My dad taught me well. He was especially strong in reminding me to treat all guns as loaded. He had a real good reason for this. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians baseball team as a pitcher when he was just 16 years old. His parents would not let him go until he finished high school. The fall before he turned 17 in Dec. he was out with his brothers squirel hunting and got warm. He took of his sweater and laid it on a stump. When he got home his mother asked about the sweater and then sent him back to get it. Rather dejectedly he turned around to go back and let the stock of his unloaded shotgun bump on the step going down. It went off. The shot ripped his entire right bicep out. The doctors said an inch or so left and it would have killed him instantly. He spent several weeks in the hospital and for the first several days they did not think that he would live. He still had shot visible in his shoulder until he died. You could touch the bone in his right arm where the bicep muscle was supposed to be. Needless to say he never got to play professional baseball. He was a great guy and a very good shot. There are two reasons why I never took up hunting. One is that my father never hunted again and the other that when you run a country store there is no time for hunting. I'm sure that knowing the story of my father's accident also sort of influenced me against hunting. I would go along for the dogs and walk for hours with others rabbit hunting, but never fired at one myself. Well, maybe being a geek might have had something to do with it.P95Carry said:George - superb post - quite fascinating.
I have the feeling that I and many others here could have enjoyed some prolongued company with your Dad. :yup:
Damn, that is scary - a more than salutary reminder of rule #2!! Amazing he recovered as well it seems he did.he turned around to go back and let the stock of his unloaded shotgun bump on the step going down. It went off. The shot ripped his entire right bicep out. The doctors said an inch or so left and it would have killed him instantly.