mississippishooter

I'm a community newspaper executive, managing a group of mostly-rural, small, non-daily newspapers with active websites and a large commercial printing plant. I identify as conservative, certainly when it comes to Constitutional rights, which some feel is odd given I am a member of "the media," though in my role I am in financial management, budgeting, goal-setting, sales, etc.

I grew up in a rural area of a rural state and made my first firearm game kill at the age of 6 with a single-shot .410 -- a squirrel (shot my first bird in the backyard with a Daisy and regretted it). Early squirrel season in Mississippi was more shotgun than rifle due to tree foliage. Later in the season, we moved to .22s or would forsake squirrel hunting in favor of chasing deer or ducks. My brother, dad and I were all active hunters, so I grew up with a small selection of family and personal firearms for that. My first self-owned shotgun was a Remington 1100 in 20 gauge. My first centerfire rifle was a Marlin 336 in .35 Remington (I still have it). My first .22 was a Remington 552 Speedmaster, although I used hand-me-downs besides those (my favorites were a Remington Sportsman '58 in 16 gauge, a Remington 1100 in 28 gauge and a .54 caliber Hawken replica for muzzle loader season). We hunted ducks (pre- and post-steel shot), deer, squirrel, rabbits, doves, and, occasionally, woodcock.

I don't hunt much anymore, but I maintain a modest selection of hunting, defensive and sporting arms. My modest collection of firearms follows the "they're tools" ideology. I don't typically purchase show-pieces. I want the right tool for whatever job I am doing and I want it to be able to withstand the dings, the scrapes, the scratches and the abrasions that come from everyday use. In hunting, I believe in skill and shot placement rather than high-velocity overkill. Though I own and shoot 12 gauges, I simply enjoy shooting 20 gauges more. Shooting a deer at under 100 yards with a .35 Remington round excites me more than reaching out 400 yards with a 7mm Rem mag. If a .243 will do the job, I'd rather shoot it than a .300 Win magnum. I don't MIND recoil, but I don't mind doing without it either.

Most of my range time these days is with handguns. As I approach 50, I want to get back into deer hunting and rifle shooting.