Did you play with your folks guns?

[JohnBT]

My father had guns in the closet and I never touched them without permission. My grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles had guns in the closet or behind the kitchen door and I never touched them without permission.

Heck, I barely touched the BB gun my grandparents gave me when I was 5 or, later, my Marlin Mountie, Savage 24 or Fox Model B. Okay, they were in my closet and I could touch them, but, you know, when something isn't forbidden it isn't a big deal. OTOH, I was allowed to shoot the BB gun in the basement.

And to this day I don't wear my guns out playing with them.

John

 

[hso]

BBQJ,

I never did, but then my Dad never made it a mystery and as soon as I expressed an interest he took me out back to shoot the .38 revolver.

If you want any real idea you may want to post a poll so that folks can have some anonymity.

 

[bigolddeerhunter]

We had guns in the house. I knew where they were but never messed with them. My father was an old master sarg. from the army...my Arse would have been grass, and he would have been the lawnmower.

 

[helpless]

My dad was into guns when I was young, He hunted and was and still is LE. We shot a lot and the guns where always around, hidden very well and I was instructed not to ever show my friends or I would never be allowed to go shooting with him ever again.

So I was able to shoot the guns and never had that curiosity so I never had any thing happen except good safe shooting with pops.

Not until I got older with my own firearms did I have my first ND. I have a thread here about it I believe.

I think the best bet is to not to make firearms a mystery to your kids. Worked for me until I became a dumb grown up.

 

[Legionnaire]

Nope. My Dad didn't own guns. I didn't really start shooting until I was in college.

My own guns are locked up tight, and the kids can't access them. But they are allowed to see them with my supervision, and they have all been shooting multiple times. They can all quote the four rules, and demonstrate regularly that they know how to handle guns safely. I trust them. I don't trust their friends. So they stay locked up. But my involving my kids in my hobby has helped them lose any uncontrollable curiosity they might have had. To them, guns are tools, and not a mystery.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

Me and a pal found my Dad's nickel plated junker .38 while playing in the basement. We were 4 years old. It was 'hidden', luckily unloaded, and my Mother still is a gun hater to this day. Without ammo it was a paper weight, but the fact that it was 'hidden' from my Mother's knowledge illustrates a point; guns kept secret from family are potentially a serious security issue.

My kids are being raised in a firearm saturated environment. There are some cased long guns on my bedroom floor right now and my four year old was whining "Dad--will you put these things away--I keep tripping over them!" (gets in bed with Mom a lot).

But there won't ever be a desire to sneak about with weapons away from my sight. Any firearm can be inspected and even handled by the kids as long as they ask and me (or Mom/Grandpa/etc) and the adult is physically touching the weapon while it is being handled/inspected by the child.

I just get filled with rage when (the anti's especially) speak of keeping guns 'stored out of kids sight'---as if they were some bizarre and shameful family secret. That attitude just ASKS for disaster.

The big reward is for the grownup--nothing beats having your kid ask you to show her something that is of great interest to you!

 

[Father Knows Best]

I just get filled with rage when (the anti's especially) speak of keeping guns 'stored out of kids sight'---as if they were some bizarre and shameful family secret. That attitude just ASKS for disaster.

+1. I grew up surrounded by guns, because my dad was a collector. I learned to shoot not long after I learned to talk. I occasionally handled and fiddled with dad's guns when he wasn't around, but I never dreamed of taking them out of the house or actually shooting them without him being present. Of course, I knew that whenever I got the urge to shoot one, all I had to do was ask and he would take me to the range.

My kids are being raised the same way. My oldest son (now 7) got his first gun for his 6th birthday -- a single shot .22 rifle.

 

[RH822]

Yes, years ago when our Dad was at work we (my brother and I) would grab his Sako Finnbear .270 and go out a second story window on to the porch roof and on up the the high roof and shoot groundhogs out in the fields that surrounded our house. When we seen dust coming down the road we knew it was time to put the rifle back. We would buy a box of ammo so we did not need to explain where his had went. I think he knew what we were doing, but he also knew, that we knew what we were doing. So he never said anything.

RH

 

[BBQJOE]

If you want any real idea you may want to post a poll so that folks can have some anonymity.

Thanks for the idea but I don't see the need.
If people want to share their little secrets and stories that's cool.
If they have always been well behaved that's cool too.

But I know I can't be the only one here who screwed around with firearms when they weren't supposed to.

Anyone want to know about the 12 ga. I made?

 

[Creature]

Once I snuck into my dad's closet and retrieved his shotgun on a new years eve when my parents were out. I was a dumb teenager and wanted to ring in the new year with some noise. So I blasted a load of bird shot straight upwards...and heard the sound of pellets hitting the electrical lines overhead that came into the house!

Woopsy daisy,...plumb forgot about those!

 

[teknoid]

My brother (6 yrs older than me) and I knew where the .22 Stevens was kept, and the ammo. We killed a lot of time in target practice. Inside the house probably wasn't a good idea, but we lived in the city. It took them years to discover the books we used for a backstop.

 

[thegriz]

My dad never locked his guns up. Heck, I had my own 22 bolt action. Yes, I played with the guns when left alone sometimes. I always checked twice for ammo and used plenty of caution. His guns included a 44 magnum revolver, a 22 revolver, a 30-06, a 12 gauge pump, a 22-250, a few lever action rifles in various calibers, and an old POS revolver of unknown (to me) caliber.

Sad part is he got in a financial pinch when I was 17 and sold them all.

My dad let me go shooting by myself in the woods when was I was about 10 on a regular basis. He taught me the safety rules and expected me to follow them.

I would never give my kids that much freedom. They are too absent minded. I almost can't believe I never had any problems. My boys shoot a lot but there's no way I'm allowing access to guns when I'm not supervising.

 

[flynlr]

my old man has internet access.
\

so I plead the fifth.

 

[lamazza]

Of course, me and brother were taught at a very young age about guns. We went shooting alot and knew what they were capable of. They were always available to us if we wanted to use them.
Tell a kid that he can't have something and guess what...
The key is to teach them.

 

[308win]

My dad, uncles, and grandpa all taught me and my cousins from the get go that guns weren't toys. The message must have took. On the other hand, one of my cousins did decide it would be educational to see what would happen to a 22 hit with a hammer - he got a trip to the emergency room to have a 22 taken from under the skin above his eye. He wasn't the brightest of us.

 

[ralphie98]

my old man has internet access.
\

so I plead the fifth.

Mine too.... but he doesn't know about this site

Unlike most on this site, I did manage to do stupid things with dad's guns when I was a little one. When I was probably about 11, while home during the summer, and friend and I stumbled across a couple of dad's guns. One was a snub nose 686 if my memory serves me, and the other was a crusty old crossman pellet gun that didn't work. We used to have "shootouts" in the house. Luckily, no ammo was to be found, and we wouldn't have used it anyway. We were young, but not that stupid. Luckily dad never found out. He doesn't have that 686 anymore (he has one, just not THAT one) and I managed to destroy the crossman with my curiosity (took it apart, couldn't get it back together). I cringe thinking of all the rules we broke but luckily nobody got hurt.

 

[pdowg881]

As a little kid, I new where the guns were(In the attic next to stairs) and the ammo (workbench shelf). Both easy access places where I could've gotton to them. But I was told not to touch them so I never did. They were eventually sold without ever seeing them up close, and I had to get into shooting by myself. Thinking about it now I'm suprised that they said "don't touch" one time and I didn't have the slightest fascination with them, but I'd go crazy for toy guns and cap guns.

 

[2TransAms]

My dad had a .32 revolver that he kept on top of the living room bookcase. He told me not to touch it,EVER,and I knew he meant business. Not that I could have shot anything...he didn't have any ammo,just the gun.

But I did tell my friend about it and we about had a knock-down drag-out fight. We were eleven or twelve and he wanted to see it and tried to get it,and I stopped him only because I knew if my dad suspected that we messed with it I'd have a sore butt for days if not weeks.

 

[target1911]

Guns were always in the house, usually in plain view. the temptation was taken away early. I never played with them or gave them a second thought.
I was very scared of my dads rath...
but what hurt the most was when I would dissapoint my mom...I hated that look in her eyes.
Her dad was a Royal Rangers Leader since long before I wa ever around. He did a very good job of teaching me Gun/Knife safety.
Oh yeah...I never liked that look from him either.

 

[doubleg]

When I was young I would sometimes find and admire my paps and uncle guns. They were alright with it though, my curiosity for firearms didn't start until I was 12. At my older sister's house her boyfriend had a Mossberg he used to keep under the bed. I would mess around with it, even sometimes cycle ammunition through it. But I was mature enough to keep it from going off.

 

[MT GUNNY]

Once my parents split up I was shooting that 357 ruger secrity six every time
I had rounds and time, P off the neibors a couple times, they called the law one time and the officer walked up behind us in the feild and pointed out a goffer we over looked and he shot at it. Then said we had to call it a day.

 

[iiibdsiil]

My mom's boyfriend had a 22 revolver that was kept at the house under the bed. He told me that it would only shoot out of one of the 6 or 7 or whatever chambers(?). I played with it a couple times, but there was no ammo around.

My sister used to hang out with the wrong group of people. We had a few stolen guns at the house once. A 12 gauge, not sure of the brand, a .25, and I think a .22. Real good, considering she was under 18 at the time. I used to go into the closet, and cycle the shotgun to see the shells pop out the side. Played with the .25 a bit too. Same deal, rack the slide, round comes out, reload. I was 10 or 11 at the time. Never dreamt of shooting them because I figured her friends would kill me for messing with their stuff. The .25 was in a holster, and they said it was "buried next to a dead iguana." Gun looked fine, but the smell that thing had, I believe it was next to a dead iguana.

 

[Regolith]

I never really "played" with them. Even when i was very young, all i would do is pick one up and shoulder it, always pointed in a safe direction. Never shot them off without permission.

BB guns on the other hand....lets just say I did some stupid things with them. For some reason, its easier to think of a BB gun as a toy, when that can be not be further from the truth. I was just lucky to never be seriously injured the (most serious wound I suffered was broken skin).

 

[Hunter0924]

I grew up around firearms and they were loaded. Primarily a Winchester 1897 12ga, a M1 Garand, and a Colt 1918 1911. I knew where they were but I dared not touch them.
My father told me anytime I wanted to see his guns and shoot them all I had to do was ask. When I did he always took me first chance he had. His logic with that standing rule was I had excuse to handle his guns with him not present, and it worked. I knew if I ever violated that trust my shooting days would be over (maybe days all together).

 

[BADUNAME13]

My Dad told me:

If you want to see them just ask me and I will stop what I am doing and let you see them.

BUT, if I EVER catch you playing with them I'll wear my belt out on your butt.

I remember those words to this day... and NEVER touched them without him.
(I DID make him stop what he was doing alot though!)