Firearms Gazette

I grew up in a house completely without firearms.

The reason?  My mother was afraid of guns.

I really don’t know why.

Since I had had no firearms eduction at home, my great uncle Ivan offered to teach me what I needed to know about them and hunting whitetails, squirrels, and rabbits.

But Mom’s fear was real enough to her that she wouldn’t even let him take me hunting at all.  I would get shot, she said.

The weird part was that I was freely allowed to have pellet and BB guns.

I suppose the logic was that I wouldn’t be killed with one of those; never mind the possibility of losing sight in the one good eye that I had (I was born with amblyopia and have 20/200 vision in one eye).

I shot up many a can, bottle, and model airplane with those BB guns, and I was able to shoot .22 rifles a few times in my adolescence.

I got married, started a family, and owning a gun was put on the back burner for about twenty years.

The interest was always there.  I attended church with a veteran who hunted, and he would talk pistols and rifles with me sometimes.

Finally, the time came when I was working with a guy whose brother had a pistol to sell, and I happened to have some cash on hand.  So I went over to his house and ended up purchasing my first pistol… a Smith & Wesson Sigma SW9VE 9mm semi-auto handgun. Mine came with the case, and had a 16 round magazine.

I was hooked.

The Sigma was traded about six years later for a new Rock Island Armory 1911A1 .45 ACP.  I’ve always had a thing for military hardware.

After a few months, Springfield came out with their new XD pistol line, and I decided I wanted one of those so I could mount a light or laser.  Being a family guy with four kids, I didn’t have the option of keeping the existing gun and buying another one, so I ended up trading the 1911 for a two-tone green/black XD .45 with a 5 inch barrel at a gun show.

I’m not a great shot, but I shot better with that XD right out of the case than I ever did with the 1911.  In fact, I took a concealed carry class with the XD because that was what I had at the time.

Later, I was also able to pick up a new Keltec PF9 9mm pistol that I use for my concealed carry weapon of choice.  This decision was primarily motivated by being able to get one at an affordable price.  I like the small profile and light weight, and it got great reviews.

I liked that Sigma so much I bought a second one later after selling a M1 Carbine I had, but had to sell the Sigma during a extended time of unemployment.

Over the years, I’ve also accumulated a S&W chrome .32 revolver that was my grandfather’s, a Ruger Mark II with Hogue grips that belonged to my veteran friend, a Remington pump .22 rifle from the 1930s that was also my grandfather’s, and a generic shotgun for skeet.

I mentioned my four kids earlier.  Although we don’t hunt in my family, each of the kids, including the two girls, have been taken out and instructed in firearms handling, safety, and how to shoot.  My oldest daughter, now married, owns her own pistol.

Whether each child chooses to own weapons or not, each has at least been taught what to do with one if needed.

I hope that heritage is passed on to the grand kids when they come, and I will do my best to see that this happens.