SHOOT! Magazine Editorial - Volume 2, DEC 1999/JAN 2000 

It is a shame that many of our children today are not receiving the benefit of growing up with stories and shows about the Old West. In recent years, we have seen a few new specials on TV and a couple of good western movies, like Quigley, Lonesome Dove, and The Sacketts. The old shows; Bonanza, High Chaparral, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Rawhide, and Laramie gave many young cowboys and cowgirls a sense of adventure while teaching responsibility and family values. These were weekly shows that the whole family could enjoy together and they enforced the principle that each individual is responsible for his or her own actions. Worthy of note is the lack of blood, gore, and graphic violence that so many of today's TV shows and movies are saturated with. Those good guys nearly always won. I sure wish someone would bring them back.

Cowboy and Western-action shooting is filled with that same sense of fun and adventure! Combined with ensuring safety and proper shooting education, it is a sport in which youngsters, adults, and grandparents can participate. Our desire to continue the enjoyment of such sports demands the support of our families and education of our youth. Education that includes gun safety, tradition, and defending the values and rights that our forefathers fought for. It is up to each parent to determine when and if their children should participate in shooting sports while ensuring their safety and teaching responsible handling of firearms.

I won't expand on our rights as Americans to be free, defend the constitution, or the second amendment. I will say that I believe it will be up to our children to ensure that such freedoms remain and that the intentions of our forefathers are upheld. I also believe that the Old West has a blanket of honor and truth around it that can teach great value and responsibility to our youth. It makes me proud to be a Western-action shooter, and watching that same pride taught to our children brings a little bit of yesteryear to today's shooting sports.

Have fun, keep your powder dry, and most of all, be safe!

Chucky

Please send your comments to editor@shootmagazine.com, or you can post your comments on the
SHOOT! MAGAZINE BLOG or SHOOT! MAGAZINE FORUM.

View the Table of Contents for this issue, order this issue on the SHOOT! Mercantile.