You should come shooting with me.

[Nachodaddy]

Some years ago, my son gave me a replica of an 1851 Navy "black powder" pistol. I had experience with several different types of firearms in my twenty years in the Air Force, but had never had or shot a "black powder" firearm. I enjoyed firing and cleaning it and bought a couple more, just because it was fun to imagine myself as someone in olden days hunting or in one of the great wars. Like Gone said, I like the firearms because they are interesting machines I can easily disassemble and see how they are made and how they work. In the Phoenix, AZ, area we used to be able to easily drive to a deserted canyon somewhere and safely shoot. Those days are gone with the explosion of new housing and giant warehouses, chip manufacturers, and data centers. The state run range is about a twenty minute drive and the best place to shoot, for a small fee. There are some indoor ranges and clubs, but I prefer shooting out-doors. Plenty of my neighbors hunt, but I don't like killing anything that I don't need to eat or that isn't trying to kill me. I do enjoy taking a gun apart now and then, but my shooting days are probably over.