Well not really but.....
My dad loved fishing, and took me probably before I could walk. We spent lots of times outdoors even though I grew up in the city. Once I started reading Outdoor Life and Sports Afield and doing book reports at school reading any hunting book in library (they actually had hunting and gun books in library back then), I started talking with my dad about hunting. He grew up in small southern Illinois town where his dad was a coal miner, and he said as a kid used to hunt squirrels and rabbits with a 22 to feed the family. But the mines closed and his family moved to Chicago for work, my dad went to war, and had never owned any guns.
Due to my interest, I was suprised with a 22 single shot one Christmas. Me and dad would go to indoor range to shoot, and took a few trips back to where he grew up to hunt squirrels. This inspired my dad I guess to get a couple shotguns for hunting pheasant and rabbits. I got a Ted Williams 20ga pump from Sears and my dad bought a new Rem 870 12ga. I can remember him saying he must be crazy for spending $90 on a shotgun! I still have his 870 and man has it accounted for tons of small game, and a few deer after I got a slug barrel for it after he passed.
I so miss the times we spent together hunting, shooting and fishing. He died at 64 ten days after retirement....what a frickin pity!
That 870 was the only gun he ever owned. I've had several hundred go thru my hands at this point.
So, I guess dad was not a gun guy, but he gave me the start to enjoy them.
