The Young Shootist

When our only child became mobile he also became fascinated with my guns. Always watching me clean them, work on them and shoot them. When he turned 5 we made a conscious decision to give him a gun for Christmas. A real firearm gun. It was a Chipmunk .22. It was a sweet little thing. Before we gave it to him, I took it down and gave it a real nice linseed oil finish over its walnut stock and then waxed the living hell out of. Talk about shine! When he opened that present on Christmas morning, the look on his face was unforgettable. We included a hard case for it that would hold the diminutive rifle as well as eye and ear protection and a few boxes of ammo. I had taken the time to cut out the foam to custom fit all the items. This led to a youth full of practice, lessons, hunting, shooting and responsibility. When he became old enough to walk a full day with me in the field, he carried an empty gun for a whole season. The next season he could only load the gun when we encountered a sitting rabbit. The next season he could carry a fully loaded gun. By the time he graduated from high school he had several deer to his credit with one nice buck hanging on the wall. By the age of nine he was shooting my .40 caliber Star FireStar. Today he is in the Navy, married to a Navy woman and is still interested in firearms and shooting. As soon as he became of age he acquired his CCW and we gave him a Glock 36 in .45 acp. With out time or a place to hunt near his duty station he has gravitated to handguns. He does have a pistol caliber carbine as well as the other guns we gave him while growing up. It is just easier to shoot the handguns with a range just down the street from him. If my economic situation improves, I plan on gifting him a couple of nice firearms. And it is well known that when it's time for me to go to that shooting range in the sky, he is to take possession of my collection. With the exception of a few stolen ones and one trade for others, I have every gun I was given or bought since I was 12. He should make out all right indeed.