When I was a little bitty guy, I found a special gift from Santa under our tree, a pair of pistols with matching holsters and a belt. My brother and I spent the better part of Christmas day sneaking around the yard, taking out bad guys, until the roll of red paper caps ran out.

I graduated to a BB gun but the Red Ryder began gathering dust in the corner the day my dad bought me a second-hand Winchester 22 single shot rifle. I joined the ranks of some of the other six year old boys in our town who also had their first squirrel guns.