Mountain Lane Homesteaders

Can I shoot it mom?!

Good morning!  I thought I'd slip in a "my how far we've come" before continuing on with the story of how we got here...........

I am mother to 2 daughters and one son.  It is my son Caleb who is the star of this post.  Since arriving in Montana he has been eating, breathing, and sleeping the idea of hunting.  He will be 12 on his next birthday which is when he will be legally of the age to hunt.  So far he has aquired a BB gun, a 22 rifle, several knives of all sizes, and most recently a new shot gun (something fancy to those who know guns I guess!).  We have purchased only the BB gun and maybe one nice pocket knife.  Everything else has been given to him by friends and relatives.  

Yesterday morning before I even knew he was awake, Caleb came shooting down the ladder from the loft with a mission.  He saw a squirrel from his window and was ready to shoot it.  "Can I shoot it mom? Can I?"  After quizzing him on just WHAT he was going to shoot (trying to clarify that it was NOT the cute little chirping thing that had been playing on our rafters the day before) and being assured that is was a big black UGLY squirrel, I asked if he was going to shoot it with his BB gun.  "No. Mom. I've got to use the 22!"  I was terribly unsure of the whole thing but he IS going to be 12 in just a few months and he DOES need to practice his shot sooooooooooo I won the day by giving permission.  Shot one was a miss, shot 2 wasn't.  After clenching my teeth and looking at it in the bag, I am pretty certain that the chirping days of our rafter runner are over. 

I can remember when Caleb was just a little guy in Iowa and how I would not buy him any kind of toy that even resembled a gun.  Not even a water gun.  MY HOW FAR WE'VE COME!

Untitled Comment

3:59 AM, Thursday, July 13, 2006 .. Posted by morningsunshine

i just cannot stop laughing at this story. I love my boy, and can see him doing this (in about 8 years!)

ah, yes....

8:35 AM, Thursday, July 13, 2006 .. Posted by deedee06

Your story causes me to think of my 48 year old husband. He and two friends recently took up bow hunting. He has set up a target in the backyard and is looking forward to doing some gopher hunting when he gets the right arrow tips. (They're ugly too. It's a given.) Although I chuckle at his enthusiasm at times, it recently dawned on me that he hasn't need a chiropractor visit in a long time and seems generally more relaxed. Who knew that shooting a bow would be such a great stress release? People from your side of the Divide usually come to our side in the fall for pheasant hunting. My husband knows some good spots............Denise

Another hunting story....

10:35 AM, Thursday, July 13, 2006 .. Posted by Jonash2004

Way to go! I have found, boys that grow up around guns tend to be very respectful and safe with them. :)

My parents moved out to the farm when I was young. My brother was 6 when my dad bought him a BB gun. My mom was terrified he could kill a bird with it, and my dad soothed her. "It's a bb gun, honey. He'd have to be a terrific shot to kill something."
Adam had the gun about fifteen minutes before he spotted his first victim: a sparrow. His first shot, and he strutts in carrying this sparrow by one leg! My mom couldn't believe it and instantly laid down ground-rules (no cardinals, no meadow larks, ect) and my dad called my brother Dead-Eye for the next several months. Turns out, he was just lucky. It took some practice but we did get really good. So good, in fact, that we were able to keep our cats fed and bluebirds, baltimore orioles and other songbirds that cannot compete with sparrows and starlings returned to my parent's farm, and that my mom did enjoy!