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Posted: 5/4/2001 6:05:30 PM EDT
I've been lurking on the boards lately, and have gotten curious.  How or why did you start shooting?  Has it always been a part of your life, or did you decide to take up a hobby?  

As for myself, I've always been around firearms.  I'm wondering if that is the case for most of the people here.  [8)]
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 6:09:03 PM EDT
[#1]
Welcome aboard glockgrrl,  If you wouldn't mind tell us a little about yourself.

Personally I grew up around guns too.  Seems like just about everyone in my family is in some form of law enforcement, so firearms were normal as I grew up.

Coastie
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 6:13:26 PM EDT
[#2]
When my parents separated I was about 12 years old.  My dad who had not been into shooting for some time decided to get a couple .22's and teach me to shoot.  We would go shooting as much as possible.  It gave us something to do and taught me more than he realized.  I can honestly say it was the best thing he ever introduced/taught me to do.  So I did get started a little late however; have been shooting more and more every year since.
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 6:19:53 PM EDT
[#3]
I was never much into shooting (though I enjoyed it every chance I got) until I was 26 (I'm 27 now).

Until recently, I only shot guns when others brought them camping, when I went to other peoples' cabins, or friends invited me along to shoot.  Shooting isn't a big part of my life or my main form of recreation, but I love guns and talking about them and collecting them.  Now that I'm out of school maybe I can get into shooting them.  Frequently!
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 6:22:58 PM EDT
[#4]
I can't remember not being able to shoot a gun.  My Dad was good about things like that.
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 6:34:18 PM EDT
[#5]
Born and raised abroad - Africa and England ...

Not good .. Could only druel at the toys available in USA!

I wish I was here when you copuld mail order a Thompson the only Chicago version of type writer I would have like!

So I watch movies with "Hatari" meaning Danger in Swahili was made in near where I used to live when I was a Kid...

Came to study here at UNL and got to shoot toys within our budget .. now it's full speed ahead with Augs, AR15/M16s, Hk91's , Glocks, Sigs, FALs, Galils, UZI's, etc...

Shame though .. The time I could afford cool toys, Clinton's came in .. MG ban in 1986..1994 ban..

But became a US Citizen! Thank God, did not become British Citizen! .. Now I still think I am in the best country in the world ..and it you need a reality check .. Just travel to a border post on the Canadian side.. A good educational Trip for our Children .. You make them realize how good it is here...

Sorry to make it this long .. But I do love computers, Guns when I am at Home .. And Brews on Friday Nights .. At Range Time on Week-ends!...Just wish I could retire and spend the rest of time by running a range and renting full autos for people to enjoy ... But times are getting harder...So dear gun lovers .. May our days be good with Rock'n & Roll of the 50's and 60's and hope the day never comes when we can only talk to our grand children of the good old days!
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 6:34:55 PM EDT
[#6]
Quoted:
If you wouldn't mind tell us a little about yourself.

Coastie
View Quote


I grew up on a cattle ranch, so I've been around firearms for as long as I can remember.  I didn't really begin to shoot until after I joined the Army Guard, and wish we had more rifle time at basic.  Then I got out of the Army and went into law enforcement.  Currently working in tech support/computers, so I'm not getting as much range time as I would like.  That's about it.  [:)]
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 6:40:13 PM EDT
[#7]
I grew up around guns.  Shot a lot of waterfowl when I was a little younger. My dad and I shot skeet together.  When the duck and goose leases got to be a bit unfeasable,I started shooting pistols and then it grew into rifles, then military type firearms.
I wonder what will be next.
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 6:52:38 PM EDT
[#8]
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 7:03:12 PM EDT
[#9]
Grew up in Michigan with guns, but never owned one until I moved to the Peoples Republik of Maryland and experienced the Nanny State and the result of disarmed victims first hand.

Living this close to Washington DC and seeing the effect of too much government and too many pro-crime laws wised me up quickly.
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 7:06:37 PM EDT
[#10]
[/quote]

wish we had more rifle time at basic.  Then I got out of the Army and went into law enforcement.  Currently working in tech support/computers, so I'm not getting as much range time as I would like.  That's about it.  [:)]
[/quote]

I know what you mean about basic training, at least when I joined the Coast guard we got some M-16 training, they stopped it completely a few years ago.  I did get the best score in my company and was rewarded with getting to fire off a 30rd burst.  I realize to all the Marines and Army types on this board it sounds pretty laughable, but that is probably what first got me hooked on the AR style weapon.  I am an Electronics Technician, and by the way I'm sure none of us get to the range as much as we would like.

I'm assuming by your handle you have a glock or two, my next gun purchase will probably be either a G32 or G23.
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 7:11:21 PM EDT
[#11]
Hunting with my dad & grand-dad.
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 7:12:49 PM EDT
[#12]
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 7:22:01 PM EDT
[#13]
Quoted:
Protection from the crack house that opened across from my and my wife's first apartment 15 years ago.
View Quote
                                            Where,....Buffalo n.y.?.....[pyro]
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 7:45:49 PM EDT
[#14]
Seems like I've been around guns forever!  They are my first love.  I've always been interested in military style firearms, especially the AR and HK types wish I had more money to spend on collecting.  As far as pistols go I am primarily interested in the 1911 and .45ACP.  Though I do like suppressed .22's and SBR's as well.
 
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 8:12:46 PM EDT
[#15]
I guess I became addicted to the smell of burning gun powder when I shot my first gun (Browning .22 automatic rifle) when I was 4 years old I think.  My first shotgun (of my own) was a Savage .410 single shot - I think I got if for my seventh Christmas - I still have it by the way,  Have hunted since that age and began serious shooting at age 22 with a handgun (a ?Helwan? Egyptian 9mm that was also a Christmas present.  I traded an old .22 Remington pump (which was an 8th grade graduation present) for a Norinco SKS the same year I bought the pistol and have shot regularly ever since.
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 8:16:09 PM EDT
[#16]
My Dad used to take me shooting all the time.  He also worked for the National Guard and once he took me into the armory.  I was changed for life. [:)]
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 8:42:03 PM EDT
[#17]
Dad got me started before I could hold the gun myself. Been at it ever since.
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 9:07:36 PM EDT
[#18]
My dad had a .38 revolver, a Remington bolt-action .22 rifle, and a sporterized Enfield Jungle Carbine since before I was born, though he didn't hunt and rarely shot.  I have an older brother and an older sister, and Dad took us out shooting (the .22 mostly) two or three times.  It was not a big hobby for him.

I, however, have always been interested in guns.  When I was about 21 and going to college I got a job as a security guard just so I could justify getting a .357 Magnum. (Living at home, mother NOT pleased.) That's when I really started in the hobby.  Once I discovered just how expensive it was to shoot, I took a couple of paychecks and bought a Ruger MkII.  Much later (after I graduated and got a real job) I bought a rifle and a shotgun and a reloading press.  

Then I got busy working,and the hobby languished.  Then I got married.  Then my wife bought me a Ruger 10/22 for Father's day (I married into Instant Family) and I was off!  I've been married six years now, and I've acquired six guns since that 10/22, and my last was a custom AR. I have a wonderful wife, and a wonderful life. [8D]
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 9:09:12 PM EDT
[#19]
My father, grandfather and some of my uncles took me hunting with them when I was a kid. After High school, joined the army and enjoyed the weapons, but not the military. During my adult years, I did alot of things that I was not proud of, but underlying all those actions was an obedience to Creator and my spirit. After taking several years to evaluate myself, the times in which we live, and my relationship with Creator, I made my decision to own my own weapons. I agreed to own them, bear them, and to ultimately use them to defend life, liberty and fight against those who oppose life--as a form of paying back Creator for bringing me through and challenging my spirit. Plinking and the smell of cordite are just enjoyable things until the Creator places me on the front lines of that war.

The following quote will probably rile others on here, and if so, well, bite me. It just seems appropriate.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that  man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood."  Ezekiel 33:6
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 9:11:59 PM EDT
[#20]
My good old dad got my brother and I a crossman 88 pumpmaster bb gun when we were about 7. I can still remember the sense of pride in the trust he gave me. Then he got a pellet pistol for us to shoot. A couple of years later he tooks out to shoot his 22 pistol and 38 special. Then it was up to the old 410 and 22 rifles. Ahhh, the good old days, I love my pa. [:)]
Link Posted: 5/4/2001 9:55:28 PM EDT
[#21]
A friend of mine got me started shooting. Soon there after I bought a gun. I began to observe the direction the contry was taking politically. Guns are not a "fun pastime" nor mere "hobby" to me. I believe that firearms ownership is a crucial component of freedom. No more games.
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 12:54:21 AM EDT
[#22]
First contact with a firearm was a Glock17 which a friend owned, shortly after that he called and asked me to look at something he was sure I would like.

A Colt AR15A3 tactical carbine, I held it. Worked the action. And then asked when are we going to shoot it? I was sold..shortly after that I ordered my Bushmaster M4 carbine, and my first handguns after that and more recently a Bushmaster 20" Hbar.

Exposure leads to addiction...[;)]

Kuiper
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 1:01:30 AM EDT
[#23]
Grew up around firearms - my granddad has been into blackpowder and .22s since Christ was a mess cook, and I got into it myself when I was about 5 years old.  Did my senior year metal shop project before ATF became such a PTIA - a single shot .45 carbine and suppressor, and both worked well.  Were't terribly accurate, as I didn;t know how to make a rifling broach then, but he still has them, they are regsitered (IN is a Class III state) and he still shoots them!

Me, I look forward to leaving hte KSSR soon, and having both of my gun safes shipped back to me in a couple of years.....


FFZ
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 4:25:27 AM EDT
[#24]
lived in an firearms un-friendly home (not anti gun mind you), one day i was rummaging around in my uncles barn and found some .22 rounds.
i asked him about them and he took me out shooting, i fell in love. i was only 11 so mother obviousely, wouldn't tolerate me owning one yet, so i started collecting the next best thing, bullet shells.

had a real big collection too, untill ............

anyway she realised she wasnt going to stop me when at 14 i made a 38 smoothbore pipe gun out of plumming pipe and other metal stuff i found.
worked pretty good too. so i was told to save up my money and i was going to get a rifle, didnt sleep untill i had it two months later.

marlin model 60, i liked it but upgraded to rugar 10/22, it just snowballed from there.
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 4:46:45 AM EDT
[#25]
Long story short.about two years ago i bought an old farmhouse waaaay out in the country and moved right in to begin repairs.about a month after i moved in, i was awakened one morning by voices coming from down stairs.it seems some people who had also been looking to buy the house had stopped by for another walkthrough,i guess the fact of the vette in the garage or the for sale being gone and the keep out or else sign didn't give them a clue that the house had been sold.needless to say they got the message when the madman in his underwear(don't try to picture that or you'll go blind) and carrying a baseball bat came flying down the stairs.they left quite quickly and after putting my pants on,i went to the local gunstore and bought an AK.just seemed to take a liking to firearms after that.mmk
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 4:47:15 AM EDT
[#26]
Living in the South and being from a rural area I started shooting at a very young age, hunting was a very big part of my familys life and so guns were always very important.  I think I was very fortunate to be taught gun skills and safety at an early age.
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 5:06:48 AM EDT
[#27]
My ex actually got me into shooting.  When we got married he brought his Glock from the Armory back to our apartment and wanted to sit down for some big discussion about how we were going to have a gun in the house and that he hoped I was okay with it, blah, blah.. (you'd have thought he'd done that before we got married)  My response was, "Okay.. show me how to use it."  He got a big grin on his face and from that day on it was normal to come home to weapons in various stages of disassembly lying on the coffee table... made impromptu guests a little uncomfortable though... [:D]
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 5:35:20 AM EDT
[#28]
Always liked. I joined paratroops in 1986 with intention to remain, but they never trained enough and let me shoot enough. Passed 13 years blaming myself for loving guns, then, when I became buddhist, I read that there's nothing bad to be your true yourself. So I realized that I didn't want guns because I was a violent nut, but because I really like to shoot, the history related to firearms and be able to defend myself.
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 5:52:47 AM EDT
[#29]
HEY USPC40, where did you go to High School for JROTC?  I was in JRO for 2 years (sort of off and on, started late my first year) when I started middle/high school in Chattanooga, TN.  I was on the Red Bank High School JROTC Rifle team, which was ironic; at the time I knew absolutely nothing about firearms, and still didn't until less than a year ago (8 years later from my early high school days).  When I moved to AL, I entered one of the top rated, financially and academically, high schools in the state.  Unfortunately, one of the many things they DIDN'T have was a JROTC - no drill, no rifle, nothing.  I am glad I shot while I could though, I was pretty decent with those little plinker guns

(Question - I believe we shot .22 rimfire rifles on the team, but I'm not sure?  I know a bit about ballistics/firearms/etc now, but in retrospect I knew almost nothing then, and can't remember quite what the guns were like.  And another question, are all .22 rimfires called 10/22's, or is that nomenclature a trademark of Ruger or something?)

Anyway, BTT, I suppose I got into firearms first when I started.......playing video games!  Guns here, guns there, I suppose I was interested in the reality of what firearms were out there, and who used them for what purpose.  After looking at the M4/M16's, I was enticed by their design and look, so I did some research on .223 ballistics.  Around Christmas 2000 time, after a few months of studying, I came to the conclusion of "Wow, this little bullet can out-fly almost anything at any range...I have to get me one of these".  And sure enough, a few months later I picked up my first Colt AR and an ammo can full of 55gr plinkers, and headed to the range.

Now, I am intoxicated and addicted to the stuff.  Learning about other firearms (mostly rifles, but I'm trying to brush up on basic handgun knowledge) is both a science and a pasttime for me.  Learning how to shoot well and improve my rifles capabilites is my ultimate hobby at the moment.  I am overwhelmed at the sheer ballistics, design of sights/receiver/overall assembly and enjoy every minute of my range time.

See, sometimes "Doom" games dont' turn kids into mass school murderers...sometimes it turns them into responsible gun owners in the future.  But I suppose my story is few and far between...

Jewbroni~
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 6:33:01 AM EDT
[#30]
Well, I grew up around shooting. One of our hobbies as a kid was picking up .22 shells, we would have dixie cups full of them. Now, I am married to a man who is addicted to guns. Don't know how that happened.

Mrs. DieselDoctor      [:D]
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 7:10:20 AM EDT
[#31]
Glockgrrrl,

great question.  For myself, I had zero interest in firearms for the first 30 something years of my life.  Then came the Brady Bill.

In any case, I joined several debates on the bill on internet forums.  My position was - the Brady Bill is a good idea and why do you need handguns anyway.

Well, I debated and read debates for months, before realizing I was on the wrong side of the issue (see folks, sometimes these things DO change opinions).

Then it occurrred to me, the govt is violating a right, and maybe I should make sure I have a firearm in case they totally ban them.

So I bought my first gun - a Colt King Cobra .357.  (Junk IMO).

Well, for the next 5 years I added to the collection - but NEVER SHOT THEM.  

When I moved to AZ (from Kali), I realized I could have a CCW which would also allow me to purchase firearms without any processing delays.  But, I had not clue one how to actually shoot these things.  Took some lessons in safety and operation and got hooked.  Now I am quite safe, and knowledgeable.  I'll let otheres who might have seen me shoot determine if I am much of a marksman (not really).

Funny, in 1984 I thought banning guns was a good idea.  Now I have enough fireapower for a recon squad.  LOLs.

James
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 7:18:57 AM EDT
[#32]
my dad was into guns but i could take them or leave them.then 3-4 yrs ago a buddy of mine(roomate ) was always carring around his ruger gp-100.well we went shooting his gp and his mak 90 and i was hooked.i now have 6 pistols,5 revolvers an ar-15 and a mini 14 and 2 shotguns i auto i pump.my wife also has 4 handguns and a 10-22 ruger .22.we loves guns.
btw there is just somthing about a woman with a gun on her hip.very sexy.i love police woman,if i ever devorce and marry again(fat chance of re mistaking i mean remarring)itll be a police woman.o yeh.
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 7:23:08 AM EDT
[#33]
My stepfather taught my brother and me to shoot when I was about 11.  He had been a rifle instructor during part of his Navy career.  He taught us from the ground up beginning and ending with safety.  My respect for firearms and safe handling practices is hard-wired.
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 7:34:34 AM EDT
[#34]
Interesting stories. Especially from the convert. We will lose w/o new recruits.
In my case, My family moved from Ohio to Colorado, and my dad started buying guns. I started with a BB gun and my collection just keeps growing.
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 8:28:13 AM EDT
[#35]
I can't remember life without firearms. My father was a small arms engineer at Aberdeen Proving Ground, so you can imagine....
Got my first rifle, a Winchester 69A .22LR bolt action, at age 6! That's right HCI, ATF, FBI - 6 years old I was a gun owner. I wasn't allowed to touch it unsupervised until I was 12 though.
By age 14 I had shot more different types of firearms than most people do in a lifetime. I got to shoot an M2 (full auto M1C) at age 12. By the time I graduated high school I had fired an M16 in auto. The sad thing was, even though I totally enjoyed shooting, it wasn't really a passion for me until well after college. Now I still shoot with my dad sometimes (he's 85) but he likes black powder these days to the exclusion of everything else. Not really my cup of tea, but still fun. He's still a dead-eye though!!!!
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 9:11:28 AM EDT
[#36]
somebody was shooting at me
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 8:01:07 PM EDT
[#37]
Quoted:
somebody was shooting at me
View Quote


Now THAT is inspiration.  I was fortunate enough that during the VN war, I was just a year too young to be drafted.  When my number came up, the draft was history.

I am especially glad now as I am not certain what I would have done.  I did not wish to go to VN.  Now, I don't have to deal with the possible dishonor of what I might have decided.

Strangely, I have since been to VN in the last year.  More strange, the people there like Americans.  Well, the younger people.

James
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 8:12:07 PM EDT
[#38]
My dad started me shooting when I was 5. He  grew up in a part of W.Va. so far back in the hills they pipe in sun light. They were just a way of life for him as normal as farm tools. I got the bug for military arms in the USMC. I shoot because its something I am good at and I can enjoy it late into my life. I've also met some damn fine people through my hobby. You folks are some of the best people this country has.
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 8:24:12 PM EDT
[#39]
Well, was raised in a navy family (father, grandfather, great-grandfather, so forth back)  with a lot of civil war and revolutionary war ancestors, so I got heavy bill of rights training from a young age. Got on the internet, started arguing 2nd amendment with people all over the place; finally got fed up with saying "I don't own a gun but," and went out and got one. Then I found out target shooting was fun.

-------------
[url]http://www.Anotherpundit.com[/url]
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 8:27:19 PM EDT
[#40]
I started shooting at age 13.

Hunting rabbits at the Ranch with my first .22 rifle (Marlin mod. 60)

Hunted birds with a bb-gun and pellet gun from age 9
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 8:30:20 PM EDT
[#41]
I have always been around guns too.

My great-uncle was a gunsmith who smithed and reloaded for all the LE agencies in the area.  As very small boy everything about guns fascinated me.  My father started me very young plinking - in fact I can't remember my first time out.

What a great childhood, huh?

Then I got drafted - Marine Corps - and went to Vietnam.  I can tell you without a doubt that my experience with weapons helped me stay alive.  When I got out, I naturally gravitated toward law enforcement.  I have also had the distinct pleasure of training other police officers in weapons and tactics.  Very proud of helping others survive as well.

Still instructing and smithing - I just love anything to do with firearms - surprised?

[sniper]
[b]The Sniper
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 9:30:08 PM EDT
[#42]
I, too, used to be a liberal and believe in that "sensible gun control" BS. I would argue the point on internet forums and always end up on the losing end of the argument. After a while, I realized that the whole point of the United States is individual responsibility & freedom, and that the government is not responsible for my safety, nor that of anyone else. After buying my first house, I also bought my first gun - a Glock 23. That was about three years ago. Since then, I've picked up an AR-15 sp1, a Glock 22, a Mossberg 835, and a Beretta 96.  I currently hold an AZ CCW permit, and I don't leave the house with my Glock.

-Andy
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 10:33:20 PM EDT
[#43]
I actually got into the political side first. I always was kind of rebellious at heart, and then Columbine happened. My one teacher, who had made comments about the gold standard before, said to our class to never let anybody ban or restrict firearms. It really got me interested. I started following the whole gun control debate, and I actually bought a Guns and Ammo magazine for an article on the 2nd Amendment!! So then that naturally lead me to wanting a firearm of my own. However, I was neither old enough(my parents would have never bought one for me), nor did I have the money. So I saved up and learned all I could about guns. Finally at 19 years old,  and after reading the excellent book Unintended Consequences, I REALLY wanted a gun. So I went out and bought a Ruger 10/22. Man was I happy!!! Then my grandma gave me my dads old Winchester model 130 bolt action .22LR rifle. Now I got a AR15, the LEFP BTW, comming!! And that is just a start. The day I turn 21, I am walking in my gun store and picking up two Springfield Armory 1911A1's- The V16 Longslide and a V8 High Capicity Concealed. Cant Wait!!!
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 10:40:04 PM EDT
[#44]
Quoted:
I actually got into the political side first. I always was kind of rebellious at heart, and then Columbine happened. My one teacher, who had made comments about the gold standard before, said to our class to never let anybody ban or restrict firearms. It really got me interested. I started following the whole gun control debate, and I actually bought a Guns and Ammo magazine for an article on the 2nd Amendment!! So then that naturally lead me to wanting a firearm of my own. However, I was neither old enough(my parents would have never bought one for me), nor did I have the money. So I saved up and learned all I could about guns. Finally at 19 years old,  and after reading the excellent book Unintended Consequences, I REALLY wanted a gun. So I went out and bought a Ruger 10/22. Man was I happy!!! Then my grandma gave me my dads old Winchester model 130 bolt action .22LR rifle. Now I got a AR15, the LEFP BTW, comming!! And that is just a start. The day I turn 21, I am walking in my gun store and picking up two Springfield Armory 1911A1's- The V16 Longslide and a V8 High Capicity Concealed. Cant Wait!!!
View Quote


This rocks!!  Anybody else ever had a teacher say something like this about firearms and not get fired???  Pennsylvania Rules!  
Hey libertyof76 - do the schools still close for the first day of deer season?? Last I heard they still do.
Maybe there's hope afterall...

Congrads dude!
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 10:42:17 PM EDT
[#45]
Been shooting snice I can remember, my father used to brag that all his kids where good shots and I guess we all are. Joined the Army at 17 and they payed me to shoot, can you believe that!! Retired at 37 and just getting back into ARs I am now 44, My first love is lever actions but I just built this new AR.......

Rew
Link Posted: 5/5/2001 11:30:20 PM EDT
[#46]
I was born a small half-asian boy in Harlem, New York, which is not the greatest place in the world to be born if you have the genes of a semi-compulsive gun maniac.  My schoolmates, in my senior yearbook joked that I "made a machine gun out of my grahm crackers" while in kindergarten.

My mommy was a pacifist anti-gun, but fortunately, my Daddy was a closet weapons nut who slipped me the odd Soldier of Fortune or unintelligible Chinese language military defense review.  

Didn't own my first firearm until I moved to Idaho.   Nylon 66 with duct tape around forearm.  I am still a shitty shot, and cannot whack geese on the wing to save my life.

GOTT SEI DENK

Link Posted: 5/5/2001 11:33:11 PM EDT
[#47]
Quoted:
Quoted:
I actually got into the political side first. I always was kind of rebellious at heart, and then Columbine happened. My one teacher, who had made comments about the gold standard before, said to our class to never let anybody ban or restrict firearms. It really got me interested. I started following the whole gun control debate, and I actually bought a Guns and Ammo magazine for an article on the 2nd Amendment!! So then that naturally lead me to wanting a firearm of my own. However, I was neither old enough(my parents would have never bought one for me), nor did I have the money. So I saved up and learned all I could about guns. Finally at 19 years old,  and after reading the excellent book Unintended Consequences, I REALLY wanted a gun. So I went out and bought a Ruger 10/22. Man was I happy!!! Then my grandma gave me my dads old Winchester model 130 bolt action .22LR rifle. Now I got a AR15, the LEFP BTW, comming!! And that is just a start. The day I turn 21, I am walking in my gun store and picking up two Springfield Armory 1911A1's- The V16 Longslide and a V8 High Capicity Concealed. Cant Wait!!!
View Quote


This rocks!!  Anybody else ever had a teacher say something like this about firearms and not get fired???  Pennsylvania Rules!  
View Quote

I know!! It really didn't sink in how strange it was until I started reading about how teachers are really liberal. I got lucky I guesss!!
Hey libertyof76 - do the schools still close for the first day of deer season?? Last I heard they still do.
View Quote

Not where I live, but half the school doesn't show up anyway.
Link Posted: 5/6/2001 12:05:24 AM EDT
[#48]
I went shooting a handful of times when I was a kid with dad and granddad. Some 25 years later, July '99, a few days after the Kali AW ban was signed, I went to a gun store for the first time, to see what all the fuss was about. I ended up buying a pre ban AR that day.
Link Posted: 5/6/2001 7:05:17 AM EDT
[#49]
We ([i]brothers and sister[/i]) were raised with a very strict safety knowledge of firearms, but only ever had a Winchester Mod-67 growing up.

When I was 21, due to a very bizarre police investigation that I was involved in ([i]IE: initial suspect[/i]), I was immediately cleared, but was given information by the Illinois State Police that put my life in danger.  According to them, I had a marker on my head, but they weren't able to provide protection, even though they are the ones that put me in this mess.  I immediately applied for a FOID card and bought a handgun for personal protection.  When I bought that handgun, I took it to Dick Metcalf ([i]Shooting Times[/i]) and had him teach me all about it -- stripping, cleaning, loading, safe handling, etc -- before I ever got it home!

Fourteen years later, here I am...  I've been involved in the AR scene since 1993!
Link Posted: 5/6/2001 7:15:13 AM EDT
[#50]
Welcome, all ye reformed lurkers!

Excellent question. My dad taught me to shoot his Star Firestar Plus at age 13 or 14. I loved it(even young kids can shoot nines pretty well, I guess), but it took a while for him to get me my own Ruger 10/22. I took it from there, and now my dad has a rabid collector/enthusiast for a son, and is probably wishing he introduced me to chess[:)]. It's from him, though, that I got my love of shooting, and now he even asks ME gun questions[:D].

Juggernaut
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