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My dad was always working hard long hours when I was a kid, and he never got to to spend much time with my brothers and I outdoors. He grew up in the mountains of West Virginia, and though he did a lot of small game hunting growing up, there were no deer or turkeys in that part of the country back then. So us boys were sort of on our own trying to learn about big game hunting. Dad did make sure we had hunting gear, and he did take me on my first deer hunt. My granddaddy had a Remington .35 pump rifle he gave Dad to use and he took me out to shoot it. I watched intently so as to learn how to use the gun. He put a shell in the gun, pushed the little button that released the pump and shucked the shell up into the chamber. He handed me the gun and told me to shoot a paper plate he had set up about 50 yards away. The rifle had open sights, so I put the front sight into the vee, lined up on the target and fired. I hit pretty close to center. Dad said, “Good shot!” He took the gun, and we went back inside. I was confident I would be able to shoot a deer.
First day of deer season found me in National Forest on a little knoll overlooking a small hollow that ran into thicket on. As the sun lit up the area sounds of gunshots rang out all over the mountains. It was very thrilling. Suddenly a deer came running across the bottom with its head held way back at an extreme angle. It entered into the thicket below. I could not see it but could hear it in there. Then I made out several deer in the thicket. There were a couple of does and a spike buck came walking out the other side. As I brought up the rifle another buck, a huge buck with big massive antlers walked out behind the spike. I was so excited I began to shake. But I took careful aim on the buck’s shoulder and fired. At the shot I pulled up, however, and hit a tree behind it over his back. All the deer froze.
My mind went blank. I finally realized I could shoot again. I frantically tried to remember how the rifle worked. I had only shot it one time. I had not actually worked the pump except one time, and that was when I loaded it to put one in the magazine that morning. So I did what I had done before and tried to push in the button on the rifle to release the pump so I could pump another shell to shoot. I pushed but the button but it would not go in. I pushed with all my might. I could not understand why the button would not go in! I pushed some more. The deer stayed in place about 50 yards away. My mind scrambled as to what was wrong. Suddenly I realized the button was in already. Of course! It must have been made so that at the shot it released the button so you could work the pump and shoot again. I grabbed that pump, pulled it down and slid it back in place, the next round went into the chamber. “CLACK, CLACK!” I had the gun down in front of me instead of on my shoulder, and at the sound the deer tore out of there. Before I could reshoulder the gun they were gone out of sight. My heart sank. I never got another shot at a deer for two more years.
I know I have aggravated the heck out of some people when I attempt to show them how to use something they are not familiar with. I make sure they understand every detail even if it is something so obvious it seems childish to bring it up. I know Dad did his best to make sure I could hit a deer, but the best lesson I got from that time was how important it is to understand everything about the tool you are working with in order to keep from having major disappointments over something little.
