"Own Your Own . . . a man will borrow a rifle, shotgun or other firearm from a friend..."

Own Your Own

   Do you over loan your tooth brush? The chances are you will say No! There are other things you own--really intimate personal belongings which you would not think of loaning, yet occasionally it happens that a man will borrow a rifle, shotgun or other firearm from a friend which is that friend's most treasured possession, keep it for two or three weeks and return it in almost hopeless condition, owing to rust and neglect. It is well to be generous--a man should not be stingy with his possessions, but when it comes to firearms it is well to make a hard and fast rule not to lend them. Many a good friendship has been broken up because of this and the reason is easy to find--there is considerable difference sometimes between a person's ability to shoot a gun and his willingness to take good, conscientious care of it.

   At trap shooting clubs it is a common practice for men to borrow each other's guns, and I do not wish you to think for a minute that I condemn this practice. It is a very good idea and is very helpful if a man has a gun which does not exactly suit. A great many men break into the game with a gun borrowed in this way. The difference in this case is that the shooter only lends the gun for a string or two of targets and the actual care of the gun remains in the hands of the owner.

   Possibly I am over fussy on this matter, still I am convinced that when a man comes to you to borrow your own rifle or shotgun, which happens to be the pride of your heart and the apple of your eye, you will save time and cuss words by buying a new gun for him.--A.P. Lane in Target Tips.

[The Logan Republican, Logan, Cache County, Utah, Thursday, March 2, 1916. Pg. 6]