There’s only one first

3/29/2024

My first son, Asher, was born nine years back. At that time I was working as a ranch manager in the Texas Hillcountry. It was the PERFECT venue to begin a child’s life: vast expanses of land filled with wildlife, the East Fork of the Frio ran through our back yard, and times with dad almost always involved firearms or fly rods.

Asher received his first shotgun for his ninth birthday, a 28ga Beretta BL4 with a 12” LOP and 24” barrels- such a cool little gun. I thought of this gift throughout his entire life, as the same with all my children,and did my best to prepare him for it by taking advantage of, and seeking out, teachable moments in light of one day shooting over a dog. Eyes, ears, safety, range/field etiquette, gun mount, instinctive shooting, situational awareness, concentrated focus on the target… I told him once, when he was helping me with chores, that all the annoyances of having a kennel melt away when you experience a dog working with you.

Seeing the smile on his face as he approached the truck with his first pheasant in-hand is something I’ll never forget. He crushed it on the first shot, and then followed up with another hit. As soon as he handed me his gun, he ran to the truck and grabbed Matilda. He walked her halfway to the fall, took off the lead and cast her off. She found the bird quickly and I tried to remember what that was like as I watched him take the bird from her.

If he was ever more filled up, I cant remember when. That night as we were settling in, Asher thanked me for that experience…followed by a request to help me tomorrow.