Yeah, I like guns, I like hippies too...

My first memory of shooting a gun was of my fathers Hawes 44 magnum.  It was a massive handgun that weighed more than my right leg.  It was stainless steel with a long barrel and a scope that seemed more appropriate for a rifle than a handgun.  My father had ordered 300 grain bullets for this thing, they could purportedly take down an elephant.  IT WAS AWESOME !  I always loved that gun, though it scared the living crap out of me to shoot it.  My first shot was at a piece of plywood my father had drawn a silhouette of a man on in black marker.  I stood a good 20 yards from the target holding this massive beauty. I took aim at the center of the targets chest both hands holding tight, legs spread just slightly. My father watching, my uncle watching, my brother watching.  As i squeezed the trigger i kept thinking of the kick this thing had... Pow!  My relief must have been palpable, and the exclamation of "HO-lee Shit Eva" had me looking at where i had actually hit my target.  It was a perfect crotch shot.  My father was proudly yucking it up about nobody messing with me as he carefully peeled the gun from my white knuckled hands.  It was a good moment for me, and since then I have perfected my shot and only make crotch shoots when i mean to.  
  Things seem a little different now though.  It's the "in" thing to hate guns, not for what they are but for what seemingly mad people use them for.  You must be paranoid to own one and real paranoid to own more than one.  If you happen to be a collector than forget it, you are a crazy prepper just itchin for a home invasion.  I think my gun is the least dangerous thing I own.  I do more damage with my tractor, and am way more dangerous with the car I drive.  I think we all pose more of a threat with our vehicles than with guns.  If you think of doctors with their prescription pads, the deaths from pharmaceuticals and their interactions-big pharma is like a shooting range where everyones a target.    Funny how we can blame a thing just because some seemingly smart guy on T.V. said it was the problem.  I wish we could get jazzed up enough to outlaw pesticide use of any kind, artificial fertilizers, and fluoride in everything.  I wish the cops could spend more time apprehending criminals of a serious nature instead of arresting farmers for selling raw milk, which contrary to popular belief has killed less people than sushi. 
   My gun helps me to harvest sustainable meat in a humane way because I wield it with efficiency knowledge and care.  The animals i harvest have a small carbon footprint because i don't need to feed them grain harvested with tractors and trucked in from afar.  And for those of you who choose not to eat or use animal products for the perceived cruelty inflicted, read the secret life of plants - broccoli screams when its picked. Seriously.

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