My small town, Morgan MN pop. 950 also had a pigeon shoot in the late 50s and 60s. You had to be a member of the Sportsman club and 21, By the time I was those requirements they quit doing i.t

My first .22 story has a sad ending, like Dave's. The Christmas that I was 14 my Dad gave me a brand new Remington Nylon 11. He had a 66 himself but thought I'd be better off with the bolt action, clip fed 11. I can remember every small detail about it. By many folks' standards it is an ugly gun . . . . brown Zytel "marbled" stock, exaggerated pistol grip, white diamond inlays, big honkin' front sight, nickled trigger and flat Mannlicher type bolt handle, white line spacers . . . . but on that Christmas morning exactly 60 years ago it was a dream-come-true gun.

It was stolen out of my pickup truck, in my yard, about 9 years later. If I ever see it again I will know it is mine for one reason . . . . the knurled, flat knob that adjusted the windage on the rear sight got broken off, leaving the tiny threaded screw shaft in place.

58 years ago today, Christmas 1967, I found this under the tree- an Ithaca Model 49 and I still have it!