Ben Avery Shooting Range

When we knew that Savannah and Cooper were coming for a few days, we decided there were some special things we wanted to do with them while they were here. One thing that Rod wanted to do is take them to the Shooting Range. We got permission from Mom and Dad for this activity. We talked to them a little bit in advance to prepare them for the experience. When we arrived, we went over gun safety with them again and the first thing they did was put on their ocular and hearing protection and then watch the required safety video. Cooper carried in the pistol (with the barrel pointed up at all times). It is in the case beside him on the bench.

Waiting for our assigned tables.

Eric and Em had to watch the video, too!

Cooper had a very patient and wonderful teacher. Uncle Allen help him and Savannah get comfortable with aiming, loading, and firing the little 22 rifles. The one Coop has below is a single shot, and just a little smaller. It is Nick's rifle.

Becca is showing Savannah how it all works. She got this rifle when she turned 12.

Allen helps Savannah learn to use the trigger on the single shot, as Eric teaches Cooper to use Becca's rifle. Becca's has a slot for a clip of bullets and you can shoot one after the other with that one.

Savannah was a little worried about the whole shooting thing when we first arrived and there was a tear or two that escaped and she said she didn't want to do it. However, with some great coaching, she became a real sharp shooter. Her target looked great! Very consistent in her aim.

Now Cooper is learning to shoot the pistol.

Nicked enjoyed shooting Rod's 223. All the big people liked that rifle, as well as the pistol.

"One-eyed Willie" - as Katie used to call her when she was little, is trying out the hand gun. She loved it!

How many LaMunyon men does it take to load a black powder musket??

C'mon guys. You can do it!

Eric's turn.

Em was so sweet to help the kids, too. She enjoyed shooting the bigger guns. When she fired the black powder rifle, her face broke out in a huge grin and she just giggled! It was so cute! Cooper is getting another bullet to load into the little 22.

This was such a fun family activity. Everyone really enjoyed the shooting - well, everyone but Rod. He didn't fire even one shot. He just wanted to take everyone and make sure they had a good time. He is awesome! When we got home, the kids were really good to help clean all of the guns, too.

Rod set up all of the cleaning stuff on the back porch. Savannah helped brush and clean the barrels of the guns. This was a great learning experience for the kids. I think they will always remember when they got to shoot the guns!