Living with my grandmother and her father, it fell to me to put meat on the table. I got my first .22 rifle at age 5.
But my most favorite gun of all time was an old Red Ryder BB gun that my aunt gave me. With that gun I "fought the Japanese, in the Pacific, with John Wayne" and helped "settle Custer's hash at Little Bighorn". Many a murderous tin can met it's doom, When Red Ryder and I were in the field. (and that old gun shot hard enough to penetrate one side of and obnoxious bean can or skulking sardine tin that came into our sites.)
One day, as I lurked in the bush of Bataan awaiting the next banzi charge, I saw my granny come ut to hang clothes on the line.
She must have been feeling frisky, as once she was finished she was almost skipping back to the house, swinging the stainless steel pan she had carried the clothes in, behind her.
I decided to startle her by ringing the pan with a well placed shot.
Taking careful aim, but forgetting to calculate windage and elevation, I shot her in the butt.
For a second, she was surprised and hurt. Then the mad set in. Quickly calculating what John Wayne or Errol Flynn would do in this situation, I decided that if my shooting didn't impress her, my disappearing act would.
I was fast approaching the speed of light, when she let fly ith a piece of cordwood. Down I went and had it not been for that cow pie, I'd probably have skinned my face badly.
(I learned later that she had not intended to hit me, but only to "startle" me.)
But my most favorite gun of all time was an old Red Ryder BB gun that my aunt gave me. With that gun I "fought the Japanese, in the Pacific, with John Wayne" and helped "settle Custer's hash at Little Bighorn". Many a murderous tin can met it's doom, When Red Ryder and I were in the field. (and that old gun shot hard enough to penetrate one side of and obnoxious bean can or skulking sardine tin that came into our sites.)
One day, as I lurked in the bush of Bataan awaiting the next banzi charge, I saw my granny come ut to hang clothes on the line.
She must have been feeling frisky, as once she was finished she was almost skipping back to the house, swinging the stainless steel pan she had carried the clothes in, behind her.
I decided to startle her by ringing the pan with a well placed shot.
Taking careful aim, but forgetting to calculate windage and elevation, I shot her in the butt.
For a second, she was surprised and hurt. Then the mad set in. Quickly calculating what John Wayne or Errol Flynn would do in this situation, I decided that if my shooting didn't impress her, my disappearing act would.
I was fast approaching the speed of light, when she let fly ith a piece of cordwood. Down I went and had it not been for that cow pie, I'd probably have skinned my face badly.
(I learned later that she had not intended to hit me, but only to "startle" me.)
.
Appears to me that Granny was a good shot with the piece of cordwood.