Summers meant a lot of hard work on the farm in northern Minnesota, where I grew up. Feeding the livestock was a year-round constant, as was milking the cows twice a day. Plus, in summer: plow, disc, drag, pick rocks, plant, cultivate, harvest 3-4 crops of hay, harvest grains and bale straw. Come fall, we were more than ready for the end of the growing season - and hunting.
We hunted for meat, not trophies. Squirrels, ducks, pheasants, partridge, deer; all were a nice change from the usual beef and pork served up 3 times a day. Our guns were relics, a single-shot 22 and a single-shot shotgun. Two of my brothers bought a new German Mauser WWII era rifle and modified it to use as a deer rifle. I shot my one and only deer with that rifle.
Fast forward several years. I'm living in the Seattle area, married and have 2 sons, Tod and Adam. I think they're old enough to learn how to shoot, so I bought them each a BB gun for Christmas. I showed them the basics of shooting, how to hold it, aim, and so on. Cautioned them against shooting at each other, or anybody else (you could put an eye out).
Anxious to give the guns a go, they took them outside Christmas morning. This is where it gets ugly.
I was big on holiday decorating, both inside and out. Large, freshly-cut tree with all kinds of decorations inside; lots of lights and other stuff outside.
My mistake was not providing my sons with targets. Not to worry, they found their own targets - the large-bulb Christmas lights strung along the eaves of the house. A couple days later, I noticed that several outside light bulbs weren't working. Upon closer inspection, I discovered the shattered remains of the bulbs on the ground. I. Was. Pissed! I confiscated the guns and gave them back to the guys several months later.
On the upside, the boys sure learned how to shoot those guns in short order!
