Negligent Discharge

The Boss bought me a paperback book called "Hunting Blunders and The One That Got Away" It's a little humorous, which I enjoy. It also has some Christian propaganda, which I generally skip over.

This book brought to mind several of my own blunders. The first was when I was a youngster in the squirrel woods.

I was on a relatives farm in Iowa, sneaking along a cattle trail that paralleled a small wooded river. I was carrying my grandfathers Winchester red letter 410 single shot. There jumping through the trees was a fat fox squirrel. Thinking a shot opportunity was imminent, I cocked the hammer. The bushy tail wasn't cooperating and disappeared in the leaves. It was now time to un-cock the little scatter gun. Thumb on hammer, squeeze trigger and lower the hammer . . . boom!

Those Winchesters have a very low profile hammer, that slipped out from under my thumb. The gun safety rules prevailed. All I did was blow a hole in the ground about 4 feet in front of me.

That was my first negligent discharge. I'm ashamed to admit that it was not my last in 47 years of hunting and shooting.