Mine was a .22 single shot bolt action at BSA summer camp. Penny a shot. We would have a contest among ourselves to SHOOT the tacks from our targets. I was 12. I also kissed my first girl that summer....but thats another story.
We were taught gun safety and proper range etequitte. Very good memories.

My father's winchester pump .22 in the woods across from my house with a box of old rounds he had kept in one of his tool chests for over 10 years.
Many many boxes followed. I still have the rifle and the memories.

I also remember the day the K-mart down in the middle of the township wouldn't sell me anymore ammo and made me get my mom over to the sporting good section to buy another box.
Damn Democrats.

Hmm, Post number 500 for me.

But, the first weapon I ever shot was an 410 shotgun at the gun club with father when i was a kid.  He didn't even let me hold it until I completed a gun safety course held at the local school (imagine that happening these days)

M16 in USAF Basic 7/89.

Sad that I never fired a gun until I was 18.  I am making up for lost time.

-934

When I was 8 years old, my Grandfather deemed me responsible enough to start on firearms.
I'm very, VERY grateful to him. I would have never found this wonderful sport without him. I shot a Marlin .22 that jammed every four shots [:D] even though, it was the most fun I ever had. My first "Real rifle" was two years ago, when I got to shoot the Remington .243, and a 30-30, not sure what manufacturer. Loved all of them.

Racer, was that with real rounds or .22s? My bud went through air force in 87 at the same time I was in boot, and he got real 5.56 but he said some (flights?) still had .22s.

M16A1, Basic Training June 1985

I'm not sure....  I've shot since before I remember.  But I can tell you where.  Undoubtedly it was on my Grandpa's (at the time) several thousand acre farm.  Probably a .22 single shot or one of the several other .22s sitting around up there.

When I was nine, my dad took me out into the sticks and let me shoot his Winchester lever action 30-30.  About knocked me on my ass.  I LOVED it!

My brother lost that rifle to a pawn shop about two years ago.  I was so pissed I could have...well...er...shot him.  [>(]  

Summer of 1987. My brother in laws Browning Hi-Power 9mm.  I was 17.  Ive had a love afair with Browning designed single actions ever since.

5.56, no conversions on our 16s for our range session.  I always thought that was a rumour about the USAF boots (oops, trainees) shooting with the .22 conversions.  Guess not.

As an aside, my real exposure to shooting was with all the cops on the base at my first duty assignment.  Spent plenty of time shooting with them.

-934

.38 Cal S&W wheel gun in my Grandpa's basement.I was 8 years old.We were shooting wax loads at a homemade bullet trap. The rest is history.

Looks like I'm not the only one who fired his first real shot in the military. Mine was from a very well seasoned M16A1.

btt

First time shooting a cartridge firing arm was age 14.  Family friend took my brother and I to the range, went over all the safety rules with us first thing of course.  I had already learned to shoot (sort of) on BB guns.  We shot a Browning Buckmark .22 pistol, and a 22-250 varmint rifle with handloads, that thing shot one hole groups!  Took a couple shots with a S&W .44mag, and got to hose a couple of cans with a mag from a Mini-14.

Hooked hooked hooked!  I begged for a Marlin model 60 from the Sears or Montgomery Wards catalogs for Christmas every year after that!  Never did get one....until I bought my own in 1992.  It was the second "real" gun I bought, and I still have it (so far).

20 Ga H&R Shotgun when I was 12

Daisy Red Rider...  @ 7yrs. Does that Count?

Alot of good posts you guys. Thanks for sharing the memories.

Btw, the second gun I ever shot was a .22 caliber hand gun, semi auto made by phoenix arms. That thing would not quit. I put over 1500 rounds through it. Fun but Loud. Great for practice. I sold it. I miss it too.

8 years old - daisy BB gun. didn't fire another weapon till i got a 30-06 remington 700 BDL from the old man for my 12th b-day. nearly knocked me on my ass. shoulder hurt for a week. everything's been downhill ever since.

I don't exactly remember but would have been when I was about 8 or 9 with a Marlin lever action .22 my grandfather gave me.  

That Marlin has some serious sentimental value as my grandfather died just a couple of years later.  He bought it for my father to learn to shoot with when my father was little.  The Marlin stayed with my grandfather after my dad grew up and moved out, until I came along and got to be old enough, and then they gave it to me.  If I ever have kids I'll probably start them out with it too.  

I think the first time I shot a gun was when I was a little kid, before 2nd grade.  We shot a .22 out at my friend David's grandpa's cabin on Sucker Lake across the Cook Inlet.  It was winter, we took a Cessna with skis  to get to the cabin.  Targets were soda cans stuck on a little sapling.

My first time shooting was a BB gun, shooting at balloons.  It was a contest/event sort of thing, at a friend's birthday party.  I was in very early grade school at the time.  I remember most of the kids having trouble, but I had a blast!  I think (memory hazed through the seeming eons since then), that the father said something about actually using the sights... so I did.  I quite handily won the contest, too!  

After that, I was wanting a BB gun for most of the rest of my life.  Never got one until after college though, when I could get my own stuff.  

My first real firearm handling was a .22 that was 'hidden' in my grandma's closet.  No ammo.  I'd quite happily sneak into the back room or somewhere and dry fire that thing all afternoon.  Unsafe as hell, I know... but I'd had no instruction at the time!  

I still have that gun, and two of it's semi-auto siblings that I'd never found.  They have family history, and two of them still work correctly.  The third will fire, but it's too worn to feed correctly.  

My first real firearm to fire was at BSA summer camp.  Once again, I paid attention to the sights, unlike most of the kids.  (I guess I should have seen this interest of mine coming, no?)  

There was a merit badge course for Rifle & Shotgun (this was about 3-4 years before they split them out into two separate badges).  Because of the glut of scouts going through the course, they had a little simplification of the requirements:  don't break any safety rules at the range, and shoot a group the size of a quarter, and you get the badge.  I wasn't in the merit badge class, but we did have a troop shoot, where we each got to shoot a block of 5 rounds.  (the blocks were just wooden blocks, with 5 holes drilled in to dispense ammo.  You had to turn in 5 empties before you could leave...)  In my one attempt, I aaaalmost got it, with one flyer.  This was thursday or friday, and there were a lot of scouts that had been trying all week... and boy did I get some dirty looks!  [:D]

Ironically enough, I never did get around to signing up for the classes for Rifle or Shotgun, and never had the chance to get 'em...  [>:/]

Thanks for bringing up all the memories!  

Mine was a Remington bolt action .22 rifle at the YMCA summer camp in Blairstown, NJ.

I was ten years old, so that would be back in 1957.  What's so cool about this is that my instructor was a Marine who had just got out.  He was just a regular Marine, not an instructor or Force Recon or sniper though.  But..I thought that was still cool.

He would have us get up in the morning for PT and then we would run.  

Taught us "Indian fighting"(?) Seems lide a form of wrestling and Judo to me.  

He taught us how to use a compas and navigate the woods.

I didn't realize that I was being trained as a Commando as earily as ten yrs old.  COOL!


Rambosky

My first time was at 10 Mile river scout camp in upstate New York.

The rifle instructor let me shoot his Nylon 66,
My first black rifle experience. [:D]

Another first time at Boy Scout camp with a .22 bolt action. Nobody in my immediate family had a guns or even wanted one. I became the family freak and now have more dang guns than I could ever possibly need. But I do plan on getting more. [:)]

My dad used to sit in the lounge chair on the patio and shoot doves as they flew over in the evening.  I was about eight, and, of course, the designated retriever.  

One time dad was ready to shoot and the dove landed in a field about 20 feet from the edge of our yard.  We walked quietly around about 30 or 40 feet away.  My dad let me shoot his 16 gauge shotgun!  I thought it was great!  He told me to aim for his head.  Not wanting to miss, I aimed for the middle of the bird.  BLAM!  Dang near fell over backwards in the sticker weeds!  Of course I can still see my dad laughing his ass off!  BTW, I hit exactly where I aimed.  The bird was swiss cheese.

Edited to add:  it was a J.C. Higgins, bolt-action.

Revelation 222 Remington that my grandpa bought at autozone.  I was eight.  The rifle is currently sitting about 15 yards from me as I type.  I'll have it forever. Also shot my first deer with that rifle....ahhhhh, memories.

my first was a mossberg 835

Daisy BB gun that my grandparents bought for my dad when he was a kid.  I remember shooting at Coke cans with my grandpa and being excited because I was invited to play with the boys (misty eyes)...my dad still has the gun and I am sure I will inherit it.

Beretta 92F

When I lived in Italy, the guy that lived on the other side of my neighbor (all American military) had a couple sons that were off in college, and he was a really nice guy.  Dad and my friend that lived next door's dad knew the guy.  He took us out to this little mideival fort on the top of this small mountain one day, then out to the beach, where he let us shoot some bottles with his Beretta.  Only got to shoot a couple rounds, cuz he only had one magazine of ammo.  He moved stateside a few weeks after that.  

When I was 8, my family took a cruise on the Norway.  As my father and I were walking around the deck before dinner one night, we saw a group of people and a clay thrower on the back of the boat.  My dad asked me if I was interested in shooting, so of course, I said yes!

At 8 years old, that 12 guage was pretty heavy, which made me more nervous about dropping it overboard than not hitting any clays!  After 3 clays, I hit the fourth.  It was the proudest I remember seeing my father outside of the time I beat up the principals sons!

I vaguely remember because I was pretty young, maybe 5 or 6 I know it was before 1981. I shot the Savage 24V my dad bought to be my first rifle.  It is a 222/20ga O/U and had a Bushnell Sportview 2-9x32 on it. My dad pulled the hammer back so I would drop it while trying to pull it back.  I looked through the scope and BOOM.  I hit the target [:D] and also got a mild case of "magnum eyebrow" from a 222[B)]

That in itself should be an interesting story.

Dad had a Marlin model 60 that was probably the first I shot. It's also possible that it was one of the single shot bolt action 22's at summer camp. The rifle range where I went to summer camp is now a putt putt course. I could cry. Makes me wanna go help out with the Junior High Power team or find a scout troop to take to the range. (Most of the Junior team can outshoot me though - not sure what good I'd be.)

My brother has dad's model 60. I would love to have it, but alas - I have a safe of guns, and it's his only gun. I feel pretty confident he'd never sell it though.

I was five years old and the first gun I ever shot was a Remington 870 shotgun.  I shot it off a bench and it knocked me off of the seat.  I didn't drop the shotgun and immediately said I wanted to do it again.  I wasn't scared of it at all my dad told me.  That day I also shot a 1911A1 Gov't .45 and a M16A1 (semi and auto).  This was at Edson Range in CA.  My dad was Marksmanship instructor there.  The weapons were property of the USMC.  I've been shooting since that day in 1975.

It was either my cousins M-16 or his .45, I can't remember which. But they were both on the same day.

This is my rifle....
This is my gun...
This is for fighting...
This is for fun!

The first gun I ever shot was a Marlin 30-30 given to me by my grandfather when I was 5 or 6.  He decided to start giving his guns to his grandsons and we all got to pick 2 guns that we wanted.  I had to choose between the 30-30, a Model 12 12 gauge, and a crossbow.  My dad tried to talk me into choosing the 12 gauge and the 30-30, but I wanted the crossbow and the 30-30 (wish now that I had chose the 12 gauge).  After getting home with the guns, I wanted to shoot them.  We could never find any bolts to fire the crossbow (not like the ones today, this one had a wooden stock and metal bow).  My dad did take me to a dirt road behind our house where everyone in the neighborhood went to shoot (try that now-a-days).  My dad tried to talk me out of shooting the 30-30 saying that it was to powerful for me to shoot that young.  I would not let up until I got to shoot it.  Wound up getting a black eye from the scope when I did shoot it.  I still have both of the guns today, though the crossbow just sits in the closet collecting dust.  I still use the 30-30 for hunting somethimes.

I don't exactly remember the first gun I shot, probably a .22 or .38 from my Dad.  My 6 year old son's first shot was from my Bushmaster AR15!  He shouldered the rifle as I held the fore end and managed the safety. I let him pull the trigger.  He had a blast.  My 11 yr old son also got a kick out of it.  He really got a kick out of the 91/30!  My daughter shot the AR also, but really enjoyed the Beretta M96.  When I first showed it to her, she said, "I like this!".  I may make her a shooter yet.  My wife also enjoys pistol shooting more than rifle shoting.

jd1  

.22 rifle at camp when I was in seventh grade.  Got my NRA Marksman patch!

My first gun was a 410.  I got it for my 6th birthday.  My dad gave me the gun, handed me a box of shells and pushed me out the door.  I remember him saying "take your little brother with you and don't shoot him or yourself".  I probably killed 10,000 sparrows with that gun.

M16A1 in basic training.  I have a small frame, so I had difficulty shouldering the weapon and seeing through the sights properly, because the stock was so long. I still managed to qualify sharpshooter.  Then I dated a guy who was into guns.  The only reason that I was glad to have dated him later, was that he got me interested in shooting handguns, too. I was hooked when I picked up his Ruger .357 the first time, shot it better than he did, and he got pissed off.

Edited to add:
My husband built an M4gery for me, with a post-ban CAR stock shortened by 1.5 in.  He just stood and smiled at me when I shot it the first time. I was so excited, because I had no idea that I could shoot that well with a rifle.

My uncles AMT hardballer long slide (1911 wannabe).  I flinched so bad I didn't hit shit, and this was on school property (ROTC gun range).

Never forget it, no schools here use the ranges anymore (other than BB guns for matches and .22's)

Steve L.

I bet there are alot of PEOPLE who shot a gun for the first time at school, they are over at gangs.shootings.biatch.com


I wish shooting and gun safety was still offered at schools.