[Eddie_T]

The boys were playing with their toys, a can was fixed in the bank across the creek as a target. My wife came out of the house to get something out of the car. She watched a couple of shots and asked her Dad, can I try that? He handed her his S&W .38 special, she took it and in a one handed stance took aim and shot the can, handed the gun back to her Dad and went on to to the car.

The next time I saw her shoot, a mouse was robbing a bird feeder I had set on a stump behind the house. I had tried a few times to hit the mouse with a Crosman 760 BB gun with no luck. I was doing something else when she announced in a trembling voice that she thought she had hit the mouse. I disposed of the dead mouse and as to my recollection she never shot the gun again.

Those are the only times I am aware of in her entire life that she fired any type of gun, only two shots and both on target. I bought her a Rossi .38 special, she never fired it but I knew she could. I told her if she ever had to point it at an intruder not to hesitate or she might lose the gun and her life. The need never arose.

 

[Mazarine33]

First time I shot a deer I cried till I was sick. She jumped straight up and then hit the ground and didn't move, it was as clean a kill as any professional hunter could have made at that distance with that .257. It made a serious impression on me. I went on to hunt for several years, didn't cry after the first time, but I was still very, very cognizant of taking the deer's life for meat every time after that.

I don't hunt anymore, I don't really eat that much meat these days, but yeah, first shots can be surprising. My husband was watching from a distance and saw me shoot, and was amazed at how good a shot it was.

Funny, but I am still grateful all these years later, for all those deer, for all the meat they gave us.

I doubt your wife would have hesitated in a bad situation. It might have affected her if she had to. But then I think it would affect anyone to take a human life, however evil.

BTW, I like your Lion of Judea avatar.

 

[Exarmyguy]

For me it has never gotten better. Every animal I kill still sort of bothers me. I still hunt and still kill pest animals though.

 

[HomeDefense]

The kills that stayed with me over the years were those from a hunt for snow geese near Churchhill, Manitoba. That was probably 25 years ago. Snow geese are different from Canadian geese and ducks in that they mate for life. If you shoot one, the mate follows it as it spirals down. The mate then tries to protect it on the ground. It was very difficult to chase the mate away and not very sporting to shoot them on the ground. I never went back for snow geese again.

The only deer kills that bothered me were from a hunt where we were not seeing anything in the area. I had two antlerless permits. On the second day, two yearlings came romping through the woods. They appeared to be playing. The first shot took one down. It simply collapsed. The second one stood there shaking uncontrollably. It didn't run. It just stood there, looking at its friend. I took that one, as well.

The reactions from some animals remind me they are sometimes more than prey or a few meals.

My wife has always been a good shot. She shot a nice buck the first time I took her deer hunting. She's also good at trap shooting. If she doesn't get the clay pigeon on the first shot, she almost always gets it with a second before it hits the ground.

 

[Eddie_T]

A doctor friend of mine (a prepper who has a book on Amazon) went to a church sponsored trap shoot and took his son. His son who had never fire a gun before out performed them all. Bottom line, some people are naturals and just don't need all the practice. I am not that good but I don't practice due to inconvenience and expense. I will do some backyard plinking after I get a TCR22.

 

[Dragon Tamer]

Eddie T my wife was like that. I was going to teach her how to use a handgun. She use to hunt with her dad with a shotgun. She had never fired a handgun. I taught her about sight picture. Placed six clays on the side of the woodpile. We backed up about 25 feet. She broke 6 out of 6. So much for teaching her. She is a natural. I never worried about her when I went on duty for the county police department and left her alone at night.

 

[JBryan314]

The boys were playing with their toys, a can was fixed in the bank across the creek as a target. My wife came out of the house to get something out of the car. She watched a couple of shots and asked her Dad, can I try that? He handed her his S&W .38 special, she took it and in a one handed stance took aim and shot the can, handed the gun back to her Dad and went on to to the car.

The next time I saw her shoot, a mouse was robbing a bird feeder I had set on a stump behind the house. I had tried a few times to hit the mouse with a Crosman 760 BB gun with no luck. I was doing something else when she announced in a trembling voice that she thought she had hit the mouse. I disposed of the dead mouse and as to my recollection she never shot the gun again.

Those are the only times I am aware of in her entire life that she fired any type of gun, only two shots and both on target. I bought her a Rossi .38 special, she never fired it but I knew she could. I told her if she ever had to point it at an intruder not to hesitate or she might lose the gun and her life. The need never arose.

The need never arose? Like past-tense? Could it not still possibly arise?

 

[JBryan314]

The kills that stayed with me over the years were those from a hunt for snow geese near Churchhill, Manitoba. That was probably 25 years ago. Snow geese are different from Canadian geese and ducks in that they mate for life. If you shoot one, the mate follows it as it spirals down. The mate then tries to protect it on the ground. It was very difficult to chase the mate away and not very sporting to shoot them on the ground. I never went back for snow geese again.

The only deer kills that bothered me were from a hunt where we were not seeing anything in the area. I had two antlerless permits. On the second day, two yearlings came romping through the woods. They appeared to be playing. The first shot took one down. It simply collapsed. The second one stood there shaking uncontrollably. It didn't run. It just stood there, looking at its friend. I took that one, as well.

The reactions from some animals remind me they are sometimes more than prey or a few meals.

My wife has always been a good shot. She shot a nice buck the first time I took her deer hunting. She's also good at trap shooting. If she doesn't get the clay pigeon on the first shot, she almost always gets it with a second before it hits the ground.

I guess that would be enough for me to not hunt snow geese.

 

[HomeDefense]

I guess that would be enough for me to not hunt snow geese.

I don't recommend it. I think this hunt affected everyone in our group.

 

[InOmaha]

We butchered several hundred chickens, a cow, and a pig each year. So I learned by watching how to do it with a knife first. We got good at assembly line butchering as small kids.

Graduated up to guns later. I was 8 ish with a pellet gun, 10 ish with my own real gun. I'm old enough now it sort of blends together.

I do remember they had us butchering chickens young enough that we could easily get our hands inside to clean them out. Grandma taught me how to cut off heads.

 

[Eddie_T]

The need never arose? Like past-tense? Could it not still possibly arise?

No, sadly she is past tense. I lost her 28 months ago for a number of health complications.

 

[NW GUY]

FIRST Time I ever took my big kid to shoot some skeet,
first time he ever handled a shotgun,

I have a little ground trap,
pull..dust
pull...dust
pull... dust
pull...dust
pull...dust.

As I am gaping at him he hands the shotgun back and says.."I thought that was supposed to be hard."

 

[NW GUY]

I HAVE been killing since I was old enough to shoulder a gun.
Started pheasant at 5
killed my first deer at 7

Have no idea how many ducks and geese and pheasant I have killed
I know deer have to be way over 100.
Hundreds and hundreds of groundhogs while varminting.. never tried prairie dogs
Bear, moose, hogs, prepared me for hunting the most dangerous game...
If it is in northern NA or Canada I have given it a go.

Killing never bothered me, Between the farm and my father/hunter I was raised into it,

 

[NW GUY]

The kills that stayed with me over the years were those from a hunt for snow geese near Churchhill, Manitoba. That was probably 25 years ago. Snow geese are different from Canadian geese and ducks in that they mate for life. If you shoot one, the mate follows it as it spirals down. The mate then tries to protect it on the ground. It was very difficult to chase the mate away and not very sporting to shoot them on the ground. I never went back for snow geese again.

The only deer kills that bothered me were from a hunt where we were not seeing anything in the area. I had two antlerless permits. On the second day, two yearlings came romping through the woods. They appeared to be playing. The first shot took one down. It simply collapsed. The second one stood there shaking uncontrollably. It didn't run. It just stood there, looking at its friend. I took that one, as well.

The reactions from some animals remind me they are sometimes more than prey or a few meals.

My wife has always been a good shot. She shot a nice buck the first time I took her deer hunting. She's also good at trap shooting. If she doesn't get the clay pigeon on the first shot, she almost always gets it with a second before it hits the ground.

CANADIANS also mate for life...just FYI

 

[Exarmyguy]

CANADIANS also mate for life...just FYI

Yes Ive been married 38 years. :

 

[Mazarine33]

I've raised and butchered poultry too. Cows I sent off to be butchered but then I was raising them on halves with someone. The deal was I would raise and care for them on my property and then they would take them and do the deed and split half the meat with me. I was sad when I'd get the meat back all wrapped and labeled, but such is life.

I couldn't shoot geese like that either. I don't hunt anymore. Heck, I even trap ***** now and take them down to the river and let them out instead of shooting them. At least they have a chance at surviving elsewhere.

 

[JBryan314]

No, sadly she is past tense. I lost her 28 months ago for a number of health complications.

Oh man, I hate to hear that. I’ve been to some sermons lately that have driven home to me the value of the time we get to spend with our spouses and children and parents, etc.