How old were you when you got your first gun?

[Hardtarget]

Dad gave me the first gun. A Savage, mod 24, .22/410. I still have it and hunt with it. I've killed a lot of tin cans with it too. I love to stand around and plink cans and "stuff" with .22 single shots!

The first gun I bought was a Colt, Diamondback, 4", .38 special. Still have it as well.

Mark

 

[Zardaia]

My own BB gun as long as I can remember. Dad's gun closet was locked but "open" for the asking. Bought, as in handed money to parent they handed it to clerk, my first gun I kept at about 12, 12g single shot break action.

 

[chicharrones]

I was allowed to fire my dad's and grandpa's firearms as young as 7, and got cut loose with a shotgun around age 12 or so for hunting.

However, I didn't purchase my own firearm until age 28. An SKS in 1993. I had no clue what it was, but it was affordable. I still have it.

 

[cheesebigot]

I shot a lot as a kid with the rifles my father and grandfathers owned, but never owned one myself until my father handed me a Beretta 1934 for my 23rd birthday. It's pitted, has missing grip screws and isn't the prettiest, but it'll never leave my side so long as my son is below an appropriate age (at which point it becomes his).

 

[r1derbike]

Charter Arms .38 special snubbie, ripe old age of 12. Yeah, a great first gun, but why muck about with a .22?

That came later, after I quit trying to cut down forest saplings with the snubbie. I did have to put-down a kitten with tetanus with it. I'll never forget that, and only found solace after realizing I had ended its suffering. I found the sick animal on my parents property, so it was up to me to end its suffering. A heady lesson learned at a young age. It tested positive, and I'm glad I never touched it. I showed it to my folks.

Life's lessons back then came at an early age. There was no molly-coddling. Only the real world with its perils and truths.

 

[BigBore44]

My first gun that was actually mine I got when I was 17. A Winchester Model 70 Classic Sporter LT in 30-06. But I had free access to firearms my whole life. Shot my first pistol, a S&W 66 in 357 magnum, at age 6. My first big bore gun, a SBH in 44 magnum at age 10. I will never forget either of those days as long as I live.

 

[garyhan]

My first firearm was a Savage 24 .22/410, which I still use. I notice I'm not the only one. I had a Crosman model 400 repeater .22 air gun at 8, which I also still have.

gary

 

[bracer]

My Dad gave me a Rem 121 22 RF the spring of 1949 and I purchased a Win Mdl 70 270 in 1952. I had a BB gun and then used dads 22 RF and 12 Ga shotgun at age 12 before getting the 22 RF at age 13. There were plenty of birds , cottontail rabbits,jackrabbits, and prairie dogs out in the country where I grew up. I shot a bunch of ducks the fall of 1948 with dads single shot 12 Ga. Back then shot a lot of prairie dogs with the Rem 22 RF rifle. Now most all my shooting is at prairie dogs with rimfire and centerfire rifles.

 

[FROGO207]

The Red Rider at 7 and when I proved I could handle a firearm safely a single shot Savage .22 at 8. It is all about how responsible a person is and the in charge adults take on this aspect. There are some people I know that own firearms, even one that is a senior citizen that I would never shoot around for fear of my life. I just know I will see a news article in the future about some of them but as of now they can legally own the said firearm so nothing I can do other than keep my distance. I bet many of you do also.

 

[yzguy87]

I liked military stuff my whole life. I was fascinated with tanks, big planes, guns and everything else. Mom didn't want me to have a gun when I was little. My very first firearm was a CVA Staghorn Magnum. I was about 13 or 14 when I got it. Then when I turned 20 in october I bought a Remington 597 bc I like to hunt squirell. The following February I bought a Yugo SKS and a month later my first ar, a DPMS Lo Pro Classic! And that was just the beginning!

 

[Deltaboy1984]

BB gun at 5, Single shot M-66 super single 410 by Ithaca when I was 7 and I started shooting a 22 at age 12.

 

[7.62 Solution]

Remember it well, my dad was not much for shooting or hunting (said WW2 was enough for him) but he appreciated my interest. One of his coworkers was an avid shooter, machinist and collector. About once a year we would go to this man's house and look at his collection and pick up a box of old American Rifleman magazines that I would devour cover to cover.

When I turned 13 we did our annual visit. The next morning I woke up to see a well used but solid Ranger .22 bolt action rifle on the nightstand. My dad was not one for surprises and this was a real nice one. He and the rifle are both long gone but the memory is still strong.

 

[dagger dog]

10 yrs. old , father had total control until I bought my first gun at 14, then it was added to my gun rack.

 

[mgmorden]

I was 8. Got a NEF Pardner 20ga shotgun for Christmas. Got my first deer with that gun when I was 9 the following deer season.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

lookin like 10 11 and 12 are winning

 

[huntsman]

I grew up with guns, started shooting at 9 or 10 but I voted 12 because that's when I started hunting and toting a gun on my own.

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

I'm guessing I'm one of the few here that didn't grow up with guns in the house. I was 43 when I bought my first, although I used them in the military. Not so for my kids though. My oldest got his first .22 at 14, a Savage Mark 2. My second got his at 12, a Henry lever .22. My oldest daughter got a Crickett .22 at 10. My youngest son got his Crickett .22 at seven years old. My 5 year old daughter will get the older girls Crickett soon, and the older will get another .22 that she will pick out. All the guns get locked up in the safe, they come out when we take a range trip only.

In the same boat, Grew up in mass, no guns out there! Got into shooting on my own, Now I couldnt stop if I wanted to.

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

Great thread

This is a great thread! It's so nastolgic, and I'm sure a lot of you guys wrote some of these posts with obvious smiles on your face. It seems a good bunch of the folks on this forum are a litle older. Middle aged if you will. Its so interesting to me to see the acceptance and willingness that came with firearms 30-40 years ago... Today, If you have a kid a gun at age 12 that he could take out freely... You'd be thought of as a criminal by some. I guess that way of life is dying, and thats sad. I hope to someday get a bit piece of land out here so that my kids can shoot unhassled. (heh, me too) But im glad to see that some of you folks got to experience that lifestlye. Consider yourselves lucky

 

[GBExpat]

I have been shooting since I was 6-7 years old (I am not counting the de rigueur BB gun).

Mom & Dad gave me my first gun (Sears & Roebuck semi-auto .22RF rifle) for Christmas prior to my 12th birthday.

Yes, I still have it and use it periodically.

 

[CApighunter]

I bought my first gun, a Remington 870 in December of 2011, I was 16. I don't come from a shooting family, but my parents rule is that I could buy one when I was 16. The day after my 16th birthday, I walked into Big 5 with my dad and plunked down the cash. About two weeks later I bought a Remington 700 in .30-06.
CApighunter

 

[444]

9 years old: Ruger Standard Model .22 autoloading pistol.

My dad wasn't into guns, although there were guns around the house. Family heirlooms. However, I got a gun magazine at a young age and was totally hooked. I had an uncle who WAS into guns in a big way. So, my dad, my uncle, and me went to a gunshow. My dad bought me the .22 pistol and then bought me two cases of .22 ammo from my uncle. No, I wasn't allowed to shoot it by myself, but I was allowed to keep it in my top dresser drawer. Needless to say that I snuk it out of the house almost every day and shot it for years. At some point in high school I just quit sneaking it and nothing was said. I never did get formal permission to shoot by myself. I started buying guns myself as soon as I got my first part time job. I remember buying a Ruger Old Army when I was 18 because I could legally buy a blackpowder handgun at that age. I bought my first handgun (a Raven .25 ACP) on my 21st birthday to celebrate the fact that I could now buy handguns at a store. By the time I moved out on my own I probably owned 30 guns. I was also reloading before I ever moved out of my parents house, but I was out of high school when I started reloading.

 

[Hypnogator]

Remington Nylon 66 when I was 10. Still my favorite .22 rifle!

 

[Archaic]

A savage Model 24 .22/20G when I was 12, followed by a Spanish Mauser 7MM when I was 13. Still hunting and shooting both today. My boys will get them in a few years. My boys are 12 and 9, I got them a Rossi combo (.22, 20G) last year.

 

[EddieG54]

About a month before deer season in 1968 my dad gave me and my brother two Winchester Model 94's in 30-30. Talk about a happy 14 year old. Best I can remember I did not kill a deer until about 5 years later. No matter, I still have the 30-30.

 

[OptimusPrime]

Christmas when I was 12. Mossberg 20 pump. Next morning, walked out and killed a pigeon off the stone silo with the first shot. I should have retired right then with a perfect record, but I went on to miss many more birds, deer, stray cats, groundhogs, and pheasants since.