As a young hunter, I listened with great interest to any advice offered by old-timers and the (probably unfounded) opinions of my young chums.

Subjects, of course, included weapons, hunting methods, shooting techniques and more. After many decades of hunting and shooting, I’ve developed some opinions of my own, and I’m flattered when folks ask my advice. I try to be careful, however, to stress that there’s usually more than one way to do things, and I generally base my opinions on first-hand experiences, whether good or bad.

This careful approach probably came about after years of sorting through advice I heard that was sometimes good, often confusing, and occasionally really bad. It must be remembered that much of the wisdom dispensed in my youth came from a generation of well-meaning guys who came from very different circumstances than most of us have today. I believe a lot of their ideas were based on economic necessities and tradition rather than objective opinions and logic. I remember advice on many and diverse subjects, everything from hunting boots to keep your feet warm to the best deer rifles to the best snacks while in the woods (pepperoni roasted over a small fire was a favorite.)

Being a beginner myself, I was especially interested in how youngsters were introduced to hunting and shooting and often compared notes with others my age. There seems to be several schools of thought on this even today. One idea that always puzzled me was how folks give a kid a single shot .22 rifle or shotgun to begin their hunting career. I absolutely agree that such a firearm can be a very useful tool to introduce someone to shooting; even loading one shell at a time into a repeater is probably a good idea until the new shooter is familiar and competent with their gun.

When heading into the woods however, I think the novice is better served with more than one shot readily available. Some folks think that having only one shot will encourage the beginner to be more careful and deliberate with his marksmanship. If the kid has had proper instruction and practice, a repeating rifle or shotgun (including a double barrel) makes more sense to me. Old or young, we all miss now and then; worse, a wounded animal may need to be dispatched quickly to turn a disappointing day into a success. Why should the beginner be handicapped and have added stress while the old pro gets as many shots as he wants?

Having put forth this idea, I would hasten to add that handing a new hunter a semi-auto rifle or shotgun is not a great idea either, for a variety of reasons which we might explore at another time.

One practice I saw in my youth that I’m completely against, is letting a new shooter of any age shoot a gun of any type that is more powerful than they are ready for. Some old-timers apparently thought it was funny to see a kid bruise his shoulder or get a black eye or ringing ears from shooting a hard-kicking, roaring young cannon that the kid doesn’t need anyway (eye and ear protection are a must!). Some elders expressed the idea that this initiation would somehow teach respect for firearms, while the people subjected to this unnecessary torture would sometimes want nothing more to do with shooting, and often express negative memories of the experience decades later, wondering even yet why their mentor was so sadistic.

Another piece of questionable advice I hate to hear seems to recur with annoying frequency. This often has to do with an inexperienced person walking into a sports shop looking for a weapon for self-defense. Having been a firearms instructor for over 40 years, I feel qualified to comment and offer the following example.

An acquaintance, not a youngster, who has always been proficient with revolvers, wanted to purchase a new handgun for self-defense. A friend of his recommended a couple of different brands of semi-auto handguns and assured him that they would find a “small, handy semi-auto” that would provide for home and personal defense. Off they went to a gun shop to look over some choices. After talking to a salesman about different models and calibers, he discovered a bewildering selection of handguns. In addition to caliber choices and size, our friend learned a quick lesson in other options, such as safeties and/or decocking levers, magazine release shapes and positions, slide releases and more. Holding one particular weapon that the salesman in the store suggested, it felt a bit foreign in his hand, but not bad; it even had a laser sight.

All went well until he got the weapon home and actually tried to shoot it. He found that loading the magazine was a bit difficult and manipulating the small magazine release button and slide release required some effort as well. These functions were not practiced or really mentioned in the store. Firing the gun showed that he could get acceptable accuracy at reasonable distances, but he told me he really had trouble feeling confident with the gun. I suggested that maybe additional practice with more handling of the weapon might help and I reminded him that he didn’t have to settle for that particular gun as a final choice for such a serious purpose. The last I heard, he was still doubtful about trusting his new toy for self-defense.

Let’s encourage shooters of all ages in their efforts, and always try to give well thought-out advice.

Roger Sager, an Era outdoor columnist, can be reached at rogersager@gmail.com