How I got my BB gun taken away when I was 12

My father loved the outdoors and taught us how to hunt and fish from a very early age, but he was a bit conservative too. He made sure I always followed all the rules and regulations, and purposefully waited until I had completed Hunter's Safety before allowing me to have a BB gun.

So, while all my cousins got their first BB guns earlier, I had to wait a while for my very own, but because of this I was very responsible with it and with the exception of one very large bathroom mirror (quick draw accident with a BB pistol) had the presence of mind and self control to refrain from shooting unnecessary things like old car windows, mason jars stored in the old shed out back and neighbor kids.

I was so responsible in fact that I took it upon myself to teach my younger brother Grizz all about BB gun safety and usage. He was a quick learner and could shoot the gun under my close supervision. He knew better however than to ever touch it without my say so. Jennifer didn’t show as much interest in it but she also understood the rules too and I felt very confident that she would abide by them strictly. I should have known better.

The year I turned 12 also coincided with 6th grade at Vernal Middle School which was on a funny afternoon schedule because we were sharing the building with the Jr. High who went in the mornings while a new High School was being constructed. That meant that I attended school from 1PM-6:30PM or so and got home later.

Grizz and Jenn however were still in Elementary School and got home a lot earlier. One afternoon they arrived home and Mom was out running a few errands and left Jennifer in charge. Now at that time, it was very common for ten year olds to watch their younger siblings while parents were out and Mom had been giving her much more responsibility lately and Jenn had been responding positively.

On this particular day Jenn and Grizz began to play outside and noticed a large group of children playing outside at our neighbor’s house across the field from our place. This was quite uncommon, our neighbors were an older couple whose children had all grown up and moved away. Today was different however as the whole family had gathered to mourn the passing of their beloved grandfather and had just been present at his funeral.

Now, we were aware that he had passed away and I suppose that Jenn and Grizz knew why all those kids were there and as such wandered across the field, acting like they were ignoring them of course, to get a better look.

As they approached the fence, they pretended like they were playing in our field and one of the neighbor’s grandkids began heckling them a little. Now, you can imagine that words were said and knowing Jenn’s personality just a little and given the fact that she was only 10, condolences were not necessarily formally exchanged. As it turns out, the grandkid decided he would really impress Jennifer by mooning and flashing her.

Well that did it. She and Grizz went back to the house and though I don’t know for sure whose idea it was, (Jennifer will say that it was Grizz’s and vice-versa) it was decided that the BB gun would be used to teach this boy a few manners. Jennifer claims that her intention was only to scare him and at first they didn’t go directly over to the fence, but kind of wandered aimlessly in the field, pretending they were bird hunting I guess as a show of indirect intimidation.

At the time, Jennifer claimed that they only pumped it up a couple of times, but Grizz later confessed that he was pumping it all the way across the field, until he couldn’t pump it anymore, which he thought was like 15 or 16 pumps.

The indirect approach didn’t work, the kid kept on taunting and mooning, so they changed their tactics and became more direct. Jennifer took the gun from Grizz who told her to be careful as it was loaded and ready. “Good” replied the young and determined feminist avenger as she began pointing it at the offending kid.

This still didn’t deter him. He kept up with his rudeness but now that her bluff had played out, Jenn was left with few options, and she chose a warning shot.

Thinking that all she had to do was pull the trigger and then quickly move the barrel upwards, thus causing the BB to careen far above his head, she took aim at center mass and warned him one last time, hoping it would scare him straight.

Of course he ignored her and made one more rude comment so she squeezed the trigger and then quickly jerked the barrel skyward, missing his chest but landing squarely in the middle of his forehead. Feeling the pain instantly, the kid began to scream and cry and ran inside where the grieving widow and her children were sharing fond memories of their recently deceased father and husband.

Knowing they were in big trouble, Jennifer and Grizz ran back inside the house and quickly put the BB gun back in the gun closet. They were very quiet and acted as if nothing had happened when Mom came home, hoping that maybe no one would say anything.

A little while later however, their hopes were dashed with a knock on the door, it was Heddy, the grieving widow who was also an immigrant from Germany and still spoke English with a thick Bavarian accent.

“Oh, Hello Heddy, how are you doing?” inquired mom sincerely as she opened the door.

Jennifer and Grizz awaited her reply with baited breath as their hearts beat in their chests as they pretended to be doing their homework.

“Zey shot my grandson in ze head with ze BB gun!” said Heddy. “Now ve have to take heem to de emergency vroom”

“Oh dear” replied Mom, obviously shocked and appalled as she shot glaring looks at Jennifer and Grizz.

The door soon closed and it was determined that our insurance would pay for the hospital bill and Jennifer and Grizz soon came clean, each confessing to their role in the crime, somewhat truthfully at least. And truthfully I don’t remember what punishment they received but I do remember that Mom and Dad took my BB gun away from me for a few weeks, and I wasn’t even there for any of the incident.