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Dispatch from America’s Heartland—shooting guns as a character building competitive school sport

Coach Tim O'Connor teaches firearms safety at Heartland Public Shooting Range's Sporting Clays Range in Grand Island, Nebraska
Thomas Wilmer

I spent some time at the Heartland Public Shooting Park, located on the outskirts of Grand Island, Nebraska to visit with Tim O’Connor, a shooting-sport coach at the local Catholic high school. 

O'Connor shares examples of how competitive shooting sports teach students critical life lessons, to not only challenge themselves to achieve more, but to work as a team. Firearms safety is an essential ongoing part of the program.

The culture of the shooting sports, and hunting, remains firmly imbedded in the cultural fabric of the American Heartland.

Tim O'Connor supervises a student at Heartland Public Shooting Range in Grand Island, Nebraska
Credit Thomas Wilmer
Tim O'Connor supervises a student at Heartland Public Shooting Range in Grand Island, Nebraska

There’s a dramatic difference between the urban dweller in Miami, Florida or Phoenix, Arizona who struts their stuff by packing a pistol whenever they head out to grab a bite to eat at the local McDonald’s than the folks in Nebraska where hunting is a multi-generational part of the cultural fabric. The gun culture is also a part of the lives of those who don’t hunt but simply love to engage in shooting at targets as a competitive sport.

Tim O'Connor shooting sport coach at Heartland Public Shooting Range in Grand Island, Nebraska
Credit Thomas Wilmer
Tim O'Connor shooting sport coach at Heartland Public Shooting Range in Grand Island, Nebraska

Join correspondent Tom Wilmer at the Heartland Public Shooting Park, located on the outskirts of Grand Island, Nebraska for a visit with Tim O’Connor at the Sporting Clays Range, followed by a visit with Todd McCoy, and the range safety-officer at the rifle range.

Target practice with 22. rifle at Heartland Public Shooting Range in Grand Island, Nebraska
Credit Thomas Wilmer
Target practice with 22. rifle at Heartland Public Shooting Range in Grand Island, Nebraska
Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer NPR One, Apple Podcast album art
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Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer NPR One, Apple Podcast album art

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Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer winner of the Lowell Thomas Award 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013
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Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer winner of the Lowell Thomas Award 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013

Tom Wilmer produces on-air content for Issues & Ideas airing over KCBX and is producer and host of the six-time Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR podcast Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer. Recorded live on-location across America and around the world, the podcasts feature the arts, culture, music, nature, history, science, wine & spirits, brewpubs, and the culinary arts--everything from baseball to exploring South Pacific atolls to interviewing the real Santa Claus in the Arctic.
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