I finally got my first rifle, a Savage Model 24 .22/.410 over-under combination gun, in 1962. We lived in the city, but my dad used to take me to my Uncle Walt’s farm, and I would follow my uncle as he hunted rabbits. He showed me how to hunt and clean the rabbits, and my aunt would cook them.
Well, I begged my dad until I finally got that gun for Christmas—it was a beauty. That weekend, at my uncle’s farm, I went out with the dog and, sure enough, he brought that rabbit right around back to me. The rabbit sat down, and I shot him with the .410.
Back home, my dad asked, “How did the hunting go?” I said, “That rabbit just sat there, so I shot him with the .410.” He said, “What? You should have shot him with the .22—you wasted a .410 shotshell!” I replied, “Well, I had to try it out!” I was 13 years old then. I still have that gun and the box it came in.
—Kenny Johnsen
