Monday Memories—Our Shooting Range

Calvin said, “You’re going to blog about this aren’t you?”

I said, “Nope. This is Jeff Foxworthy fodder.”

But then we got our family pictures back from Alyson, and well . . . it is our memory, Jeff Foxworthy-worthy or no, and . . . they are pretty guns.

Abe thinks I don't know how to hold a gun

Over the past several years, Calvin made each gun in this picture from hunks of wood (one for Ray, Cali, Abe, and Ty. Ande is holding out for a grandfather's clock). Each gun has about 300 hours in it. He is incredibly talented.

Because it was too cold to have an outside shoot-off this Christmas, Calvin made an inside-the-house target for the pellet gun. The target trap is a box made out of plywood and lined with plumber’s putty so as to stop the bullets. The front of the box holds a clip board with the center cut out so the pellets can go through the target before hitting the putty. The box sits on a stool at the end of the hall against the bookcase and in between the two bedrooms. Not only did Calvin make a target trap, he also mounted a big sight on the pellet gun (and the rhino-sized scope looks pretty ridiculous on the itty-bitty gun, but I suppose one shouldn’t complain when it is your books that are at risk).

The boys all pushed the piano into the center of the living room so that they had a clear shot across the living room and down the hall to the target. If you looked down the hall over the head of the shooter you saw the target and then a hand resting on the carpet or an elbow sticking out of the bedroom doors. After the shot went off you saw two heads pop out to verify where the pellet hit the target. And then you heard “NICE shot” or a whole lot of razzing and arguing. Then they switched and the two heads popped back into the bedroom and the next one took aim. Another thing you heard quite often was, “DON’T COME OUT OF THE BATHROOM YET. We’ll tell you when it’s clear.” This left me a bit skittish. Target practice kept the guys entertained for hours, especially once Calvin discovered he could sit in the chair and put his feet up on the ottoman and still be in the running.