The Floatplane Notebooks by Clyde Edgerton

Author:Clyde Edgerton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 1988-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

BLISS

The hunt was exhausting, and I got to shoot a gun. Meredith, Thatcher, Bobby Simms, and I were at the meeting place, standing around after hunting all day, when Meredith says, “Don’t you want to shoot my gun?”

“No. Doesn’t it hurt your shoulder?”

“Not if you squat down and lean back on your heels. Look, here’s all you do.” He squatted, leaned back, brought his gun to his shoulder. “Boom. Nothing to it. I’ll put a tin can on that stump. You can shoot it.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Look, if you come hunting you’ve got to shoot a shotgun, at least once.”

“You promise it won’t hurt my shoulder?”

“I promise. You just hold it real loose. Here, come over here.”

“Thatcher, will it hurt?”

“Oh no. Not if you squat like that. Aim down the barrel at the tin can.”

I don’t know why I didn’t see it coming. I did everything just like Meredith said. Thatcher, Meredith, and Bobby Simms stood back. I squatted, leaned back on my heels and when I pulled the trigger there was a terrible kick to my shoulder and I of course toppled right back onto my behind. They all laughed.

It was an interesting experience all in all, and I’m glad I went, but it takes more stomach than I’ve got to shoot birds over and over all day long, some of the birds being only wounded when they fall. And sometimes one will be shot down and can run, but not fly, and it won’t be found.

On returning, I cleaned only one bird, then Mildred and I went in the house. I took a wonderful hot bath and went to bed early. Tired as I was, I couldn’t go to sleep for a long time.

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