Monday Morning email from Two-Gun Annie

Two-Gun Annie with the red hair is kind enough to send me the occasional NRA type info that comes across her computer screen.  She shared this one earlier today.

As a kid growing up here in the Big Town of Savage I was sure I knew everything there was to know about rifles and shotguns.  I had no trouble hitting a penny stuck up in the bark of a big tree down behind the house and while I wasn't great at hunting (wild animals are sneaky critters for a kid to hunt), I did enjoy it when I had the chance.

My earliest introduction to rifles/shotguns was from my Uncle John out near Chatham, Virginia.  Mom, Dad and I would spend most holidays down there with momma's sister and Uncle John.  It helped that Lucy and John had a bunch of kids and grandkids for me to play with.

I recall one particular visit when I wasn't too old yet, maybe 11 or 12, and Uncle John was out showing off his .22/.410 over-under rifle/shotgun.  It was a single shot and designed to shoot either weapon with the flick of a switch.  He had set up a makeshift target and was shooting the .22 rifle at it.  He asked if I'd like to try; and of course I was tickled as anything to get my hands on a gun even though at that time I knew little about them.

Uncle John had me squat down and shoot the .22.  I wasn't too good at first then I got so I was feeling more confident after I landed a few shots close to the middle of the target.  Since it was a single shot gun, Uncle John had to reload it after each shot.

My next shot was much louder with a hard recoil jolt to my shoulder.  It knocked me back on my butt and I had no idea what had just happened.  Turned out that unbeknownst to me Uncle John had a shotgun shell in the chamber too and when he reloaded the .22, he flicked the gun from the rifle to the shotgun.  All the relatives were watching me and laughing their ass off.

Uncle John was kind enough to explain what happened and asked if I'd like to try the shotgun some more.  Needless to say I enjoyed the next few shots much more than that first, unexpected, jolting attempt!  Uncle John and Aunt Lucy were always at the top of my favorite relative list.

JD, with a bit more gun use knowledge today in the BToS...