The Land Down Under

[Bingal123]

Having already submitted a post on my M92 feeding issues and solution i thought I might take a minute to say Hi. I started shooting an air rifle at the age of six, any sparrow silly enough to come within range of that little .177 Diana was fare game and many fell by theway side. At 12 most weekends I would wrap an old 410 shotgun up in an old towl and tie it to the cross bar on my bike put a box of ferrets on my back with a dozen negs and go and terrorise the local rabbit population. Comming home was always an intersting sight with field dressed rabbits hanging from every available space on that bike lol. As I grew so did the firearm and the old trusty 410 was replaced with an under over shotgun and the prey of choice became fox,ducks and wild boar flushed from swamps. I coulndt even begin to add up the hours spent chassing these or the miles spent looking for them but I do know I enjoyed everyone of them. Many decades later,more than I care to count lol i have several gun safes of all the modern wiz bang firearms that are currently popular the game has changed to mostly Deer, Boar and introduced pest species but none of them have given me as much joy as that little .177 Diana and the old Mossberg bolt action 410 shotgun did all those yars ago when I discovered the freedom and joy of firearms and hunting. Its funny how we fall prey and shooting is no different. The game hasnt changed any yet now if I dont have the biggest,most powerful and fastest flat shooting gun available I am told I am at a disadvantage lol. That old 410 killed evry type of game there is it was more about hunting, shot placement and being realistic based on the circumstances. I rhink that is what drew me back to first hunting with single shot rifles and later old style lever guns, it reminded me why i go hunting. Not to prove how clever I am but because I enjoy the environment and the hunting process itself not how many animals i bag. In fact I was taught early on if you cant anticipate exactly where your shot is going to end up dont pull the triger. While I have had a number of lever guns I had never had a M92 and the first time I handled one it was love at first sight lol. It was simple, light as a feather and after the routine fine tuning, as smooth as silk and more than capable of taking any of the game I hunt. it to reminded me that most of those other guns in my safes might be more modern and capable of doing incredible things at long distance but they spend most of their time sitting in that safe as they do not match the environment i mostly hunt in these days which is forrests where it can vary from heavy timber to small clearings and streams and where most ahots are under 100 yards. This is where this little .357 Rossi excells and it brings out that little boy in me that found the joy of guns and hunting all those years ago and that puts a big smile on my face.

[akuser47]

welcome glad to have you

[Tuco Ramirez]

It is refreshing to see I am not only the one who thinks about these thinks from time to time..... Your story made me think about my roots. I was the oldest of (8) kids. My father worked and mom stayed home to take care of the house. I started out with a Remington .22 bolt action rifle. The extractor did not work so I had to keep a pocket knife handy to pull the case out. That ole gun and I covered a lot of ground. That gun was a shooter, you could hit the eye on a fly with it.

For almost 15 years now I have had a Weatherby Mark-V in 300 Wby Mag. One of the most beautiful rifles one could ever want. I love the rifle but do not shoot it much. I am having more fun with my 45-70 Rio Grande than a barrel of monkeys.

In this fast paced world we live in now I think we forget sometimes to just slow down and enjoy the simple things in life. Thank you for your story! Like I said it made me think back to when life had a lot less options and some of the best times of my life. My Drill Sgt in the Army was right….. he pounded into us the most important rule is the KISS approach. (Keep it simple S..thead)

[Ranch Dog]

I started early as well and it was a time in South Texas that few landowners worried about what a young kid on a bicycle was up too despite toting a 20 gauge Sears Robuck single shot. It was mainly cottontails, jackrabbits, and enough javelina to make it interesting. Moved it up a notch when I bought a used Savage 340. It was pretty rough, both the metal and stock, so I sanded everything down and then painted it flat black. This was four decades before black rifles became popular but it was a heck of a sight better looking than when it started.

By the time I was 13, I had managed to find and arrange my first deer lease, a little 53 acre plot straddling both sides of a creek, despite my family having access to a very fine Zapata County ranch. I told my dad about it after I had everything secured in place just shy of the money exchanging. My dad was actually pleased that I put together a very good deal but it was also the point my dad decided I needed a little closer watching. He did let me have my reins. By the time I was 15, I had found a 200 acre pasture to lease and my dad was letting me drive the distance, without a driver's license, where I would spend the weekend camping and hunting alone. I leased and hunted that place until I graduated from high school and went straight into the US Army. That place is just down the highway from the ranch I now own.

I often think back to the landowners and my parents and how much trust they put in me. I know the landowners must of thought I was a bit strange for a kid in that I was so business like and serious. I was smart enough then, even at 13, to know that they were treating me as an equal and I had better not screw it up.