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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 8
Northwoods
Voyager
My Early Firearms Education
by Gil Gilpatrick,
Skowhegan, ME
Hardly a week goes by without something in the news about
firearms. Even when the media
makes an attempt to be fair in the
reporting, it usually comes out as
a plea for more gun control laws.
It seems to me that there should
be more education about guns,
not more laws of which there are
plenty.
I was introduced to firearms
at a very young age. I was the
only nephew of my Aunt Dot and
Uncle Ronald, so I was kind of
doted upon I guess you could say.
July 2015
Anyway, for my seventh birthday
they gave me an air rifle or a BB
gun as we called it. I remember
my mother objecting saying I was
too young, but my father insisted I
keep it. And so I did. It is impossible to say how many thousands of
well. So, I got a lot of practice. I
know now that I was closely observed, especially at first, but not
by standing close and looking over
my shoulder. I became pretty good
with it too. I remember my mother
telling a story about my prowess
with the rifle.
Her and I were outside our
attached shed. She complained
about all the houseflies around us
and on the weathered boards of the
shed. I took aim at one of them on
sons, but somehow my parents
drilled into me the responsibility
that goes with owning a firearm
and I never shot at birds or any
other animal. Like most hunting
families we loved and respected
wildlife and this brings to mind
an incident where the young Gil
demonstrated some disrespect and
Mother Nature took her revenge.
I was idling along our country road picking up rocks and
throwing them at fence posts that
It seems to me that there should be more education about guns,
not more laws of which there are plenty.
BB’s I put through that rifle, but it
was many. Whenever my aunt and
uncle visited they brought along a
supply of BB’s and I managed to
scrape up money to buy some as
the wall and pinned it there by its
wing with a BB. My mother was
duly impressed and I didn’t ruin
the moment by trying it a second
time. I don’t remember the les-
This nice turkey is
Connie Fox’s first kill,
shot in the Augusta area
a,
opening day
(May 4, 2015).
This tom weighed 20
pounds, 2 ounces,
and had a
10-inch beard, and
one-inch spurs. I used
a circa 1920’s
Winchester Model
Mode
12 - 20 gauge pump.
I’m looking forward to
the fall season and
hunting with my
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edged the highway. As I walked
along I saw a red squirrel run up a
tree and then it stopped and looked
at me. Without thinking I threw a
rock at it, never thinking I might
hit it, but I did. The little animal
fell to the ground and laid still. I
was devastated at what I had done.
I rushed over and picked it up, I
guess hoping I could do something
to make right what I had done
wrong. The little squirrel evened
things up himself. About the time
l had it in my hand it came to life
and went around and around my
hand taking a bite with every step.
Before I could let the little guy go
my hand looked like a piece of raw
hamburger. Of course this wasn’t
the end of my comeuppance either,
because I still had to explain to
Mom and Dad how my hand got
in that sorry condition.
By the time I was ten I had
saved enough money to buy a .22
rifle and was trusted enough by my
parents that I roamed far and wide
with it, but never killed anything
just for the sake of shooting it. I’ll
end this with a story that is sad
and still hurts even now 70 or so
years later.
I got home from school and
a neighbor told me that my dog
had been hit by a car. I searched
and found my pet in the tall grass
a hundred yards or so from our
house. I immediately could see
that he was suffering and that
he wouldn’t make it. Back then
people didn’t take their animals
to a vet to be put down, but did it
themselves. My parents weren’t
around, and I knew I couldn’t let
him lay there in pain, so I went
and got my rifle, and with tears
in my eyes, ended his suffering as
quickly as I could.
I still have and cherish that
old Marlin .22, but this was its
saddest moment. I still think of
old Chuck every time I look at it.
Gil Gilpatrick is a Master
Maine Guide, and is the first living
recipient of the Legendary Maine
Guide award. He is a life member
of the Maine Professional Guides
Association, a founding member
of the Maine Wilderness Guides
Organization, and served as a
member of the Advisory Board for
the Licensing of Guides from 1996
to 2010. He is a member of the
New England Outdoor Writers Association and is the author of seven
outdoor-related books. Contact
him at [email protected]