Responsible Firearms Ownership 

I suspect very few grown men would admit to any 20 ga. being their favorite
firearm.  I got my Remngton 870 Wingmaster 20 ga. when I was about 10 or 11.
 I started shooting with a stevens single-shot .22.  When dad was convinced
I was able to hit a squirrel with a sub- 1/4 inch piece of flying lead and
no immediate "second shot," he started looking for a shotgun.  After all, he
said I must learn safety and marksmanship before I could call myself a
hunter.

Dad stopped by Doc's resale shop in Pine Bluff one day after finishing his
shift at the Cotton Belt.  There he found what was to become my favorite
gun.  It was in very good shape.  Unfortunately my young, careless hands did
not keep it quite so pristine.  I later learned that dad opted to buy guns
for my brother and me as opposed to loaning us his because he knew what they
would look like after going through two boys.  He was right.  My 20 has a
gouge in the stock from being carelessly laid behind a truck seat on the way
to a hunting trip.  It also has a nick on the end of the barrel from
catching a rock in a gravel road on a long walk back to the house after a
hunting trip back when my legs were still shorter than the barrel.

My 20 ga. was my squirrel gun.  I had two good dogs which I raised and
trained by myself as a youngster.  At the age of 14 I was no happier than
when I was in the woods with Max, Daisy, and the faithful 20 ga.  We must
have killed enough squirrels to feed an army.  After I got older and "more
refined" I decided I needed to lay aside my youthful 20 and get a real gun-
a 12 ga!  That I did.  I hunted with it a great deal, but as the mornings of
squirrel season passed one by one, it seemed the 20 was on the rack fewer
days than the 12.  Eventually I stopped the morning ritual of standing
before the gun rack, deciding which to carry.  I would grab my 20 ga without
a second thought.  It had proven itself too many times.

Now I'm grown.  Max and daisy are long gone.  The 20 ga. is still around.  I
kept a pup from Max and Daisy.  He's getting old, but he can still find
something for me to use the 20 ga. on.  It is still my first choice for
squirrel, rabbit, and any other small woodland creature.  I've logged many
miles through the timber with that gun.  It has the scars to prove it.

My wife killed her first squirrel with it.  My sister-in-law did, too.  In a
few months my first child will be here.  I'll have to get him his own.
 After all, Dad had it figured out: get the kid his own gun and he won't
beat up mine!

Nate
Natp244@cs.com