Monster Man
Plinker
Ok, so I'm old. I can't help it, it just sorta happened. I was born in the 40's and Dad gave me a BB gun when I was 3.....I couldn't even cock it for awhile. At age 9 he gave me an old single shot Steven's Junior 22, and I was alowed to hunt with it alone. I had to find them sittin', which I got pretty good at. We lived in the country, in the tenant house on a farm in Decatur County, IN. In 1958, Ollie, the owner of the farm, passed away, and his widow, who was like a grandmother to me, gave me his old 1906 Winchester. Ollie used to keep that Winchester in his manure spreader; it had long ago lost all its finish, and the stock was repaired at the wrist with a bolt, as it once fell off Ollie's tractor and he ran over it! The bore was already pitted. Ollie only shot bird shot in it all the years I knew him. But that rifle was the first repeater I owned, and I still have it.
Well, in the 50's, there was no such thing as trash pick-up. When the roads were built, small gravel quarries were dug for the rock, and these quarries were on just about every farm somewhere. There was one beside State Road 3 just north of Sandusky, Indiana. Being close to the highway, everyone living in the area dumped their garbage, trash and old appliances into that little quarry. And so, it was full of rats! Dad used to take me there and we would shoot them....well, he would shoot them and, at first at least, I would shoot at them. They were always on the move, and had their trails, so you knew where you would see them, but they were fast and tough to hit. Dad had his Remington 550-1 and he was a Zen Master with that rifle. Every now and then I would hit one.....I would sight in on a "run" and wait for one to run by and would shoot at it before it got to cover. It became a timing thing. To me it was fantastic fun. I still have that 1906 Winchester, and Dad's 550-1 is beside it in the safe. They rarely are fired any more, but they are often fondled. Growing up in the 50's and 60's was a wonderful thing......I have a lot of great memories, and a few great guns of the era. Too bad today's youth can't experience shootin' rats like we did back then.
Well, in the 50's, there was no such thing as trash pick-up. When the roads were built, small gravel quarries were dug for the rock, and these quarries were on just about every farm somewhere. There was one beside State Road 3 just north of Sandusky, Indiana. Being close to the highway, everyone living in the area dumped their garbage, trash and old appliances into that little quarry. And so, it was full of rats! Dad used to take me there and we would shoot them....well, he would shoot them and, at first at least, I would shoot at them. They were always on the move, and had their trails, so you knew where you would see them, but they were fast and tough to hit. Dad had his Remington 550-1 and he was a Zen Master with that rifle. Every now and then I would hit one.....I would sight in on a "run" and wait for one to run by and would shoot at it before it got to cover. It became a timing thing. To me it was fantastic fun. I still have that 1906 Winchester, and Dad's 550-1 is beside it in the safe. They rarely are fired any more, but they are often fondled. Growing up in the 50's and 60's was a wonderful thing......I have a lot of great memories, and a few great guns of the era. Too bad today's youth can't experience shootin' rats like we did back then.
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