From the local newspaper today. It's a copy/paste so not sure the formatting is correct.

Scouts shoot guns, some for first time
By Greg Jordan
BLUEFIELD DAILY TELEGRAPH

glen jean — Cracks and pops of firearms rang out Monday as instructors reminded their pupils to put on eye protection and insert ear plugs, but the students lining up to shoot pistols, shotguns and rifles weren’t police or soldiers. Many of them were Scouts getting ready to shoot for the first time in their lives.

Thousands of Scouts are sampling new foods, making new friends and learning new ways of living at the 24th World Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve. Activities such as zip lines, rock climbing, archery, and skateboarding are among the things Scouts can try, but one of the most popular is one many of them cannot enjoy in their own countries: shooting.

Being able to handle and shoot any kind of firearm is truly an event for many Scouts from countries where gun ownership is prohibited. It’s a very emotional event for some Scouts, said Scott Armstrong, a team leader for the jamboree’s international media team.

He recalled one particular Scout — he couldn’t remember what country she called home, but he remembered her reaction to firing a gun.“One girl was crying,” Armstrong said. “When we asked her if she was crying, she said, ‘Yes, these are tears of joy. I’ve never been able to shoot. My country doesn’t allow it. We don’t have this freedom.’ She said she had never shot before and probably never will again.”

Scouts arriving at the multiple gun ranges around Si and Eaton Brown’s Bluff immediately heard the crackle of gunfire. The range had to be especially big to accommodate thousands of novice shooters.

“This is two miles of shooting range,” Matt Derezinski with the Scouts international media said as visiting media walked to the first shooters station. “This is the third-largest shooting range in the country.” And the activity is especially popular. During the 2017 National Jamboree, about 100,000 Scouts went through the shooting courses in 10 days, he estimated. “Some go through two or three times, so it’s really popular,” he said.

At one station, Scouts put on protective helmets and visors so they could try shooting chalk ball, also known as powder ball. The chalk balls are fired from carbon dioxide guns used mostly for paint ball shooting, Event Manager John Phillips explained. The balls explode into powder whenever they strike a target.

Soon a row of Scouts were shooting at static targets. They quickly went over to a neighboring range with moving targets. At each station, the Scouts were instructed to keep their fingers off the triggers until it was time to fire and to keep the chalk ball guns pointed down range.

It was the first time Ishaan Nathani of Kenya had ever fired a gun. He enjoyed it more than archery. Fellow Kenyan Scout Raiihaan Samnani said he might have hit two targets — one still, another rolling — so it was worth traveling five days to reach the United States.
Hazrie Ezeidi of Malaysia had prior paintball shooting experience. Like Scouts from other nations, he has few chances to handle firearms. “You have to be either a soldier or be in the police to be able to carry a gun,” he said. “I’m looking forward to firing the 12-gauge shotgun.”

Down the road, Scouts seated under a huge pavilion watched a shotgun safety briefing. A briefing for pistol safety was going on under a nearby tent. When preliminary instructions were over, the Scouts headed across the road. One guide remarked that about one million rounds of ammunition were fired during the 2017 National Scout Jamboree, and more could be fired during the larger international outing.

Jeff Sato, the steel plate pistol range manager, greeted visitors. Scouts were learning to load and fire .22-caliber pistols and the new German Sig P320 .9-mm pistol; the latter firearm will soon be issued to NATO forces, he said. Visiting soldiers were given an opportunity to fire the new gun, too.

Safety procedures were enforced constantly. Range instructor and safety officer Michael McClain said each Scout was paired with an instructor. There were safety officers for every four Scouts and one instructor for each shooter. “This is the safest place on the campus,” he stated as gunfire crackled and targets were hit. “We’ve had no injuries. At least 90 percent of the shooters are non-U.S. citizens. They don’t have this opportunity in their own countries. All of the shooters have been exceptionally friendly and I have had the time of my life introducing them to shooting.”

Scout Meneguzzo of Brazil was firing the 9-mm at another range. Like other visiting Scouts, he said that back home only police or the military were allowed to have guns. Brazil’s current president is trying to change this situation, but he is having a difficult time.
Scouts who finished firing guns were asked by a team from West Virginia University to participate in forensic research. The WVU professors swabbed samples of gun residue from the novice shooters’ hands to use in work to develop new techniques. Assistant Professor Tatiana Trejos said WVU is working on new equipment to detect gunshot residue which is invisible to the naked eye.

New equipment now under development will allow law enforcement officers to test suspects for gunshot residue in 10 minutes instead of eight hours, she said. Portable equipment will allow them to do this testing in the field.

Scouts were presented their paper targets as a memento. Inés Fernandes of Portugal wouldn’t be able to get such a souvenir back home. “No, we can’t,” she replied when asked if gun ownership is allowed back home. “It’s really difficult to get a license.” It was Fernandes’ second time through the shooting ranges. She planned to do it again “if I have time to do it. It’s really cool.”

Great exposure to many young folks. Seeds have been plated.

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We had visiting coworkers from the UK and India and we always tried to get them to the range. I enjoyed introducing them to our sport.

Several years ago when the new scout place was holding their first yearly Jamboree there. Kent the proprietor was logging in a whole tractor trailer load of Remington 870 Express shotguns. He had to rent a forklift to unload all the pallets of shotguns and then log them in and probably do the 4473 form for all of them.

That's amazing. I'd like to spend a couple days out there looking round on my own with keys to everything.

When I was going to college, had roommates from Japan and Korea and they were very interested in shooting. My roommate from Japan and his girlfriend were very surprised any firearms were even manufactured in Japan. I happened to have a Miroku Browning 1885 they greatly enjoyed shooting.

It is a wonderful thing to show people from other countries a little bit of truth regarding firearms, good on the Scouts for being such wonderful ambassadors.

A few years ago, one of my sister's nieces from Brazil went to see about a visa to visit the U.S.. During the interview they asked her, "What do you want to do in the U.S.?" "I want to learn to SHOOT!" she said. She'd heard about our family get togethers and how much fun we have at the range and such - and wanted to experience it. Well, she got the visa - and also got randomly selected for a special search at every airport she went through in the U.S.!

Oh. And she also got to fulfill her dream. Don't remember who took her to the range, but she was able to send some rounds downrange and did quite well they tell me.