"Your new name is 'pencil'"

[Olevern]

Took two of the boys I mentor out this morning to visit a gun shop and run some errands, then back to my house to chill for awhile.

After playing a couple of games of "Skip-bo", while I was cooking some Spaghetti sauce for their lunch, they asked if they could take their .177 pellet guns out in the back yard to shoot.

Inasmuch as they are pretty safe when they handle guns and I can see them from the kitchen in the back yard (or even if they go up the hill into the back field), I agreed.

I kept an eye on them, and noticed that they had wandered out of the back yard past the creek into the back pasture. After about 20 minutes, the boys came running back down the hill towards the house and I saw a black bear hoofing it just as fast up the hill towards the woods.

Seems that this black bear was tucked under a windfall tree on the edge of the pasture. The boys (cousins within four months of the same age of at the edge of 12/13) had spotted something under the tree and moved closer to get a look. A.O. (the one with a bit of sense) was in the lead and saw that it was a bear, and started backing up, telling his cousin (A.T.) "bear" and pulling him away.

Now A.T. didn't believe A.O. that it was a bear, and, despite his cousin pulling him backward, broke his cousin's hold and started walking toward the fallen tree, all the while A.O. arguing with him and telling him they needed to get back to the house. I guess the loud arguing roused the bear, who started to come out from under the tree. At this the boys broke and ran for forty or fifty feet. When they turned around to look at the bear, it was out from under the tree and groggily looking at them.

At this point, the ever brilliant A.T. told A.O., let's try to get close enough to see if we can hit it with our rifles (.177 cal. pellet rifles). A.O. told A.T. "You're crazy, I'm going back to the house". A.T. then started walking toward the bear, who stood up to get a better look at what had disturbed her, prompting A.T. to drop his pellet gun and beat feet towards the house, A.O. having already gotten a head start. They burst thru my door and could hardly talk,

I had a good laugh, then turned to A.T. and told him, "from now on your name is pencil".

He said "what are you talking about, why is my name pencil?"

I replied " it's short for 'not the sharpest pencil in the box'"

So A.T. now has a new nick, whether he likes it or not.

unbelievable!

[Phoenix]

Good story. Did they learn anything?

[montana_charlie]

A.T. then started walking toward the bear, who stood up to get a better look at what had disturbed her, prompting A.T. to drop his pellet gun and beat feet towards the house, A.O. having already gotten a head start.
So ... A.T.'s rifle is still laying out in the pasture?

Have you ever heard the (humorous) advertisement for the French mil-surp rifle?
"Previously issued, but in fine, unfired, condition. Only dropped once."

I would change his nickmname to 'Frenchy' ...

[Olevern]

So ... A.T.'s rifle is still laying out in the pasture?

Have you ever heard the (humorous) advertisement for the French mil-surp rifle?
"Previously issued, but in fine, unfired, condition. Only dropped once."

I would change his nickmname to 'Frenchy' ...

No, I made him go back and get the pellet gun. He was insistent on me watching from the porch, even 'though I assured him that the bear was long gone.

[Leslie Sapp]

Kids, especially boys at the 12-13 year mark, pretty much all rate the "pencil" nickname:)
This post is a good example (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?148044-Ranch-Dog-Outdoors-Lever-Guns&p=1674919&viewfull=1#post1674919).
Some of us don't get a whole lot smarter as we age.:mrgreen:

[7Acres]

Good story! "Pencil" I love it!

[Doc Highwall]

Leslie Sapp, that was a good one also. I copied both and sent them out.

It is great that our parents did not have computers or some of our pictures might still be around.

[DCP]

You think your having fun now....... Just wait 2 to 4 years and hang on, your in for a ride

[popper]

especially boys at the 12-13 year mark, pretty much all rate the "pencil" nickname Reminds me when I tied a dead bull snake to a fishing pole and dragged it around the creek behind a friend's house. His mom was killing snakes for a couple weeks in her yard and garage.

[JeffinNZ]

Hunting black bears with an air rifle. Oh dear. Good it worked out OK.

Can black bears be dangerous?

[41 mag fan]

Good story Vern!!

Back when me and my cousin were about 10 yrs old, we had pellet rifles that at 10 pumps would kill a human. Very powerful.
We were in the back pasture, where my uncle raised cows.
Seen the bull about 15-20 yrds, and we got the bright idea, since the bull had his back to us lets pump our guns up 10 times and shoot him in the balls!!
On the count of 3 we shot that bulls balls, and i swear to God that bull let out a blood curdling scream and went straight up in the air, and twisted around facing us. He seen us and he had blood red eyes, and was ready to kill.
He charged us, we dropped our guns, and took off for the barn that was maybe 50-75 yrds away. That bull ran thru the barbed and electric fence to get to us.
You never seen 2 fat boys run as fast as we did, screaming like little babies, with a mad bull right on our butts!!
We ran into the barn with that bull right behind us, I think we jumped, didn't climb into the hayloft, but that bull tore the heck out of the inside of the barn....he was MAD!!
I bet we was in there for an hour before my uncle Harold showed up to feed the cows for the evening.
We hollered for him from the loft, and he came over. Seen the bull was loose and got him back into the pasture, and the fence back up.
Asked what we was doing and we told him our bright idea....he laughed and laughed, went out to get our guns, as we wasn't about to get close to that bull again.
He promised us he wouldn't tell our parents, as there'd of been a good butt whooping to us both.
Couple of days later, my uncle checked that bull, and it was fine......guess we just made it painful enough to make that bull mad!!
Needless we never did that again!!!

To this day, 34 yrs later me and my cousin laugh about that when we see each other and it comes up...

[kweidner]

I haven't laughed that hard in months. Posting this blurry eyed with my nose burnin from the coke that just shot out of it.


Good story Vern!!

Back when me and my cousin were about 10 yrs old, we had pellet rifles that at 10 pumps would kill a human. Very powerful.
We were in the back pasture, where my uncle raised cows.
Seen the bull about 15-20 yrds, and we got the bright idea, since the bull had his back to us lets pump our guns up 10 times and shoot him in the balls!!
On the count of 3 we shot that bulls balls, and i swear to God that bull let out a blood curdling scream and went straight up in the air, and twisted around facing us. He seen us and he had blood red eyes, and was ready to kill.
He charged us, we dropped our guns, and took off for the barn that was maybe 50-75 yrds away. That bull ran thru the barbed and electric fence to get to us.
You never seen 2 fat boys run as fast as we did, screaming like little babies, with a mad bull right on our butts!!
We ran into the barn with that bull right behind us, I think we jumped, didn't climb into the hayloft, but that bull tore the heck out of the inside of the barn....he was MAD!!
I bet we was in there for an hour before my uncle Harold showed up to feed the cows for the evening.
We hollered for him from the loft, and he came over. Seen the bull was loose and got him back into the pasture, and the fence back up.
Asked what we was doing and we told him our bright idea....he laughed and laughed, went out to get our guns, as we wasn't about to get close to that bull again.
He promised us he wouldn't tell our parents, as there'd of been a good butt whooping to us both.
Couple of days later, my uncle checked that bull, and it was fine......guess we just made it painful enough to make that bull mad!!
Needless we never did that again!!!

To this day, 34 yrs later me and my cousin laugh about that when we see each other and it comes up...

[montana_charlie]

Good story Vern!!

Back when me and my cousin were about 10 yrs old, we had pellet rifles that at 10 pumps would kill a human.

since the bull had his back to us lets pump our guns up 10 times and shoot him in the balls!!
If the guns were that powerful, you guys put two holes clear through the scrotum on that bull.
If you got lucky, you didn't hit the testicles and destroy the bull's ability to breed.
If the bull was able to associate a sudden pain in the crotch with the presence of two dumb kids 15 yards away, he had more deductive reasoning power than many humans.

I'll say no more about the bull in this story.

CM

[hithard]

If the guns were that powerful, you guys put two holes clear through the scrotum on that bull.
If you got lucky, you didn't hit the testicles and destroy the bull's ability to breed.
If the bull was able to associate a sudden pain in the crotch with the presence of two dumb kids 15 yards away, he had more deductive reasoning power than many humans.

I'll say no more about the bull in this story.

CM

Kill joy!

It was a great story, Thanks for sharing

[7Acres]

Good story! Hate to think what I'm gonna hear about as my boy gets old enough to play with a light rifle. Good times. :Fire: