[email protected]

Our son has a BB gun, paintball gun, a compound bow and a shot gun.

We live in Maine "The Way Life Should Be" , many kids here have them/their
parents have them for them. Maybe we are behind in the times I dont know? Maybe
we are preserving old traditions? Whatever it is from this side of the street
it looks and feels like old times/holsome family traditions.
They dont kill people or hurt them. They have been taught what they are for
and how to use them.

Dustin and my husband have been hunting for several years now. Every year
for two months each weekend day they hunt. So far the last two years they have
not found a deer that was suitable. Roughly that's 16 days a season and 128
hrs of sitting in the woods and talking about the woods, life, animals, guns,
people, history and so on... My husband has taught our son what to look for in
a deer, tree scrapings, branch signs, sounds and what bedding areas look like.
I am not fond of deer meat but they like it. Luckily for me they have only
shot 2 in 6yrs. Personally sitting in the woods freezing doesn't interest me at
all but they dont seem to mind it!

As a family we used to go to 3D shoots. That is using a recurve or compound
bow walking a trails with 30 targets, standing at the stake knowing the
yardage and hitting the target with an arrow in the score zone. We have a fake deer
in our yard that we shoot at some times. We dont go that ofetn anymore due to
the little ones.

Our son shoots his BB and sling shot in the yard with his friends. They aim
at cans or a box. They know what I consider safe. They wear protective lenses
and shot one at a time or on a line. So far it kinda reminds me of something
out of the Stand By Me movie or Sandlot. It's old-time childhood fun without
the "you'll shot your eye out" comments (Christmas Story).

We dont live in an area where people get shot hardly ever or go nuts with
guns. For us the gun criminals are mostly formers from another state.
I know my son I know what we contribute to his life. I know his experience
with guns has been a positive one. He knows how to clean them, load um, make the
shells and will have his own man-ly weekend trips im sure. My husbands dad
still hunts with them so I suspect they will do the same when he has children.

He has been to Maine Conservation Camp and loves to woods. He takes walks
leaving a trails to see if he can find his way. He uses his compass and skills. I
am confident that he could find his way out if he was ever lost.
He plans to be a fish and game officer or join the military. Whatever he
chooses be it those or not he has found interest in something and I think its
great.
Laura




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]