booms can be heard across town.

I like it.

Some people will be horrified by it, no doubt. These are the same well-meaning people who believe government has a better idea of how to run your life than you do. But enough of that, eh?

Some people are also highly concerned that this takes place next to the airport. They have a modicum of reality backing that up, which I'll get into momentarily.

The booms and the consternation is may cause is the 4-H shotgun team. It's called S.A.F.E. these days. The name change was done, probably, to quell some of the anxiety that the words Shotgun Team creates.

The team meets Sunday at 2 p.m. for practice behind the Extension Office. Yes, they shoot across an open field with an airport in the distance. This causes a bit of worry as you might imagine.

But any time a plane is in the air nearby, shooting stops. Besides which, birdshot won't carry that far. That's a fact Jack, one which I testify to having spent many hours on dove fields.

The shooters are in grades 6 through 12. Their shooting ability varies widely with one of the 7th graders shooting as well as and often better than the seniors. Some of the kids are happy to break several of the clay pigeons in a round while others are unhappy if they shoot less than 15.

Shooting a perfect round, no misses, is something they all want to do. After a perfect round, the a few clays are shoved the shooter's hat, which is then hurled downrange. The team's shooters then unload on the hat.

Yep. Shoot a perfect round and your hat gets shot. I like that too.

Someone will probably argue this kind of activity is not safe, is harmful and is teaching kids the wrong things.

Really? It teaches the kids sportsmanship. They brag on each other's shooting ability, cheer good shots and support the less accurate shooters by telling them they will get better.

It teaches the kids safety. If the kids are going to live in a home where firearms are located, they need to know how to be safe around them.

It gives the kids something to do, keeps them off the street, away from harmful influences and teaches them a skill they can take with them wherever they go. Gun ranges exist across the country and in every nation on the planet. Trap and skeet shooting are also Olympic events.

Most of all, they enjoy it. With a group of adults encouraging them and helping them, you can bet the Sunday afternoons are something they will remember for years and years.

Safety is a big part of the activity, which is as it should be. The kids are handling firearms, weapons capable of killing. They need to know how to be safe with a gun. That is a skill far too many people lack.

I was recently at a gun education event and one of the shooters was old enough to be the grandmother of some of the younger 4-H shooters.

The woman took a loaded pistol and waved it around. In less than a second, she'd pointed the gun at everyone present. It was all I could do to not duck behind my vehicle.

A minute or so later, she took the gun, placed it alongside her head and removed the hearing protection she was wearing.

An accident looking for a place to happen.