I grew up on a farm and shooting wasn’t really an issue – you shot because that’s what you did. If anyone had asked, they’d have got a flippant answer, like ‘because it’s better than using a bow and arrow!’
I suppose I was about 15 when I first stopped and seriously asked myself the question. I was hugely enthusiastic about shooting and, living on the farm, had every opportunity to go out after rabbits, pigeons and the like, first with an air rifle, then from a shotgun to a .410 and on to bigger and better guns. It was fun, exciting and challenging. I enjoyed every aspect of it – developing my skill with a gun, the technical aspects of how guns work, being outside and learning the fieldcraft skills that enabled me to get close enough for a shot.