In a previous post I referred to the gentleman who was giving away guns so that another generation of youngsters could learn about them, and get them hooked on hunting and shooting. In the course of an email correspondence with this gentleman, I mentioned that the small son of a friend of mine had shown an interest in shooting, but that his parents did not own a gun. So, he would come to my home and I would set the bullet trap up in the backyard and let him shoot my pellet rifle. And the kid is pretty dang good at 25 meters, keeping almost every pellet on target even though the rifle is way to big for him. I need to add that his parents are not anti-gun, they just don’t own one, and his father has never been hunting, or shooting.

You can imagine my surprise when he called me and asked me for my FFL dealer’s name and address. When I asked why, he said he had a youth model gun headed my way for the boy I had remarked on. I gave him the information he requested, offered to pay for the gun and shipping, but he said no, that it was his pleasure to do it. Besides, he added, it was a used gun that he had taught his daughter to shoot with, and that she had outgrown it.

Well, a few days pass and my FFL gives me a call and says that a package had arrived with my name on it. It took a few seconds for me to recall the conversation from a week earlier, then told my FFL that I would drop by his shop later that afternoon. I did, and what was waiting for me was a Rossi combo set…a single shot 22 and a spare barrel chambered in 410 gauge shotgun. And the stock is really, really short. My FFL laughed and asked what I was doing with a youth model….he knows my wife doesn’t shoot, and both my sons are grown and gone from home. I told him about the friend’s son, and that it was a gift to me to give to him. Bill, my FFL, smiled and said since that was the case, he was going to pay it forward a bit himself, and waived his usual $20 transfer fee.

After filling out the paperwork, and getting cleared by the Feds, I loaded it up and headed for home. Later that evening, I called my friend and asked if he and his son could drop by for a few minutes, that I had something to ask both of them. He said sure, and about 45 minutes later they were sitting in the den. When I asked if Robbie could have a gun, his dad sat there a bit stunned, then said yes. Robbie, who is 9, was now so excited that I thought he was going to wet his pants. I pulled out the case and removed the butt section and the 22 barrel and put them together. Robbie was almost drooling at this point. I handed it to him and got a big, big smile. Then I showed him how to open and close it, and went through about 10 minutes of safety instruction.

I made a point of telling the kid that it was his gun, but it was going to stay at my house. But, the next time I was going to the range, he and his dad were invited to go along. The reason I am keeping it for storage is I have a safe where it will be locked away with mine, and since no one in his house has any experience with firearms, no since in risking a stupid accident.

We haven’t made it to the range yet since the weather has not been in a mood to cooperate, but Robbie comes by almost every evening for a few minutes to handle HIS gun. He also gets a safety lesson each time. I don’t know who is more excited about him shooting it, him or me. I’m almost positive that he will be hooked for life on it, and I think his dad is going to want to learn to shoot also. I hope so.

That is all we can do to preserve our activity…one person at a time.