[September 23, 2023] Since before I can even remember growing up, I had a gun, not a toy gun, a real gun. Everyone I knew had at least one gun, usually a shotgun for bird, squirrel, or varmint hunting and maybe a rifle for something bigger. I was anxious to learn how to hit a moving target with my “new” shotgun, a vital skill everyone prized. I think having a shotgun and knowing its proper use would help me get into the Army.
Otherwise, why did I have a gun as a kid? Why would knowing how to take it apart, clean it, and use it safely matter to anyone? Did I have a gun, a shotgun, to feel like a man? Did I carry the gun to scare people or because I was scared? Was it because I was bad, paranoid, inadequate, or just loved guns? No, and it wasn’t because I had a gun to show off, or because I was a cowboy, or to scare people. I needed a gun for hunting, often with my dad and brother. Hunting is one way we put food on the table. You cleaned and ate what you shot. Having a shotgun got me outdoors where I could be free: no cars, no phones, no TV or radio, no school or teachers or studying, nobody telling me what to do, or having to account for myself to Mom and Dad. With a gun and a good bicycle, I could take off for a day or two and be on my own. Going out on my own or with a friend was always an adventure, and it was good. But this would not last. I had responsibilities at home that needed tending to.
With my shotgun, my dad was a strict safety disciplinarian; safety, safety, safety. Screw up once, my dad would say, and you’re dead, or if lucky, maybe I might blow my foot off. Where we came from, the rural Deep South, having a gun was part of everyday life. It was part of the Southern culture. And, so, it was no big deal to own a firearm or two or three. It was expected to be a good shot. I was just average, but a couple of my friends were crackshots; they were terrific. And we had no fear of guns or what they could do in the hands of a trained man or boy. My first gun was the best. It was a Stevens .410 shotgun, a single shot designed for women and kids. My grandfather had given it to my dad when he was a kid (sometime before World War II). My dad gave it to me when I was six, and it was now my “new” shotgun. It stayed in my bedroom, always except when hunting. That shotgun sits in my gun cabinet today with a broken firing pin (I will repair it someday). Technically, it belongs to my son Sean (your dad), but I’m holding onto it for now. He knows it’s there.
One weekend, shortly after getting my .410 shotgun, my dad took my brother and me out to the woods to do a little shooting. He wanted to test our safety memory and teach us to respect the gun. My brother was first. Philip wanted to shoot my dad’s 16 gauge shotgun. “Okay, point it away from everyone, load the first shell, point, remove the safety, pull the trigger.” Boom! I look over, and my brother is on the ground crying. I don’t remember our age, but I was probably seven or eight. Then it was my turn. I remembered my dad saying to hold a shotgun tight into the shoulder. When I fired it, I staggered from the brutal recoil but stayed on my feet. I smiled. That was our training. That’s it. I got to shoot a box of .410 shells at a few Coke cans we brought along. Its kick was lighter than the 16 gauge. I did pretty well and had fun. My brother decided it better to keep his respect intact, so he refused. Now, I was experienced and ready to hunt birds. Several weekends later, my dad and I went hunting doves, so I learned about good sportsmanship and fairness. I would forever use those skills Dad taught me, and they did help me in the Army many years later.
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enjoyable, thanks
Gen. Satterfield, at first I didn’t think I would like or be able to appreciate these letters. Why? I thought they were too “sissy” (to use your words). They don’t make me a better person. But then I realized this is the things that make kids better. And, BTW, today’s article is great too: https://www.theleadermaker.com/letters-to-my-granddaughter-no-26/
Gen. Satterfield, I’m loving this new series each time you post a letter for your granddaughter. Keep it going. Longest series yet.
Thanks Wendy … and Gen. Satterfield for your comments and these letters. Gen. S. must have one special granddaughter for him to go out of his way to write all these letters. I’ve been enjoying them now for several weeks and each one seems to be getting better each time. I can’t wait for the finale. What will it be? Will it be great or a fizzle (of course not, the latter). Sir, keep these great letters being posted on your blog. It has become my favorite reading.
Gen. Satterfield, please accept my thanks for your letters to your granddaughter. Too many men have too little to do with their little girls, daughters or granddaughters. Well said, BTW, love your blog.
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Hi Sissy Woman, that is why we are here. To read the wisdom of Gen. Satterfield and add some content if we can. Most of the time, we just absorb what he writes and then after a day or so, I might come back with a comment. I do this because often the words have to sink into my brain and mature. If you want to read more, then go to the tab that has letters on it.
Thank you, Gen. Satterfield for your wonderful series. I believe we should be helping our boys who are today put into feminine culture without much help. But we also need to educate our girls to also be strong, nurturing, understanding, and know how to fight the stupidity put out by our schools.
A 410 shotgun. I had one as a kid. The best shotgun for a young boy.
410 Shotgun: Everything You Need to Know About the .410-Bore”
https://www.outdoorlife.com/guns/410-shotgun/
Thanks for the link Ursala. I too had a 410 as a boy. The very best gift a dad can give his son!!!! Liberals stand back … way back …. you will be triggered by this article. Oops, too bad. I love going out hunting with my 12 gauge pump shotgun. I take my two sons and my neighbor’s son out at least 5 times each dove hunting season and a few times squirrel hunting. Plenty of close man time with them.
The making of a man from a boy! ✔✔✔
Nailed it Gil.
The beginning of the making of a man. Yes Gil and Good Dog. Spending quality time with your boy and not playing stupid video games but actually going out where girls and women do not want to go and teaching them about manhood is what good fathers do for their sons. Too many women and pussy politicians think sitting boys in classrooms 8 hours per day is the solution and wonder why they rebel. Gee, I wonder why.
Nick, I agree. And if more dads did this, we wouldn’t have an epidemic of weakness in boys and men.
Wow, again another letter to “My Granddaughter” from Gen. Doug Satterfield who continues to push out some wonderful words about his experience as a child. I’m not sure if Gen. S’s granddaughter will like them or not. But I sure do and I suspect everyone else does too. This is NOT an autobiography. These letters are about what you learn to make you better as you grow up. Great job, Gen. Satterfield, hang in there and keep them coming our way. I see that you haven’t yet made it to the High School years. I look forward to reading them. This is where you can make a big difference in the out look of your granddaughter and give her suggestions on how to deal with controversy.
Excellent comment, Max. Once again, you’ve got itsummarized well.
” With my shotgun, my dad was a strict safety disciplinarian; safety, safety, safety. ” And as it should be. SAFETY is the word. But like any enterprise, there are still risks, we just take reasonable actions to mitigate them. If we wanted to be totally safe like the basement-dwelling whacko liberals that occasionally come here an comment, we would live in their bubble too.
Northeast, nailed it. YOu cannot be totally safe. But that is EXACTLY what liberals want so they clamp down on their kids and never let them out to be free. What is this called? Oh, yeah! The Oedipus complex.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/oedipal-complex.html
Good link. Even ‘simply psychology” gets one right occasionally.
I’m happy Gen. S decided to go with this topic. Too many of our political leftists (you know who you are) are anti-gun because they think guns kill people. We all know, at least those with a brain cell, know that people kill people. Removing guns will never lower the murder rate. It will only move the tool from guns to knives etc. Go Go Go, Gen. Satterfield. Keep these letters for each week, I am looking forward to the next one.
He He, good comment, Northeast. 😎
Another wonderful letter, thanks Gen. Satterfield.
Gen. Satterfield, you’ve done it again with another great letter to your granddaughter. I can really appreciate this letter because it addresses the fact that you owned guns and there was nothing at all special about owning them, keeping them in your closet, and taking them everywhere you went. Safety was the main word, but hunting to put food on the table is part of the takeaway here. Great job.
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This is the real America.
Patriot Wife, you are my kind of woman.
Great comment, PW. Thanks. I was thinking along these same lines. Having a gun is in fact no big deal. It is only a big deal from bigwig leftist liberals who don’t want anyone to contest their power. If you have a gun, in their mind (which is warped BTW), you are a threat. ❤
You go girl.
Ha Ha, Emma, you just made my day.
BTW, go read Gen. Satterfield’s books:
Please read his books:
“55 Rules for a Good Life,” on Amazon
“Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon
PatriotWife, You are one it.
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Just loving these letters to Gen. Satterfield’s granddaughter.