Dad was still working as a machinist in the Mobil refinery a

Dad was still working as a machinist in the Mobil refinery at the time so he made an extractor for the weapon. It looked a lot like a paint can opener supplied by paint stores today. He put it on a lanyard so it wouldn’t get lost.

The .410 is actually a pretty good gun for a youth. It is simple to operate and the recoil is manageable. Before we went hunting together, dad took me out to a safe place in the woods and had me shoot some tin cans to get experience with the gun. Having been a dead-eye with the bb-gun, I found shooting the shotgun no major challenge. I made south Hardin county safe from tin cans.

Finally, one brisk day in Autumn, with squirrel season open, it was time for me to go hunting with him.

We got up at 0 dark 30, had a bowl of grape nuts while the coffee percolated and headed up to a hunting spot in Hardin county. Dad parked the car a couple of hundred yards up a pipeline right of way at what he judged to be a prime hunting spot. I guess this was before land owners cracked down on hunters on their land. it was just about sunrise when we drank some hot coffee, gathered our gear and made off into the woods.