How did you get introduced to firearms?

[jaysouth]

OJ,

I see what keeps you going. A good woman and some intensive cardio therapy every day. Here's my cardio regimen. At 2:00 PM, open two beers and enjoy drinking them. After the two beers are gone, lay back and sleep until 4:00 PM. Drives the women crazy because they know you will outlive them if you take such good care of your ticker.

Cheers, it's 2:00 PM somewhere.

[chadio]

Dad trusted me to handle a firearm and drive his 1973 Dodge Power Wagon early in life. Brother and I got to shoot the Ruger Single Six and the Remington Targetmaster .22's.

Fast forward to Navy ('89 thru '93), see signature.

[stubbicatt]

My dad introduced me, his dad taught me the details, may he rest in peace.

[Rorik]

Ruger .22, like most other people. I think I was around 9 or 10 years old, right after my uncle got out of the corps. Him, my dad and I went to some canyon out near 29 Palms, CA to shoot at some old beer cans. Why my uncle would want to go back out to the stumps after being stuck there for 3 years still makes no sense to me.

[samdunc]

I grew up shooting and hunting with my father. I was introduced to guns at a early age. Loved guns as a kid love them now

Dan

[jersurf101]

My father started me out by giving me a marlin papoose for Christmas when I was five. He cut down the stock to make it a true childs .22. My ten year old is currently growing out of it(prefers the m1 carbine). My 5 year old should be ready soon.

[cvc944]

Both sides of my family hunted, so guns were everywhere. I was given my first .22 when I was in 8th grade, and firearms have been a big part of my life ever since.

[L_Killkenny]

Honestly, you can blame John Wayne for me!

[alancac98]

I was shooting since I was 4 y.o. My dad was an avid hunter and was given permission to hunt a guy 200 acre property. We would go out to this place all of the time to shoot and enjoy the outdoors. When I was 8, I was my Dad's hunting dog kicking rabbits out to him from the brush. Every weekend, my Dad, brother and I would be out there shooting or hunting. Good times.

[F23Blackwidow2]

When I was 8 years old, my godfather gave me a Daisy Powerline 9856?, my first gun. I shot that thing so many times, and became so accurate, I would a quarter size target 10/10 from 90 feet away. Unfortunately, whe I was pumping it one day, the stock sheared of. The plastic just ripped. It was one of the sadest days of my childhood. That year for Christmas I asked for a Winchester 1000 break barrel pellet gun. I love shooting that thing, even though it has more recoil than my .22 Mossberg 702, which I bought from cabelas with help from my dad. I live in the suburbs, so I don't get to shoot my .22 unless we go to the range, but when I do, there is nothing else I'd rather be doing. Still saving up for a rifle, but that's what happens in the 21st century. Inflation.

[Stevie-Ray]

My former brother-in-law, a Vietnam veteran, is responsible for fanning the coals for me. I always had and loved toy guns as a kid, but he took me shooting for the first time when I was 11. Real guns. A Mossberg 352 and a single-shot 12 ga. The shotgun was not fun in the least, but that Mossberg was a dream come true. Less than a year later I was the proud owner of a Stevens model 34 for my 12th birthday. Guess he gave a favorable report to Mom. I still have that old Stevens and of late, I've wanted to find a Mossberg 352 as well, purely for nostalgic reasons. I saw him for the first time in about 10 or 15 years, a few years ago and told him some of what I have. He seemed amazed. I've missed him over the years, but alas, he and my sister were not meant to be.

[TX Hunter]

I told My Dad I wanted to shoot when I was a Kid, he rounded up a single shot .22 , a single shot 20 gauge, and a Smith and Wesson 38 special. He let me shoot all of them and I have been hooked ever since. He gave me the .22 I introduced my Son to shooting with it now it belongs to Him. I hope one day He will pass it down to His Son or Daughtor. I would love to be there for that.

[WildBill45]

Back in the day it was the classic story of the Old man and the Boy. The one place a boy could learn how to approach another gentleman, appreciate the outdoors, and spend quality time with the Old man, Dad or Grandpa, was with a gun. Shooting and/or hunting got you from underfoot of the women who put triflin’ men and boys to work … save those hard working dads and grandpa’s who had the boy out learning, and learning is exactly what we did. An ought-six, or a single-shot 16 gauge under the howls of a working beagle made for growing boys and wisdom today for tomorrow, which is today!

[Stuckless]

Same here, Wild Bill.

Both my Grandpa's hunted, but my dad's dad never bothered with teaching/taking my dad out because my dad was Deaf. Mom's dad had more fun in a bottle than in the woods.

Andy Anson was the "old man across the street" that first put a BB gun in my hand. Andy was a navy vet (WW2), and lost a leg in a motorcycle accident shortly after. Andy was retired by the time I started lurking in his garage, and we put many a hole in a can over the years.

He's been gone almost 20 years, but his lessons weren't lost, and will be passed on to my boy when he gets a bit more grown.

[swcc22]

Boot jun 14th 1999

[Tucker 1371]

7 years old, .22 chipmunk... Still have that little thing, a bit too small for me now but I still shoot it occasionally.

[Scottish Highlander]

I was born into it, Dad's a gamekeeper in Scotland. He bought me and my brother a 410 when we were old enough to walk basically and it went from tin cans right on up to Duck, Pheasant and Grouse. I bought my first shotgun at 12, a 20 bore side by side (kestrel). Now I am totally hooked and its all his fault Thanks Dad... funnily enough my brother stopped at the 410.....he likes diggers and tractors weirdo

Jamie

[charlie in md]

My Dad didn't hunt or shoot, but my older brothers got shotguns for their respective 16th birthdays. They were both avid hunters and shooters while I was growing up. My first experience was them letting me shoot a .36 cal black powder pistol in a gravel pit when I was about 8 years old. They also took me out to shoot a .410 870 at trap range they frequented. I got my first shotgun (an SKB 500) on my 16th birthday, and still have it (33 years later).

[MTGreen]

The first time I shot a firearm was when my Dad took me to the range to fire some semi-automatic rifles. I was perhaps 9. I had been shooting a BB gun then, and was glad to try out the real thing. It was the 1970s and my dad was the Police Lieutenant in charge of three SWAT teams in Oakland, California. I was quite impressed with the semi-automatics, and recall gaining confidence in handling the kick, but I have no idea now what they were.
Stories about firearms in my home typically ended with tear gas, buildings on fire, people jumping through windows, and bad guys carried out dead.
One of my first priorities as a newlywed was having my Dad train my wife on the use of a hand gun.
Even so, it was through hunting that I developed a love of guns and their capabilities.