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THOUGHTS AFIELD - February 2018
by Kirby Keller |
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Funny, isn’t it, how something triggers a memory when you least expect it? This happened to me last week one evening as I finished cleaning and wiping down a rifle. I carefully placed the rifle back into the safe, pausing to scan the other firearms before closing the door (I don’t really have many guns in my safe, despite what my wife says!)
In the back-right corner stood a rife that caught my eye; I hadn’t used it for hunting in several years. It is a Savage Model 99 chambered in .300 Savage that belonged to my father. It felt good in my hands, light, balanced, with beautiful lines; in my mind, this was the perfect mountain rife, long before Remington came out with their mountain rifle. To me, the Model 99, after all these years, still doesn’t look like an old, outdated gun.
The rifle brought back wonderful memories in that moment as I sat admiring it in my hands. My mind and heart were flooded with images, sounds and even smells conjured up by that 99. I was with my Dad, the Saturday night he bought it at a Western Auto Store in Chambersburg, PA in 1951. I was nine years old.
I enjoyed many hours with him as he shot it at a target he had set up in an old apple orchard, behind our farm house and of course, after shooting he would always clean it with, you probably guessed it, Hoppes No. 9 solvent. To this day, when I smell that unique aroma of No 9, I can visualize Dad giving his .300 tender loving care.
My Dad carried that rifle the rest of his life, taking his share of deer. He and I shared many hours and days hunting deer and bear together. When he passed on, the rifle came to me. Needless to say, I treasure it and enjoy taking it to the range occasionally where it still performs beautifully.
Memories. It is amazing how they enrich our lives. The question I ask myself and all of us is this: are we helping young people—our kids, grandkids, or even neighbor kids have good memories of days afield chasing birds or rabbits, or deer? In the future when your favorite shotgun or rifle is handed on to the next generation, will that conjure up warm memories of you? This year, let’s all make an effort to invest ourselves in a new generation of hunters and shooters who will carry on the tradition.
In the back-right corner stood a rife that caught my eye; I hadn’t used it for hunting in several years. It is a Savage Model 99 chambered in .300 Savage that belonged to my father. It felt good in my hands, light, balanced, with beautiful lines; in my mind, this was the perfect mountain rife, long before Remington came out with their mountain rifle. To me, the Model 99, after all these years, still doesn’t look like an old, outdated gun.
The rifle brought back wonderful memories in that moment as I sat admiring it in my hands. My mind and heart were flooded with images, sounds and even smells conjured up by that 99. I was with my Dad, the Saturday night he bought it at a Western Auto Store in Chambersburg, PA in 1951. I was nine years old.
I enjoyed many hours with him as he shot it at a target he had set up in an old apple orchard, behind our farm house and of course, after shooting he would always clean it with, you probably guessed it, Hoppes No. 9 solvent. To this day, when I smell that unique aroma of No 9, I can visualize Dad giving his .300 tender loving care.
My Dad carried that rifle the rest of his life, taking his share of deer. He and I shared many hours and days hunting deer and bear together. When he passed on, the rifle came to me. Needless to say, I treasure it and enjoy taking it to the range occasionally where it still performs beautifully.
Memories. It is amazing how they enrich our lives. The question I ask myself and all of us is this: are we helping young people—our kids, grandkids, or even neighbor kids have good memories of days afield chasing birds or rabbits, or deer? In the future when your favorite shotgun or rifle is handed on to the next generation, will that conjure up warm memories of you? This year, let’s all make an effort to invest ourselves in a new generation of hunters and shooters who will carry on the tradition.