[LibraPMC]

I still remeber the night before when i was picking up the sig p229 as my first handgun...

Sleepless

I was filled with excitement and proud of finally becoming a handgun owner. i was exercising my rights to full extent and i was proud of this.

The next day I practically waited in the lot to have it as soon as the shop opens. Later the owner told me he has never seen a 21 years old this hyped up. I was a clear newbie to him and I received a lecture of gun safety and he made it clear that this is no airsoft toy... Duh!!!

Back home i would read the entire manual (Now I really don't) :D and again and again. Thinking about it i would put it in my bathroom as a bathroom read ^^ What gave me this strange sensation and immense responsibility was when i was loading the magazine with JHP... Enough with my story and what is yours?? Share your experience...

[.45Guy]

First experience, my father teaching me to shoot with an ancient break barrel bb gun and a Stevens Marksman. Or perhaps my first guns, a H&R Topper 16 gauge and Winchester 67.

[MedWheeler]

I was eighteen or nineteen, and my stepfather (of only a couple of years) had finally convinced my extremely gun-shy mother to let me buy a .22 Winchester M190 rifle from him. He was to teach me how to use it. He and I took it out to a remote area and I got familiar with it pretty quickly, shooting at the usual plinking targets such as cans, plastic bottles, and other debris.
My mind raced for periods after that, with visions of competitive shooting and even scenarios in which the rifle would defend the home (yes, just like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story".) My mother knew that I was aspiring to be a LEO one day soon, and that was probably part of the reason she allowed it. Several months later, he died, and his son, whom I'd never meant, came around. I let him take the rifle, as I guess it had once been considered his, and my mom had no problem letting me replace it with another gun. Of course, once that nut was cracked, it left the door open, and a shotgun soon followed me home from a store. Over the remaining few years I lived at home, I acquired several more guns, including the first four handguns I purchased after my 21st birthday, and one that was issued to me when I did enter law enforcement.

[barnetmill]

I think the first time I fired a gun was once when my stepfather let us shoot his .22 savage or was it a steven's semiauto out the parent's bedroom window into the ground.
My first guns were a 28 ga single shot for christmas when I was about 14 and then a P17 30-06 for christmas (cost $30 from Klein's Warehouse on W. Madison St, Chicago) when I was 16. Then a mail order .22 Herter's guide revolver when I was 18.

[LibraPMC]

I was eighteen or nineteen, and my stepfather (of only a couple of years) had finally convinced my extremely gun-shy mother to let me buy a .22 Winchester M190 rifle from him. He was to teach me how to use it. He and I took it out to a remote area and I got familiar with it pretty quickly, shooting at the usual plinking targets such as cans, plastic bottles, and other debris.
My mind raced for periods after that, with visions of competitive shooting and even scenarios in which the rifle would defend the home (yes, just like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story".) My mother knew that I was aspiring to be a LEO one day soon, and that was probably part of the reason she allowed it. Several months later, he died, and his son, whom I'd never meant, came around. I let him take the rifle, as I guess it had once been considered his, and my mom had no problem letting me replace it with another gun. Of course, once that nut was cracked, it left the door open, and a shotgun soon followed me home from a store. Over the remaining few years I lived at home, I acquired several more guns, including the first four handguns I purchased after my 21st birthday, and one that was issued to me when I did enter law enforcement.


I honor and would like to thank your service as a LEO. Sorry to hear about your step father. He seems like a nice man who opened the gate for shooting and possibly your future carrer :D

[Dr Dave]

I'm British and strongly pro-gun. My family is strongly anti-gun. I was 28 and realized I had always loved guns but never owned one, so it was time to start my collection! I knew I wanted a 38 Special revolver, didn't know why, but I wanted one, and I would know 'the one' when I picked it up.

I haunted gun stores for months and was in a little gun store in Cleburne, TX, checking out the handguns, but didn't find 'the one'. I was literally walking out the door and noticed a cute little Taurus PT-25 in the display case for $190.

I thought, well 25 is three better than 22 (knew practically nothing back then), and how it would make a perfect first gun - if I did have a ND and shot my foot it probably wouldn't be serious, and bought it.

It never fed anything but ball ammo, so I'd stick a Winchester XTP in the pipe with the tip-up barrel and load the magazines with FMJs. I loved that little gun. I got five magazines and an Uncle Mikes pocket holster. I have to admit, walking to get the mail in my apartment complex was much more comforting with the little 25 in my pocket. Until I got my Rossi M88 38 snubbie, it was my only gun. It is also the only gun I've had to draw for real. The sound of the safety clicking off really was the loudest sound I've ever heard. Fortunately nothing happened and everyone stayed safe and unshot.

Wish I hadn't sold it, and plan to replace it someday with a PT-22. Now I rely on my 357 Mags and my 20ga, but need one of everything! Really want a S&W 58 41 Mag. I can get 41 Special LSWC ammo for $27.50 for 50 rounds from reedsammo.com. It also shoots 41 Mag! If the 41 Special had come out before the Magnum, I believe this would be a much more popular round than it is. I just need the $800 to buy one!

http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb326/DrDave11/PT-25.jpg

[GMAN26]

My first real gun was a Winchester Model 310 single shot .22. My Dad bought it for me on my 12th Birthday. I spent hours in the woods Destroying tin cans and blowing up Bottles. Later on that same gun taught my Brother to shoot. He dropped it on a rock while we were hunting critters and cracked the stock right at the pistol grip. I'm now almost 50 and I still have this rifle today. I'm still looking for a replacement stock. :eek:

[M2 Carbine]

I was a big city kid. My first gun I made myself when I was a young teen. Generally called Zip Guns.

My first "real" guns were 22 Remington single shot rifle (16) and a Webly 38 and a Beretta .25 MINX I ordered out of a magazine. I think I was 17.
(Back they you could mail order very inexpensive WWII guns, 1911, Lugers, etc, out of magazine ads. The guns were delivered to your door. No paperwork.)

My first big gun was the M1 Garand the USMC gave me when I was 18.
Now there's a gun.:)

[chhodge69]

Christmas 1977, 8 yrs old. After all the presents are open dad pulls a "Christmas Story" on me and there's a Marlin .22 hidden behind the couch. I had no idea and didn't even ask for it so it was a total surprise. Came with all the lectures and lessons. Good Times :)

[STR8LOCO1]

My first gun experience was on the range. It was part of my training in becoming a certified Correctional Officer for the state. I trained to shoot with 4 firearms. A Remington 870 12 gauge, A bushmaster AR-15 .223, a Model 15 Smith & Wesson revolver .38 Special, and a glock 17 9mm. I shot the best with the Model 15. It was the best part of the Academy.

[highlander 5]

First gun was either a Winchester 22 pump or a Winchester model 94 can't remeber as it was 40+ years ago

[MyGreenGuns]

My first (BB) gun was Daisy 366 @ 14yo - It was all chrome and I felt like a marksman. My grandpa taught me all the rules of gun safety before he would let me shoot. When I was 23 I decided I needed a real gun and bought my shotgun. I occupied lane 3 til closing time, leaving a foot-tall pile of confetti out near the 25 mark. Howard (gun range operator), laughed at me and said he outta make me clean it up.
Before having a real gun I was dreaming of bravely defending myself one day. After having one in my home, the reality of owning these weapons has quickly sunk in. If I ever needed to defend myself with these guns, it would be a sad day, reguardless of the outcome. And if that day never comes, a lot of posters have died to make me ready for it.;)
I have purchased 10 firearms in my lifetime and still have 8 of them. I will likely have an arsenal before I die.

[JohnBT]

I have no idea and no one in the family has ever been able to pinpoint which gun I shot first. It was probably one of my uncle's many used .22 bolts that passed through his hands.

I liked guns so much that my grandparents gave me a BB rifle, wall rack and cleaning kit when I was 5. I couldn't even work the lever by myself. So that means my first shooting experience had to be well prior to 1955.

All right, look at this, the right rack and cleaning kit, but the wrong gun. I wore the gun out, but have the rest. The box is red steel and the bottles are glass.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Ae1A7oHXSzQC&pg=PT1&lpg=PT1&dq=daisy+red+metal+cleaning+kit&source=bl&ots=Nvqczy_f2B&sig=IcnU48DcfS4UZcfc1Kd1GG7k_58&hl=en&ei=xRlETtTvM8Lw0gHzuLjECQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=daisy%20red%20metal%20cleaning%20kit&f=false

[sirgilligan]

On the back porch of the house my Dad standing behind me helping me hold his little S&W 22LR revolver. I remember how loud that little gun was. That has been 40 years ago.

Shortly there after he gave me a Browning Semi-Auto 22, break down, made in Belgium, Grade II. I still have the box it came in. Makes me smile to think about those days.

[pockets]

IIRC; Must have been around 1961...I was about eight.
A family friend took me plinking along a creek side with an old (old in 1961 even) Colt Woodsman.

.

[Snowbandit]

Don't remember if it was my first or not but it was pretty close. You're going to think I'm old but, it was 10th grade in high school. We had an ROTC program, a rifle range in the school with .22 target rifles, targets, ammunition and instructors. Bet you know that was a few days ago.

[Smokey in PHX]

I think I was around eight. Shot an old S&W .22 revolver.

[ColtPythonElite]

I was pulling the trigger on my dad's Colt autoloader .22 when I was 5 or 6. I got my first gun for my 12 B'day. A H&R Topper. It cost all of 40 buck brand new from K-Mart. I still have it.

[Cop Bob]

Over 53 years ago, a single shot Stevens 22, then a Single shot Remington 22, then my dads k-22.. Still have them all... I think I was all of 5, maybe..... Shot my 1st NRA Sanctioned Small Bore Match when I was 6... Had the habit ever since, no sign of it letting up..

[dogtown tom]

The earliest memory I have of shooting ANY gun was at around age six. I remember it loaded through a hole in the side of the stock and was a semi auto. More than likely it was a Browning Auto 22 or a Remington 24/241.

First shotgun was about a year or two later.....I remembered it made me cry.:D

[klutchless]

First shot was a Hawkin 50 cal musselloader.First gun was a savage model 24 22/410 and a 20ga h&r topper. It was a good Christmas . Thanks dad and grandpa.Dad was leary about giving me 22 shells said they shoot to far to know whats beyond your target.

[zdc1775]

I actually can't remember the first, but I remember having two BB guns before my first real gun, a New England Arms 20 ga youth model break-action I got for Christmas at age five. I couldn't even cock the hammer my step-father and his dad would do it for me while I had it shouldered, and I wasn't allowed to shoot it without them but could with the BB guns and the bow I got as a birthday present three months earlier. This was in '93 been hooked ever since.

[303tom]

First shot was this 50 years ago.

[jcwit]

My first experience? A five year old kid with an older brother who had just bought a Winchester 52B made in 1948 and it was spring of 1949. Later that summer I shot it on our pasture range, don't remember how I did tho.

I now own the rifle just as my brother had it equipped with a Lyman Target Spot, I'm short two things, the box it came in and the 5 rd magazine. Otherwise its complete as shipped.

[montanaoffroader]

The first time I fired a real gun was ~ age 5, my Dad's Winchester Model 67. The first gun I actually owned was a Bronco single shot .22, IIRC my Dad paid ~ $12 for it NIB.

Still have both guns.

[tarosean]

First gun fired was a friend of my moms Target pistol. I just remember it was very odd looking and shot a rifle round. I helped reload for an entire weekend to be able to shoot it. around 8-9yrs old. Probably slave labor now that I think back on it 40yrs ago... lol

First gun owned was a Glennfield/Marlin 60 when I was 9-10. Still wears all the scars from me bicycling all over NM with it.

[sm]

I was born with a .22 revolver in my dresser draw crib.

When I was age 3, my Grandma wanted me to teach her to shoot.
Being born a Southern Boy , with manners, respect and all, I taught her.


*wink*

[LDNN]

After 9/11 I got mobilized to become the Disaster Preparedness Officer for Goose Creek Weapons Station in SC; we went through sidearms qualification and I was introduced to the M-11. After that I had to have one. Later at a gunshow in Columbia I was lucky to find a civilian version - a beautiful Sig P228...now I got the uncurable Signess.

[K96771]

My father and his 3 brothers all served during WW11, yet I never recall any discussion of guns while growing up ... for or against. My first experience with them was in February of 1967 in basic training.

[Tommygunn]

As a kid growing up my father enrolled me in a Police Athletic League riflery course. At the local PD range every wednesday evening we'd shoot .22 rifles. Despite the fact that some of the rifles were repeaters we were only given one round at a time. The officer would walk the line and pass them out. We'd load and aim & fire on command.
It was a pretty safe way to do it. I have to wonder if that department is doing that today; it was in a liberal Connecticut town and I well imagine parents would throw fits if their kids were handed rifles to shoot these days.
Times change ...........

[Nugilum]

Bubbad Chinese type (or could have been Turkish) 8mm Mauser. 18" barrel and modified bolt handle.

I was definitely being watched over from above, because I did some very stupid things. I was 14 years old and snuck it out of my fathers gun cabinet so my friend and I could try it.

I knew nothing about firearms at the time. I found some rifle bullets that "looked" correct. To be honest I had no idea what rounds it took. The barrel didn't identify its caliber. Another friend guessed at the caliber, and that's what we tried.

Life lessons:
1.) Recoil hurts. Bad. Especially when you don't hold the rifle properly.

2.) When test firing, put in only one bullet. Don't max out the magazine. Explanation in part 3...

3.) Golden Rule #2 and #3. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy and Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. My friend had no interest in shooting that rifle after he saw what happened with me. We decided to leave and since I couldn't figure out how to drop the magazine floor plate, I worked the bolt to empty the magazine while propping it on my stomach. The rifle went off on the last round and missed my friends head by about one foot. I didn't notice this at first, because the rifle's recoil made me puke. (BTW, yes we are still good friends. We just don't joke about this incident. Ever)

4.) I learned soon afterward (but sadly not soon enough) that there is a type of ammunition called "corrosive". Enter father.

It took a little while before I was willing to venture back to the firearms world. This is why I'm willing to teach anyone how to PROPERLY shoot. I almost killed my best friend. I decided I needed to help make sure no one else goes through that.

[Warp]

Age: 21
Gun: Glock 26

I always liked guns and had a bb gun and a nice pellet rifle but due to my mother I didn't ever shoot any real guns as a kid, although I am sure my dad would have done differently were it up to him/he cared enough.

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

First shooting experience: Boy Scout Camp, Summer of 1963.
First guns I bought: Winchester M1917 and Browning High Power, 1968.
Still have them.

[n5wd]

Dad was in the Air Force - a flight engineer/crew chief on C-130's, always going somewhere or other TDY (temporary duty). He and a loadmaster on one of their TDY's to Vietnam had to jump out of the aircraft and provide ground security with their M-14's and .38's while they waited for a "package" to be delivered for a short hop to Tan Son Nhut. Fortunately, nothing came of it except a wager on who was the better shot.

When they got back home (Dyess AFB, Abilene), arrangements were made to take a couple of M-14's, .38's and a couple of the rod and gun club loaner .22's out to the range to settle this thing like men. Not sure who won the bet - they were having too much fun.

The loadmaster had a son a year older than I was (14 at the time), and he showed me the .22 and how to fire it. Musta put a hundred rounds downrange that day.

Next time I picked up a gun was at Lackland AFB four years later... an M-16!

[RedAlert]

When I was very young, 8yo my Dad was stationed in Okinawa. He took me to the on base range and set me up with an M1 carbine. I got to fire as many rounds as I wanted that day. I fired a hundred or so and really really enjoyed myself.

Not long after my Dad bought me JC Higgins .22LR rifle. It had a 5 round magazine and I really enjoyed shooting it. Its no longer in our family, I'm sad to say.

[nosbocaj]

The first gun I fired was a Ruger Mark II. It was my freshman year of college for ROTC, so about 6 years ago. I loved it then, I love it now. :D

[Fishslayer]

Guess I was 8 or 9 & fishing with Grandpa on Mullberry Creek outside of Salina Kansas. Some guys were plinkin' with a Ruger Standard .22. They let me have a try.

[RunningHorse]

With his 1911. Long time (about 48 years) ago...

Still remember it like it was yesterday

[jmresistance]

First gun I shot: SKB 20ga when I was 4. I got my cheek too far back, practically between the stock and my shoulder, but my dad didn't notice. If I hadn't busted up my face I probably wouldn't have remembered it.

First gun I owned: New England Firearms Pardner 20ga. I think I was 12. It was Christmas morning and when I opened my "big gift" it was a doll house.:confused: My dad said, "Oops! That was supposed to be for your sister. You must've opened all your gifts already." He waited till I was good and disappointed, then he pulled out the shotgun. I still get excited when I buy a new gun, but it's hard to beat the feeling of the first time... That's the best $80 gift a 12 year old can get. The next Christmas I got a really nice Ruger 10/22 SS with a "greenish" laminate Mannlicher stock.:D I still have both.

[CajunBass]

My first BB gun, I have no idea how old I was. Probably 6...8 or so. I literally wore it out.

My first "real" gun was an Ithaca M-66 Supersingle 20 ga single shot shotgun. Got if for Christmas when I was 14 or so I guess. I remember finding it under my parents bed about a month before Christmas. (I wonder if kids still go hunting to see where the Christmas presents are hidden?) I was afraid to take it out of the box, so I'd just sneak in, and open the box and stare at it, then close the box up real quick and put it back.

I remember opening that box and a box of Sears shells, grabbing a couple of shells and stepping out on the back porch and just shooting across the yard into the woods. I broke the gun, pulled that empty shell out, held it to my nose and breathed in that wonderful aroma of just fired shotgun shell. Man that was about the best smell ever. I still do that from time to time today.

Oh...my son has that Ithaca today. I suppose his son will have it one of these days.

[dmlehto]

A Savage\Stevens walmart rifle semi auto in .22lr... don't get me wrong, me and that gun had some memories and i still have it... but its still a jam-o-matic.

[Davek1977]

I'll never forget the day when i was 10 years old and my dad brought out his BL-22 and gave me my first shooting lessons with a "real" gun. I remember working the lever, and the apprehension I felt the first time I had to lower the hammer to half-cock on a live round. I don't remember the first squeeze of the trigger, but I do remember my uncle showed up mid-lesson, and how I was more than happy to have more of an audience. I had proven myself previously with airguns, and shooting a "real" gun was just about the most exciting thing i could imagine. Twenty-odd years later, shooting a "real" gun is just about the most exciting thing I can imagine!!!! As familiar and complacent as we may get with firearms, theres still no rsh quite like squeezing that trigger, whether you are taking aim at a soda can or a trophy critter!

[wally]

Beat up 12ga shot gun. Whenever we were "acting up" my Grandma would calm us down by saying "if you keep it up, I won't let you shoot the gun tomorrow" One round of bird shot into the weeds out back was always something to look forward to when I was 6 or 7.

No real lessons, she just held the gun, standing over us and let us pull the trigger.

[Rocketmedic]

My great-grandfather started me out with an old 30-06 bolt at 6 or 7.

[RunningHorse]

My great-grandfather started me out with an old 30-06 bolt at 6 or 7.
Wow...that must have been a hoot. Don't think I fired a '06 until I was like 11 and I still thought it kicked mighty steep at that time..:)

[Usertag]

My first gun experience was with a .410 Guage. It was my friend, his grandpa, his brother, and I. We each got 2 shots "his grandpa didn't, he just reloaded for us". We where shooting at this plastic gallon jug. I was the only one who hit the jug both times from 20 feet away. I was proud of myself.

[hardluk1]

Lerning to a winchester lever action .22 when I was 6 and a colt huntsman.

[sixgunner455]

H&R .22 revolver. Dad still has it.

[Rail Driver]

My first experience with guns was my dad teaching me to shoot with a Daisy bb pistol when I was a kid. Following that, I never had any real experience with guns until I joined the Army at 18. It was a few years ago that I finally bought my first pistol, a Hi-point C9 that served me faithfully for quite awhile before I traded up. Now I carry a Colt or a G26, but I'll always remember that beat up old C9.

[parsimonious_instead]

Air guns only from the age of five-ish until I was 22 yrs old. Went to Rocking Horse Ranch on a solo getaway for a weekend, and fired a single-shot .22 with gallery rounds as my first firearm experience.
Only a year later, fired a Thompson submachinegun at a rental range in Las Vegas, baby! :)

[doom]

Shot my first gun when I was 7, a Sig P226. Saving money up for my graduation present, a .32 PPK

[bnkrtstk]

I was 10yo at Cub Scout Summer Camp when I took my first shot.

[Eb1]

Shooting soup cans with a .22 LR Single Action while wearing the holster as a bandeler @ the age of 4.
Then winning my dad money by shooting .410 shells at 50 yards in the gravel pit with a 9 shot Glenfield .22 LR at the age of 7.
Carrying the .45 Colt 1911 to the pond at the age of 10 in a holster to shoot snakes and turtles while catching bass.
Shooting rabbits and squirrels at the age of 7 or 8 with a single barrel Stevens 20 gauge, and learning to carry extra shots between the fingers for quick follow up shots. The stock was cut short so I could shoulder it. My favorite shot shell was a #4 Nitro Magnum for squirrels. The choke was so tight on that shotgun that I could shoot squirrels way up in the trees
There are many, many more.

Oh yeah. Shooting hoovering wood bees out of the air with my Daisy BB gun. This also won my father a lot of money. :-)

[Maple_City_Woodsman]

Hard to say for sure, but the first one I can remember was back when I was 6 or 7 years old.

My father had an FFL back then, and was always getting cool stuff from the UPS man. I remember one day my daddy called me into the kitchen. He showed me a pair of handguns, and gave me the basic '4 rules' safety speech, and made sure I knew they were REAL guns, and that they were SERIOUS business.

He loaded the magazines (no round in the chamber), flipped the safeties on, and had me 'help' him carry the gun downstairs to the safe. The gun I got to carry was just a small .22 pocket pistol, but to me it was heavy.

I gained an important respect for firearms that day, and thanks to my fathers artful demystification of them, I largely ignored the guns until I was in High School. It was then that I joined the local '4-H' club, and began participating in their shooting sports program - on the firing line with an old single shot, bolt action, 22 was the first time I ever fired a "real" firearm. I was hooked for life.

[25cschaefer]

My first memory ever is riding down a dirt road behind a Wal-Mart in AR in a beat up Isuzu pick up, heater blasting, listening to a worn out Rush tape, and going squirrel hunting with my dad, I think I was 4 and a terrible retriever. I remember he let me pull the trigger on the old Winchester 62 my great granddad bought to shoot coyotes off his sheep on the family farmstead in ND. It is still one of my favorite guns and I am always looking for one of my own. Of course it wont have the pocket knife checkering from long days of watching over the herd or the crack in the butt from a run in with a mad trapped fox, but I keep my eyes open.

[Sharecropper]

My first gun experience? An interesting question. It was right around Thanksgiving 1964, maybe 1965--but I think 1964. We were living on what we called the Parker place, just north of Miner (or Miner Switch), Missouri. Behind our house was an old sandbar. People had been pulling sand from it for concrete.

On that day, two of my older brothers and I were lying at the foot of a slope created by the sand mining. We were playing D-Day: we were American GIs, and we were going to storm the slope.

Then there was an explosion behind us. I was stung hard on my right buttock.

We made it up the slight hill in record time.

A short time neighbor one of our neighbors came to the side door. He was an African-American man. He had been hunting rabbits that morning. One had broken from cover. He followed, then fired. And a moment later, he saw three white boys scrambling up a sandy slope.

So he was a black man in deep southeast Missouri who had just shot one or more white boys.

In the early 1940s, a black man was lynched in Sikeston, Missouri--the nearby metropolis. That happened almost a quarter-century before our neighbor shot me (and two of my older brothers). But the fact of the lynching was still well known. So our neighbor was scared.

Fortunately, we had nothing more to show than welts. And my parents were decent folks who allayed our neighbor's concerns.

Around the same time, one of my older brothers (and one of the two shooters) acquired a Damascus-twist twelve-gauge. I never shot it. I wish now that I owned it.

[wesessiah]

i was probably about 5 years old, or whenever i was old enough to concentrate on a gun long enough to shoot it. my grandpa had a marlin model 81 that he started me on. i must have killed every mountain lion, bear, wolf, and fictional monster on that mountain that was hiding behind the stumps, cans, and leaves i shot, lol.

[Razor]

Age 8 in summer camp. Single shot .22s.

When my Dad saw how excited I was about it, he drug out his own .22 rifle and a Colt Trooper MkIII.

He gave me the Trooper when I left the USAF. I still have it. :)

[Nar]

First experience would be when i was about 7 and my dad showed me and my brother the 2 pistols he owned at the time (a PPK and a CZ75 both acquired in his army days) and though us basic safety, but i would say the first real one was when i was 10 and worked my ass off all summer to earn the 110 dollars to pay for a savage .22 that i wanted, which later became the first gun i ever shot, and is still strong in the line up.

[PreMod70]

My paternal grandfather bought me a Savage .410 single barrel shotgun on my tenth birthday, placed a tin can on a fence post at about 20 yards, gave me a shell and told me to shoot it, I hit it. The gun was carried by me only when we went rabbit hunting and it was empty, the shells were kept in my pocket just like Barney. When the rabbit made it's circle and Granda was nearby he would come, tell me to load and shoot with him watching. I was 12 before I was allowed to carry the shotgun loaded and during those two years I was scolded several times for mishandling the gun but they were all good lessons, I will never forget the good times we had, he passed when I was 16. Next to my Dad he was the best hunter I ever knew.

[millertyme]

Well, never had to wait for a gun I wanted.

First time shooting with grandpa and dad while relaxing in the cool pines of northern AZ when I was four years old. Dad brought out a Sears .22LR with a Tasco 4x scope and grandpa grabbed his RG66. I spent the better part of an afternoon trying to shoot the tops off the wild daisies around the cabin and hit myself in the eye with the scope for the one and only time in my life. Lesson learned, love for the outdoors and firearms garnered.

[FourTeeFive]

Grew up in a no-gun household. Bought a Weihrauch HW 70 air pistol when I was 17, followed by a Ruger 10/22 when I was 18. Then a Smith & Wesson Model 39 9mm when I was 21.

Funny, my dad did a little hunting before I was born but we just never had any guns in the house.

[TCU]

my buddy's dad let us shoot the 2 bb guns when we were about 10. That was great. I used to go there after school just for the chance that his dad might let us run wild with them. Well i finally got one for my birthday, and it was better than his, plus it was scoped. We even set up a target in the garage that i could shoot at. They didnt like me shooting much anymore when i would go into the street or my neighbors house across the street to take some long shots haha.

[B33fC8k]

It was New Year's Eve of 1999 and my uncle got a PGO 12 gauge in case things went all Y2K. He stressed me learning how to shoot it (I was 12) in case I needed to defend the family. Haha it was a little paranoid but a cool memory.

[cavman]

Shot a .44 Magnum single action when I was eighteen with a couple of friends from Yarmouth at the gravel pit in Gray at an orange skeet placed in the wall. I got to shoot 12 shots from about a dozen paces away. Missed with all of them.

Not until 20 years later did I shoot again and as fate would have it, Bullseye.

(I should go back to that pit and try to hit that skeet again this Fall. I bet I do better :)

[Seanpcola]

My dad worked a LOT of hours when I was little. Adding to that was the fact that my mom decided to "Do her own thing" and left when I was 7. Dad won custody of me and did his absolute best to raise me well and give me the opportunity to experience everything life has to offer. (Pop is an amazing man, now in his 80's) He was always so busy with work and we lived in the suburbs so firearms were just not practical. He did buy me air rifles as a kid and later on, finally, when I was about 14 the company he worked for built a really sweet skeet range with three houses. Dad would take me out once a month or so and let me blast away at the clay. I had many good days with dad and that Remington 1100.:)

[hey_poolboy]

May earliest gun memory is of shooting with my Dad. We used to sit on the back porch and shoot tin cans off of the edge of the sandbox with his Ruger single six.

I had such fond memories of those times that I went out and bought a single six several years ago. Now I take my kids out to shoot with it when I get a chance.

[Strykervet]

Daisy red rider at 8, a real pellet rifle at 8.5 (when they realized the red rider wasn't accurate) and a shotgun at 9. A 12ga. Winchester (70?) single shot upland game gun. HARD recoil.

[Jurist]

Coney Island 1955 0r 56.The arcade shooting gallery,Winchester 62 22 gallery gun shooting real bullets at real flames on candles.Oh the sounds and smells.Where has the time gone ?.

[38sp4life]

My first gun experience. It was 1987. And I turned 18 years old. And I bought a High Standard 357 magnum with a 5 1/2 " barrel and 6 shots. The first time I pulled the trigger I was hooked on " hand cannons ".And now many years later I own a Ruger super blackhawk 44.And still love the kaboom.

[sansone]

childhood in suburbia meant only pellet guns. Quickly noticed the thrill of accurate shooting. My high School had a shooting team, which at only 30 miles from NYC is unheard of now. Trying out for the school rifle team was very important to me and my dad (army) and I expected to do poorly since experience had ONLY been with air-rifles. My dad new the "real" guns were intimidating me and kept reinforcing the idea that they were only louder. He was right.

[LibraPMC]

My dad worked a LOT of hours when I was little. Adding to that was the fact that my mom decided to "Do her own thing" and left when I was 7. Dad won custody of me and did his absolute best to raise me well and give me the opportunity to experience everything life has to offer. (Pop is an amazing man, now in his 80's) He was always so busy with work and we lived in the suburbs so firearms were just not practical. He did buy me air rifles as a kid and later on, finally, when I was about 14 the company he worked for built a really sweet skeet range with three houses. Dad would take me out once a month or so and let me blast away at the clay. I had many good days with dad and that Remington 1100.:)

That sounds like a fond memory. I wished my dad would take me for shooting since I was young. Instead my parents are antigun while I am pro gun so we have problems here:D

[AZ_Rebel]

When I was 12, my first "paying job" in Canada was to guard a large corn field against raidng flocks of red wing blackbirds. I was "issued" a Cooey .22 bolt action repeating rifle and a box of Canuck .22 Short ammunition. I slept with that rifle under my bed all summer:)
The year would have been 1956!

[243winxb]

When very young, uncle & dad let me shoot a 12ga double barrel. Told me to pull both triggers at the same time.:uhoh: Shot at a turkey vulture about 300 yards away. They thought it would sit me on my butt, well it didnt.:D But the recoil is something i won't forget now, even at age 66. :)

[Kliegl]

First I can remember is shooting styrofoam coffee cups off a fence post at the hunting camp deep in the Green Swamp of Pasco County, FL, which is now the Swift-Mud Green Swamp area (Southwest Florida Water Management District. SWFMD, swiftmud was the name it got.) The cabin is actually a Boy Scout Camp now, I should go back there.

Anyways, I'm dispatching these coffee cups with the BB gun, and to conclude the lesson, my old man puts a 2 liter of tap water up there, and gives it some love from his dad's Model 97, which he had just inherited since Granddad passed around then. Hydrostatic pressure impresses a 7 year old.

I might have shot stuff previous, can't recall. Shot 22s for a while, moved on to slaying Bambi with a 20 gauge when 9, went downhill from there.

[philpost]

My son, age 6, and his first experience shooting a Daisy BB gun in our backyard, yesterday. The cycle continues.

[Bravo Sierra]

My wife does not like guns much, but she was complaining about the squirrels eating the flowers and next years flower seeds.

So I got out the BB gun and permanently relocated a couple squirrels.

I just "happened" to leave the BB gun out in view of my daughters when I knew they would be out on the deck. My 8 year old had questions and wanted to use it, and so it was a good opportunity to have a talk about guns. We had that talk, and she still wanted to use it, so of course I helped her out. My 5 year old heard everything but was not interested in touching the gun. My wife was out on the deck too, adding correct bits of information to the gun safety conversation.

We however never resolved the question about what guns should be pointed at. According to my wife, it should never be pointed at those cute squirrels. I think they are just rats with bushy tails.

My daughters learned quite a bit about guns and gun safety, and I think the oldest one also learned not to talk with mom about guns. :evil:

[LongTimeGone]

It was a bolt .22 I was about 5. Dad, Grandpa and I put a lot of rounds thru it.
It was the only gun I shot until I was 16 and could drive a couple of miles to bird hunt so I had my Grandpa's model 12 Win. 16ga.
Kept that 'till the Navy. Gave it to my Uncle then.

[VT Deer Hunter]

My uncles .22 at the range. Had a great time and love guns!

[Tinstarfirearms]

The first time I can remember being trusted with a gun by myself was around 6 or 7 years old. We had a problem with moles in our yard and my dad was tired of trying to catch them with the traps. He had an RG .22lr and he put one round in it for me. I was told to shoot the mound of dirt if it moved. The mound never moved and I went and gave the gun back. Looking back, I am not sure if it was loaded after all. Might have been a test from dad. He is still alive and I have the gun now. Not worth $25 on the market but priceless to me.

Andrew

[valnar]

I ignored this thread for awhile and just now looked at it. I was still going to ignore it until I read the 1st post. Funny....a SIG P229 was my first gun too. I bought it without ever firing one, nor firing any other gun in my life. I researched handguns to death, found that a 9mm fit my application and then looked at the best reviewed offerings that fit that caliber. I came to the "knows-enough-to-be-dangerous" conclusion that I wanted a SIG P229. I bought it in the mid 90's.

Still have it, still shoot it, still love it.

[searcher451]

Ruger Bearcat: Bought it, took it down to the river bank, and learned what gun control was all about. As many others have said in this thead, I still have it and still enjoy shooting it, lo these many years later.