You'll shoot your eye out!

For Christmas this year Travis really, really, really wanted a new gun. I refused to buy him one since he doesn't use the three that he has. His dad, John, didn't really want a gun for Christmas--but he got one anyway. Now, this wasn't your average Red Rider BB gun and Travis was so excited to use it that his gift to John was two packs of ammo (I know, how thoughtful). Travis made everyone hurry through dinner and the gift exchange to ensure he got a chance to use the new gun before dark. Well, he got his chance all right and it was a little more than he had bargained for.

They weren't sure if the scope had been sighted in so they set up a piece of wood out in the field for a target and the games began. Now, I, being a sensible person, don't really see how guns and games go together...but for Travis this is a no brainer. He sat down and started shooting. The gun was smooth and the trigger was light with very little resistance. This turned out to be the one downfall...

After the third shot he set his sights in again and started to pull the trigger. Halfway through the pull he realized that the gun felt pretty loose on his shoulder and that something wasn't quite right. By the time he realized he wasn't holding on tight enough the trigger was all the way back and the gun fired. This, as he calls it, is the biggest "rookie" mistake of his life. Oh yes, the scope kicked back and nailed him in the face. His head was pounding from the impact but he decided to keep shooting. After another shot he felt his forehead start to get warm. When he reached up again his hands came back smeared with blood. He figured it couldn't be that bad and, you guessed it, shot again. He finally came in when he could see the blood trailing down the bridge of his nose.

When he walked inside all of the ladies started freaking out asking him what had happened. He, being the tough Marine couldn't face up to the embarrassment and left them all hanging for quite a while. Once I found out I made sure everyone knew; I wasn't going to let him live this one down. The best part was that he was the best man in his friends wedding the next day. I'm sure they'll love looking back at their wedding pictures and seeing a huge scab on Travis' forehead. Boys will be boys.