I was nearly shot by my baby sitter when I was 11. She found my moms derringer, which was not properly secured, and was playing with it. Freaked my mom out and all the guns were removed from the house. As a result it lead to an intense fascination with guns on my part. However, I vowed to do it “right”! I became the family gun guy. All of the kids, nieces and nephews and their friends knew that practically any weekend all they had to do was ask I would put together a range trip.
I took the mystique away from the guns. Every single person was trained and tested on the 4 rules and proper handling of firearms. For most it became an occasional thing but they all knew how to be safe. One niece took to it like a duck to water. She wound up joining the Army and qualifying as an army sharpshooter. She is my pride and joy!
Her first trip to the range age 13
