My family went to a Fourth of July barbecue with another family we’re friends with, and when we got there, everybody was out in the field shooting a variety of different guns. Roger was sighting in the new Browning bolt action he’d showed me a few days ago, and Davey had a 6.5 Creedmoor on an AR platform he’d built. Several other people had a few rifles they’d brought with them, too.
And better yet, everyone had plenty of ammo, and they all welcomed anyone and everyone to shoot any guns we wanted to try.
I love shooting. I do as much of it as I can in my own pasture. One of the first things I did when we bought the house we’re in now was to set up a 100-yard shooting range just a few steps outside the back door. There are only two problems with having my own range. The first is that I spend a whole lot more money on ammo now than I did before I had my own place to shoot, and the second is that every time I take some guns out there to shoot them, I then have to clean all the guns I’ve shot.
But on the Fourth of July, with all those generous people allowing me to shoot their ammo through their guns, I got to have all the fun I wanted without having to worry about either the cost of the ammunition or having to clean all those guns when I was done.
There’s a saying that a friend will help you move, but a good friend will help you move a piano. I’ll take that a step further. A great friend will let you shoot his rifles with his ammunition. I’m glad I have that kind of friends.
But to be a good friend in return, I’ll probably need to return the favor. I’m stocking up on ammo now so that I can have them all out to my backyard range for a Labor Day barbecue and shooting party. And I won’t mind cleaning the guns later one bit.
