TFred
Regular Member
imported post
Archie wrote:
As I contemplated your words, it occurred to me that I should suggest a slight addendum.
Just as we are fond of countering the antis with "guns don't kill people, people kill people", it becomes obvious as one reads your post that it wasn't the guns that raised your kid right, it was you! The gun was, and always is, merely a tool. In this case, it was a reason to spend quality and quantity time with your son, and an instrument about which one must learn responsible behavior. And that responsible behavior then spills over into all areas of life.
As with many other tasks that we prepare to face, some regularly, some never, a gun is a very necessary tool that can make all the difference in the world. You've thoughtfully shown us another purpose that it can serve.
Thanks.
TFred
Archie wrote:
I enjoyed reading your post. Welcome to OCDO!I took my son deer hunting with me at 6.
I got my son his first BB Gun at 8.
I put him through Hunter Education at 11.
I bought him a shotgun that year for his birthday - he nearly turned inside-out with excitement.
The following year he got a muzzleloader for christmas from me, and I helped him buy a deer-hunting shotgun with his own money.
The next year his mother and I went together on a 12 Ga. Semi-Automatic shotgun for Christmas. He gave me back his old Shotgun (from when he was eleven) and told me to sell it to someone who could use it to get a son/daughter into hunting. I sold it for half what I had in it to a gentleman with 11 children who wanted to buy his son a shotgun,but couldn't afford it. That Christmas morning the hunting tradition continued in their household!
He got a .22 Mag given to him by his mother somewhere along the line.
He bought his own .30-06 bolt action last year for Christmas. Then two weeks later he bought a .30-06 auto to fix up, restock, and sell. He still has it and can't seem to part with it.
This year he is going to get a $50 .22 Semi-auto that he can fix up on his own. He wants to hot-rod a .22, and has been wanting to buy a used junker. His mean old father has been telling him he can't seem to find anything cheap on the market. He will be surprized.
What did I get out of all this? A 16 year-old son that I don't have to worry about when he is driving (in the car HE bought and Paid for with his own insurance that did not cost me a dime), when he is hanging around with his friends, or when he is home alone. I never worry about what he is up to and he has never found trouble to get in to. He knows that trouble with dad means a lock on the gun cabinet and trouble with the law means he gives up his guns to the gov't. Further more I got countless hours of time with my pre-teen and teen-ager in the woods - talking about hunting, girls, cars, and whatever else came up. I got a good excuse to go hunting more often than I probably would have otherwise. I never get complaints about being seen with him in public if we are heading out to the sporting goods store.
We allalso get another generation of gun owners, who are interested in the right to bear arms, and are willing to help protect that right. Guns are probably the best gift we can ever give.
As I contemplated your words, it occurred to me that I should suggest a slight addendum.
Just as we are fond of countering the antis with "guns don't kill people, people kill people", it becomes obvious as one reads your post that it wasn't the guns that raised your kid right, it was you! The gun was, and always is, merely a tool. In this case, it was a reason to spend quality and quantity time with your son, and an instrument about which one must learn responsible behavior. And that responsible behavior then spills over into all areas of life.
As with many other tasks that we prepare to face, some regularly, some never, a gun is a very necessary tool that can make all the difference in the world. You've thoughtfully shown us another purpose that it can serve.
Thanks.
TFred