How did you learn? Guns?

If you want to leans guns. Join The Army. I learned a lot while i was in.
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As for me, by the time I went into the Army, I already knew more about firearms than most of my instructors. Few men in the Army had ever handled powder nor loaded a live round of ammunition, none, to my knowledge, had any knowledge of black powder. Most knew what the manuals said, and most could shoot the M1 rifle, but many were no better than I with the rifle, few were as good as I was with the handgun, and knew even less about revolvers.

Maybe much has changed in the last fifty years or so, but most of us on gun forums are more knowledgable than Army instructors.


Bob Wright
 
An old timer once advised me to buy a book every time I bought a gun. Not necessarily a book about that gun, but a gun book. That has been good advice, though many of the books I have cost much more than my first guns. If all you can afford are cheap books, buy them, but go for better books as soon as you can. Gun books can be too general. A "Book on Guns" that tries to cover everything from Mons Meg (look it up) to Magnaporting can't cover anything well. On the other hand, "A Detailed Study of the Checkering on the Rear Sight of Colt Woodsman #12345" is unlikely to be either interesting (except to the author) or informative. (Both titles are, AFAIK, fictional.)

Another way to learn is to go to gun shops and gun shows. Some dealers won't talk to you unless your pockets are bulging with $100 bills, others will give you bum information, but some will talk and give you good stuff. And you will look at guns. You don't need to handle the guns, though you might if it is OK with the dealer, but look closely.

As you learn, you will begin to develop areas of interest and non-interest. For me, two areas of "not much" interest are black plastic auto pistols, AR-15 clones, and shotguns in general. I know quite a bit about all of them, but they just don't interest me all that much.

When you do read something, especially in the gun magazines (the printed kind), you will start to criticize in your own mind, thinking "that is not what I know from examining the gun at that show", and you will know you are on your way to learning.

Jim
 
I learned a lot from my father and grandfather, they taught me proper gun safety. They gave me trigger time with a 22 before I got a rifle or shotgun. I was taught trigger control and site picture. I learned hunting ethics from my grandfathers. The military increased my awareness and skills. I go to the range often, I read about guns and tactics. Like others have said I was rasied around guns and had a family that taught you about guns and life. I am 64 years old I know some stuff I don't know it all.
 
Everything I know comes from either reading, asking questions, or just plain experience. Reading and asking questions gives you very very good information, however, experience gives you....well experience.:p

Some people are very nice and will talk guns with you all day long and will answer any question they can; while some will not spit on you if you were on fire. Guns brings out peoples' best sides, or their worst.

Also, I find this forum to very helpful. I have yet to ask a question that someone did not answer to the fullest. I have seen very few smart asses here when it comes to questions, most seem more than willing to help. Best of luck.
 
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I grew up with guns and have been around them my entire 43 years. I am still learning however. If you want to learn, I suggest you learn by shooting and reading. TFL is a great place with a lot of knowledgeable people.
 
I try to learn something new everyday. You have to be willing to spend your entire life learning. It's like anything else, you can't become a pro at something overnight and there is no miracle guideline to follow. Start with history and read, read, and read some more. I learned quite abit from this website alone.
 
Mostly reading. I read my somewhat tattered 1967 edition of Small Arms of the World till I had practically memorized it, the gun magazines in the 1960s had more historical articles IIRC.
 
I am 70 and don't consider myself an expert in any area of firearms. I don't reload. I hunt for food animals and predators that threaten my property... but I don't go on safari to find them. I casual shoot quite a bit with 22's and shotguns with friends and family. I am on the net a lot sucking up the knowledge found in forums like this (and some others).

I started as a Boy Scout, with my interest in shooting nurtured by a scoutmaster and other adults in SoCal. Followed by 3 years in the Army, not a combat branch, but armed with a variety of weapons during my early tour in Vietnam (1962). learned about Auto/semi-auto and trench shotgun versitility. Hunted a bit as a young adult, but married and loaded down with 2 jobs and full-time college, then new teacher jobs stopped my outdoor time for several years.

As the kids matured and left home i got more interested in Hunting. A year in Idaho at one of the colleges there really got me into the deer/elk hunting. Then it was back to SoCal and desert living. The hunting became less attractive due to costs, but the casual desert shooting really grew as my adult sons came along and we really used up some ammo. Lots of time reading the reviews of new stuff and dreaming about what i wanted to acquire myself.

So here I am retired, somewhat limited in my movement, but doing a lot of sharing of data about the things I DO know a bit about. I am a low budget collector. I have several Rugers and S&W's and Colts, but I also have several Taurus, Mossberg, Saiga, and Charter's, which tends to put me in the lower class gun-guy group. No Big deal to me, I find, especially in this forum that the comments bad-mouthing a particular gun-brand, are not directed personally, but at the quality of the gun or manufacturer itself. I can respect that type of forum.

I read the technical data with interest, but I make a choice of buying or useage based on consensus of opinions from folks I respect....and on fiscal constraints that the budget allows.

My Advice to a person with a new-found interest in firearms is, take it slow. Learn the Basics, including the legalities of gun use in your area. Then Practice, Practice, Practice. There is no such thing as too much shooting practice. If hunting is an interest, then start close to home and learn from your neighbors...then expand to other areas as your goals progress.

BUT don't neglect family or other responsibilities , find a balance to your life and you will be a happy person, and have a life that will be the envy of a lot of folks.
Good Luck.

End of Old Fart's Rant.
 
Read a lot (the County Library is a valuable resourse!), Made friends with and discussed guns for many hours with my friends and aquaintances. Asked a lot of questions (Still do!) There are no"dumb questions" only un-asked ones! A true gunman won't mind answering questions.
I joined a Shooting/ Sportsmans Club and of course the NRA.
I also spent a lot of time shooting and observing shooting, there is no substitute for actual experience!
I love guns and that's the main drive that has helped me learn
ZVP
 
Learned at an early age. I had an interest in history, specifically the industrial revolution, the world wars, and I had family members that were in the military and hunted. a.k.a. mentors. Other than that, I researched when I could...shot when I could, and kept my ears open and asked questions when opportunities arose.
 
John Browning's neural patterns were transferred to me when I was 11.

After that, it's been a piece of cake.

You read.

You read voraciously.

You visit museums, gunshops, and gun shows.

You ask questions.

You read some more.

You join the National Rifle Assocaition and take American Rifleman as your magazine.

You check out books from the library on every subject related to firearms you can find.

You buy others.

You re-read some of the books that you've already read.

You study pictures and diagrams.

You start buying representative guns.

You buy a simple tool kit, including a set of the proper screwdrivers.

You buy a shop manual or exploded view for the gun you've purchased.

You take it apart and put it back together again, numerous times, while observing how the pieces fit together and how they work together.

You start shooting regularly.

You ask even more questions of the people you shoot with.

If you're lucky, they'll let you shoot guns you've never shot before.

You read.


That's the short list of how you learn about firearms.

I've been following it quite successfully for the last 40 or so years.
 
When I first got into handguns, more than 20 years ago, I lived in CA. Classes were few and far between there, so I found a range and practiced a lot. I read everything I could on gun handling, maintenance and tactics. We moved to Texas about 10 years ago and as soon as I could, I got a concealed handgun license. I also found that classes were everywhere, and I take about one a year to refresh my skills ... I've found that classes are the best way to learn the crucial elements in gun handling -- draw, aim, trigger control -- as well as legal aspects of carrying a firearm daily. As others have said, you'll never know it all, but reading and classes can give you a huge step up on the BGs who might be lurking ...

Oh yeah ... join the NRA! It's not perfect, but it represents millions of gun owners and its agenda is first and foremost the protection of our right to keep and bear arms, under the 2nd Amendment.
 
Lots and lots of reading is the #1 thing for me. Some books & magazines but mostly online. There are 2 forums I participate on (this obviously being 1 of them) and about 4 - 6 others I read on. I also sort of have a mentor (more like a gun icon), a trip into my father in-laws gun room and you just look and think 'cool, yep, I want to get into this!' Mentors are a great source of info, and a good place to find them is you friendly local range. I got to know the 2 ranges near me and keep a membership at one of them where I also shoot on the pistol leagues. If there is a range near you, they probably have leagues. Join a pistol league (the .22 leagues are really cheap to participate in) and get to know the others there. Lots of fun and you learn a lot fast.
 
Welcome to TFL. :)Growing up in the pre-Internet days, I devoured every gun-oriented publication that I could get my hands on. Specifically, Guns And Ammo, and also Combat Handguns. Men like Jan Libourel, Dave Arnold, Massad Ayoob, Mike Venturino, and Chuck Taylor taught me all the basics. Years spent reading the articles put out by these learned men gave me a solid foundation upon which to build. Since I didn't have access [yet] to real guns, I shot the #*?! out of my Daisy Model 188 BB pistol, several hours a day, every day...for years. This gave me a good grip on the basics: Sight picture, sight alignment, and trigger control. Hovering bumblebees within BB range never had a prayer!
 
Cheapshooter nailed it. I started about 10 or 11 and was then so interested in guns, I read everything I could find about them. Subscribed to G&A and Shooting Times for many years and American Handgunner for decades, along with the NRA mags. Bought a copy of Small Arms of the World at around 16 or so, many later books on cartridges and several handloading manuals when I got interested in reloading. I never tire of reading about guns, proof of that is my time here. Got my first real gun at 12, even before any BB or pellet guns. I still couldn't tell you how to break down any gun, except those I am intimately familiar with, and I'm 56. As CS said, still learning every day. I consider myself a good shooter, not great, though some think me great. The fact that they're generally mediocre may have something to do with that.;) IMO, "learning guns" is pretty much a lifetime achievement for most as most are always willing to learn something new. And something new can be just about as exciting now as when I was 14.
 
well, you're not going to magically obtain firearms knowledge unless you read about it. I started by reading a few hunting magazines here and there and then I started buying those hunting books put out by the North American Hunting Club (ie. deer hunting, elk hunting, hunting rifles, etc). I basically soaked up and continue to soak up as much info as I can, whether it's about hunting techniques, or the latest rifle offerings from firearms companies.
 
My parents were anit-gun so I did everything on the slide. Went for my permit at 21 read gun mags at Borders and B&N then did online research until i purchased my first hand gun.
 
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