I have been in love with
firearms for as long as I can remember. Started when I was 6 yrs old using the
Daisy Red Ryder my dad bought me for my birthday. I was not too good at
it but had lots of practice. Got to do lots of hunting around the
farm. Worked and saved to buy my own first firearm when I was 16 (Rem.
1100 12 ga. still going) and have never looked back since! When I got
older, got to hunt big and small game all over the country with handguns and
rifle. My gun collection has grown a little bit since then too!! My
shooting background spans nearly 40 years now and as I look back it is hard to
believe I have been so lucky.
Late 70's began to get into competition shooting disiciplines of all kinds.
This meant having to learn how to reload a new breed of calibers and firearms,
unlike the hunting ones I knew so well for years, in order to feed the
appetitie of my new found hobbies! Finally, settled on IPSC as it
was fast paced and you could shoot alot. Along with handgun, 3-Gun
matches were my favorites where the combination of shotgun, rifle, and handgun
skills played together. Here is where I was lucky enough to meet
and be taught by some of the best shooters in the world who's name's read
like a who's who list in a dream! With their guidance was able to shoot on the
Pro Circuit and attend several National and two World Shoots. By then,
moved into the law enforcement field where my skills were honed with a
different breed of firearms, subguns and sniper rifles. Here I got to
work my way from .380 acp up to .50 cal. weapon systems used for SWAT
operations and became a law enforcement sniper.
In my 30+ years of reloading experience, it would be a safe guess to say I have
loaded/fired nearly 750,000 rounds of just about everything and still
going. This is one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done.
Nothing like rolling your own!!
Since my 12 yr. old son has now become able to safely handle firearms, I have
now shifted back into the varmint/predator hunting that I once loved but had
little time for then! Hunting is very different now as it appears to be a
dying sport amoug our youth with video games and sports to keep them
busy. My son likes to hunt, with deer being his favorite, and hope
predator hunting/callin will get him hooked shortly. However, he wants to try
some competition shooting. Lucky me??
I strongly believe we all need to introduce as many young people as we can to
shooting/hunting sports. Remember, someday they will grow up to vote and
you know how our government and anti's love firearms/hunting!! We will
need all the help we can get!!
I am truly glad to be a part of the Predator Masters site and crew! The
website, personnel, and members are some of the greatest bunch of folks I have
ever met. If you need to know something, the answers are just a click
away and one can learn something new everyday!! See you on the boards and
glad to have you here!!
Sincerely,
SteveM
|