Shoot 'em up!

Let me warn you now.  If you are anti-guns or anti-kids with guns (haha) you should just navigate away from this post immediately.  Keep in mind, we are in the MIDWEST where hunting and yes, guns, are a big part of everyday life around here.  Well, seasonally at least. I grew up with a hunting-crazed dad and brother, was the only girl in Hunter Safety Education class at 12 years of age, and was toted along every deer season as a kid for my extra 'tag'. Granted, most of the time I sat in the truck listening to music or riding on the 4-wheeler when it was time to retrieve a deer, but my point is - this stuff aint no big deal to me.

Ben did not grow up with a deer-driven-dad like myself, but his interest in learning to hunt and shoot has been growing, especially since we own enough land now to do so.  His friends and cousins have been on his case for years for him to join them in the hunt. So when we stopped by the local mart this summer for some fishing worms and saw a sign-up sheet for an upcoming Hunter's Safety Education class, Ben was in! He completed it last month, so now he's really 'fired up' (ha) to do some shooting and hunting.

Now let me back up a bit....   A couple weeks ago, Ben's friend and his twin boys came over with a BB gun - I wasn't so sure, but I rolled with it. Ben and Todd went with them walking through the woods and let them practice shooting a bit.  The men eventually wandered up by the house, letting the kids walk around a bit more - and it wasn't long before the kids came back shrieking with excitement. Apparently shortly after the dads hoofed it, the kids spied something 'fuzzy' swimming around in the water. So the BB-gun toting foursome came to the only logical conclusion possible - SHOOT IT! The story is this - Hunter shot it in the arm, causing it to swim in circles, then Charlie shot it in the nuts, and finally Will - with his expert marksmanship - landed the kiss of death ... straight to the heart.  Likely. Ultimately, I'm confident that none of them hit anything, and it was the steatlh-like dog that ended up bounding into the water and locking her jaws on this fuzzy-whatever-it-was.  (you're thinking Beaver, aren't you??) WELL IT WAS A MUSKRAT. 

I have to admit, I was a little shocked.  I said to Charlie - "Do you even know what you're DOING?" "Have you even had a safety lesson on that???"  His answer (all smug while pointing at a part of the gun he was holding) "YES MOM, there's a BUTTON right here - see SAFETY". Oh god.  (Ben assures me they did in fact lay down the law with these guys.) Whew!

Last weekend, while I was at a wedding shower, Ben took the boys to buy their own BB gun. I know he really wanted to buy a gun for himself, but I told him to hold off since my dad has one he can use - so this was second best. He bought a little target, and the boys spent the afternoon with Dad learning the parts of the gun, more about safety and aiming.  Cool.

Back to the present. I got a glimpse on Sunday of what is sure to be the new favorite activity around here. SHOOTING CLAY PIGEONS. Ben's friend brought over this machine that launches these clay discs in the air, and everyone tries to shoot it. I have to admit, it really did look pretty fun. The kids of course were in heaven, aiming their BB gun at the flying target. They are confident that their shot 'shattered' several of the pulls. :-) Here's Charlie readying for the next pigeon. (AND YES THE DADS WERE RIGHT THERE).

With all the hunting and shooting here as of late, I even called the WI DNR to get a copy of MY Hunter's safety certificate... just in case. Hey, if you can't beat em, join em.