1947, NW Ohio. Small farm town of 700 souls.

Flat farmland and pheasant paradise, until the farm boys went to OSU and learned that bigger is better -- then adios to habitat. Family moved to city, but I grew up on relative's farms in the summer, and tagged along in the fall hunts. Once I could drive, both game hunting & varmint hunting were my free time 'job.'

For fun, I added clod-busting long range pistol shooting with a .22 Match Woodsman I bought with grocery-bagging money. And a M39 Marlin .22 And a Ithaca 20 Magnum 100 SxS [Francis Sell just ruled, with his Richland Arms 20ga incredible air cannons] And a 6MM flatbolt Ruger with a four digit serial -- my perfect all around deer/varmint -- for Ohio/Mich. That combo would still be a good basic hunter's collection.

And read: the public libraries back then had all the great classics of Askins, and Kieth, and O'Conner, and Ned Roberts and more. The world of gun magazines was exploding, especially if one was with Gun World out in California. They LIKED exploding things, or shooting a tree stump to measure how far a .460 Weatherby would penetrate.

One mag even was printed in a folded newsprint format -- Shooting Times [?]. Those gunwriter-fellas were reporters of some inventive and classic times. Later, Handloader and Rifle mags collected prime writers and technicians. The original group of editors and writers gathered under their banner was unmatchable for many years.

High School, Army, a smattering of college courses, and a footloose decade or two, during which i hunted little, but pursued success and stock options. Quit it all, and became a craftsman of wood -- starting in St Paul, and then fine furniture restoration -- which i still do. And primarily duck hunting again, which I still do.

Rediscovered fine doubles, black powder shotgun/rifles, and played with centerfire rifles until I figured out what I really needed and have pretty much stood pat since, there. Chesapeake Retrievers and a first and only wife have added a great deal to life, and we eventually settled down near where I was born: NW Ohio at the West end of lake Erie.

No great adventures or travels, but there are some sweet spots around the country which i wish to see again. Just a pretty ordinary history, and a yen to visit some birdy habitat with brown dogs and a gun.

I must add, that the BBS's of the 'Net have added greatly to the general firearms knowledge base, and really expanded my interests. I consider this board to be the home of some premier scholars and great people, both within the industry and as fellow enthusiasts.

A few mentioned prior, are fine memories. Others are still kicking, if low key, nowadays. Most certainly, there are some friends and acquaintances and correspondents met thru this BBS, that are some of the finest folk a person could know. I've enjoyed y'r company, and wit, and y'r hammered out arguments.

Thank you,

John Meeker

Relax; we're all experts here.