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Notes for the Merit Badge Counselor:

As with all merit badges concerning firearms, the OutdoorsMen International requires that there be a Munitions Administrator Nurse (MAN) present at all times. In the event a firearm is discharged, the MAN will be there to Witness, Assess, Testify, Cauterize, and Help (WATCH). When all of the MANs are done WATCHing, only then should injured persons seek medical treatment. The MAN is not responsible for providing medical help.

Additionally, all Merit Badge meetings should be initiated by reciting the OutdoorsMen oath. Firearm merit badges should take extra time to consider the oath's sections on "duty to God and country."

Welcome to the FIREARM REPAIR MERIT BADGE

This badge has been designed to teach young OutdoorsMen like yourself the proper measures that go into understanding, diagnosing, and repairing your firearm. Anyone who has been a firearm user for long enough knows that their firearm may as well be an extension of their own body. And like the rest of your body, it is an OutdoorsMan's duty to keep it Clean and Orderly, as the OutdoorsMen's Law states. After all, how can you serve your God and your Country if your body, mind, soul, or firearm is not fit to do your duty?

The Firearm Repair Merit Badge is split into three core parts: understanding your firearm, diagnosing the damage, and repairing your firearm. Each of these sections will end with a number of requirements that you must be able to demonstrate to your Firearm Repair Merit Badge Counselor. Upon demonstrating these skills, you will be granted the merit badge signifying your achievement at your next Honor Court.

With the introduction complete, are you ready to begin, OutdoorsMan?

Part 1: Understanding Your Firearm

A firearm is a precision tool made to deliver projectiles (e.g. BBs, pellets, bullets, harm) precisely. The firearm has been designed to operate in any number of environments and carry out its singular objective. All of the parts of any firearm serve to contribute to three goals that accomplish the objective:

1. Increasing speed and precision of the projectile

2. Controlling the number of projectiles the firearm can deliver

3. Communicating the power of the firearm to the operator and receiver

With your Merit Badge Counselor, review the three main components on the example firearm. Each of the main components are made of constituent components. Some constituent components too contain sub-constituent components. All components work together to serve the firearm's three goals and single objective. The main components are:

1. Barrel

The barrel of a firearm is designed to increase the speed and precision of the projectile. Some firearms have rifling which helps the projectile obtain gyroscopic precession, further ensuring that the projectile can accomplish its objective. Others are designed to spread a number of projectiles across a space, designed to meet an area objective rather than a point objective.

2. Action

Depending on the firearm, this may include the firing pin, the chamber, the revolver, the bolt, the pump, the lever, the magazine, etc. Actions vary greatly depending on the sub-objective of the firearm, but are generally responsible for controlling the number of projectiles the firearm can deliver to its objective.

OutdoorsMen Tip

You can file down the firing pin of your firearm until it can no longer shoot, but you will still be seen as a gun

3. Stock

This component of a firearm is what transfers the equal and opposite force of the projectile to the user. Every bit of force in the forward direction is mirrored to the wielder of a firearm, making the stock important in communicating the power of the firearm to the operator and receiver. Anyone experienced in using their firearm will inevitably and invariably become calloused to the forces produced. This numbness is an asset in disguise, as it further helps the firearm become an extension of the body; operators are less likely to flinch when carrying out the objective of their firearm.

These three (3) main components are the most important and universal to the extension of yourself that is the firearm. They are necessary components that contribute to the objective and very nature of the firearm.

You have power built into your nature. You wouldn't deny it.

Requirements:

1. Demonstrate to your Merit Badge Counselor one of the following:

   a. Proper firearm handling

   b. The power you feel in your hands

   c. Your authority/Consequences of questioning your authority

   d. How to properly unload and reload your firearm

2. What are the three (3) main components of a firearm? Which of the three (3) goals do they each meet?

3. What is the objective of a firearm? You can admit it. We all know it. Say it to your Merit Badge Counselor.

4. Recite the following oath to your Merit Badge Counselor: My firearm is an extension of me. My firearm's intentions are my own.

Part 2: Diagnosing Damage

To carry out this merit badge, you must demonstrate your knowledge not only of your firearm, but also in diagnosing and repairing its damage. You may be examining your firearm with concern, thinking, "my firearm is not damaged." But this represents flaws in your approach.

Firstly, the firearm is an extension of you. In some ways, it is only natural to think of you as one and the same. It is not "your firearm" or "my firearm" it is instead more accurate to say "you" or "I." Secondly, and fortunately, the very need to have (or be) a firearm is an indicator of damage.

With that matter settled, the first step of diagnosing your firearm's damage is by considering which of the main components are not meeting their goal.

Go through this checklist on your own or with your counselor, but always supervised:

1. ‍Is your barrel delivering your projectile at the speed and precision needed to achieve its objective?

If not:

• Consider purchasing a Boresnake™. Along with a helping of firearm oil, your barrel can be cleaned quite quickly. Remember, cleanliness is one of an OutdoorsMan's Duties and a part of the OutdoorsMan's law.

2. Is your action properly equipped to meet your delivery needs?

‍ ‍ If not:

• In the case of being under equipped, consider lowering the scope of your objective. Some firearms are able to deliver projectiles at long range to large zones, but other firearms are better equipped for home use. Make sure you put your power to the things you are able to control. A small amount of power can feel great when applied to things smaller than it.

3. Is your stock communicating your power appropriately?

‍ ‍ If not:

• Ensure that the stock is properly sized. One quick way to check this is by putting your arm into the OutdoorsMan's salute. If you can hold the grip with the stock sitting comfortably in the crook of your elbow, it is properly sized to become an extension of the user.

• See if you are adequately calloused. You should not flinch when wielding the power. You may be able to address this by accepting your nature or by wearing garments with padding on the shoulder. Pain may linger long after wielding your power.

Requirements:

1. Demonstrate to your Merit Badge Counselor proper technique in cleaning the barrel of a firearm. Explain the importance of cleanliness in doing your duty.

2. Show to your Merit Badge Counselor, group of friends, or father that you do not flinch when wielding your power. Bask in their pride. Chase that feeling.

3. Explain to your Merit Badge Counselor the importance of appropriately matching your power to your surroundings. As a young OutdoorsMan, what are appropriate avenues for demonstrating your power?

Part 3: Repair

Repairing is not as easy as the diagnostic steps may seem to suggest. While it is tremendously important to ensure cleanliness and order, there are some signs of damage which are not as easily addressed. If you notice spots of red, you may try to polish the rust until it shines, only to find more spots of red.

Just as the need to have (or be) a firearm marks a sign of damage, the use of a firearm marks the need for repair. A firearm will try to limit its spread, but every force will apply in both directions. There is no power without destruction. No repair without damage. No firearm without its wielder. No you without your power.

A firearm is a precision tool made to carry out a singular objective.

In the United States of America, the country OutdoorsMen swear their duty to, 79% of murders involve a firearm.

Your firearm is an extension of you.

Men, no different from OutdoorsMen like yourself, account for 79% of violent crime.

You are a gun.

The first rule of firearm safety is to treat every firearm like it is loaded.

Everyone will know you are able to fire. You will file down your firing pin. You will muzzle your muzzle. You will empty your chamber. You will drop your magazine. It is not enough to cease fire. It is not enough to refuse to take aim. They will still know your objective by your design. You have power. An objective. Arms engineered to cleave life and limb. It is in your nature.

Requirements:

1. Put down the gun

2. Put down the gun

3. Put down the gun

Analysis by Daniel Amster

There are two dispositions to creative writing styles: the narrative and the lyric. “Firearm Repair Merit Badge” by Eric Lippe falls into the latter category due to the hybridity of writing genres present.

Narrative writing prioritizes a coherent story. There is a clear cause-and-effect timeline, and the characters are acting on the stage for the audience. In poetry, first-person pronouns are often an indicator of a narrative style, as the audience sees the narrator separate from themselves.

Lyric writing, on the other hand, prioritizes portraying a specific mindset. It is a liminal space. Cause and effect are secondary to the emotion between them. In poetry, second-person pronouns are often an indicator of a lyric style, as the audience sees themselves through the narrator. The audience is essentially watching themselves on the stage.

Although second-person pronouns are relatively common in poetry, they are less so in prose. The genre's extended length asks the audience to immerse themselves in a second-person perspective for a longer period. The suspension of disbelief is more likely to break.

“Firearm Repair Merit Badge” navigates this as a lyric essay. A lyric essay is founded on poetic language and techniques, translating to prose as a recording that’s closer to the future than the past. The meaning-making moment of the lyric essay is found in what is rather than what was.

Continue reading the full analysis here