|

Guns, Family and Hunting in Canada’s Cold and Wet: Ron Shunter

Reading Time: 2 minutes

TheGunBlog.ca — The following letter from a reader shows the significance of guns and hunting for many Canadians.

We are printing the text with the author’s permission. The three-dot ellipsis marks … were in the original, and we separated some into paragraphs.

Send letters to: [email protected]

See also our Reader Comments page of quotes from fans.

Sir, Thank you.

Last night, I spent some time in my “firearms room” … looking at what the shelves held … looking at my previous hunting pictures … some of my Deer Mounts …

… recalling the times where I had hunted in the past, the friends that were with me on some of them, and the pleasure and laughs we shared when the hunt was over … encouraged I’m sure with a bottle of the best Whiskey anyone could not afford.

Taking some mementos down from the shelves, and then removing all the damn cables, chains, combination locks, key locks, disarming and shutting off the numerous security functions …

… and taking some of my rifles off the shelves … looking at the stainless barrels, the beautiful wood stocks … and just holding them in my arms

… recalling the times I hunted alone, or along with my Father and Brother … flying into areas “up North” where it rained 24 hours per day

… then on the last day of the hunt … SNOW … waiting for the float plane to land and pick us up … and then watching it fly away again … only to appear some time later … the ONLY time in my life where I would have KISSED another man … IF it was part of getting thru the plane door!

So there I sat one evening … just holding and looking through the expensive scopes … removing from the shelf my favourite .270 calibre … a bullet calibre that my Father used all during his hunting life.

… Just holding them like a Father would with a newborn son … just recalling all those wonderful times.

Mind you, that was when I was a LOT younger … when I could carry a 50-60 pound pack, and hike for hours up a hill to where we were sure those elusive big-horn Sheep were sure to be.

Nowadays, carrying a case of cold BEER leaves me breathless!

Yes, enjoying by just holding these wonderful pieces of Art, still makes me smile … that sensation that only a responsible Gun Owner and Hunter could identify with … just as you and your Father would, Sir.

I’m sure you will understand, Mr. Johnson.

 

With the greatest Respect,
Ron Shunter, Sr.

—

Update Nov. 1, 00:38 Toronto Time: Removes references to and excerpts from separate letter.