With all of the tired threads, relentless arguments, and frightening tone the last month and a half has taken on these forums, I thought a little bit of why I originally joined TFL. I am young, 22 years old, and have only shot about .1% of the amount of rounds many of the members on here have.
There are some of you that are Mods or veterans who have been posting for ten years now. There are some that joined within the last two weeks, hoping to console themselves with like-minded people among the hysteria. Then there are many many more who have joined in between, for a variety of reasons.
But all of those reasons basically come down to one thing: The love of firearms.
So, I ask you TFL, put aside the emotions and fear. Remember what brought you to love guns. What was it?
The first time I fired a rifle was when I was 8 years old. I was at Camp Balcones Springs outside Marble Falls, Texas. It was a stay away camp for 2 weeks that I went to once a year during the summer until I was 17. During the week, each cabin of 16-18 kids went down to the range at the far end of the property and learned to shoot bolt action .22lrs.
There was a wooden patio about 20 yards from a giant rocky hillside with a similarly made overhang. We were given a "trust" buddy, a blue mat, 10 rounds of .22lr, and a rifle. I couldn't for the life of me tell you what brand or make it was, but that didn't matter. I was taught proper etiquette:
-Always be in prone on the mat when firing
-Safety ALWAYS on unless you are ready to fire
-The muzzle pointing down range and hanging off the edge of the platform
-Bolt open and chamber empty when moving the rifle to and from storage point upwards
-When cars and trucks drove by everyone stood up, leaving their rifles unloaded with the safety on, more than 5 feet away from them.
-Not a single person has ever been hurt here as far as I am concerned.
I did this every year until I was 17. The fourth day of camp that year, I kissed my first girl ever. It was on that very same rifle range bench. (We ended up lying in the proper prone position as well
)
A few months later I shot my dad's Rem 270. I then used my uncles 30-06 to kill my first buck. 10 point, 186 lbs. One hit about 3 inches above the shoulder blade. It was at that moment I realized the true appreciation for firearms. It put things in perspective, and I have never looked back.