What a great thread. My Dad had a 22 , shotgun, 30-06and killed a bunch of deer & birds but became more of a gun guy as I started hunting with him.& his buddies. My maternal grandfather is to this day the finest shotgun marksman I’ve ever hunted with in 50 years of hunting dozens of guys. When I was his dog as a boy he dropped bandtail pigeons close to the road to make my job easier. Spent a summer with paternal grandfather in South Dakota & he bought me a box of 22’s every day that 10 year old Summer. He had me finish off varmint last that teenagers wounded shooting at the dump - liked his grandson being the best rifle shot. In my big extended family nothing but support for hunting & shooting. My Grandmother chastised my newest son-in-law for missing a big Tom Turkey the day she met him at age 98. None were collectors but I still use an old model 11 as my Turkey gun even though I can’t shoot it as well as my grandfather did.
