Firearm etching > Info Center > The Journey to Manhood: From Father to Son
The Journey to Manhood: From Father to SonIn todays’ society, it is difficult to actually guage the point where a boy becomes a man. There was a time in early American history, however, where the event of a young boy reaching manhood was a set time. It was usually judged by the actual age of the boy, generally between the ages of fourteen and sixteen. In those days, manhood usually implied that you were ready to take on more responsibility. In most cases manhood came with a gift of a shotgun or a rifle, as the new man was to begin hunting and helping to provide for his family. Of course, in current times the existance of gang violence and crimes committed by youths are so high that the age where a father would present his son with a firearm is considerably higher, but not nonexistant. A gun is more than just a firearm or a tool. Every child that receives a particular gun inevitably ends up passing it on to his son. His son, in turns, passes it on to the next generation. There are literally thousands of rifles and shotguns out there that date back to the 1800’s or earlier, that have been passed from father to son. This is so much more than just a gift. It as a statement to your son that you respect him and that you now view him as an equal, as a man. When picking out a gun for your son, it is always a good idea to personalize it in some way that will make it different from any other gun in the world. There are three ways to do this and we suggest that you invest in all of them to make it as personal as possible. The first way to personalize your sons gun is to take the shoulder guard off. This is the rubber piece on the back of the gun that takes a lot of the impact pressure off from recoil. Once you do this, you will find a cavity within the stock itself. Take a piece of paper and write something meaningful on it, and then place the note inside the stock, rolled up. Some people will actually insert a coin dated on the year it was given in the stock also. Then replace the shoulder guard. The next manner in which you can personalize the gun is by engraving something into the stock itself. This can be a name, date, note, or better yet, a picture. One would have to either be familiar with the art of wood engraving or have it done by a professional. Though a professional would provide a higher quality of craftsmanship, it would mean more to the son in the long run if it was actually done by the father. The final way is to actually engrave something into the metal of the gun. This could be done on the barrel, trigger, or any other metal point of the gun. In this case, something simple would suffice, such as, “To Logan From Dad, Oct. 21, 1968.” Or if you would rather put something that points out what the gift is for, you could engrave it with something like, “Today, you are a man, 12/19/07.” In the long run, the choice is yours what the actual engraving will say. When making your final decisions, keep in mind that this gun will likely touch several generations of your descendants, so make sure that it will be fitting and will tell the future generations exactly who owned the gun and when. Remember, a boy becomes a man only once in his lifetime. There are so very few once per lifetime experiences, and none that is more important to a boy than being excepted as a man by his father.
[ Return to information center ] Related topics:Glass etching Want more information? Sign up for our Custom hand engraving mailing list:We will not share or sale your email address or other information. You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time. |
Bookmark this article at Del.icio.us
