I was seven years old.
My grandmother -- Mamo, we called her -- took me out to a rancher friend's property near Bonneville, Wyo., in 1959 and taught me to shoot her S&W Model 31.
I've owned one High Standard and three Colts through the years, but S&Ws have set the standard. S&Ws are the only ones I still own. My one "long gun," as some of you call 'em, is a 10½" 500 Hunter.
When Mamo passed my older brother -- in typical Scottish tradition -- got her Model 31. I found its twin, and I think of Mamo every time I pull the trigger.
Craig Spegel did the honors with the fancy stocks. It's a dream to shoot.
My grandmother -- Mamo, we called her -- took me out to a rancher friend's property near Bonneville, Wyo., in 1959 and taught me to shoot her S&W Model 31.
I've owned one High Standard and three Colts through the years, but S&Ws have set the standard. S&Ws are the only ones I still own. My one "long gun," as some of you call 'em, is a 10½" 500 Hunter.
When Mamo passed my older brother -- in typical Scottish tradition -- got her Model 31. I found its twin, and I think of Mamo every time I pull the trigger.
Craig Spegel did the honors with the fancy stocks. It's a dream to shoot.