Machine Gun of the Day

In honor of Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and the Peanut Gallery, I present today's "Washington D.C. Machine Gun of the Day."

Ooh! Scary! Can any of you identify this infernal engine of death, injustice and tooth decay? My grandfather purchased this one for me many years ago--almost thirty now--at a Woolworth's store in Springfield, IL that I can't recall. The medallion in the stock is a Woolworth's Commemorative marking. Grandpa bought it when I was but a babe and put it away to give it to me someday, but life got in the way; he'd bought two others, for two of my cousins of about the same age, and they both had a lot more trouble growing up than I did. He told me years later that he'd wanted to give me "my" rifle several times as I grew up, but he kept waiting for a time when he could give all three away.

Today, my cousins have more or less found their way. Each is successful in his work and has settled down to raise a family. Unfortunately, neither takes much of an interest in firearms, but grandpa decided a couple of years ago that it was time to pass on the rifle. Since it has a built-in smallbore scope rail, I added an inexpensive red-dot sight made for bb guns. My son, Kane, has very poor vision and lining up traditional iron sights is very difficult for him. The single-plane nature of the red-dot sight lets him get hits reliably, so he can have fun plinking. He calls this "his" rifle, but his mom makes sure he doesn't forget that he hasn't earned the right to own a gun yet. When he does, I'll have someone to pass this one along to.

That's right, I dangled that preposition right out there 'cause that's how I roll. You know you don't want none, so don't hate.