Spending Time Afield
I think it ’ s safe to say I ’ m an avid gun guy . I love anything firearms related . I love hunting and shooting sports in general . There is a good chance it all started one summer morning when I was a young boy . My father , Bradley Johnson , is a retired Lt . Col . In the United States Army and spent much of his time in the Army stationed at Ft . Bliss in El Paso , TX . We moved back to Louisiana when I was five years old ; but not long after the move , the family took a trip one summer to revisit . That trip is where I got my first exposure to firing a cartridge firearm .
Ft . Bliss had a large shooting range that was open to the public on certain days . One morning , Mr . Bill had accompanied my father and I to the range . Mr . Bill was like a father to my dad and regrettably passed away before I truly got to know him . He brought with him that morning two handguns , a Ruger mk II standard model in . 22 LR and a Ruger Blackhawk in . 357 magnum . I had a great time that day plinking away with the . 22 LR ; and then before we left , I shot the . 357 magnum a few times that was loaded with light . 38spl target loads . After that , I was hooked on shooting and haven ’ t looked back since .
My father was never a big hunter . I learned hunting in high school from my Uncle Nicky and a close family friend , Mr . Vernon . When I was 17 years old , after a week of hard hunting with Mr . Vernon in the north Georgia mountains , I shot my first deer . Mr . Vernon continues to teach me a thing or two when it comes to deer hunting , and I will have memories of my first trips afield for the rest of my life .
Not all kids grow up in hunting households . My father taught me to shoot and we still love to shoot together all the time , but I didn ’ t grow up in a hunting household . It is because of men who took a kid hunting that I now have a deep love of the outdoors . My friend , Scott , is the biggest duck hunter I know , he eats and sleeps duck hunting all year long . Scott doesn ’ t have any kids of his own yet , but any opportunity he gets to take a kid duck hunting , he does it .
by Ian-Bradley M . Johnson Arms Merchant
The other day , Scott and I were working at the shop , and a kid came in with his dad . All the boy could talk about was how excited he was to get into more and more shooting and hunting , and the dad was just as excited to get involved with him . When they left , I told Scott how happy I was to see a boy and his dad so interested to carry on the sport . In the 1990 ’ s , hunting and shooting sports were on the decline ; the average age of hunters was getting older , and less youth were involved . Today , we ’ ve seen those numbers skyrocket as more and more youth are involved in hunting and shooting sports . In this electronic age in which we live , nothing has yet to replace the real feeling of being outdoors . Part of what I take pride in as an avid outdoorsman is stewardship . For me , stewardship is taking care of the land and , more importantly , leaving it to enjoy for future generations . Take a kid hunting . Take a kid shooting . Show our future generations how much we enjoy the outdoors , and hopefully , they will take our place one day as stewards of our land and our sport .
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June 2016 www . marshandbayou . com