When I pulled the trigger, it sounded like a bomb went off. My 12-gauge, side by side shotgun also kicked against my shoulder like a mule. I was in the middle of a quail hunt and had just fired a shot. In reality, I had just fired two shots! When I broke the gun over to replace one shell, I discovered that two shells had been fired.
I reloaded and continued to walk. Usually the gun fired one shell. Occasionally the gun fired both shells. Any time both barrels fired at the same time, everyone looked my way. Even the dogs seemed a bit concerned. Quail hunting should not be done with a howitzer. One of the men I was hunting with had an extra gun that he offered for my use. I took him up on his offer.
For the rest of the day I did my best to adjust to the new gun. If you hunt, you know how difficult it can be to shoot another person’s gun. I missed several shots I usually make. The day ended well, and I had a great time in spite of my gun problem. The next morning, I shared with Nancy what I should have done.
“I should have loaded only one shell at a time and used my gun as a single shot!”
It could not have bruised my shoulder and pierced my ears with only one shell in the barrels! I would have been able to hunt with a familiar gun and increased my success rate. Daddy used to tell how his dad hunted with a single shot, and usually had as many birds as anyone at the end of the day. “Be sure of one” is good advice on a quail hunt as well as on a baseball diamond.
Sometimes we attempt too much for anyone’s good. I like to call it being a mile wide and an inch deep. Doing so tends to compromise quality on all fronts. Focus on doing whatever you do well and you will have more and more opportunities to do things well. Usually, those who accomplish great things in life did not set out to do so. They just excelled where they were, and things grew from there.
Be sure of one, Earl
- This Sundays Sermon “Proclaim the Gospel” II Thessalonians 2:13-17
- Family Worship and LifeGroups, Sundays at 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
- Services are being posted on the church website, the church YouTube channel at FBC Weatherford Media, and on the church Facebook page at 9:00 a.m. each Sunday
FBC Weatherford Weekly 