25 Skills Every Man Should Know...

I think that this is a reasonable list and through luck and/or desire, I can do all 25. I was a little surprised and quite pleased to see number 19. For those that will "read it later", #19 is "clean a bolt action rifle". I am pleased for two reasons. The first is PMs refusal to bend to what must have been a lot of PC pressure to not include that one on the list (I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during that meeting). The second reason is that there is more to #19 than the simple statement would lead one to believe. To know how to clean a bolt action rifle, implies that you have actually done it. That would imply being able to take one apart and re-assemble it correctly. Again, this would imply some familiarity with the operations and workings of a bolt action rifle. If you are going to go through all of that trouble, you might as well learn how to use it properly to include learning how to shoot. If you have never gone out to an empty field and shot a 22 rifle at old tin cans, you do not know what you are missing. Being able to do that as a young adult with all of the grown up responsibilities that go along with handling a fire-arm is something that most young people do not get to experience today. They grow up watching evening TV that shows kids running around shooting pistols at each other and think that is all there is. Guns kill. Well guns don't kill, people kill, sometimes using a gun. To have the experience and ability to use a gun for harmless enjoyment while building the skills to use it well and responsibly is a good thing. Too many people do not know how to use a wrench or a gun properly.