One follower wondered if I have ever fired a gun from my comments on guns. He figured I must be a liberal who had never been around guns. This is a logical question since I appear to be anti-gun which I now am. It is a complete change from when I was growing up and maturing.

            I have easily fired over 3,000 thousand rounds of .22 caliber through a 50-year-old bolt rifle and a Western style revolver plus a couple of boxes with a semi-rifle. Over open sights with the bolt I could hit a can at 30 yards and a can tossed in the air with the pistol most of the time.

            I shot several boxes of .410, 20, 16 and 12 gauges. I got no thrill out of shot guns because they didn’t require much skill to hit a target. I hit a running rabbit with the .410 at over 40 yards while climbing an open stair, shooting through the steps from the hip. That was a hip shot. I killed another with hip shots from the .22 rifle when it was running at an angle. The last two shots with a hot barrel went off on their own.

            I feel bad for the animals I killed so I quit shooting and ended the addiction of guns when I was 20. The urge is still there when I am around guns but like any other addict I work to overcome the urge. I imagine it is like someone who has smoked, drank, or took drugs.

            Today’s gun addiction is fed by the NRA and gun manufactures through ads and social media. I was a member of the NRA for a few years until I figured out it was all about the money and not gun safety. Oh yes, the actor, Charlton Heston, was paid more to front for the NRA than he ever made in films, according to his agent.