a crackpot

[james kelly]

WE all have to make our own choices really early on, because every decision affects you and your course in life. I loved school, because I was away from the perils of home. i excelled there in school. it seemed that the more I learned the more aware I was of what i did not know, but I helped a lot of people with their home work.

[Fletcher]

Similar sentiments except I was a lot less fond of school, the yearning was always for the hills, my dog & my rifle & a hot summers day. Still is. Regular Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn ;)

[james kelly]

SOUNDS like things that I did to go and think during the summer and vacation periods. I had a beautiful Gordon Setter that was ever by my side at home and on hikes.

[graham]

James, a Gordon Setter was one of the nicest dogs ever to grace our humble Home.
Her name was Meghan ,we loved her so much and miss her still
What a great and graceful beautiful breed the Gordon Stetter is.

Graham

[Fletcher]

I had a Samoid then my brother a German Shepard. Samoids are independent souls & have a fondness for roaming which always gave me an excuse to go find him. Their fur is not so good when covered in burrs & in the heat of mid summer. I'm not familair with a Gordon Setter.

[graham]

Fletcher , this is a photo of Meghan . A nicer Gordon Setter there never was. A scenthound hunting dog but also a gentle soul.

[james kelly]

A very beautiful Animal there. She looks just like princess. She loved to run and the water.

[graham]

She loved to run and the water.

She shure did . She loved the beach. I would throw small stones into the water and believe it ir not she could find and recover THAT stone from all the others.
Twin streams of bubbles would come out of her nostrils as she searched for it.
We had a lot of fun together.

Graham

[Fletcher]

Yes, I had friends when I got older that had Labs & similar water/retriever breeds for duck & pheasant shooting. It was fun for a while walking the trails with my dog & my rifle under my arm again as a 12 year old. Haven't used a rifle or shotgun for 'sport hunting' in over 25 years now & happy to remain that way.

[graham]

Haven't used a rifle or shotgun for 'sport hunting' in over 25 years now & happy to remain that way

I'm glad to hear that Fletcher. I never could understand how someone could enjoy killing for sport.
For survival yes, but for pleasure , no way .

Graham

[Fletcher]

Well, I started out with a BSA air rifle at 12, became a crack shot. At 15 graduated to a Stirling 15 shot semi auto .22 & a year later got an old ex army 303 for deer stalking & pig hunting. Borrowed shotguns when I needed to. As a 15 year old I needed a holiday job so got a job as a goat culler with a group of 3 friends on huge & high farms (ranches), 10,000 acres plus. We would go bush for 6 weeks at a time staying in old whare's (stockmans back country huts) & fend for ourselves. They were some of the fittest & most memorable times in a young mans life. We were paid $1 per tail. Made enough to help buy a motorbike & a bit left over for a university education.

Later, I reflected on that experience & although the thrill of the hunt was exciting & hunting was totally acceptable to feed yourself or your family in my books, it was no longer justified in my mind for the sole purpose of an adrenalin rush.

[racer270]

aaa ya'......racecars,fishing and guns for hunting...............:)

[james kelly]

there you go racer!

[rlortie]

Not to be left out, I too had a Gordon Setter when in my pre-teens. She loved the water and her ears would float out to the sides like wings. She was better known as a "Water Spaniel".

My first deer hunting rifle was a 32-20 Remington pump. I use to hunt for deer and elk annually. I quit in 1967 due to hunting restrictions imposed by my state wildlife department.

Ralph

[Fletcher]

People who have never owned a rifle don't understand how attached you become to them. I've still got the original two (sold the Meteor) & have another. I continued to use them for a while on the farm for controlling rabbits & when I had to kill a sheep or cattle beast for the freezer. That was 10 years ago now but I still keep the rifles in a lockable cabinet up at my parents. Take them out each visit & give them a good oil & clean even though I haven't fired one in anger for years as they say.

We had an saying when I was a 15 year old culler & still wet behind the ears. "You can lend your women but not your rifle". Tough young men with more spirit than sense ;)