When I was 6

Written on July 30, 2013   By Tony   in Politics and Commentary

My 6th year was a big one as far as shooting sports went.

I was given my very first BB-gun, a Daisy 350 shot repeater, and I shot my very first firearm.

The BB-gun was a gift from family friends, and I’m sure my mother was none-too-pleased, but I was allowed to keep it, and over the years, I did a lot of shooting with it. I learned gun safety with the little Daisy, and, in-spite of the common mantra that had been popularized a year or two earlier by the movie “A Christmas Story” I never did shoot my eye out (or anyone else’s for that matter).

Later that same year, a friend and his father took me out shooting for the very first time. I was in the first grade, and we shot a .22 caliber rifle, I’m not entirely sure of the make, but piecing the memory together the best I can, it was most likely a marlin model 60 of one variety or another. And then at the end of the day shooting, my friends father broke out a Smith and Wesson model 17. The grips on the gun were quite large for my hands, but I managed to hold on, and shoot several cylinders worth of ammo. I had become fascinated with guns when I was 4, but the day I got to shoot one, I became obsessed.

Let’s all try to take more kids shooting. Oh, and I think I need to find another Daisy 350 shot BB-gun!