My first experience in shooting a "large" gun

[timmy]

I thought I'd share my first experience in shooting a big "adult" gun. Through my youth, I'd fired 22s, both rifles and handguns, and a "boy's model" 410 bore shotgun that was a family heirloom, which I'd inherited.

But one day, when I was about 12 years old, we traveled to Texas to visit one of my Mother's older brothers. These brothers were quite the hunters. The elder one was chiefly a waterfowl hunter who hunted along the shores of Lake Erie. I inherited his ancient outboard duck motor, which I still have. The younger one, besides waterfowl, hunted practically everything else: wild boar in the swamps of Northeastern Texas and Louisiana, American elk (properly "wapiti") and deer in Colorado, and moose, caribou, grizzly, and polar bear in Alaska. His grizzly and polar bears were both Boone and Crocket, and his home movies were proof of his hunting. These movies were taken by his guide over my uncle's shoulder -- the guide had that much confidence in my uncle's abilities, to hold a movie camera instead of his backup gun.

(My uncle's polar bear hunt out of Point Barrow, Alaska, took place at the same time Fred Bear, the famous archer, was up there for his polar bear hunt. When the bears were shot and skinned, the hides were washed in the Arctic Ocean through holes in the ice -- my uncle had movies of that, too. He saw Fred Bear's hide being washed through the ice along with his own, and claimed that it had rifle holes in it -- so much for what you read in sporting magazines!)

Anyway, my uncle had a selection of guns and his big game rifle for quite some time was a Remington 742 automatic in 30-06. While he was on an elk hunt in Colorado, he noticed his guides 300 Weatherby Mark V (which were pretty new then) and, testing it, found its trajectory quite different at long range, compared to his 30-06. So, he bought one.

My uncle (both of them, really) was a great one for telling stories and yarns, and I suppose a lot of them were even true. He wasn't a "BSer," but I'm sure that his stories were constructed so as to put him in a good light. He was a large man and his stories did represent him as a big man. His Weatherby was proof of this.

I recall him regaling my Dad with tales of him taking his friends to the range, where the scope on his fearsome Weatherby would lay open the brows of these lesser mortals. Having, he thought, put my Dad into the right mental frame of mind, he offered to take my Dad and me to his shooting range, so that Dad could have his go with my uncle's new hand cannon.

What I don't think that my uncle knew was that my Dad had been on his regimental target team before World War 2, and had done plenty of shooting during that conflict, as well. My uncles were both a decade older than my Dad, and had been exempted from the draft due to their age and due to their essential jobs in the steel mills -- they were both the rollers, who ran the mills where they worked. While Dad was getting shot at by everything from 7.92x57mm to 88mm artillery, and Anzio Annie, the 240 mm railway gun in Italy, my uncles were making big money and overtime at home. I doubt that they ever considered anyone else's experiences, least of all, my Dad's.

But though a quiet fellow who said little about himself, my Dad was a real man's man, which my uncle hadn't counted on!

Anyway, since I was to accompany them on this trip, I was invited to select a gun from my uncle's cabinet to shoot, as well. I was very intrigued with his Browning A5, a 12 gauge that was the first successful semi-auto shotgun designed by John Browning. It had a very brutal style that was somewhat graceful at the same time, and I thought it would be grand to shoot it. When asked what I wanted to shoot, I selected "deer slugs," and without comment, my uncle set us up for the shoot and off we went to the range.

I got to go first, and I was eager. All of the kids at school bragged about shooting "deer slugs" (they probably didn't even know what they were) and I was ready for my try. I cut loose at a target with that old A5, and good heavens! it was like holding a hay baling machine in my hands! A5s are not gas operated -- they are long recoil and, when fired, the barrel recoils all the way back with the bolt, and it's then released to return forward. The bolt then releases and picks up the next round on its trip to battery.

All of these actions were quite perceptible to me, as if in slow motion, while smoke wafted out of the ejection port with the empty hull. I had that burning feeling in my nose, as if someone had just punched me. I would have shot more, but my uncle and my Dad, having seen this, figured my round at the range was finished, and without a word, I was relieved of the A5 and my Dad took his position with my uncle's awesome smoke pole.

Unfortunately for my uncle's expectations, Dad fired a magazine's worth through the eyebrow-killer Weatherby with nary a problem, and my uncle had nothing to say about it. We packed up and went home.

This was my first experience in firing an adult's gun, and although it was somewhat intimidating, I was ready for more and looked forward to having some big boomer of my own!

It wasn't until I was older that I appreciated the humiliating trap that my uncle had set for my Dad, and the classy way Dad had left my uncle silent. But this doesn't prevent me from smiling about it, to this day!

[marksman]

The legend of Fred Bear of bringing down most of the big games of the world, with his brand of Bow and Arrow was exposed in India as well when he had claimed to have shot the tiger with it. The wounded tiger had to be put down with a bullet eventually after the professionals tracked it down. I forget which hunting Agency was hired by him but think most probably it was Alwyn & Cooper run by Shukla brothers.(MP). Elder of the two Shyamcharan became the chief minister of MP later and the younger one Vidyacharan became a Union minister in Mrs. Gandhi's regime who eventually was gunned down by Naxalites not very long ago.

.
Marksman

ps: sorry for high jacking the original topic but the mention of Fred Bear rang the bell.

[timmy]

No highjack at all: these things go on and how can the ordinary guy on the street know apples from oranges?

For me, my uncle was there and saw the hide, and had no reason to lie. Whatever is said or read, I would have to go with my uncle's view.

Your account certainly gives me no reason to change my mind, and is another interesting point on the matter to learn.

[Vikram]

That was a tale well told, Tim. Much respect to your dad. I really enjoyed reading this post.

[AgentDoubleS]

Wonderful narration of clearly some very fond memories, Timmy. Thank you for sharing.

Cheers
SS