When I retired I had a bunch of rimfire rifles in my collection,,,
I must admit that for a lot of years in my 50's and 60's,,,
I collected (amassed) guns more than I shot them.
I was single with a professional career and it's associated salary,,,
If I saw or read about a gun and it intrigued me,,,
I often bought it just to shoot it a few times.
When I had played with it enough to satisfy the purchase,,,
I just cleaned it very well and placed it in my safe.
The last few years before I retired from the University,,,
I started shooting more and not buying at all.
I sold off most of the "amassed" guns,,,
But I also gifted a good number of them to friends.
On a whim I bought a 5" Heritage cowboy revolver new from Buds,,,
I put maybe 200 rounds through it when it was new to me.
I had made friends with a beautiful young college girl named Sarah,,,
She was a server at my favorite Italian restaurant/bar,,,
We went shooting pistols at my club many times.
When she graduated with a B.A. in Engineering from OK State,,,
I made her a custom "Cowboy" gun belt, holster, with ammo pouch,,,
I must admit I chose the Heritage because I wanted to make the Cowboy rig for her.
When we went shooting she always made me think of Hannie Caulder.
I drove to a friends house one afternoon,,,
And laid five open rifle cases out on his driveway,,,
And told his three sons they could each pick one for their own.
A classic Mossberg, a very nice Western-Field (Mossberg),,,
And an H&H Sportster were chosen by the boys.
I gifted away Ruger LC-9 along with a Twisted Industries .22 adapter,,,
This was to the 20 year old daughter of a dear friend,,,
I had known her since she was 3 days old.
He brought her to work and I absconded with her infant self,,,
I took her all around our building telling people,,,
I had bought her from the gypsies.
Her younger brother (10 years old) got a Savage Mk-IIF bolt-action rifle,,,
I had put a Simmons 3-9 x 32 scope on it zeroed to 50 yards,,,
He also got two-10 round and one 5-round mags.
I could easily have sold the guns for a bit of cash money,,,
But seeing the faces of the newly armed kids,,,
Was worth more than the cash to me.
Maybe it's because my first really nice firearm was a gift to me,,,
My parents were good friends with an older gentleman,,,
He was very well off and hunted/fished the world.
One day I went with my Dad to his house,,,
Dad was going to do some carpentry job for him,,,
While Dad worked "Mr. Classen" took me to his backyard range.
We spent a happy couple of hours with me shooting a single-shot .22 rifle,,,
I can't remember the model number but it was an older Savage,,,
He coached me through using the peep sight on the rifle.
I was eventually hitting soup cans standing at 25 yards.
Dad finished whatever he was doing so we all went back inside,,,
Mr. Classen had me clean the rifle and oil it up,,,
Then he put it in a canvas rifle case,,,
And told me it was now "mine".
I got so choked up I couldn't thank him,,,
My 11 year old self almost cried.
That Christmas, after we got our Santa presents,,,
My Grandfather reached behind the couch and handed me,,,
A Springfield 45-70 trapdoor in absolute excellent shooting condition,,,
And the K98 German Mauser that his older Brother had brought back from WW-II.
So I've been the recipient of several fine fiery-arms when I was a youth,,,
I decided that I wanted to spread a bit of that joy myself.
This past Summer I gifted a good buddy,,,
A 7" Browning Buckmark Hunter,,,
And a 4.5" Beretta U22 NEOS.
I'm preparing the next ones to go out the door this week.
A work colleague and his wife have been my friends for over 15 years now,,,
They were newlyweds when I met them and now have 3 children,,,
They are in the 8th, 6th, and 4th grades.
The Dad has been to my rifle-pistol club as a guest a few times,,,
He (or maybe his wife) has a 3" Ruger in .357 Mag,,,
I clued him into shooting .38 Special rounds,,,
Now he actually likes shooting it.
He said that after Christmas he is going to get a family membership,,,
So I'm going to give his a pair of rifles that are very appropriate.
A Henry Acu-Bolt .22 single-shot rifle scoped with a Simmons 3-9 x 32,,,
And the youth sized Henry Mini-Bolt with fiber optic sights.
I have the Henry 4X scope that originally came with the Acu-Bolt,,,
But I replaced it with that Simmons so I could use the 4X on the Mini-Bolt.
He'll get that scope and mount as well,,,
I just think it would be better practice for his three kids,,,
To use the fiber optic sights when they are first learning how to shoot.
Big targets at first,,,
Like gallon water jugs filled with water,,,
Then start scaling the targets down to those mini Coke cans
I'm old school about this topic,,,
A person should first learn to shoot with open sights.
I'll help them mount the 4X scope,,,
When and if they decide they want to use it.
The first day the temps reach the 60's,,,
I'm taking the rifles to the range for a sighting session.
I'll ensure the Acu-Bolt is zeroed in at 50 yards,,,
I've always been able to hold a Nickle (fat Nickel) group at that distance.
I'll also ensure that the Mini-Bolt has at least 1" groups at 25 yards,,,
The rifle itself is capable of much more accuracy that that,,,
I'm not sure that my 72 year old eyes can do better.
Once that is done I'll scrub the rifles to a like new condition,,,
Put them in modest Plano cases from Academy Sports,,,
And assemble a range bag with "ears and eyes",,,
Cleaning kit, and a stock of plinking ammo.
My goal is to set them up with the whole kit and caboodle,,,
I just need one 60's degree day to get the guns ready.
Aarond
P.S. I warned you that this was a long post.
.
I must admit that for a lot of years in my 50's and 60's,,,
I collected (amassed) guns more than I shot them.
I was single with a professional career and it's associated salary,,,
If I saw or read about a gun and it intrigued me,,,
I often bought it just to shoot it a few times.
When I had played with it enough to satisfy the purchase,,,
I just cleaned it very well and placed it in my safe.
The last few years before I retired from the University,,,
I started shooting more and not buying at all.
I sold off most of the "amassed" guns,,,
But I also gifted a good number of them to friends.
On a whim I bought a 5" Heritage cowboy revolver new from Buds,,,
I put maybe 200 rounds through it when it was new to me.
I had made friends with a beautiful young college girl named Sarah,,,
She was a server at my favorite Italian restaurant/bar,,,
We went shooting pistols at my club many times.
When she graduated with a B.A. in Engineering from OK State,,,
I made her a custom "Cowboy" gun belt, holster, with ammo pouch,,,
I must admit I chose the Heritage because I wanted to make the Cowboy rig for her.
When we went shooting she always made me think of Hannie Caulder.
I drove to a friends house one afternoon,,,
And laid five open rifle cases out on his driveway,,,
And told his three sons they could each pick one for their own.
A classic Mossberg, a very nice Western-Field (Mossberg),,,
And an H&H Sportster were chosen by the boys.
I gifted away Ruger LC-9 along with a Twisted Industries .22 adapter,,,
This was to the 20 year old daughter of a dear friend,,,
I had known her since she was 3 days old.
He brought her to work and I absconded with her infant self,,,
I took her all around our building telling people,,,
I had bought her from the gypsies.
Her younger brother (10 years old) got a Savage Mk-IIF bolt-action rifle,,,
I had put a Simmons 3-9 x 32 scope on it zeroed to 50 yards,,,
He also got two-10 round and one 5-round mags.
I could easily have sold the guns for a bit of cash money,,,
But seeing the faces of the newly armed kids,,,
Was worth more than the cash to me.
Maybe it's because my first really nice firearm was a gift to me,,,
My parents were good friends with an older gentleman,,,
He was very well off and hunted/fished the world.
One day I went with my Dad to his house,,,
Dad was going to do some carpentry job for him,,,
While Dad worked "Mr. Classen" took me to his backyard range.
We spent a happy couple of hours with me shooting a single-shot .22 rifle,,,
I can't remember the model number but it was an older Savage,,,
He coached me through using the peep sight on the rifle.
I was eventually hitting soup cans standing at 25 yards.
Dad finished whatever he was doing so we all went back inside,,,
Mr. Classen had me clean the rifle and oil it up,,,
Then he put it in a canvas rifle case,,,
And told me it was now "mine".
I got so choked up I couldn't thank him,,,
My 11 year old self almost cried.
That Christmas, after we got our Santa presents,,,
My Grandfather reached behind the couch and handed me,,,
A Springfield 45-70 trapdoor in absolute excellent shooting condition,,,
And the K98 German Mauser that his older Brother had brought back from WW-II.
So I've been the recipient of several fine fiery-arms when I was a youth,,,
I decided that I wanted to spread a bit of that joy myself.
This past Summer I gifted a good buddy,,,
A 7" Browning Buckmark Hunter,,,
And a 4.5" Beretta U22 NEOS.
I'm preparing the next ones to go out the door this week.
A work colleague and his wife have been my friends for over 15 years now,,,
They were newlyweds when I met them and now have 3 children,,,
They are in the 8th, 6th, and 4th grades.
The Dad has been to my rifle-pistol club as a guest a few times,,,
He (or maybe his wife) has a 3" Ruger in .357 Mag,,,
I clued him into shooting .38 Special rounds,,,
Now he actually likes shooting it.
He said that after Christmas he is going to get a family membership,,,
So I'm going to give his a pair of rifles that are very appropriate.
A Henry Acu-Bolt .22 single-shot rifle scoped with a Simmons 3-9 x 32,,,
And the youth sized Henry Mini-Bolt with fiber optic sights.
I have the Henry 4X scope that originally came with the Acu-Bolt,,,
But I replaced it with that Simmons so I could use the 4X on the Mini-Bolt.
He'll get that scope and mount as well,,,
I just think it would be better practice for his three kids,,,
To use the fiber optic sights when they are first learning how to shoot.
Big targets at first,,,
Like gallon water jugs filled with water,,,
Then start scaling the targets down to those mini Coke cans
I'm old school about this topic,,,
A person should first learn to shoot with open sights.
I'll help them mount the 4X scope,,,
When and if they decide they want to use it.
The first day the temps reach the 60's,,,
I'm taking the rifles to the range for a sighting session.
I'll ensure the Acu-Bolt is zeroed in at 50 yards,,,
I've always been able to hold a Nickle (fat Nickel) group at that distance.
I'll also ensure that the Mini-Bolt has at least 1" groups at 25 yards,,,
The rifle itself is capable of much more accuracy that that,,,
I'm not sure that my 72 year old eyes can do better.
Once that is done I'll scrub the rifles to a like new condition,,,
Put them in modest Plano cases from Academy Sports,,,
And assemble a range bag with "ears and eyes",,,
Cleaning kit, and a stock of plinking ammo.
My goal is to set them up with the whole kit and caboodle,,,
I just need one 60's degree day to get the guns ready.
Aarond
P.S. I warned you that this was a long post.
.
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