Always enjoy this nostalgic discussion. As a kid, my Dad was sick and he passed away when I was 15. Going shooting was always on the "to do" list but we never got to it. Very shortly after he died, my Mom made a tremendous effort to get me on the right path with this interest and I credit her almost fully! She first drove me out of town to a friend of the family whonwas an avid hunter, gun guy and kitchen table FFL. He got me started shooting and also sparked my true interest (handguns.)
From there, she seeked out and joined a Sportsman's Club in the next town over. I joined up with the four position smallbore team and it was my coach who taught me the fundamentals of marksmanship and the patience of "natural point of aim." At the sale time, we also started shooting skeet at the club on Sunday mornings.
By the end of high school I was literally at this club 5 out of every 7 day week doing some form of shooting. I was loading my own 20ga on a Mec-650 and handloading .38 Special on a single stage press.
Not bad for a kid who didn't make a gun go "bang" until 15. Thanks
Mom! 