My Grandmother from Texas gave me my first Gun a Remington Pump .22 Rifle when I was 8

I was surprised at first to have my Grandmother who lived in Seattle then with my grandfather to reach into her closet and pull out a Remington Pump 17 shot .22 rifle that had been my fathers as a child and young man.

It was maintained well likely by my Grandfather who was a hunter all his life on weekends. So, this was my first weapon that was given to me. I never needed to buy any guns at all in my life and eventually I was also given a .22 9 shot revolver pistol that fit into an U.S. Army officers holsters of World war II vintage.

I was taught by my father and two older cousins how to shoot straight and to hit any target up to 100 yards away pretty good by the time I was 10 years old. We also went into the deserts to hunt Jack Rabbits (even though we weren't trying to eat them). However, I was usually upset anytime I actually hit a jack rabbit or cottontail and gave all that up by the time I was 15 years old because I thought it was wrong to shoot something that we weren't going to eat.

So, even though I have owned one or more guns since then I haven't shot any of them for 30 to 40 years now.

Guns are a tool like a hoe or a rake and you only need them when you need them. Otherwise it is better to just leave them alone because they are very dangerous. They are not toys they are tools.

The last living thing I ever shot was likely in the 1970s or early 1980s when I had to shoot a Green Mojave Rattlesnake going  the open door of a house in the desert. I had to protect the people inside the house from death.

A Green Mojave's venom is 9 times more powerful than a diamondback rattler so most people die if bitten by a green mojave sidewinder. So, if you see one of these little green sidewinders in the mojave desert of California give them a wide berth because if they bite you you likely will die within a half an hour to an hour.