Who introduced you to shooting?

L

LASur5r

Moderator
Hi y'all,
I'm considered just one of the guys in our office...average age is 50...most of us grew up and owning guns because either our grandpa's or our dad's took us out, usually out in a open field or meadow to hunt or simply to plink...it seems that quite a few of us had a good experience and here we are.
How did you get started?
Did someone introduce you into shooting or did you start on your own?

My grandpa had a little mom and pop grocery store...the back of the house/store backed up to a stream, then there was like a river off of the stream and a small mountain that went up in about a 60 degree angle so my grandpa didn't worry too much about back stops.
Besides the store, he had a lot of land which he used for a small farm...living out without too many neighbors at the time, he used to get a lot of wild tom cats that used to come and fight his farm cats...some of the fights were really nasty with some cats getting killed. For about a week and a half there was one tom cat that came over every other night and it killed about a half a dozen of my grandpa's cats so he decided that he and I had to handle that ol' Tom, so he had me holding the flashlight and he had an ol'Marlin .22 rifle and the minute I could get the light on the Tom (just as it knocked another one of our cats off the fence into the river), my grandpa shot it into the river.
He praised me for doing such a great job of helping him...I was five at that time. He told me stories of his being in the Chinese army before and during World War 2 and he made sure I knew what a man's duties were to himself and to his country. He carved me a wooden rifle to carry as I grew up in Hawaii...even then he taught me respect "my rifle".
I guess he taught my dad and all 7 of his other sons well because six of them joined the military services during World War 2 and the youngest one joined the Army during the Korean War.
Now my 13 year old daughter is an avid pistol shooter. Hope she teaches her kids when she has a family...if not I guess "grandpa" will have to find the time.
 
My Father introduced me to shooting. First, when I was six or seven, with a Remington Fieldmaster, and later with a WWII era P38.
 
My father and grandfather were central in my firearms education. Unfortunately, they only went so far as to get me hooked. Rather rude of them not to buy me a good supply of various weapons, don't you think?!

We hunted deer around Pittsburgh, Clarion, Slippery Rock and such. Cook's forest is gorgeous any time of year. There is nothing so right as hunting in a forest covered with snow. I miss that most of all.

Anyhow, we would go shooting (guns or bows) whenever we could, but not nearly enough. Safety was always stressed. Cleaning the guns in Pappap's basement, while reading old issuse of the hunting magazines, was a religious experience.

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When Reason Fails.....
 
My grandfather tried to teach me gun safety with a toy rifle when I was 5 back in Russia. I did not get to fire a gun till 1990 in Illinois when an older Jewish guy (emigrated from Russia in 1905) let me put about 50 rounds through a Marlin 60. http://www.olegvolk.net/oleg/marlin60.jpg
In 1992, my parents and I learned with a friend who was a police instructor, using mostly Ruger mk2, Chipmunk and a few rounds from a 20ga pump (Itasca 37?) and an AR15. http://www.olegvolk.net/oleg/mk2.jpg (my mother learning)
 
MY DADDY!!!!! and he did give me some great items... my first hi-powered (european made) pellet gun and then my first Marlin .22 single shot with a squirrel engraved on the stock. Both are my pride and joy in my collection.

USP45usp
 
No one...I did it myself. Learned about all the basics, research and studied history and mechanism of various companies and type of firearms. Went to the range rented a pistol and the rest is history. Wish I had someone who taught me and given me my first gun.

-bamf
 
YMCA summer camp when I was ten years old. The camp had a basic safety and marksmanship course followed by a tournament. I finished in fourth place.

After that I wore the print and pictures off of any gun pages in any catalogue that came in the house. Back then you could mail order from Sears & Roebuck. Dad finally relented and gave me a Marlin Model 80C .22 rimfire. I still have that rifle. I think it cost about $30.
 
When my friend's dad came to this country, he was happy to exercise his repressed RKBA. So while I was still young, he took me and his son out skeet shooting... soon after, we took to shooting a high quality gas ram air rifle. From that point on I was hooked. God Bless America!
 
My Grandfather tought me.
During the summers my parents let me stay up on my Grandfathers big farm. We would get up early every morning and feed the animals out in the barn, and a couple times a week we would walk the perimeter fence and check the snares for coyotes. My grandfather was always at war with the coyotes who would kill his sheep, so sometimes I would get to help him clean his rifle after having to kill a coyote.
He introduced me to my First Love, the COLT
1911 .45 ACP.
His was made in 1914 as a military model, ser# 668**.
I fell in love with the old COLT .45, and spent many an afternoon cleaning it just to spend time with it.
I still have it today, and it is displayed on a stand inside of my safe.
I don`t shoot it anymore because it is a collectors` item, but I own 2 other COLT .45 Autos., a COLT GOVERNMENT MODEL, and a COLT COMBAT COMMANDER which I do shoot frequently.

God Bless my Grandfather, for he is remembered as a great man, and I am fortunate enough to have been named after him

Howard



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SHOOT,COMMUNICATE AND MOVE ON OUT !
 
My dear ol' dad. WHen I reached the age, hegot a membership at the local gun range. Taught me with the same .22 he had as a young man. Later shot skeet with me. He was not a hunter, but the two times he got invited, he took me along. Bought me a BB gun, pellet gun, then a shotgun.

He passed away 3 weeks ago. I'll miss the 'ol man. He was a good one.
 
Dave R sorry about your loss

Luckliy I still have my Dad and Grandad [WW2 NZ 28th Maori Btln vet] who addicted me to hunting at age 6, deerstalking the back blocks of Eketahuna. Later Scouts and my families Army background [Serving Uncles and Cousins] really got me hooked on firearms.
 
My dad, with the help of my brother, because by the time I was hunting age (3) my brother was already and expert (5). I was a poor neglected child though and didn't get my first "real gun(single shot .22)" until 6!!
 
Dad for me, too.

Interesting story from a recent trip to their home in Colorado to illustrate.

He and I were talking guns (not REAL common, but far from uncommon as well) and mom walked past. Upon hearing the topic of discussion (my impending purchase of three or four firearms), she asked me, "When did you get so interested in guns?"

Dad and I broke up laughing.

Then he answered for me.

"When he was about three!"
 
Mt first time (aside from BB's) was with a BSA Police Explorer group. That only happened once. AFter that, I started shooting regularly with my best friend when I moved to NM.
 
I found out I had a great affinity for toy guns when i was about 5 or 6 years old. These were usually water pistols or cap guns.
When I was 13 I asked my dad for a BB gun and he got me one from the US. I have been hooked since.
I have had several air rifles and pistols before I turned 21.Then I got my Firearms license in India and have been shooting real guns. My grandad was instrumental in getting my License.

After coming to the USA I had the opportunity to fire different makes and types of guns which I could not in India.

But I have had to learn all about safety and attend classes and read books by myself.
Now I am teaching my friends and my family about Gun safety.
Regards,
Anand
 
Daddy gave me one of those Mossberg bolt action 22's that had the fold down front plastic grip when I was 7. Dang! That's almost 50 years ago! How did I get so old so fast?

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Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club
68-70
true story, a Union Gen. once said "Don't worry about those Rebs. They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..SPLAT.
 
My Father got me going. Still have two of the guns he taught me with; a High Standard double nine revolver and an M1 carbine. I used those same two guns to teach my son, the Good Lord willing and Algore don't get elected maybe I'll use 'em to teach my grandchildren too.

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I used to sleep at the foot of Old Glory
And awake in the dawn's early light
But much to my surprise
When I opened my eyes
I was a victim of the great compromise. -
John Prine.
 
Good posts in this thread.

My grandfather taught me to shoot. He was an expert pistol marksman and a noted gun collector. He had a house on a hill, with a small, private range about halfway down the hill, where he taught my brother and me to shoot with a .22 rifle. He later gave us a .22 rifle of our own to share. This happened 40 years ago, and my brother and I still enjoy shooting together.
 
While my grandfather let me shoot for the first time when I was younger, it was actually my best friend and her husband that actually got the addiction started.
They would be, ofcoarse, Dartmaum and JediOomodo who are also members of TFL. They taught me EVERYTHING I know about guns and shooting. I still look on them for advice and opinions. When I am looking for a new gun, I always ask them their opinions on that particular gun. I haven't quite got comfortable with my own judgements yet to just go and buy a new gun that I've never delt with. So, I ask them what they think and what they have learned about them. And, with every new gun I buy, they show me how to work it and clean it. As they did with my new AR15.
I appreciate everything they do for me.
Darth and Jedi, thanx a BUNCH. :D
CW

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Amendment II (1791)
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

So many politicians......so little ammunition!!!
 
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