I'm a proud Dad!!

[J-Bar]

My 40-year old son decided to start shooting with me last year. This was a significant decision because up to this point he had never shown any interest in guns or shooting; in fact he says they scared him. He's a professional author with several books to his credit, and he thought it might make a good story.

Well, he likes shooting. And he likes competing! He enjoys shooting black powder in Frontier Cartridge category in Cowboy Action matches. He and I went to several matches last year after he had practiced quite a bit. He placed third in his category last year and this year at the Prince of the Pistoleers match in Lenexa, KS, and took third place at the Midwest Black Powder Territorial Shootout in Branson, MO last October. My son is a Soot Lord!

The icing on the cake is that his book about shooting was published a few weeks ago.

Here are some photos...a shotgun fireball at the Prince of the Pistoleers match, his third place plaque (he's a Kansas City Royals fan, you can tell by the blue vest), and blowing smoke at the cylinder gap before the bullet exits the barrel at a local practice match.

 

[Patocazador]

Good for him .. and you.

Maybe there's hope for my son yet. He's 35 so maybe.......?

 

[kBob]

J-Bar,

What book about shooting?

And good on ya!

-kBob

 

[J-Bar]

The book is "The Cowboy Year." He used his real name as author, Ethan D. Bryan.

Search for eLectio Publishing (yeah, the "L" is capitalized) and you can find it on their website.

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[Fingers McGee]

It's a great book. I recommend it to all who might be even mildly curious about Cowboy Action Shooting.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I have always found it easier to recruit "non-shooters" When I competed on a co-ed collegiate rifle team, the persons with no shooting experience were always easier to teach, especially the gals. (Good ole boys had developed too many bad habits for target shooting.)

Good for your son coming around.

 

[Crawdad1]

Good for you and your son. I'll look for that book. Sounds interesting.

 

[CANNONMAN]

I consider myself an author. NO I don't. But I love to write short stories. [sadly their worse than my cannons] 2 items: Got kids in the same age group. Let's say I ain't holding my breath to see um come around. 2. Please get him to write about serious BP matters. Like cannons. Thanks you. PS, heck yeah I'm gonna get his book! ... do ya think I could get him to talk to my kids?

 

[4v50 Gary]

J-Bar, you raised your son right. Congratulations.

BTW, I finished my tour at Adventure Camp and virtually all those campers were raised right. They all spoke good english, were respectful, wore their pants up and hats straight and were very attentive. I thanked their parents for entrusting us with their kids and we in turn tried to turn out the next generation of 2A enthusiasts.

 

[westy39]

Well done Sir; anytime you get to spend time with your kids is usually a special time. I fear I will leave this world still hungry for time with my kids. I am very blessed with the kids I have. God is good.

 

[pksc_bp]

It's a great feeling isn't it ? My youngest is 30 and never really showed any interest...til I took him to the range and put my SKS in his hands ! he and his buddy nearly shot up all my ammo....since then he's dropped 3 deer and is eye-balling my TC Hawken !

 

[daboyleroy]

Good book .... Good dad=good Son

Excerpt:
For the vast majority of my life, I have been afraid of guns.

Every time I hear a story about a mass-shooting incident, my heart breaks for everyone involved. I obsessively devour the various news sites online, watch the reports on TV, and wonder what could have possibly happened in the life of the shooter to cause him to respond in such a violent disregard of the mystery and beauty of life. As I read and as I watch, I can feel fear filling my body. My natural response, then, has been to put as much distance as possible between me and any firearm.

Late one night, Jamie, my wife, and I were traveling across southern Missouri, driving through the winding hills of the Mark Twain Forest when the idea about “playing cowboy” with Dad attacked my brain. I mentioned something about the idea to Jamie while we were driving, mainly so I wouldn’t forget. She responded, “Give it some more time and thought; it sounds pretty interesting.” When we got home, I wrote down a couple of notes on a scrap piece of paper and tucked it away for future consideration.

A few weeks later I was preparing to talk at a local writers association when the idea again pounced on me. I felt convinced that I was supposed to “play cowboy.” Immediately, I broke out in a sweat, adrenaline surged through my body, and my stomach started doing flips. Mere minutes before I was supposed to speak about my love for the Kansas City Royals and how I started my career as a writer, I texted Jamie, “I’ve decided to play cowboy with Dad.”

“Sounds like fun. Don’t shoot your eye out.”

 

[Noz]

Good guys, both father and son except they are very clumsy. Can't seem to keep their feet under them.

Oh, yeah. Good book.

 

[J-Bar]

Thank you all for the affirmations!

Noz is referring to the fact that I recently broke my left kneecap, and my son broke his left ankle.

Nobody ever said you had to be graceful to be a cowboy!!

 

[4v50 Gary]

Here's a link to the book: http://electiopublishing.com/index.php/bookstore#!/~/search/keywords=the%20cowboy%20years&offset=0&sort=relevance

 

[BullRunBear]

J-Bar, Thanks for providing the title. I look forward to reading it. My Dad passed away over 30 years ago and we never got to share the hobby, something I've always regretted. But I enjoy stories of families bonding at the range.

Jeff