Sentimental Shooters
It doesn’t get any more sentimental than this! A 4” S&W 29, an old
Keith book, and two of Elmer’s pipes. Photo by Dusty Hooley.
As a whole, sixgunners are a sentimental bunch. Some of the younger set sometimes call us old school, old fashioned, Fudds, fuddy duds — or worse. But that’s okay. Sixgunners know those young, bald-faced pups don’t have fully developed brains yet. But if they stick with shooting long enough, and are lucky, they’ll eventually progress to our way of thinking.
This transformation doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of studying, reading, mimicking, dreaming, and picking the brains of older shooters to hold the moniker ‘sixgunner.’ And even after obtaining such an honor, you’re still open minded enough to keep your eyes and ears open to try new things, experiment if you will, with guns, bullets, powders and calibers.
Granted, a vast majority of your time is spent looking back, duplicating history to experience the same as our mentors, it’s good to peer forward every now and then too, so nothing sneaks up on you. There’s no such thing as too much knowledge.
A sixgunner always provides a warm lap for a tired pup.
Sixgunners love teaching kids their craft.
Dogs, Trucks & Kids
Besides shooting sixguns, sixgunners have a special place in their heart for three other things, with dogs being at the top of the list. More family than pet, they’re companions, confidants, and just look right sitting in the passenger seat of an old truck. The dogs have names like Elmer, Skeeter, Ruger, and Remington. They ride so much with their owner the passenger seat is custom worn to their rear haunches. Sharing a plate of food is natural and it’s not uncommon for the pouch to sleep in the same bed as their master.
Old trucks are right up there with dogs in terms of love and sentimentality. The older the truck, the more memories that come with it. Memories of hauling deer home, driving to deer camp, or simply dropping your youngest off to school trigger memories capable of making a grown man cry. It happens.
What started as a brand-new means of transportation is now a broken-in, living relic of memories. Just driving it makes the memories come flooding back. My old ’98 Chevy Tahoe is still tickin’ and Ruger’s ashes ride under the front passenger seat, his seat for 14 years.
The same Tahoe was brand new when we found out my wife was pregnant. It delivered my daughter home from the hospital, and she drove it to high school. Maisie now rides in Ruger’s seat, doing so admirably, while Cooper rides in back keeping an eye on everything.
Wanna’ melt a sixgunner’s heart? Just throw some kids in the mix. Like dogs, Sixgunners are more comfortable with kids than adults. Maybe it comes from not wanting to fully grow up themselves to some degree? Either way, sixgunners love kids. Maybe it’s the way kids experience everything for the first time? The wonderment and excitement are contagious, a true fountain of youth if there ever was one. Sixgunners see a new buddy to pass on their knowledge to someone who’s truly interested. It’s the cycle of life for those lucky enough to experience it.
Do some shooting while releasing the spirit of an ol’ sixgunner!
Anything Old
Sixgunners get attached to things. Be it a pair of jeans, a favorite shirt their daughter gave them for Father’s Day, or a pair of boots, the older and longer they wear it, the more it becomes a part of them. Every tear, stain, or mark is a reminder for them, re-lived every time they wear it. Just because something’s old doesn’t mean it loses value. To the contrary, the opposite is true for a sixgunner.
Careful Now…
For any of you youngsters who happen to stumble across a sixgunner at the range, rather than thinking “this old coot doesn’t know anything” you just may be surprised. I’ve seen many of these ‘old coots’ save the day by clearing a double feed from the latest poly-framed striker-fired wonder 9 or make minor repairs to get a gun running for the youngster, much to their bewilderment.
Remember, many of these sixgunners are experienced shooters, retired cops, military veterans, or simply prefer sixguns to pistols. They know how to run semi-auto pistols, they just prefer sixguns, mostly because they don’t like chasing their brass around the firing line for reloading.
Immortality?
Sixgunners never die! As their guns are passed forward to the next keeper, they’ll live forever. Surely their spirit will, if the right keeper gets it. Whenever their gun is shot, and the smoke from the cartridges waft in the air, its proof enough the sixgunner’s spirit is present.
