Some Blazers choose to bear arms

It was in the closet of his friend's basement. As he held it in his hands, a revelation came to him: "This is what it's like. This is what it's all about." Through books and movies, he had made speculations about how it would feel. He recalls that, as he touched its sleek body, "it was like I was shaking hands with death."

Senior Kirill Penteshin held a 0.22-caliber bold-action rifle.

The mystique and raw power of guns capture many Blazers. In a recent informal poll of 100 Blair students, 54 percent said they or someone they know owns or has easy access to a gun.

Sixty-one percent said they or someone they know owns an air gun, a term that includes BB, pellet and CO2 guns.

As Americans grasp for feelings of security in the aftermath of the Sept 11 tragedy, many find themselves reaching for guns. According to The Washington Post, gun sales in Florida, New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania have increased 25 percent since the attacks. Requests for gun checks, which are required by law to purchase a firearm from a licensed gun dealer, are also up 20 percent, according to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System. A National Shooting Foundation survey of gun dealers shows that 35 percent of its members reported a moderate increase in sales.

At Blair, the gun frenzy is not as pronounced. Penteshin, like many Blazers, does not feel purchasing a gun will protect him from terrorists. But the bombings have made him wary. "The threats were not personal, but they have made me more concerned and more aware of danger," he says.

Heritage

In some families, gun ownership runs in the blood. "Ever since I was little, my dad hunted. And I wanted to do it, too," says junior Justin Craver. "Now I follow in his footsteps."

Approximately three years ago, Craver's father gave him a 0.22-caliber muzzleloader shotgun. Since the gun is officially his father's property, it stays locked up, but Craver says there is a mutual understanding that the gun is his.

Instead of the traditional father-son fishing trip, the Cravers' male-bonding expedition is a deer hunt. "I enjoy it," says Craver. "We get to spend time together."

Like Craver, 31 percent of the Blazer gun owners surveyed say their guns are used for hunting.

Although freshman Max Czapanskiy does not hunt, his family ties are woven around the lure of guns. When Czapanskiy was five years old, his father taught him and his sister how to shoot. Czapanskiy's father owns numerous guns, including three 0.22-caliber rifles, a 12-gauge shotgun, a 20-gauge shotgun and a black-powder rifle. Like Craver's father, Czapanskiy's dad keeps all his guns locked in a safe.

During the summer, Czapanskiy's family goes on week-long trips to northern Maryland. While there, they shoot cans and skeet once or twice a day. Although the trip is at times a fun-filled vacation, the seriousness of handling guns is not lost in the excitement. Czapanskiy says he's never been shooting alone and he always uses his head. "You have to follow the rules. Don't break them or someone may get hurt," Czapanskiy cautions. "This is dangerous. You can't make a mistake."

For the fun of it

The not-so-hardcore gun fans, especially those with air guns like sophomore Lawrence Mott, prefer smaller game. When he is bored, Mott goes out with his friends at night to shoot little animals, mostly squirrels, with his pellet gun. "I shoot for blood," he says with a grin.

Unlike Mott, some gun owners cringe at the thought of killing animals. Penteshin's main target is the tree behind his house. Penteshin says he amuses himself by listening for the "thump" sound the pellet makes when it hits the tree.

The most common usage of air guns among Blazers and their friends is target practice. According to the Silver Chips survey, 63 percent of Blazers who own an air gun or know an air gun owner report that the gun is used for target practice. Common targets include bottles, rocks, dots on fences and, for sophomore Alastair Chuck-A-Sang, cars.

In the process of playing with air guns, some Blazers forget about the dangers. Freshman Byron Martinez once shot his friend, freshman Erick Pena, in the chest with his BB-gun while they were playing around in his backyard. Martinez says there was no blood, but a red mark did appear around the point of impact. Although Pena was angry at the time, the boys now look back on the incident with a smile. "When he shot me I was like, ‘Oh that's messed up,'" recalls Pena. "But I knew we were just playing around, so I didn't grab the gun and shoot back."

Although Martinez was "cracking up" when he shot Pena, he got a reality check when he unintentionally hurt a young boy in his neighborhood with his gun. "I was hiding and I said, ‘pew' and shot him in the back of the ear," he says. Martinez had started laughing, but when he saw the boy was crying, he reevaluated his emotions. "Then I felt bad," he admits.

Penteshin is also no stranger to mistakes. He once aimed his CO2 gun at a hole in a tree, unknowingly shooting a squirrel's nest. "I shot, and then before you know it the mother squirrel came running down the tree to see what had happened, and the babies were peeking out of the hole. They looked so scared," he says sadly. "I never wanted to hurt anything."