My dad in the English countryside had a shotgun, which he used for shooting doves that were eating his veggies, and (unsuccessfully) trying to shoot foxes that ate his chickens.
He used to keep it in the cupboard under the stairs or in the outshed, and I remember getting it out for a look at it every now and then. Always made my friends nervous for some odd reason
Remember I was between 7 and 11 years old at the time, and it was about the same height as me. I think he kept the cartridges separate, but I do remember seeing a box of them lying about. He never taught me how to load it or fired it in front of me (I was more interested in looking at it than firing it at the time)
When we moved to town, it lived under the stairs, even though he had no use for it in town (probably illegally owned by then as no valid reason for owning). I think the local police knew he had it (he was the town doctor) but didn't bother to check if his licence was still valid.
When I was 18ish, we moved to London, and tbh I have no idea what happened to it. Probably still in that countryside town house (now owned by a family friend.) I must ask him one day.
I became very anti-gun in my 20s, but never thought of my dad's shotgun as a 'gun' as such, just something I'd grown up with, and part of him / family life. Now, after a few trips to the USA, I understand the USA culture of individualism a bit better, and understand that different cultures put different values on different social goods.
Not getting political, and not saying guns good or bad here, just remarking on growing up with guns in the UK, which is very rare here.
