[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How many here (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 12/18/2012 9:16:47 PM EDT
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Were raised around firearms their entire lives? Taught safety, handling, marksmanship from a young age? Taught to respect firearms and their use.
In other words, who here has the memory of learing about guns at an early age with Dad, Mom, Grampa, etc... I may be wrong, but I suspect a lot of these threads advocating giving up "just a little", are new to guns and don't have the connection they should as part of their heritage. My Dad and Grampa started me on a single shot .22 rifle when I was 5. And taught me that guns are tools, to be respected but not feared. eta.. bad spelling |
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All the hunting firearms where kept in a chiffrobe in my bedroom. No safes! My dad would say if he caught me
playing with them he would break my fingers. Try that today! We were taught safe handleing at an early age and knew what a bullet could do. I'm instilling those same values with my own kids (minus the finger thing). 
ETA: I recieved my first BB gun for graduating kindergarden (1970) when I was 5. My first .22 when I was 10. By the time I was 12 I could walk down to one of the local strippin' pits (there were a lot @ here at 1 time) turned garbage dump to shoot rats. Noone batted an eye. |
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I was always interested in the military and guns, ever since I was a little kid. My parents had no involvement in that, other than letting my oldest brother have a BB gun, and letting us have pop guns. I took my brother's BB gun when he lost interest and taught myself to shoot, until I was in high school, where I shot a real gun with a friend at the range.
I've just always had a natural affinity towards not being reckless and I understood how dangerous things can be by living on a farm and getting hurt being a dumbass. I picked up the idea of not pointing guns at people and keeping my finger off the trigger simply because it seems like a common sense approach to it. It was reinforced in the Army, which made me even more interested in guns in my private life. |
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All the hunting firearms where kept in a chiffrobe in my bedroom. No safes! My dad would say if he caught me playing with them he would break my fingers. Try that today! We were taught safe handleing at an early age and knew what a bullet could do. I'm instilling those same values with my own kids (minus the finger thing). LOL!! Yeah, all the guns were in closets, drawers, or in a rack up on the wall. Or the rack of the pick-up. None of us ever had any "accidents". |
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Were raised around firearms their entire lives? Taught safety, handling, marksmanship from a young age? Taught to respect firearms and their use. In other words, who here has the memory of learing about guns at an early age with Dad, Mom, Grampa, etc... I may be wrong, but I suspect a lot of these threads advocating giving up "just a little", are new to guns and don't have the connection they should as part of their heritage. My Dad and Grampa started me on a single shot .22 rifle when I was 5. And taught me that guns are tools, to be respected but not feared. eta.. bad spelling 
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I can honestly say that I can't remember a time in my life where I was not around guns. I grew up with them. My father (90) just sent me one of the rifles I used to shoot as a kid, It's an old Mossberg single shot bolt action "chuckster" .22 Magnum. That thing is so old it doesn't even have a serial number on it, still in great shape. I bet it shoots as straight as ever. |
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All the hunting firearms where kept in a chiffrobe in my bedroom. No safes! My dad would say if he caught me playing with them he would break my fingers. Try that today! We were taught safe handleing at an early age and knew what a bullet could do. I'm instilling those same values with my own kids (minus the finger thing). LOL!! Yeah, all the guns were in closets, drawers, or in a rack up on the wall. Or the rack of the pick-up. None of us ever had any "accidents". Oh hells yeah! You ALWAYS had the 'Old Mans' voice in the back of your head sayin' "I'm gonna kick your a$$" if you screwed up. I think nowadays kids have no fear. 
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I was a teenager when I first started shooting and didn't shoot much until my early 20's when my dad and I started upland bird hunting.
However I have been teaching my sons about firearms all their lives and they got their first rifles each at 7 and last Christmas they got matching Buckmark pistols, they are now 11 and 14. |
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Had my first daisy red Ryder back when I was 8 to shoot cans in the backyard. Those were the days Same here! Grew up around guns, always had them in our house, in the grandparents house. Guns were in the closet or behind an unlocked glass door in a build in gun rack. Never an issue. |
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Never lived a day of my life w/o guns in the house.
Dad started us with BB guns at age 5 or so, then pellet guns, then shotguns, then .22 - because that little bullet could go so far. It was all by design. Dad told me that his goal was to make sure that I would be able to handle myself around all manner of guns by the time I got my driver's license - because by then I'd likely be hunting with friends and he wouldn't always be around to watch over me. He wanted to be sure I'd correct an unsafe situation or GTFO. |
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I can honestly say that I can't remember a time in my life where I was not around guns. I grew up with them. My father (90) just sent me one of the rifles I used to shoot as a kid, It's an old Mossberg single shot bolt action "chuckster" .22 Magnum. That thing is so old it doesn't even have a serial number on it, still in great shape. I bet it shoots as straight as ever. I have the rifle I was taught with. J.C. Stevens single shot. It's ugly to gaze upon, but the bore is still pristine and I still pop the odd squirrel with it. My prized rifle though is my Dad's Marlin Golden 39-A. He bought that rifle in '61 or '62. It's the most accurate .22 I've ever fired. And toting it roaming around on the ranch as a kid I took more rabbits, squirrels, skunks, armadillos, everything with that rifle. |
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5 years old, Savage 22/410 O/U Is it the one with the selector on the hammer? If so I've got one just like it as my squirrel/coon/crow/rodent/etc. gun. Amazing gun to say the least 
Bought it about 4-5 years ago for $85. Probably best $85 I ever spent
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: YepQuoted: 5 years old, Savage 22/410 O/U Is it the one with the selector on the hammer? If so I've got one just like it as my squirrel/coon/crow/rodent/etc. gun. Amazing gun to say the least Bought it about 4-5 years ago for $85. Probably best $85 I ever spent Last gun show a beautiful one 540.00  I walked sadly away. My father found the one I had in a dump.No selector no trigger guard no firing pins. My brother and I used to swap the one firing pin he made to what ever position we had ammo for. Along time back I gave it to a friend who had a betiful one with busted wood,so he could make his operational again. |
I learned about firearms longer ago than I can remember. When I was 5-ish, my bed was in the gun room, which had guns hanging on every wall and glass display cases full of pistols. On the order of 100 guns. Somehow I never touched or played with them. Must have been prior aversive conditioning.  The smell of gun oil reminds me of the happy times of childhood.
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I learned about firearms longer ago than I can remember. When I was 5-ish, my bed was in the gun room, which had guns hanging on every wall and glass display cases full of pistols. On the order of 100 guns. Somehow I never touched or played with them. Must have been prior aversive conditioning. The smell of gun oil reminds me of the happy times of childhood.Hoppes #9, the aroma makes me smile. Memories of cleaning the shotguns after a day hunting doves or quail. |
Moved around as a Military Brat so didn't really start shooting anything until I joined up myself. As a Military Brat (and while on active duty) I lived some places that we couldn't take/own firearms...so other than training and times I fired firearms in the Military, the other times were few and far between for a few years. Now those issues aren't there...but finances are, go figure 
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I received my first firearm from my father, a Savage 987 .22 when I was 16. Collected airguns and the like up till then, but always treated them as the real deal.
What do I remember... Taking a long walk with my dad to look for a spot to shoot in the woods. Rifle slung over my shoulder, box of ammo in my pocket. Feeling alive, and a part of something. Hadn't put much thought at that point in my life about what it all meant, or the history behind it. But as far as bonding experiences go, I can think of nothing better. We must have walked for an hour...and when we got there, the damn thing wouldnt fire....never fired a shot that day. Walked all the way home, called my Uncle (WWII vet and huge progun guy - RIP) to ask him what was wrong with it. He came right over and showed me the inner workings, broke her down, and cleaned it right up. Few days later we went back out, and shot till my finger was about blistered
It grew from there, I learned as much as I could - bought my HK93 before I even graduated high school...and my first AR soon followed. Went to several gunshows with my dad and uncle, went out hunting with my uncle too, before his eyesight would no longer allow him...memories that will stick with me forever...and I never want to forget them. Christmas time, first year off to college...and first year of seeing 'A Christmas Story.' My parents and sister bought me a Ruger 10/22 and wrapped it up, exactly like Ralphie's Red Ryder...red foil paper...even hid it, and waited until everything was opened, before saying "Hey, whats that behind the piano..." And today, I have to defend how important those memories are to me, from those who tell me its not important "enough" to hang onto. Well, those memories, our Right - I won't allow them to take either. My message to the anti's - keep pushing. COC prevents me from saying what I THINK should happen. |
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Got a Winchester 1908 22 pump when I was 5. My dad told me not to take it out side the house or shoot it with out him knowing or being there. That was it. Nuff said. See, back in the day, when your dad said something, its was law. You got your ass beat with a belt or a switch too! HA HA hurts like hell but you never got it for the same thing twice.
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I got a daisy lever (no wood on the fore end) RR around 8 first .22 at 12, we hunted squirrels and other wee critters. Still shoot with my dad now except I am the one showing him new guns. He shot my 300 win mag 4 times and said,"well, thats enough of that" good times. Now I shoot with my daughter,17 she was taught safety and shoots quite well, my son 4 he will start soon. More good times to come I hope.
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Ironically I was raised around great examples of what NOT to do with fire arms. I saw my grandfather drunk and angry on many occasions do bad things with a shot gun, to include butt stroking another relative, blowing limbs off the tree in the back yard and blowing out tires on a vehicle that may or may not have belonged to someone he was mad at. There were neighboors who did similar things and gang activity not far from where I lived. I saw my first gun fight at age 8 and later lost friends in high school to guns as a result o "racial tension"
A good friend of mine was killed with an unloaded gun at 16, that weapon was meant to protect the owner and others living in that house from a group of Skin heads who had been growing bolder and more aggressive in their attacks. I was on my own while still in high school and the area I lived in was predominantly palestinian and Lebanese, they did not like "white boys" so going to and from work was always a risk. I heard full exchanges of gun fire and rolling fire fights from Detroit that was two blocks away. For all intents and purposes I should be anti gun, but I guess I know early on that it was the people and the intent behind the gun The first time I shot a rifle was while visiting extended family in Apalachia, my second cousins handed me an HK 91 and let me bang away, I was 11. My dad took me to range a few times at 13 to shoot his then new and popular Beretta 9mm. He taught me about muzzle control and safety. At 18 I had every intention of buying an AK 47 but could only afford an SKS. I worked 12 -15 hour days and barely got by so range time was limited, I had no idea what I was doing. I guess it was all those bad examples and those few times at the range that taught me things like respect and discipline with guns. The Clinton bans also taught me how precious our rights are. I remember going to gun shows at age 10 and seeing piles of FALs and thinking " I am gonna have one of those some day" The AWB robbed me of that until recently
It was not until about 10 years ago, when I bought my first black rifle and started geting training that I learned to shoot, then again in guard and more so in Iraq. I plan on actually teaching my sons- when they arrive - how to shoot. I never hesitate to teach other people when I can as well. I love taking new shooters to the range and showing them a community that does not fit the stereotype. |
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My first firearm was brought to the hospital the day I was born. 
Thank you Grandpa
That is awesome! Yeah, I hereby declare Floater the official winner, unless someone comes up with a story of their mom butt stroking them out of her womb on doe day with her 870. |