A friend, Justin, turned 22 yesterday. We had been teasing him all day, saying "the three of us [three of his friends] bought you a present, we all chipped in".
He couldn't even fathom what it was.
He's been to the range a few times with us, greatly enjoying fairly much anything we handed him. He knows basic gun safety, function, etc. He's a fast learner (faster than I learned, anyway!) and is usually eager to learn just about anything.
His excitement turned to thinly-veiled disappointment when he was handed the first gift, however.
"Shotgun shells? Thank... you. Why do I need shotgun shells?"
We let his mind turn that one over for a few seconds while I quickly ran outside and grabbed the rest of his gift - a brand new Remington 870 Home Defense model.
"You bought me a SHOTGUN! WOW!"
Now he was excited, he quickly put the box down (after nearly tearing it from my hands) and took it out. Keep in mind - excited, relatively new to guns, only has basic training from myself and two other gun enthusiasts.
And his finger isn't on the trigger. We're proud.
I'll be taking him to the range on Friday to get plenty of trigger time in with this, though I may well be bringing a shoulder recoil pad (PAST?) for him, as he's still new to shotguns.
He was all too happy to have received buckshot as a first gift, afterall. I love a happy ending.
He couldn't even fathom what it was.
He's been to the range a few times with us, greatly enjoying fairly much anything we handed him. He knows basic gun safety, function, etc. He's a fast learner (faster than I learned, anyway!) and is usually eager to learn just about anything.
His excitement turned to thinly-veiled disappointment when he was handed the first gift, however.
"Shotgun shells? Thank... you. Why do I need shotgun shells?"
We let his mind turn that one over for a few seconds while I quickly ran outside and grabbed the rest of his gift - a brand new Remington 870 Home Defense model.
"You bought me a SHOTGUN! WOW!"
Now he was excited, he quickly put the box down (after nearly tearing it from my hands) and took it out. Keep in mind - excited, relatively new to guns, only has basic training from myself and two other gun enthusiasts.
And his finger isn't on the trigger. We're proud.
I'll be taking him to the range on Friday to get plenty of trigger time in with this, though I may well be bringing a shoulder recoil pad (PAST?) for him, as he's still new to shotguns.
He was all too happy to have received buckshot as a first gift, afterall. I love a happy ending.