MY FIRST GUN: A Winchester .22 bolt-action single-shot rifle, my dad’s gun really, that I first shot when I was around 2 or 3.
FROM WHO? My dad gave it to me for safekeeping since I bought my first farm around 1971 where we could all gather to shoot and hunt.
ITS MEANING TO ME: It sits in a beautiful hand-crafted gun cabinet in our little cabin on some sacred family hunting grounds in Michigan, and it is a tangible link to a wonderful, fascinating life of fun with my amazing family.
IF I ONLY HAD ONE: My LaRue Tactical .308
MY MENTOR, LESSONS, BEST MEMORY: My dad, Warren Henry Nugent, was a drill sergeant in the U.S. Army and was a bit of a gun guy. Along with our Uncle John, my mom, brothers and sister would gather for weekend picnics down the Detroit River near Monroe and always had a blast shooting various guns. Both of them demanded adherence to ultra-strict gun handling safety, and “aim small miss small” was relentlessly drilled into our heads.
