My Story:

Guns and hunting:

I grew up in a home with multiple firearms, scattered throughout the house, and one firm rule; under no circumstances should a firearm ever be loaded in the home, or car for that matter.

Having served in combat in WWII my dad had received excellent training in the military. As a GI, he even shipped 4 firearms back home, two semi-automatic pistols a disabled fully automatic German MP-41, and a Beretta 6.5 neither had clips or magazines. The first handgun was a .22 caliber “James Bond” Walther PPK model 10, and the second a 1930 J.P. Sauer 7 mm. They were WWII military style, weapons collected from...you can only guess. U.S. issue firearms would all have to be inventoried and turned in. Though I don’t recall hearing from him directly, I knew early on that he was a sharpshooter or sniper. I almost learned it second hand in Boy Scouts. He would win the target shooting contest and the first prize watermelon for our troop at summer camp as a volunteer adult Boy Scout leader. When lining up on a target, inhale and then gently squeeze the trigger on the exhale—Bam! watermelon is yours.

Like almost everything else, I learned everything on my own by my own initiative. Guns and hunting are a good example. Like most kids, I got most of my training in Boy Scouts as well as from the state mandated “Gun Safety” class given at the high school. State law requires that by age 14, I believe, all youth must possess this certificate of completion to be able to then buy a state license to legally take the appropriate game within the allowable limits within that season. That was my portal into this new world—unfortunately, not hunting along with my dad, like many other boys.

One of the most memorable lessons was the “10 Commandments of Gun Safety”, which is quite ironic now because we knew the Ten Commandments already, and the application to gun safety was a natural progression. I soon learned the Gun Safety course lessons like “all guns should be treated as if loaded until you personally establish otherwise” as well as, “be absolutely positive of your target, and be sure of the background before you shoot”. I took the test, and got my certificate. Much, much later I realized the application to this. You don’t assume, or even take another person’s word, but positively establish that the magazine and chamber are empty. In theory, and I say in practice, then if you pass the same gun to four people, each person would eject the magazine, and open the chamber. Seems like overkill, and it is, but that illustrates the point that you, and only you are responsible to make sure the gun is unloaded. All of us were, then as now, fully aware that the Game Warden was ever vigilant to show up whenever we least expected him to confiscate and levy stiff fines.

Before I go any further, a disclaimer: Some gun owners are ruthless about mishandling a gun. I suppose they can be called “gun snobs”. Many have been trained in the military or law enforcement. The slightest mistake will elicit critical or even hostile remarks from this crowd. That’s actually a good thing, because gun snobs are absolutely OCD on safety. We all can learn from them.

Once it has been determined with 100 percent certainty that the gun is unloaded—a simple task, you now have in your hands a harmless composite of steel parts, precisely machined to impressive tolerances with usually beautifully finished hardwood and a history and legacy of the realities of sport, life and survival. I am barely a beginner in the world of firearms, and consequently far from any level of expertise on the hundreds or thousands of firearms and ammunition. Hopefully I am much more proficient on safety. But that’s something everyone can learn. I enjoy the guns I have collected over the years, and the stories and memories that go along with them.

Depending on the season, my neighborhood friends and I hunted frequently. I used my brother’s .22 semi-automatic, and his 12 gauge pump shotgun. In our woods and fields, we newly minted small game hunters, even though unsupervised, handled our firearms safely. It. was a thing of pride. And the hellish consequences of mishandling a gun were unimaginable. In essence, you were not welcome unless you handled the firearm safely, as we were taught. As we expanded our hunting range to new woods, and met new friends, we did the same thing. Can’t say that was true with all hunters. Its a funny thing, even though we may have been mild troublemakers in other areas, for the most part, we kept the hunting laws and gun safety to a “T”.

Hunting small game and upland birds is great fun, until you start seeing big game. It was soon time for me to buy my own gun. We didn’t have anything suitable for big game, at least functional. (Actually one of the rifles Beretta 6.5 probably was.)

In the summer of ‘76 when I was 15, I had gotten in trouble and was under court ordered home confinement. I finally got close to dad, and we went and together bought a pair of rifles. I bought a Winchester model 94 30-30, and He bought a Marlin 336 30-30. That was my first gun. Unfortunately we would never even go out shooting together. But I now began to hunt big game.

In those days, we built, or bought gun racks or oak cabinets from which to show off our trophies. Today we have to add one more component, security. This now requires not only the investment in the firearms themselves, but also a reasonable level of security in the form of a gun safe and separate ammunition storage. There are not many gun cabinets or racks hanging in dens any more. Firearms ownership and collecting along with hunting, and target shooting has always been a wonderful hobby and sport for all ages—not to mention a great investment.

I finally got my own 12 gauge pump shotgun at Abrahamson’s Hardware in McIntosh Minnesota, during my first parish. After we moved to Illinois, then back to southern Minnesota, I bought a couple more, including my first .22 caliber semi-automatic—very used, but a great shooter, from a friend at work in a parking lot for $50. In ‘91 I also got into archery buying a 65 pound PSE compound bow. My brother inherited all dad’s guns, so I bought my own Walther PPK. The most recent acquisition was an old Marlin model 90 12 ga. over/under inherited from my father-in-law—with a predictably great story.

Then, as now, understanding and practicing gun safety is paramount. Today no one should just go out and buy a gun, without understanding security. You have to have a safe and secure place to store your firearm. This philosophy, is right out of the literature of the gun manufacturers’ themselves. And this philosophy also keeps firearm ownership a legitimate hobby for collectors, and admirers of all walks of life as well as those who want a measure of security.

I mentioned the hard core merciless ultra safety conscious ‘gun snobs’ above. Sadly, on the other hand, there are others who are careless. This includes a boastful comment by a guy who said, “We always had a loaded shotgun by the door of the house growing up.” Some may disagree, but there are precious few scenarios where that is okay—a secluded wilderness cabin maybe. Attitudes and beliefs like that are the reason for horrific headlines of such unnecessary tragedy today. But that is just the point, gun owners don’t sit around and say, “way to go dude.” instead a thousand guys will judge that one guy.

Hunting is not a license to kill. I refuse to hunt with anyone who says he or she likes to kill things. The sport of owning, displaying maintaining and using a firearm in a safe environment is a wonderful thing. To be able to legally take wild game through the Department of Natural Resources management plan is frosting on the cake. Though I have legally, shot many different animals, I don’t like “merely kill” an animal. I talk tough, but feel bad for even killing a large harmless garden snake. The DNR calls that wanton waste if done afield with a firearm. Its punishable by stiff fines, and confiscation of guns and vehicles, hitting the violator where it hurts. The laws state we can “take” animals for hunting purposes with appropriate sized firearms and ammunition. And that’s it. The law requires even the appropriate size or caliber gun to use. In some states the law forbids even target practice, discharging a firearm as soon as one week before the hunting season opens. Why? Good question, perhaps to eliminate any confusion about the start of the season. When you shoot big game, it has to be registered, and there are regulations about transporting, storage, and transferring it.

Self defense: What about carrying on your person for protection? To have a firearm for protection is a whole other skill set. There is some crossover of course like knowledge of ammunition, specific gun types etc. It requires a completely different mind set. You are not preparing for a hunt, but horror. There literally can’t be any greater distance between these things. I’m not saying its not important. But this is a distinction that needs to be understood. Using a firearm here is life changing, and will likely involve attorneys, and possibly criminal charges. That’s also why there is a separate course and training for this.

So thinking about the person deciding to go out and buy a gun, or who has already done it. You bring it home-- now what—keep it loaded or unloaded? Can an unloaded gun be of any value? How quick can you load it? Experts say thirty seconds is an eternity. Trained experts have determined that less then 2 seconds are what is really needed to fire a bullet into a threat from a holstered position coming at you from 50 feet. In that case you need a gun loaded and chambered with a round ready to fire, just like the law enforcement. That’s just not practical or safe in most environments 24/7. So what is a person to do who wants safety and security? In my opinion, you have to settle for 30 seconds to a minute time frame locked and loaded out of a secure cabinet.

A loaded gun in the home, or car, or any place for that matter, is a matter of debate, but always a serious consideration. That’s why I don’t have a permit to carry. In my mind you can never, ever forget about a loaded gun. If you don’t want it to haunt your life, you have to be able to render it safe, and that’s locked and secure in a safe that itself can’t be stolen. If I did get a permit, it would be for carrying in the woods while bow hunting.

Make no doubt about it. The legal, responsible ownership, care, and storage of firearms and ammunition is also being threatened today. Responsible gun owners like myself are not stupid. None of the gun control measures, laws, or policies will ever work because of the criminal element.

Only law abiding citizens will comply with gun laws. The desperate, and criminal element will continue to ignore them. States and localities that have limited gun ownership to varying degrees like the state of Illinois, are not effective. That leaves mass confiscation as the only real “solution”. But its not a solution because it will only bring in my guns and the guns of thousands of law abiding people like me.

And that is precisely where the rub is. No one will give up their guns, especially the criminals. Not even the law abiding responsible citizens will voluntarily give up their firearms. It’ll come down to confiscation leveraged by economic, or other forfeiture. And at that time, our land will be no more.