I've been around guns my entire life. Back in the 1950s and '60s, my father was a gun collector and a gunsmith. He also re-loaded all of his own ammunition. In our basement he had an arsenal set up and he spent hours down there melting lead on an old 1920s gas stove and casting 30.30s, 44-Magnums, 25.20s, .38 Specials, etc. Dad was a deer hunter and we owned property in Cook Forest, Pa. where he hunted every year.

When I was four years old, I got my first gun, a .22 caliber bolt action rifle. That was followed with a Winchester western style 25.20 caliber lever action rifle when I turned six years old. We target practiced in the back of the property and I got to be a pretty fair shot. My father died of cancer when I was 16. But most of our best times together involved guns and the times we spent target shooting. I did not hunt. It never interested me personally. But I was taught gun safety. My guns were kept in the closet of my bedroom. I was told that the only reason to bring them out was to clean them or when we took them to go shooting. Even my best friends didn't know I had any guns as they had never seen them. When I had kids of my own, they were taught not to touch my stuff. I never said, "don't touch my guns". Instead, "don't touch my stuff". I made sure that I did not highlight the word "guns". That way, they never really got interested in the guns themselves.

Democrats would have you believe that anyone who likes guns is a murderer. That is so stupid it could be funny. All the years that I was growing up I was around dad's friends who, for the most part were gun collectors, hunters and gun lovers. These were some of the best people I have ever known. But then, of course, there were one or two morons as well.

The best time I had while serving in the U.S. Army was spent at the firing range. During my military years in the early 1970s, we used the M-14, Colt .45 semi automatic and the M-16 carbine. I even got a chance to fire the M-1 carbine and even a bazooka. Those were fun times.

My interests follow historical firearms such as cap and ball black powder weapons and the old west Colts and Winchesters. In my past I have owned Smith and Wesson .38 Special police revolvers, German Lugers and several World War II Japanese rifles such as a 6.5 and a 7.7. Those guns I sold back in the 1970s. Today, my collection is not all that large. But I have guns that I use for recreation. I'm still a killer of paper targets and water filled plastic jugs. But that's all. I have absolutely no problem with hunters. It's a great sport. However, I really don't want to be in the woods at 5:00 am freezing my kneecaps off waiting for a hunk of meat when I can buy a good steak at the grocery store. And I sure do not want to have to carry or drag an 800-pound animal out of the woods through the snow. I'll leave that task for the rest of you.

This blog showcases some of the guns that I have in my collection. Also, there's gun accessories and other gun-related items as well. Check 'em out and thanks for stopping by.