Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What does 223AI mean?

Great story Gadfly.

Even though I was/am a city boy, I was lucky enough to experience the best of both worlds. I have five other siblings younger than me. So by time I was six there were three more to take care of. By time I was 10 there were 5 more as the last two were twins. My grandmother was only 15 years older than my mom so she and her husband were in there mid 40's by time I was old enough to tag along. Consequently I got to spend weeks at a time with them. As mentioned before, Jesse was a barber. He was also a scoutmaster, and an inveterate tinkerer. He repaired TV's, radios, built dog houses and "tom walkers" to sell in front of his shop. He taught me how to twist a rabbit out of a hole with a forked stick, how to build fires, how to whittle and how to "still hunt"
Caught my first fish at two. My grandmother sold "worms" out of a shed in back so we always had bait. There was a public lake about a mile from their house, so we fished almost every day, either before or after she would fix Jesse's lunch or dinner. They also had a chicken coop and sold yard eggs. Jesse didn't put up with fox, coons or possums that messed with his chickens. Learned several lessons in how to deal with predators, some of which I bear in mind to this day. One day I fell out of a pecan tree in the back yard. IIRC, I was about half way up the tree hanging upside down by my legs, scaring my grandma and swinging back and forth. Somehow I slipped and down I came. Never hardly wore anything but shorts back then so I was skint from head to toe on my backside. Gracie sent me inside and went and got Jesse from the barber shop. I don't know whether he meant is as a joke or a lesson or both. He applied a liberal dose of Absorbine Jr. to my back. IIRC I took off like a shot and ran around the house about a dozen times with Gracie chasing me an hollering at Jesse for doing that. Seems like when I calmed down he told me something to the effect of, Don't fall out of trees and I won't have to fix ya up.



Tomwalkers, circa 1957.




makin's for a slingshot.

Life is good. I've come full circle. I'm now doing the same things with my grandson.



Son and grandson





tell me that boy ain't huntin!

Best

GWB