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A family-friendly gun range that hopes to host birthday parties for children will open later this year in Lewisville, Texas.
Eagle Gun Range owner David Prince said there are not enough places for children to learn how to shoot.
"We saw a void, and we saw a niche and decided to fill it," he told NBCDFW.com
Prince said his gun range is getting plenty of attention, due in part to his business' kid-friendly attitude. People have already approached him about the gun range, he said.
"We want to bring children in starting at age 8 and teach them how to effectively and safely use a firearm," Prince said. "We will start them off with BB guns and .22s."
Gun shop owner Dwight Walker, who was born and raised in Lewisville, said the city now has fewer places for children to learn his lifelong hobby than it did when he was young.
"The kids are not getting involved in guns as much as they used to," he told NBCDFW.com. "When I grew up here, you could shoot and hunt anywhere."
Prince says he will turn an old office building into a state-of-the-art facility.
"There will be no other range that is this large, that is air-conditioned, in the state of Texas," he said. "We are getting a tremendous response from all over North Texas."
Prince said he wants his gun range to be a place for the community, no matter the age or experience level.
Eagle Gun Range is expected to open toward the end of summer.
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Leave a Comment:
Great idea.
Agreed, learn safety early and get kids used to having guns. If every hard working American is armed crime will cease to exist
LOL, a kid friendly gun range in Texas? LMFAO, what Texas needs is a kid friendly fitness center, or a kid friendly learn to read program, or a kid friendly go on a diet program, or a kid friendly how not to appear on cops, cheaters, Americas dumbest criminals or all of the above, or a kid friendly strive to get your GED program, or a kid friendly learn the alphabet program, I could go on and on about the thousand things kids need in Texas before a gun range.
"Best thing about all those Texas executions? Less Texans"
-George Carlin RIP
Sounds like you have a niche too in Texas. Have at it. I do agree that those items should be addressed, however I agree w/previous posters that child gun safety also has a need and it will be in a safe environment.
Hey Vivian, ever been to Somalia? They all have guns. How are they doing on crime these days?
Then you should be happy about this. It gets them off their butts (unless they teach them the seated shooting position) & out of the house, they will have to complete the classroom portion of the safety program including passing the written tests, and they will be off the streets. So we hit all of your what Texas needs list and it doesn't take public funds.
JonSmith93903-Hey Vivian, ever been to Somalia? They all have guns. How are they doing on crime these days?
Not true, only a few people who work for the warlords have guns, everyone else hides in fear. The same is true in every hotspot in the world, the middle east, south and central america Etc.
The gun is the great equalizer, it is what made this country the great bastion of freedom of the world and now you new world order types want to get rid of that? This is true back to the beginning of recorded history, every time a government disarms it's people evil tyranny reveils itself. Emperor Ming (The vase guy) outlawed swords, then his soldiers began raping and pillaging, so the people learned to use farm implements (That's what all those weird looking martial arts weapons are). Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Mussolini Etc. all outlawed guns when they came to power, now you want that here?!
Gun safety is not the issue - maturity and the ability to make the right decisions with a deadly weapon - children's brains are not able to do this - god -when I thought Texans could not be more ignorant
That's Texas for ya!
Teach kids how to responsibly handle a gun and it can be fun for the entire family. A bonding experience as well. I will never forget the good times I shared with my grandfather.
I personally think that it is a good idea. They need to learn that a gun is not a toy or a picture on a video screen. Education is the key to safety.
Seriously, a good idea? I guess you figure its good job training for the increasing demand of executioners in the Texas system, that is of course is after they bring back death by firing squad.
Yes but a real education would be the key for Texas children to grow up to be more than an aspiring actor/actress on Cheaters, Cops, Dallas SWAT or Americas Dumbest Criminals (ever notice how the majority are from Texas on that show?)
I agree with you wichasa. Its a great way to teach them the difference between toys and the real thing. Too many people buy guns thinking they dont need any training. Just point and shoot. It isn't that easy well it is but you won't be accurate. lol I see nothing wrong with teaching someone to shoot that has the mental capacity to learn it and respect it.
Dem in Texas.....you do realize that Cheaters is a Dallas based program, so yes all of them are from Texas. And also, I cannot believe I have to point this out, but yes all the people in the show Dallas SWAT are from Texas, just like all the people in Alaska State Troopers on Nat Geo are all from Alaska.
Dem in Texas,
"kid friendly strive to get your GED program, or a kid friendly learn the alphabet program" What are the public schools for?
Kids who learn correctly from the start, will never become gang bangers!
Two totally different subjects that don't relate....
Probably the most ridiculous argument for kids learning about guns I have ever heard.
Rob- Seattle-Two totally different subjects that don't relate....
They most certainly do, you try to convince a kid who is trained in firearms to get into a gang and participate in gun fights and he'll tell you to f#*k off. Only a kid who is lacks firearms training would think that "He would never get hurt".
Dem in Texas, You like to refer to the reality shows that show bad judgment and choices. I guess your Liberal turn the criminal loose idea to let the government become a police state is right up your alley. Let them become statistics rather than teach the kids the right thing. You show very little intelligence in your posts. And in reference to this post about being a ridiculous argument, you make another foolish point, it is a proven fact that when taught proper and safe use, there is much less chance of a kid "accidentally" shooting someone and gives them a safe place to be rather than with the wanna be gangsters in the streets. Your comments are actually what are ridiculous.
Guns and 8 yr old's, what possibly can go wrong?
How about sex education and drivers training. The more knowledge the better.
When I was 9 or 10 years old my father had my brothers and I take a two day hunting and gun safty course put on by the Michigan Department of Fish and Game. It was great.
That was over 50 years ago.
Nothing wrong with learning how to properly handle firearms.
Many kids hunt. In pioneer and frontier times kids probably used guns to hunt and defend the family and livestock against predators.
There are still predators today, they are just worse and mostly human.
At least any kids that go to this range will know that firearms are dangerous and must be treated with respect. Not like those teenagers who were playing ghost train and somehow didn't think that trains are dangerous.
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/05/12073593-two-teens-killed-on-railroad-tracks-were-playing-ghost-train-game-coroner-says?lite
Many kids hunt. In pioneer and frontier times kids probably used guns to hunt and defend the family and livestock against predators. There are still predators today, they are just worse and mostly human.
So are you going to send an eight-year-old out on the street packing? The pioneer and frontier times are over. Sounds like you want to start something else entirely.
Teaching a child to shoot and giving them a gun are two different things. But way to jump the gun there!
The problem isn't the guns in Texas, it's the idiots with guns in Texas mixed in with those that are just idiots.
Why do you think it is okay to just assume they are idiots?
You assume he's assuming?
Because he couldn't quite possibly know every person that lives in texas. That's how. So assume that why don't you.
It is funny that the person talking about idiots in Texas is the same person who mentions in another thread that it is amazing how the majority of the people on shows like Cheaters (Dallas based show) and Dallas SWAT are from Texas.
Dem, Kat... The idiots are the ones who do NOT learn proper handling, these are the intelligent ones that want kids to learn the safe handling of firearms. So, I guess that would put your cases under the NON intelligent, I guess Dem just wants to see these kids turn so he can watch his pathetic "reality" shows.
Wow. I could say so much more here, but will just say...wow. A niche. Yeah...okay. I guess when the kids get really pissed and get hold of a gun at least now they will know how to handle it safely and shoot more people more quickly when they get into a fight or get mad at school. Wow. But they'll be handling them safely and the family all enjoyed it together at least. Amazing.
Really??? It is proven that children that are taught about guns are more likely to be safe around them, see the report a couple weeks ago about the kid in Georgia that found the gun in the playground. You may have to search for it though because the 'Media" does not like reporting these good cases, just the bad cases.
I'd really like to see Texas cut loose from the rest of the country. Really, I would.
"Kid-friendly" and "guns" are two words that don't belong in the same sentence.
Imagine how great this country and the world could be if there were NO GUNS ANYWHERE.
I disagree.. not only are target and shooting sports fun and a good exercise in hand-eye coordination.. firearms are also a self defense and (can be) crime management tool.
JRZ GAL, it would be real great, Government run, no freedom, kinda like the old Soviet Union or Cuba. Oh, all under Queen Pelosi.
It's not just Texas - it's the South. I forget which Southern state politician introduced a measure that would empower folks to carry guns with them to bars/taverns.
And how about the Stand Your Ground Law.
Since the gun enthusiasts and NRA want NO real restrictions on firearms, we can now have all the military assault rifles we want. How about grenade launchers? Mortars? What should we restrict and how?
We can? Cool! But you left out the second part that goes with that nonsensical argument. You know the part where you say that the NRA is now passing them out. Get back to us when you can tell us where we can get the freebies.
LA Phil-4130642
It's not just Texas - it's the South. I forget which Southern state politician introduced a measure that would empower folks to carry guns with them to bars/taverns.
The Constitution has no boundaries. Your first amendment rights don't end when you cross a line, why should your second amendment rights end?
And how about the Stand Your Ground Law.
The media has so slandered that law it's ridicules. Stand your ground laws don't mean kill to your heart's content, it means crime victims have the right to protect themselves, without having to run to some arbitrary "safe base" from which you can now defend your life. It's high time crime victims had some rights!
Since the gun enthusiasts and NRA want NO real restrictions on firearms, we can now have all the military assault rifles we want. How about grenade launchers? Mortars? What should we restrict and how?
Wow! Where do I start on this rant? Let me break it down.
(Since the gun enthusiasts and NRA want NO real restrictions on firearms)
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Restrictions are infringements! By the way in modern english "A well regulated Militia" means "A well armed group of citizens" like when there's a flood and the town's people gather together to fill sandbags.
(we can now have all the military assault rifles we want.)
An AR-15 while resembling it's military counterpart (M-4), they are mechanically very different! The M-4 is fully-automatic (machine gun) and the AR-15 is semi-automatic (one shot at a time). The truth is that every generation of gun is driven by military advancements. Instead of calling them assault rifles, you should call them modular rifles. and the advancements that make them so popular?
1. Modular - My AR can have 3 different caliber barrels and different barrel lengths.
2. Modular - My AR can be fully disassembled in seconds for cleaning! (A safety feature) Older rifles require tools and allot of time to do the same, so the rifles don't get cleaned often and that results in misfires and injures and death.
3. Materials - The materials advancements are mind boggling! an older rifle exposed to the weather can be ruined, while an AR can be dropped in a stream and left there overnight and only require a cleaning.
How about grenade launchers? Mortars? What should we restrict and how?
They are already illegal.
You don't have to outlaw the means, when the act is already illegal, if you really want to curtail violence then stop letting violent felons out of jail! The average life sentence in the US is 6-8 years! That's a good deal for a murder, don't you think? Had someone raped and murdered one of your kids and got off scott-free, wouldn't you be willing to do 6-8 years to settle it? I would. Life should mean life!
God did bless Texas. Thank God ! AMEN !
How about the "Stand Your Ground Law"? Good law. Better to be judged by 12 than to be carried by 8.
Perhaps you're thinking about Ohio, LA Phil. The wingnuts up here passed a law allowing concealed carry in bars.
Last I read(around 2008), the US has just under 5% of the world's population and just under 25% of the world's prison inmates. And now we're privatizing our prisons so people can turn them into profit centers.
We're obviously soft on crime and our sentences must be way too short. We are apparently a nation of criminals...
I half agree with you, the problem is we throw too many people in jail for stupid stuff and let out the violent criminals to infect our communities.
I half agree with both of you.If the bastards hadn't ruined our country for their greed,we would still have millions more employed who would be too busy working to screw like animals,act like animals,and use drugs like maniacs
LA Phil, and that would be because the Liberals who would take guns away from honest citizens, turn around and leave the criminals to a life of ease. They blame everything but the criminal. Lets blame the guns, not the shooter; oh, he is a product of society, not a criminal. In most other countries they are hard on criminals, no cable TV, not basketball courts, no gym, just hard time.
I find it interesting that just a generation ago at 8 years old my father was expected to take his .22 and hunt for small game for dinner. No game meant no dinner for he and his mother. This wasn't in the boondocks but in mainstream rural America (suburbia today). Now we have people who freak out that someone has put together a business model to create a safe learning environment to teach youth the proper way to handle and respect the use of firearms. Oh it also didn't take a Federal or Government program to throw our money at something to socially engineer us!
It will enhance safety for kids to lean proper weapons handling.I taught my girls early what a real gun looks like.They were raised knowing to NEVER pick up a gun unsupervised,to NEVER be around anyone playing with guns,to NEVER play with them either.They have now reached an age where they are interested in learning to use them.We all use much more complicated machines every day.A modern quality gun,in good working order,will only perform its' function and only when the proper sequence has been carried out. With proper training,as well as adult supervision a child is EXTREMELY unlikely to be harmed by a firearm. Thusly,the 3 yo who died after shooting himself-was not in the presence of proper adult supervision nor did anyone use proper gun safety