[Jaegermeister]

Just wondering if any other Eagle Scouts are here on the THR. I earned mine in 1988 and was member of Order of the Arrow. I also am a member of the National Eagle Scout Association.


I'll make this a firearms related post saying I learned how to shoot a muzzleloader at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and spent much .22 range time at the Tommahawk camp in Wisconsin.


Scouting proved to be a great source of values, leadership and firearms safety. Having an Eagle Award has always been a positive mark on the resume as well.

I'd like to teach merit badges someday to give back to the program.

Chime in if you are one of the few.

[Charleton]

Jaegermeister:

I've been out of touch with Scouting for a long time, but I've been there, both counts.

I got my Eagle about 1960. I was (maybe still am, for all I know) a Vigil member of OA.

A friend of mine mentioned the Eagle Scout Association to me a while ago, but I've not followed up on joining.

To carry on the firearms thread, our Scout camp was the first place I was introduced to three-position smallbore target shooting. Formal target shooting didn't take, but the discipline was a good thing for other kinds of shooting.

Best,

Gene.

[Mike Irwin]

Star

[Calanctus]

Another Eagle here; rifle shooting merit badge is the first one I ever earned. Still try to help out with the Troop every once in a while; took a crew out to hike Mt. St. Helens last summer. Now that I have a .22 rimfire rifle, I'm planning on becoming a merit badge counselor for rifle and shotgun shooting merit badges.

[10-Ring]

When I was younger, I was a scout & enjoyed every minute of it. My congrats on your accomplishment!

[Greg L]

Life with a couple of badges to go before the fumes got to me (perfume and gas fumes :D ).

Our local troop that the boys are in is involved with the CMP :cool: .

Greg

[Ivanimal]

Never a scout but am currently a cub scout leader. I will be having a lot of scout related campouts, hikes projects, and yes shooting events, in the near an far future. My son loves the group and the father son attention we get to share. I have 8 boys in my den who all have active parents and its one big family. I love the unity and community it inspires.

[TheLastBoyScout]

Finishing my project tomorrow...

after that its just a board of review and SM conference.

[MaterDei]

Life with a couple of badges to go before the fumes got to me (perfume and gas fumes )

LOL!

I was an active scout until I moved to Singapore for my last 3 years of high school. Don't know if I would have been disciplined/driven enough to finish up as an Eagle but I sure enjoyed the scouts. I was in scouting for 7 years total.

I have 3 boys, my oldest is 8. I think I'll get them involved soon. They sure like camping, fishing and shooting!

btw, I too did the Philmont thing, very cool. I finished up as a Star, like Mike.

[Calif. Hunter]

I had the badges, but became too involved in being Chief of the Tribe of Tahquitz, the Long Beach Area Council's alternative to OA, founded in 1925. Then I was Number 1 in the last draft lottery in which they actually drafted anyone. So I never finished it - about all I had left was the service project and the Eagle Board. It's a big regret now, but wasn't a big deal at the time. Now I serve as an Advisor to the Tribe.

[MaterDei]

Hey, TheLastBoyScout, is scouting membership dwindling in your neck of the woods? Why the screen name?

[TheLastBoyScout]

Sort of...

Cradle of Liberty council has seen better days, but on the whole we still have a decent number of scouts in Philadelphia. They're just really rare out in the suburbs. They were never incredibly common, and now the local limosine liberals have a moral high ground, from their point of view anyway, for their non participation.

Yeah I guess I just picked up the screen name because there are very few out where I live, and I just got so hardcore into it anyways.

[Grey54956]

Eagle, 1992.

[prisoner6]

I am an Eagle, as is my father. Got mine in 87 I believe.

[Labinnac]

I made Eagle in 1993 a week before my 18th birthday.

A lot of my fondest memories are contained within those years.

I regret not keeping in touch with any of those guys I went through it with. We all had a lot of fun times.

[David4516]

Made Eagle in 1999 (I was 17 at the time). Also have a bronze palm.

Scouting is one of the best things to ever happen to me, I had alot of fun and learned alot about how to be a decent person. I also meet some good friends. In fact, 3 of my closest friends are also Eagle scouts.

I try to help out my old troop as often as I can. Sometimes I'll go on their campouts and teach the newer scouts how to tie knots and lashings, or maybe first aid. I'm also a counselor for rifle and shotgun merit badges.

One thing that has really made me angry in recent years is all the "scout bashing" by the media. I can't believe all this "the scouts descriminate" crap... There seems to be a serious effort to destroy scouting and all it stands for...

[Waitone]

Eagle 1968
1 Palm
Troop 56 Fort Jackson, SC
Philmont
Order of the Arrow
Orienteering
Rapelling
Competition .22LR shooting
High Powered Rifle
Archery
EXTENSIVE outdoor skills developed and honed.

In 1966 my scoutmaster bowed out for a year. Seems he was going to a place called Vietnam. Most gentle man I know. Came back from Vietnam and kicked my rear end hard because I stayed a Life Scout instead of finishing. Learned a lot from the man particularly about personal motivation and drive.

I am sick unto death over what advocacy groups and the courts have done to the Boy Scouts.

[telewinz]

My son Curt is an Eagle, he worked hard for it and now is in ROTC. I served as Charter Representative, Committee Chairman, Committee Member and Asst. Scoutmaster. I enjoyed it more than when I was a Boy Scout. The "group" (church?) that "buys" the Boy Scout Program has a great deal of control over how they operate their program.

[Doug444]

Sad to say, never got past 2nd Class. Now I'm a Scoutmaster, and have been since 1987. 2 years ago received the Silver Beaver, and currently have helped something like 22 young men achieve their Eagle award.

Can honestly say that of the very few things in my past that I regret, NOT getting my Eagle is at the top of the list. But as you can see, it's never too late to give something back.

To make it gun related, I also teach Hunter Education and am the Rifle and Shotgun MB counselor for our Troop.

[Ukraine Train]

Eagle '01, finished a few weeks before my 18th. Actually had my ceremony after I turned 18 hehe. Brotherhood OA member, was on the ceremony team for a couple years even. Went to Philmont in '99, I've never seen sooo much rain haha, awesome experience, though. Took rifle merit badge when I was 11, my first year at Scout Camp, and also my first time shooting a firearm. Did you guys have a COPE course? It's a high/low ropes course, including a zip line over a ravine. That was a blast.

Scouting was a tremendously positive experience from about every perspective. Where else can you learn to survive the wilderness, cook a meal, shoot a gun, save a life and be a good citizen all in one weekend? I agree, though, that it's a shame that some the organization's politics are hindering the programs.

[Kharn]

Eagle Scout, got it in 1998 when I was 17. Scouting taught me a lot of things in life, and I'm glad I had the chance to shoot at summer camp all week long (I basically lived at the rifle range) since my parents wouldnt let my brother and I have any guns.
Once I learn to shoot better (I cant hit crap at the moment), I intend to get NRA certified and volunteer as a rifle and shotgun merit badge counselor.

Kharn

[ElToro]

made eagle in 1992.. about a week before my 18th birthday as well myy brother is an eagle and at both of our eagle courts, (about 5 years apart) we had our grandfather pin our eagle badge on us.. he made eagle in about 1930 or so. only time i ever saw him cry. he had no sons so he took his daughters (my mom) shooting and all the other "manly" activities.

i was told by at least one company HR personin my life that i was given job over other applicants solely becuz i had Eagle on my resume.

dont have time these days to volunteer for much scout work and i wish i gone to Philmont but i did work for a summer at Camp Hi-Sierra.. 90% of the staff was Eagle

i also consider it one of my lifes major achievements.. along with graduating form college

my troop actually was the recipient of a half dozen bull barrel military surplus .22 trainers!
dont ask dont tell... but my troop had regular shooting trips.
also earned both rifle and shotgun merit badges..
in fact, shotgun merit badge was at scout camp and i had busted so many skeet that the guy said come take th etest and ill give you the merit badge. standard gun safety test...

many fond memories and taught me camping and backpacking and survival skills and probably is what sent me down the path to conservative thought and self suffiency.

[Justin]

Made Eagle Scout in 1995.

Seriously considered burning that bit of paper with Clinton's signature on it.

[Jaegermeister]

Wow, that was fast! Lots of posts in a hurry.


I thought there might be a lot of Scouts here on the boards.


Yeah

[MaterDei]

Waitone and Doug444,

Please say it isn't so... :eek: I was under the impression that the scouts were doing a good job of fighting off the PC and liberal crowd. As a current outsider soon to become very active in scouts with my 3 boys, what should I be prepared for?

Doug444, what kind of changes have you seen since '87 that you might consider the result of political pressure?

btw, when I say that I thought the scouts were doing a good job resisting the pressure I was referring ONLY to the boy scouts. The girl scouts are a mess and I won't let any of my girls join (again).:(

[Futo Inu]

My hat's off to you all for your preserverance, and even more to your parent(s) who surely urged you onward. I surely wish I would have become an eagle. Congrats!

[DAT]

Eagle 1991
Troop 143 Milwaukie, OR

Seeing it through was one of the best decisions of my life. Oh yeah, I learned how to shoot rifles, shotguns, and blackpowder as well!!!

DAT

[Bowlcut]

Eagle scout right here. think it was 1991...i think :D been too long ago.

know of all the things i did at scout camp...shooting wasnt one that i did alot. stupid long lines for a .22....i can do that at home :D

[Smiley]

Add another Eagle to the list here. We had five Eagles at the same time in my troop when I got mine. My closest friends that I still keep in contact with grew up with me in the same troop (well maybe we didn't actually grow up yet) Anybody from my troop who didn't keep with it regretted it later no matter how much they ribbed me.

Being an Eagle also got me a job at one point in my life.

Encourage your kids if you can to stick with it through highschool. Its difficult but my only regrets are about things I didn't do. People usually don't regret the things the did.

[sm]

Life and then some also OA, real life, family and such matters took priority.

I made the trip to Canada with others, paddled and portaged my way for 10 days. Waking up from underneath a canoe and seeing a bald eagle so close I could touch it -awesome.

Had a badge been given for most ammo expended in a weekend, I'd would have one. Willis Jeep full of guns and ammo, critters, predators and game around, and me...well, I became real attached to that model 70 and case of ammo. Farmer appreciated the deer, so invited back to help with quail , doves...real attached to model 12 that time. So long ago, no pics, no badges, no reminders--mind pics though.

[45crittergitter]

Eagle, 1977.

Also, Rifle & Shotgun merit badge, pro-marksman, marksman, marksman 1st class, sharpshooter, and sharpshooter 1st bar all in one week.

[Kamicosmos]

Eagle with 2 palms, 1990. (Father and Grandfather also Eagles)
Warrior - Tribe of Mic O Say
Brotherhood - Order of Arrow
Philmont in 1990.

And yup...Rifle and Shotgun merit badge as a Tenderfoot (First Year at Scout Camp) was first 'real' gun experience outside of BB guns.

[Ikari]

I made Eagle in 1997, and made Vigil in the OA in 1998. I'm still involved in Scouting whenever I can find the time, volunteering as a Climbing Director at the local camp on weekends. Scout Camp was where I was first introduced to the wonderful world of firearms, along with my many other outdoor hobbies. The Boy Scouts made me the man that I am today.

[Penman]

Eagle, Brotherhood OA, and God and Country

[David4516]

MaterDei,

Most of the PC crap damage was done to donations. Lots of organizations and corparations used to help fund the BSA, but no longer do because they "don't want to support discrimination".

And "Explorers" ceased to exist. It was a branch of scouting that was for older kids (I think you could be an explorer untill you were 22 or something like that). They had green uniforms instead of tan, and alot of them were tied with goverment run things like search and rescue and the coast guard. Thats why they arn't around anymore, the goverment couldn't have ties with the BSA because it "discriminates".

Now I was not an explorer, and I don't have any friends that were, so this isn't inside info, I just heard about this from some who may or may not have had all the facts. If anyone knows the details about this please share...

Anyway, in place of "explorers" a new program called "venture" was started, I guess it's suposed to be more PC. Even girls can join. In fact my younger sister just signed up...

http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?s=vy

[shermacman]

Eagle Scout 1974
Troop 162, Dewitt, New York
Rifle and Shotgun merit badge earned at Camp Sabbatis in the Adirondacks. Seems amazing now that we had a one hundred yard range full of 12 to 14 year old boys and a .22 rifle for each one...I don't know if they even offer that merit badge anymore. We really had a great time! I occurs to me that with the camping, fishing, guns, survival and map reading I swear I learned things the knowledge of which I use every single day of my life.

[clown714]

eagle and OA here '80

clown

[larry408]

I made Eagle and OA in 1966. My brother is also made Eagle.

[Ukraine Train]

Anyway, in place of "explorers" a new program called "venture" was started, I guess it's suposed to be more PC. Even girls can join. In fact my younger sister just signed up...

I was a Venture my junior/senior year in high school, it was pretty cool. The youth planned all the trips and the advisors just made sure things ran smoothly so it was a good experience. We took a trip to Lake Tahoe one summer, which included mountain biking around the lake, canoeing the lake and backpacking in Yosemite for a couple days. I remember for one of our meetings we had a cop bring in a bunch of his handguns and he gave a gun safety talk.

[BHPshooter]

I got my Eagle in 2001, a few weeks before my 18th b-day.

As a matter of fact, I just barely got back from my younger brother's Eagle project.

It's nice to see that scouting has touched so many.

Wes

[natedog]

I'm about 1.5 merit badges, an eagle project, and a board of review away from getting my Eagle. Scouts got me in to shooting :)

[Greg L]

Rifle and Shotgun merit badge earned at Camp Sabbatis in the Adirondacks. Seems amazing now that we had a one hundred yard range full of 12 to 14 year old boys and a .22 rifle for each one...I don't know if they even offer that merit badge anymore.

They don't offer that one anymore :( . It's actually been split into two :D , one for rifle & one for shotgun. My boy's troop was working on the rifle one this summer (the troop actually has their own range that they built with money from the Friends of the NRA :cool: ).

Greg

[Michael]

Eagle Scout - 1975 (man, some of the respondents here are causing me to feel old :D ).
God and Country - 1974
OA (Brotherhood) - 1975

Lots of others during adulthood. Been active continuously for 34 years now (everything from local unit positions to national committees and Philmont staff). Just brought home a baby boy, so I expect to be active a few more years. One of the brightest parts of my life, and one that has helped me many times over.

For those who are still pressing toward the mark, "Trail the Eagle..."

Sincerely,

Michael

[TheLastBoyScout]

My project is DONE...

[RangerGrant]

Recieved my Eagle 2/70. Also Brotherhood in OA. From '81-'86 served as Asst. Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster, and Troop Committee Chairman. I never got tired of working with the kids, it was the "I don't have time to do anything" parents that finally burned me out.

best, RG

[SapperLeader]

Recieved my eagle in march 1997, before I turned 17, went to philmont in summer 1998, and am a brother in the order of the arrow. Eagle scout is one of the best things i have ever done in my life, and what i learned in the scouts can be applied to most things done in daily life, plus its great for the outdoor expierences.

[ElToro]

FYI - The NRA marksmanship badges are the only NON Boy Scouts of America badges approved to be worn on the uniform.