Headline: Reporter with a gun - Lessons from the firing range

The Akron Beacon-Journal isn't known for its fair and balanced reporting on the issue of gun rights, nor even for its accuracy when it comes to writing about the firearms which are occasionally used in the commission of crimes. But kudos to one B-J crime reporter who recognized his ignorance and did something about it.

[T]his year when I was working on a story as the police reporter for the Beacon Journal[,] Akron police told me they recovered a .22-caliber handgun after a shooting, and I asked the officer if he meant to say a 9 mm gun. I’d only ever heard of .22-caliber rifles.

I had an epiphany: If I am going to write about guns, I need an education...

Journalist Nick Glunt explains that he sought out an instructor, and selected Amanda Suffecool, a gun instructor certified by the National Rifle Association who also serves as director of the not-for-profit REALIZE Firearms Awareness Coalition.

She said she thought guns and gun owners often were misrepresented in the media because reporters lacked education on the topic. She told me I shouldn’t expect to fire a gun until at least a couple hours into my first lesson. The first hours, she said, would be devoted to firearm safety and awareness.

After documenting his nerves about his first lesson, Glunt continues:

“So what do you want to learn from these lessons?” she asked.

I admitted I knew next to nothing about guns. I told her about the day I fired a gun with my dad and how I wanted to be better informed.

“Basically, I want to know what you think I should know,” I said.

“Then let’s start with the basics,” she said.

We spent two hours talking about guns. Some things I already knew, like the difference between semi-automatic and automatic weapons, and how a revolver works.

Other things I felt like I should have known, but never bothered to learn.

“Do you know how guns work?” she asked.

I didn’t know.

Suffecool explained in simple terms how pulling the trigger forces a mechanism to strike the back of the round, causing a split-second chain reaction that explodes gunpowder and propels the bullet in the only direction it can go: out the gun’s barrel at high velocity.

She explained how unloaded rounds simply pop when exposed to heat. Without a gun’s barrel to guide it, a firearm round is practically harmless.

Now I knew.

In my lessons with Suffecool, that was a recurring theme. She’d ask a question, I wouldn’t know the answer, and she’d explain without judgment.

Frankly, it was a relief.

Glunt goes on to describe his first experience shooting a firearm since he was a child, and then shared some lessons learned:

I’d come to realize how safety is paramount to many gun owners. It’s important to remember you only ever hear about the accidents and the violence. There are no headlines for safe gun use.

I learned marksmanship is much more difficult than I imagined. Though I think I have some meager talent, there’s a science to target-shooting that I couldn’t fully grasp in two lessons.

I felt a degree of pride in myself. I could now speak somewhat intelligently about guns, and I had personal experience to draw from. I’d never considered putting myself through firearms training, but I was glad I stepped out of my comfort zone.

Finally — and perhaps most importantly — I reminded myself how I must never forget how dangerous guns are. They’re so dangerous that responsible gun owners pride themselves on safe use and denounce those who act rashly. But even for responsible gun owners, one slip-up could cost a life.

Frankly, I’m glad I learned to use firearms. But you won’t catch me at a gun show any time soon.

I'm thankful to Nick Glunt for having recognized his lack of knowledge about a subject he is employed to write on, and for doing something about it. There are many, many of his colleagues who should follow in his footsteps.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.