Thanks, everyone, greatly appreciated!
Taylor, thanks for your question. It's not by any means harsh, and completely warranted. I'll try to explain the utilization of the rifles by the HFH, and hopefully, if I get it screwed up, Bill will jump in and correct anything that's not quit right...
The Hunts for Healing organization is set up to help servicemen and women who are struggling with combat related experiences and injuries, both physically and emotionally. In essence, it's designed to help the healing process by re-establishing a sense of self worth, or re-connecting with self and others through experiences in the outdoors, specifically through hunting. Many of the veterans participating in the program have a past closely associated with the outdoors, and hunting specifically. I think most of us can relate to the experiences we share through shooting, and / or hunting, especially with muzzleloaders. I think most of us can also relate to the feelings we get when surrounded by the wonder of nature / God. I won't go into a whole esoteric rambling about how this seems to help some people, but it clearly does, and that's essentially what HFH tries to tap into.
As for the rifles, they are being donated to a Chapter that operates in Pennsylvania. When the Chapter was first formed, it seemed every year there was a mad scramble to beg and/or borrow enough rifles for utilization. This particular Chapter utilizes flintlock rifles for the two week muzzle loading season in PA. As you can imagine, not all the rifles borrowed were the most desirable. As a result, various people were contacted over the last few years and asked to build rifles such as Mitch and I posted.
These rifles belong to the HFH Chapter. Basically, the rifles are kept in a secure location then "issued" to a participant. When the servicemen & women show up for the hunts (typically a four day event), they are given formal classroom instruction on the operation and function of a flintlock firearm, by certified NRA instructors. They are shown and taught proper loading procedures, then closely monitored while loading the rifle. They're also given range instruction and shoot the rifles (under supervision) until they're comfortable with loading, handling, and shooting the pieces. Same thing goes for cleaning the rifles. They're shown how it's done, then get to clean the rifle they're utilizing, again under the supervision of a "mentor". When they're out hunting, the participants are also with a "mentor" the entire time.
That's about it. The short of it is, the rifles are well cared for, and great pains are taken to ensure their proper use.
Thanks again, all!
Ed
