Hey don’t forget SASS single action cowboy shooters, the three guns of the old west, lever action rifle, shotgun and pistol. I became more proficient with a firearm with 15 years in SASS that I ever was with 20 plus years as a deputy sheriff in law enforcement. There’s also three gun modern firearm competition that’s out there. Someone else talked about 21 year olds handling firearms, about 60 years ago in our history maybe more kids took guns to school and stored them with their lunch bags and their coats for protection to and from school or to shoot game. I’ve noticed that as far as our freedoms this country seems to be devolving.
My dad’s old-school. He’s believed since his first shot that “automatics jam,” so he’s all-revolver. Except the P-38 my great-uncle brought back from Europe. He’s kind of retired, but he still qualifies with a service .38 every year.
Dad was a counselor and administrator in corrections — the rough equivalent of a deputy warden when he retired. Carrying wasn’t a requirement of his job, but he did, and takes the same annual range test as the cops. As a retired LEO, he is eligible for a permit to carry most places in all 50 states.
Just recently, he’s gotten vaguely interested in Western shooting competition. So when a single-action Ruger Vaquero popped yo at a reasonable price, he was all over it. I got my first chance to shoot it a few weekends ago. It may be based on century-old technology, but it’s solid and heavy and boy howdy, it shoots straight.