MY FIRST RABBIT KILL

   My Dad really enjoyed hunting so it goes without saying that he was excited to get me started into the sport! I started tagging along with Dad when I was about 7-8 years old. During those early days, Dad began to teach me the skills I would use later to be a successful hunter. The main emphasis was applied to hunter and gun safety! I believe that this is the most important lesson people and kids need to learn! Today there is so much talk about how unsafe guns can be and how they should be banned. My belief is, it's not the guns that are unsafe, but the people using them!
   At age 10 I was given my first shotgun. A friend of Dad's gave me an Iver Johnson .410 single shot that he had owned for years. It was in excellent condition! He said that every boy needed his own gun and he was proud to be the one to give me mine! I still own that shotgun! Dad took me shooting and made sure I handled the gun in a safe manner before he would let me carry it in the field! I usually only carried 6 or 7 shotgun shells with me and made up my mind that since I was only permitted 4 rabbits per day, that would be enough ammo! (To this day I have never brought home my limit of game!)
   My first rabbit came on a cold, January afternoon. Our school had been dismissed early (at noon) and when I got home I found Dad waiting for me. He had been out back of our house earlier that morning checking for fresh rabbit tracks, since we had received a couple of inches of fresh snow the night before. When I walked into the house he said hurry and change your clothes, grab your shotgun and lets go hunting! I never changed clothes so fast in my life!
   I was so nervous, I was shaking! We headed into the field towards the woods. Earlier that day Dad had spotted fresh rabbit tracks heading into a small, closed end ravine with a small brush pile at the back end. The tracks ended at the brush and Dad knew the rabbit was still there! He positioned me to the left of the ravine and on top of the knoll. He started into the ravine and just as he approached the brush the rabbit came running out the back side! It was just how Dad had planned it! The rabbit came out of that brush with a flurry about 20 feet away from me and turned left! I had my single shot .410 to my shoulder and pulled back the hammer as I swung to the left onto the rabbit. I don't even remember pulling the trigger but I do remember the sound of the shot and watching as the rabbit went head over heals into the snow!
   Dad was one proud Papa as he walked over and picked up that rabbit! He bragged about my picture perfect shot to anyone who would listen for the rest on that season! It is a day I will never forget, although now at age 60, I hope I won't forget!!