I haven't wanted to own a gun. I've been to the shooting range with friends and it was fun, but once I handled them a few times in real life I decided I did not need or want one.
That stayed true when I got married and became doubly true when we had Shane.
I felt safer not having a gun in the house. Kids get into things.
I remember finding some WW2 guns in Papa's closet when I was a kid. I knew they were trouble and I didn't want to get in trouble, so I didn't tell anyone. I peeked through the scope at the ceiling and marveled at how close everything look. They were there a couple more times, but eventually disappeared.
Now our situation has changed.
We live further out from support services, have large animals, and I've seen bears and coyotes.
Carrie and I talked it over and we decided to purchase a rifle. She used to be a rifle team captain and state champion shooter in high school, so she sighted the rifle while I was at school and sent me a picture of her final grouping.
Saturday, while Shane was out with a friend, Carrie and I took a few practice shots.
We've seen the coyote walk through the arena and along the fence line several times, so the log pile made a good backdrop. (The last time, the coyote walked the whole line and then down the highway!).
Our sliding glass door is our stand. It's elevated which is great for safety (shots will hit the ground rather than continue if they miss).
We went with a bolt action, small caliber. The hope is to either kill or scare off predators.
We took six shots total. Three each. No surprise that Carrie's the most accurate. She's got the most experience by far and was annoyed with her last shot. My first shots were too far left and I over-corrected right on the final.
The animals handled it well enough. The horses started a little on the first shot and then went back to grazing. Bucket normally runs when I sneeze, but she stayed in the kitchen after ducking under the table.
Loki? He was sleeping in his pen and we scared the piss out of him.
It feels weird being able to safely and legally have target practice in our backyard. Maybe the noise taught the coyotes some caution and we won't see them again....but I doubt it.
UPDATE: We haven't seen the coyotes at all since the two times we had firing practice. Coincidence? I like to think "working as intended."
Wow! I'm impressed by both Carrie's aim accuracy and yours, too! That's great that she was even good at shooting a rifle in high school. And maybe all that money we spent on lazer tag (Ultrazone) helped you, or you're just a natural at it. At any rate, I'm glad you both can protect the horses if needed. I don't think Loki would scare them at all, but instead would just become a target. Hey, that's pretty cool that Shane was gone when you practiced! We don't need him learning how to shoot at his young age. Thanks for posting this. We've been hungry for another blog from you. Pop and I taught the 4 year old Sunday school class this morning. We do every other Sunday and it was fun. We went out to eat with another couple that we like after church and that was also fun.
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