I'm feeling proud this morning about #3 son, Angus.
Saturday morning, I ran into Angus and #2, Moose, in the basement. Moose had spent the night. They had decided to get up and go early to the gun show that was being held on our side of town. I have taken them many times when they were younger. They were meeting friends.
Before Noon, I had reason to get hold of them to discuss plans for later in the weekend. It was then I found out. Angus had purchased a NIB Highpoint 9mm carbine and 300 rounds of 9mm ammo at a good price. He and Moose were on their way to the farm to shoot.
They came in late. Angus showed me the piece. It was not really my taste, but it was sturdy and did what it needed to do. I heard the alarm in the Shamanic Secret Underground Reloading Facility reset about 11 PM. He had gotten in to clean the rifle and put it up on the rack. Despite being tired, he had stuck to my advice: don't go to bed with dirty gun.
So why am I so proud? First off, this was a calculated decision. It appears to be something other than mere impulse buying. Angus and Moose went to the show to find a rifle that would be cheap to shoot. Angus has been plinking with the M44 Mosin I bought him 10 years ago, but he got tired of feeding it. The house is already filled with semi-auto .22 LR and .223 Rem rifles. This would be neatly nestled between the two in cost and performance. The Hi-Point is heavy and butt-ugly, so I know he did not pick it for any romantic reason. He went researched what would be the system with the lowest cost to operate and went for it. He did it all with money he's been saving from his job.
I'm also rather happy he didn't bring me in on it. He did not worry what I would think until it was over. Both Moose and Angus have now stepped deliberately out of my shadow.
I'm pleased that they decided to go to the farm to shoot rather than head to the nearest range. Sure, it's a 60-some mile drive to get there, but it shows my sons appreciate the place as much as I do.
Overall, it was a perfect, well-timed operation. They hit the gun show as it was opening up, got what they needed. Made the farm just as the temperature was hitting an unseasonably high peak in the 60's, shot their ammo and made their way home with a nice sunset and the windows open. I call that sucking the last bit of life out of a day.
