I used to own weapons. Quite a few, at one point. I have since divested myself of quite a collection of oft-used pieces, including a nifty little hidden carry (don’t worry, I was licensed) snub-nose .357. I used to drive a truck, and there are some areas in these United States (hard as it is to believe) that are not exactly friendly to white guys with a 48 foot trailer loaded with electronics.

Besides the little guy, I had a S&W model 657 (6 1/2″ barrel, blued and trued, Pach grips) stashed on the floor to my right while driving. I picked that one up just before I went on a government sponsored trip overseas, into an area where hostilities were scheduled to break out. (Starts with a “B”, lots of Marines killed in one cowardly act…)

For close work, I had a nice little 12 gauge that had been – um – modified a bit, to allow for shorter arcs and faster cycling. I didn’t have that one for very long, since a peace officer friend of mine insisted that it was not prudent for a law-abiding citizen to own such a weapon.

I also had a very nice, almost collector’s item, Sharps .44/.40 rifle that I would use for long range target shooting – long range in this case being 3/4 to a full mile.

This is by no means a complete list, just some of my favorites.

Over the years, they have all departed – some by choice, some by necessity – and I no longer have any gunpowder-fueled protection. That is just fine with my wife, who abhors the thought of me even carrying a firearm for any reason.

Huh – I think I may be loosing some of my edge. I don’t really miss having them around. And, I’m not anxious to obtain any more.

This line of thought was brought to you by the influence of Len’s writings about trap shooting. That took me back to a time when I would go out with some buddies while we were stationed on Okinawa at Camp Hansen, and we would go to the skeet range for a cheap weekend of shooting. Good times, good times.

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane, Len!