What a bizarre, quaint little movie

I found this VHS at a thrift store a few years ago. It made me watch more Vincent Spano movies and eventually become a fan of his, but this is an odd one. Not bad, but really schmltzy and confusing, in my opinion: like a CB radio movie from the late 70s, minus the slackjawed lingo, meets "Rear Window" and would air on some family friendly cable TV station. What was the deal with randomly firing the shotgun into the snowy mountains and then in the next scene becomes the kid's stepfather/mentor/father figure? What?!?