LAKELAND | Local gun-range owners say they take precautions to avoid a tragedy such as the one in Arizona where a 9-year-old girl accidentally shot and killed a gun instructor who was teaching her how to shoot an Uzi in fully automatic mode.
Most who run local gun ranges have policies about not allowing people, especially those younger than 21, to shoot a fully automatic weapons. And they don't allow unsupervised youngsters to shoot, or even enter the range.
Mark Smith, owner of Ultimate Arms in Lakeland, said even though he has taught children as young as 6 years old before, what happened in Arizona could have been avoided.
'Before handing a 9-year-old a fully auto Uzi, I'd check to see if she knows how it works,' said Smith, who owned and ran the range at Tenoroc Shooting Sports & Training in Lakeland for more than 13 years.
He said in his 15 years of training people how to shoot, he always starts in the classroom showing them firearm basics like loading and handling along with how to respect what a gun can do.
'It would not be the first lesson,' he said of a student firing a fully auto Uzi.
He said most ranges require someone who is at least 21 years old in the group of people to accompany and be responsible for someone younger.
Charlie Pullen, owner of Plant City Gun Range, said he uses his best judgment. He said he doesn't have an age limit on who can shoot or ask how old a child is as long as he or she is with an adult.
Pullen has turned away 40-year-old men before because he didn't trust their ability to safely shoot.
'It's the person, not the age, not the sex or race,' he said.
Pullen said he does not let people shoot fully automatic weapons in his range, but the industry standard is to chain down the fully automatic weapon so the shooter does not loose control of the weapon like what happened with theincident in Arizona.
'It was done wrong, it wasn't the age of the person,' he said. 'An unseasoned shooter would have made that mistake.'
Jim Lemanski, a 71-year-old South Lakeland firearm champion, said he does not train anyone younger than 16 years old.
'They don't comprehend that it hurts,' he said.
Lemanski said the Arizona tragedy was unfortunate, but he wonders why the parents let the instructor put the gun in full-auto mode to begin with.
'It was a lack of judgment,' he said. '... It is a tragedy, and I hate the stigmatism that it puts on guns and people who make foolish mistakes when training people.'
Lemanski said in his sanctioned United States Practical Shooting Association events, any safety mistakes immediately disqualify the shooter for the rest of the day's competitions.
'Safety is the first issue, and it always should be with a gun,' he said.
Gun Ranges In and Around Polk County Have Age Limit Policies
<p>LAKELAND | Local gun-range owners say they take precautions to avoid a tragedy such as the one in Arizona where a 9-year-old girl accidentally shot and killed a gun instructor who was teaching her how to shoot an Uzi in fully automatic mode.</p><p>Most who run local gun ranges have policies about not allowing people, especially those younger than 21, to shoot a fully automatic weapons. And they don't allow unsupervised youngsters to shoot, or even enter the range.</p><p>Mark Smith, owner of Ultimate Arms in Lakeland, said even though he has taught children as young as 6 years old before, what happened in Arizona could have been avoided.</p><p>'Before handing a 9-year-old a fully auto Uzi, I'd check to see if she knows how it works,' said Smith, who owned and ran the range at Tenoroc Shooting Sports & Training in Lakeland for more than 13 years.</p><p>He said in his 15 years of training people how to shoot, he always starts in the classroom showing them firearm basics like loading and handling along with how to respect what a gun can do.</p><p>'It would not be the first lesson,' he said of a student firing a fully auto Uzi.</p><p>He said most ranges require someone who is at least 21 years old in the group of people to accompany and be responsible for someone younger.</p><p>Charlie Pullen, owner of Plant City Gun Range, said he uses his best judgment. He said he doesn't have an age limit on who can shoot or ask how old a child is as long as he or she is with an adult.</p><p>Pullen has turned away 40-year-old men before because he didn't trust their ability to safely shoot.</p><p>'It's the person, not the age, not the sex or race,' he said.</p><p>Pullen said he does not let people shoot fully automatic weapons in his range, but the industry standard is to chain down the fully automatic weapon so the shooter does not loose control of the weapon like what happened with theincident in Arizona.</p><p>'It was done wrong, it wasn't the age of the person,' he said. 'An unseasoned shooter would have made that mistake.'</p><p>Jim Lemanski, a 71-year-old South Lakeland firearm champion, said he does not train anyone younger than 16 years old.</p><p>'They don't comprehend that it hurts,' he said.</p><p>Lemanski said the Arizona tragedy was unfortunate, but he wonders why the parents let the instructor put the gun in full-auto mode to begin with.</p><p>'It was a lack of judgment,' he said. '... It is a tragedy, and I hate the stigmatism that it puts on guns and people who make foolish mistakes when training people.'</p><p>Lemanski said in his sanctioned United States Practical Shooting Association events, any safety mistakes immediately disqualify the shooter for the rest of the day's competitions.</p><p>'Safety is the first issue, and it always should be with a gun,' he said.</p>
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