My boys and I went up to Riverton last week, and the No. 1 item on our wish list of things to do was to shoot pistols with my dad. He’s been to a bunch of handgun training courses over the years, so I would like for him to show me some of the tips and tricks he’s learned that could make me a better shot. If I do say so myself, I’m a pretty darn good shot with a rifle, a shotgun or a bow, but when it comes to handguns, I can barely hit the broad side of a barn.
Before we could head down to the shooting range in Dad’s “lower pasture,” though, Dad asked if we could help him fix a few fence rails that had been knocked down by falling tree branches. As with any chore that happens in a Stockton household, this turned out to be a bigger project than anticipated. We first had to get the four-wheeler started so Dad could bring the tools and materials around for us, so we worked on it for about an hour. It ended up being beyond our mechanical abilities, though, so we punted and used his tractor instead. Then we had to get the chainsaw working, and that involved dumping out the old fuel and replacing it with new go-juice. All told, that two-hour chore took us an entire afternoon.
The next day, we needed to help him set up his Google Cast on his TV before we could go shoot, but again, it was more than we bargained for. That also took most of a day. When we finally got that up and running, we found Dad’s range bag (another two-hour detour) and headed for the Lower Pasture. But our plans were stymied once again. The road to the pasture was an absolute quagmire. Rather than getting a vehicle – and ultimately also a tractor – stuck, we gave up and decided to try again on the next visit to Riverton.
Hopefully Dad won’t have as many chores for us to do before we go shooting next time.
