Contest Entry: A Little Rifle With a Big Impact

By Dan Zimmerman

By T. Logan Metesh

I sat there, freezing and bundled in a thick coat, trying to endure the harsh wind of a cold Michigan winter day. The sound of competition buzzers and rounds connecting with steel targets down range rang, muffled, in my ears through my hearing protection. Just five more competitors, then it’s my turn. Then four more, then three, and so on. I sat on a picnic table at the giant sand pit range with my grandfather at the tender young age of 10, waiting for him and the other men to complete their 3-Gun competition. When they finished competing, I would get my turn to shoot . . .

My grandfather, whom I call Opa, got me my first rifle for my 10^th birthday. A Marlin “Little Buckaroo” in .22 is the gun on which I would learn to develop my shooting skills. Being a single-shot, bolt-action rifle, it was the perfect firearm to have when I was learning about gun safety.

Open the bolt like this, insert the round like that, close the bolt just so, look at the chamber indicator, put the safety on, and so forth. These are the essential foundation lessons I would learn from …read more

Source:: Truth About Guns