Significant Changes in Perspective?

My earliest shooting experience was with an uncle who loved to hunt chucks. Dad and I would go with him in the ’50’s. He was also a handloader. He also had a .22 High Standard Revolver, which I inherited.
Hunted grouse and rabbits with a Savage 311 SXS. Deer with a .308 Woodmaster carbine. Plinked with my grandfathers .22 WRF and my JC Higgins single shot 22.
Then I was bit with Bullseye shooting. That had to be a .22 S&W Mod 41 and a gold cup .45 acp.
Living in the big woods of the Adirondacks I had a cary gun for fishing and hunting a S&W .357 Mod 28 6”.
Then I upgraded the .22 to a 10-22. I have been reloading since 1968.
After retirement in my late 50’s I started in cowboy action and many guns were needed to shoot all side matches. 38-55 for long-range, 45 Colt for match guns pistol and rifle and the old savage for a shotgun. When wild bunch started I also picked up a Winchester ’97.
In retirement I also started 3 gun and have an AR, a few 1911’s my favorite .38 super.
Deer rifles now in my mid 70’s I use a .358 Win. Rem mod 7 with a custom 19” barrel, a 7m-08 model 7 and a 6mm model 7.
Still shoot many different .22 revolvers and pistols. A couple .35 Whelens which were supposed to be for a moose hunt I never went on.
There are a few 1100, 11-87’s Fox B in both 12 and 20. 30-06 as everyone had a Garrand for High Power competition and an M1 Carbine.
Still shot a sig with the light sigh in action pistol.

When I started collecting, I wanted one of everything that caught my eye. Instead of renting a gun i found interesting at a range, which wasn't an option for me, I bought one instead. This resulted in a large collection. I found myself with many guns that I rarely shot after the novelty wore off. Lately I've been trying to sell guns rather than buy more.

I rarely have the time to shoot at all anymore due to 6-7 day work weeks averaging 55-65 hours a week, and the long drive to the nearest range doesn't help.

I've come to the conclusion that I'd rather sell off a good amount of my collection to fund a down payment on a house on enough property to shoot, than own a safe full of guns I never get to shoot.

This is an interesting thread. My dad had guns in his younger days and grew up shooting. He sold most of them while he was in college but kept a couple of .22s. I must have been eight when he took me shooting the first time. I was smitten. I didn't get my own .22 until I was 12. We could never go shooting as much as I would have liked but we did spend a lot of time outdoors - camping, fishing, and hiking. When I was in high school and had my drivers license, my brother and I could go out by ourselves. It was fun to get outside.

After high school I went into the Marine Corps. One thing I found interesting was how few people there were really into guns and out of all the training time, how relatively little time was spent with firearms. Being one of the FNGs in the unit I was volunteered to go the armory and clean rifles when we switched over to the M-16A2. It was one of the best details ever. Somehow the guys that didn't like it got out of it and it left the rest of us there to talk about guns. To summarize my perspective/relationship with firearms up to this point, I'd say that they were always there, but just in the background, and usually what other people had provided for me.

Once "on my own" firearms started to move out of the background. I bought a single stage press and started loading my own ammunition. I slowly began to accumulate more. Mostly WWII rifles, but occasionally others. I joined a club and started participating in hunter sight ins and three gun competitions. I also got involved in the club's board and was elected to a position four times. I started shooting trap and loading shotshells. I began to hang out with shooters. My particular tastes or interests in shooting haven't drastically changed. I don't think I'll ever own more than a couple dozen guns. I've learned a lot about firearms and shooting and generally what works I've been telling myself that I don't want to buy any more guns, just spend more time with the ones I have. Guns and shooting has moved from being a passing hobby to a social event.

I converted from 1911s and Berettas to Glocks about a decade ago after being an avowed Glock hater for most of my adult life. I shot a Glock 21 and even though it felt like I was gripping a plastic cinder block and looking down the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, I couldn’t miss with it. I’ve sold off every 1911 I owned and only have one Beretta left.

Second major shift was recent. I’ve been an AR guy for a long time. Had no reason whatsoever to own a bolt action rifle, even for hunting. After my parents died, I got really sentimental. Started looking for rifles with soul. Picked up several bolt action rifles and now I’ve even moved to Ruger No. 1s. I still have plenty of ARs, but in a weird way I like feeling connected to the past by shooting older designs.

Began deer hunting in 1954. First buck was killed with a 12 gauge shotgun using a slug. Beginning in 1955 i hunted with rifles, mostly cheaper milsurps. Killed a few deer using 6.5 Italian military rifles. In 1965 i got stationed at NAVSCLEOD, Indian Head, MD. One day at work i wondered aloud where to hunt deer. Someone recommended i get permission of the USMC liaison officer to hunt his farm. Checked the zero of my single barrel Andrew Fyrberg shotgun and found it adequate to 40-50 yards.

As instructed, i was standing at a specific fence corner overlooking a cornfield when daylight came. Killed the largest buck i had seen to that time. Buck field dressed 241 pounds. The local sportsman shop gave two prizes every year, for largest antlers and heaviest body. i won them both: Gave one back so another guy could win something.

That morning i dragged another big buck across the frozen swamp for an old man hunting with a muzzleloader. He said i should hunt with a muzzleloader. Told him i don't have one. His answer: "I will give you one and teach you to shoot it." 'Uncle" Joe was a black powder gunsmith and renowned marksman who owned about 200 black powder long guns. He gave me a Hawken style gun in .50 caliber. Hunted in MD, WV and WV exclusively with that muzzleloader when i was not overseas. Stopped muzzleloader hunting in 1976.

Returned to muzzleloader hunting in 2000. Since then nearly all my deer hunting has been with a muzzleloader. In 2013 i began hunting with a conventional percussion muzzleloader after Fort Sill changed the rules for the first week of deer season. Muzzleloaders have made me a better hunter. The concept of ambushing or sneaking up and putting a round ball in heart-lung area of a deer or hog appeals to me.

Guns have been a major part of my life throughout my whole life since my first BB gun at 4 and my first 22 around 7 or 8. The gun world is huge with many sub-worlds that I got involved with such as various types of hunting, target shooting, competitions, SD training, etc. Thus I have had many changes of perspectives throughout my shooting experiences.

My latest and best change In perspective has to do with killing.

My Dad taught me to eat what I kill, with the exception of pests. I ignorantly learned from my Dad and older brother that the only good snake was a dead snake. As a teen I killed many birds to feed the Boa Constrictor in Biology class; harmless exotics were an exception to the dead snake rule in my book.


Boa Constrictor ^^^^

I became a hardcore competitive water skier in my late teens and throughout the next 15 years. All of our training and competition venues were on private lakes, which meant lots of snakes. It is a helpless feeling to be floating all alone, 50 feet from the boat and see a snake approaching you in the water. You scream to the driver to “hit it”even though there is too much slack in the rope. Thus, my mission was to eradicate snakes on these lakes. Same thing would go for beavers cutting off our water supply.

When I Leased a ranch I had a dog that loved to kill animals, so rabies was a big concern. I trapped and killed as many skunks, possum, and raccoons as possible. Of course coyotes were targets s well. There were tons of snakes near the house and sometimes inside. I was ignorant, not realizing their benefit to me and I killed them all. Because of this we had mice and rat problems going forward.

Me and a buddy became really good at hunting crows, killing dozens per outing. I hunted deer, dove, and quail throughout my life for food and sport as well.

At some point, I think about the time I dropped out of the workforce, I lost all desire for hunting as well as killing pests. This has been a good thread that has helped me look at my past killing of pests and analyze those experiences. I realized that I loved guns and shooting so much, that I would look for any excuse to shoot and hone my marksmanship. Sometimes they were very legitimate, some not.

Now I appreciate all types of wildlife and just want to appreciate them. When I walk my dogs throughout the neighborhood every morning during the cooler dark hours, we usually see critters that are considered to be predators or pests. We see either and or coyotes, fox, coon, skunk and possum. I find it quite exciting to witness and appreciate them. I carry a sjambok, a whip like stick and have a 380 in my pocket just in case, but have never needed to use them.



My girls taking a break from the heat, which is why we walk in dark hours now. Sjambok on the left with red handle. ^^^^

I don’t know if it is me getting mellow with age or I do a better job of feeding my shooting habit now, but I have no need or desire to kill animals anymore.

Reinz said:

I don’t know if it is me getting mellow with age or I do a better job of feeding my shooting habit now, but I have no need or desire to kill animals anymore.

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Sounds like to me you've aged (matured) to the point that you no longer have to prove yourself to yourself.

I don't have poisonous snakes in my yard, so I leave snakes alone or pick them up and throw them into the field across the fence. I still enjoy hunting, but I'm not pressed to fill my freezer so I can enjoy the hunt even without the kill. I really enjoyed turkey hunting years ago, but never killed one. In fact, 99%of my turkey hunting was calling them in for other people to shoot at. I can't imagine shooting one would have made it any more exciting.

I guess I should add the most significant change in perspective. It came when my dad passed away.

Dad was a collector of Mosin Nagants, and generally just enjoyed tinkering with old military rifles. He enjoyed Krag rifles the most. He had his little man-cave/office in his basement, where he had his gun safe, workbenches, and his desk. I'll never forget the day after he passed away in hospice, when I went over to his house and down to the basement. He had a Krag rifle taken apart on his workbench, which he had evidently been doing some sight work on. He had papers on his desk from working on bills just a week or so prior. And I saw all of his stuff -- reloading equipment, trophies from different shoots, memorabilia he had collected over his lifetime on shelves. Old books he had accumilated over his lifetime. And all at once, a feeling of emptiness swept over me. The man is now gone to stand before his creator and give an account for his life, and none of this stuff he left behind matters even in the slightest. And such will it be for all of us.

I was thankful that my dad had made deliberate efforts to liquidate his gun collection in the years leading up to his death. His interests turned soberly to making sure my mother was taken care of after he was gone, and that he didn't leave her a mess to work through. But I will always remember the chastening that took place in my heart that day in his basement. All of my earthly endeavors will one day come to a halt. None of my guns will mean anything to me in but a few short years when I leave this earth. They will all be like that Krag rifle on the workbench; incomplete projects that mean nothing.

Since then, it's been my desire to make sure that I don't fall into the trap of becoming the kind of man who lives his life with the unspoken, arrogant mentality that I am going to be around forever. I don't want to store up a bunch of guns, and spend all sorts of time and energy and thought caring for them. I want the guns I own to be owned for a purpose, and I want them to be kept in their rightful place. I don't want them to become the thing that my heart treasures.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-22

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life -- is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2:15-17

Reinz said:

My Dad taught me to eat what I kill, with the exception of pests. I ignorantly learned from my Dad and older brother that the only good snake was a dead snake. As a teen I killed many birds to feed the Boa Constrictor in Biology class; harmless exotics were an exception to the dead snake rule in my book.

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Perhaps you should go to the Florida Everglades and help with the invasive species killing everything in the 'glades, that being the Burmese python. IIRC, they have even put bounties on these destructive snakes.

JTHunter said:

Perhaps you should go to the Florida Everglades and help with the invasive species killing everything in the 'glades, that being the Burmese python. IIRC, they have even put bounties on these destructive snakes.

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Though I would not normally want to harm a constrictor like a Burmese Python, they are wiping out the fauna in the Everglades. Those snakes Are thriving and reproducing at an alarming rate. They definitely need to be removed for the sake of the ecosystem. Unfortunately I am disabled, too old and fat for such adventures now.

I guess I've gone through a couple of "turning points" in my life. The major one regarding hand-guns. As a young lad, Dad and Grandad always said that pistols "were only for killing men", and I believed that. And as such, I never owned one. Sure, we all hunted, fished, and trapped. I was using a firearm from the time I could hold it up and look down the barrel. But it wasn't until I got older, and began trading, that I traded into an old .22 Single Action. That old, worn-out gun introduced me to a world of fun popping cans, rocks, and the occasional critter. Ever since, I began a love affair with handguns, especially rim-fires. The .357/ 38 special and I also have had a long and somewhat tempestuous relationship, but I still think it's the best handgun for just about anything short of grizzly bears. And the best part, 38's are cheap and don't break your wrist in an all-afternoon shooting session. Still, anything over and above 44 Sp/ 45 LC is a turn-off to me. Let the young guys have the hard-kicking guns. About my favorite handgun caliber these days is the 22 magnum. It does everything I need a handgun to do with aplomb, and is relatively cheap to feed.

Another point occurred some years ago. I completely and totally lost interest in deer hunting. I had (and still have) no interest in taking up archery, I've killed deer with everything from .22 Hornets to 50 caliber muzzleloaders. Sadly it just got to where it was like going to the store. So I quit, and began pursuing squirrel and bird hunting a lot more, and feel better for it. Now, rather than freezing my @ss off alone in a tree, I freeze with friends while following a good dog. Naturally, I still shoot a deer or two per year. But, I usually accomplish that during our antlerless-only hunt in mid October. The deer come into my hay field daily, the ground is all ranged, and I can take the shot from the comfort of my patio. Drive down, tag it, and haul it to the local butcher. $80 later I have wrapped meat ready for the freezer; well worth it to me.

A final point I've noticed is, that I've come back to rimfire rifles. I now only have 3 heirloom centerfire rifles that I've kept; all the others have been sold or swapped off. I have 8 rimfires, and shoot them quite often, also from the comfort of my patio. I have a dedicated 40 yard rimfire range in the backyard, and have devoted most of my shooting time and money to accumulating ammo and accessories for them. But, I don't have a desire to compete in matches, etc. I've been there with skeet/trap. Just not interested anymore. And while I posses a very nice electric clay thrower, I only shoot with friends for fun now. There comes a time in a man's life when he realizes he's become greedy, and that isn't good. With age comes wisdom, and that's truly one of the saddest things in life.

Mac

JTHunter said:

MacAR - back when I did more hunting of upland game, I would frequently take my Ruger Single Six SA revolver along with my 12 gauge. There were a number of times when a squirrel got too close for the shottie (always on the ground) and I would try to get them with that .22 LR. I have also had rabbits hold tight under a bush with me only 8-10' away and I'd pop them in the head with that Ruger, then crawl under the bush to drag them out.
With all due respect to your Dad and Grandad, you can now see that pistols and revolvers DO have a use in hunting.
Then think about those "adrenaline junkies" who hunt with the likes of a 10mm, .45 LC, .44 Mag, etc. More power to 'em !

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Oh yes, I know very well! I now have a Ruger Single Six that I fully intend to take on my hunting jaunts and woods wanderings. Dad and Grandad weren't necessarily wrong, only misguided.

Mac

I grew up in a shooting family. Both of my grandfathers owned and enjoyed guns and hunting. My dads father was an avid quail and fox hunter. Quail hunting was very popular here in the 50s-70s.
My father began trapshooting and became obsessed with it.
When I was very young he would bring me a stack of 'used' white flyers to shoot with my bbgun.
I began shooting trap at a young age. My model 12 was equipped with two recoil reducers. We shot light loads to keep recoil to a minimum.
I didn't realize it at the time, but I was being informally coached, and influenced by some of the best shooters in the state. In our close circle of friends were four future Illinois ITA hall of famers and, two past Illinois clay target singles champions.
I learned little tricks and bits from each of them. Before I turned 18, I was holding the jr position on the all-state ATA trap team. I had a AA average from 16yds, and my handicap average was like .9422 or thereabouts (I don't recall exactly), but i do recall that it was #3 in Illinois and #19 in the USA.
We had a severe drought in 1983. It was financially devastating to my parents and the farm. We barely shot at all in1983.
Mrs and I got married in 1984. I shot a little here and there along the way. The kids came along. Work took priority. The farm grew fast. I nearly stopped shooting trap. The drought of '83 played a big role in that.
I have had a AA average for 38years. I hate to miss a 16yd target. I think I am a better shot now than I was then. However, my shooting friends were from my father's generation. Few of them are still shooting .
It's not the same. I nearly stopped shooting trap.

Two years ago my youngest son joined the h.s. trap team. My dad gave him his 4E ithaca. I became a trap coach.
As it often happens, I have gone full circle.

I view these changing perspectives in two ways; through the lense of my own changes in perspective over a lifetime of gun ownershoip and through my experience as a practicing psychologist (now retired). I've gone from a dirt poor kid who couldn't afford an extra bullet (let alone another gun) to a reasonably prosperous retiree who can afford most things I want. My joy in shooting sports and interest in gun acquisition has grown steadily all of my life. Now I'm selling guns and acquiring a few that will be my last hoorah. At age 74 I realize, sadly, that it won't last forever. What has never dimmed is my enthusiasm for firearm sports.

BCC1 said:

My perspective changed when I started shooting competition. Prior to that, I thought I was a pretty good shooter.

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This is a great one. Ive found the same thing. I consider myself a good shot on game, and there is certainly a difference between shooting doves and clays, but a 3D archery tourny or a sporting clays course will humble the average hunter.

My biggest change in perspective is the future of firearms and their accessibility. Growing up there was a positive stigma behind firearm ownership and just owning one did not alert others, or immediately make them suspicious of you. It was just normal. Ammo was always available, unless you had an oddball military caliber. But then even those could be mail-ordered thru Herter's. Penny a pop for .22 ammo that always went bang. Bought my first .22 from the local gas station when I was 12. Didn't need to show ID or tell them what platform it was for. Never once thought than anything I would ever want for legal and civilian use, would be restricted or banned. Hell, you could buy a deer rifle from the back of Dad's Field and Stream. Mailman brought it to the door. 1903s and 1917s in 55 gallon drums at Montgomery Ward, $49.

While, I'm happy to say, I live in a state/area, when gun ownership is still respected, it still is impacted by the same shortages as others when it comes to the volatility of the recent ammo market. Reloading components too. They are temporary scenarios. So far. They have been for the most part caused by us and panic buying and hoarding during perceived threats. Conspiracy being the most common adjective. Fear of not being able to get some in the future, made it so we couldn't get some now. Hunting firearms have changed dramatically in my lifetime. The idea of EDC/CWC for the general public has changed dramatically. Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground. Technology in firearm manufacturing, optics, Blued/Wood vs Stainless/Synthetic. A lot has changed. But how we walk in a store and buy a gun/ammo, has for me, changed the most.

I started hunting at 12 squirrels, rabbit and duck. That morphed into upland birds, dogs and SXS collecting.

As deer and turkey exploded and upland birds all but disappeared I changed again.

From 1982 -2003 the only handguns I owned were revolvers, .357, .41 and .44mag.

Now it’s about CC and plastic guns, deer hunting in my own woods and for fun a .45 Blackhawk convertible.

silicosys4 said:

When I started collecting, I wanted one of everything that caught my eye.

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I've said many times that a meaningful collection must have a theme. Obviously you can't collect everything. In my case, it didn't take me long to narrow my focus to U.S. military weapons, with occasional forays into other but somewhat related fields.

My other observation is that in a collection, condition is everything. This sets up a bit of a contradiction in that shooting guns inevitably worsens their condition. Carried to its logical conclusion, this means that in an ideal collection, all the guns should be unfired ("safe queens"). I wouldn't go so far as to say that.

New world order has evolved. Things are changing fast. Thinking of defense much more than ever. Typically 90% was just enjoyment of shooting and hunting. I have read many times about CCW insurance and just put it off. . Recent events have opened my eyes. Time to be Prepared for the worst.

I've changed personal perspectives in a few ways:
1. I've found practical utility in the ar-15 platform (not always been the biggest fan and still not the biggest fanboy but sometimes it's definitely the right answer, something I never would have admitted before lol),
2. I've gone completely bipolar on the .30s. I used to be the biggest .30 preacher anyone has ever heard! As I grew "up" and witnessed a .243 taking down 2 muleys running side by side(2nd cousin, 1 shot) and 7mms of all flavors with their performance I found myself yearning for a .264 wm(still don't have one yet), and finally as a total nerd looking up all I could find on many cartridges (and loading for many), I can say my only .30s (and shall stay so for the foreseeable future) have been greatly reduced to gramps's guns (.30-30, .30-40, .300 sav, .303) I'll concede that none of these have any practical reason for staying in my stable along with the 7.62x39 I'd like to have at some point (sks or mini) but otherwise I abhor the .30s and figure they could be written out completely a with little impact to either game taking or targets.
3. I've always truly disliked the .277s, the 6.8 drew a fleeting mild interest but it was short lived, I now have a .270wsm (Benelli r1, and truly I feel this is the ONLY way to build a .277 but I'd like a faster twist) and I believe that if ol Jack had what we have today, he'd likely tote something else.
4. I've never taken handguns seriously enough in the game fields but (largely due to the wonderful thr crew) am now much more serious about handgun hunting and thoroughly enjoy all that comes with it!

I grew up like most people here with BB guns then shotguns for Pheasant/Quail and .22 rifle for squirrel and targets. In my 40's I got the idea that I needed a "Hi-Power" rifle. So I looked at a few Remingtons and such but they were out of my limited budget. I happened to read in a Survivalist forum about these cheap Milsurp rifles called Mausers and Mosin Nagants.

So off to the local gun shop I went. After talking to the owner he suggested a 8mm Mauser. He unboxed 5 newly shipped in Yugo M48's and I got the nicest one of the bunch. $135. It was still covered in Cosmoline. "Give it a thorough cleaning," he said, "then bring it back and I'll check it over for headspace and safety." Several weeks later it checked out fine.

A month or so later I took it to a range to shoot. Set a target at 25 yards and loaded and pulled the trigger, jerked the trigger really as I was nervous. A complete and total Ah Ha moment. The report and kick and the blinding speed at which a cloud of dirt kicked up at the 100 yard berm brought instant realization that these were made to kill or the very least put someone out of action. Complete respect for all Milsurps and the ones who fought. I'll never forget that first shot and I still love researching all aspects of various old war horses.

I used to hate the AR15/M16. Now I actually kind of like them (as long as they're not TOO tacticool!). I even own one! Same with the Glock. Now I finally bought a Polymer 80 receiver and other parts to make a non-Glock. I still don't want an actual Glock... that stupid little cut on the bottom of the triggerguard chews my finger up. But the Poly 80 has a better shape and just looks a lot better overall. I don't think I'll ever really latch onto it, though.

Otherwise, I'm still the same old fashioned stick in the mud I always was.

Perspectives change.... I started out with a rimfire rifle and a deer hunting centerfire rifle...... I was content until I wanted some home defense options. Did that. I have always liked 22LR shooting whether it be at a range or plinking where ever. As I got older, my interest in 22's increased and interest in other calibers decreased. When I shoot centerfire handgun.... I enjoy it, but what I see are the dollars quickly departing my wallet to replenish my stash. So, back during the Obama shortage, I changed and did far less shooting. I stopped hunting due to a meat allergy. I miss it, but I won't bring myself back to hunting other than with a camera. I had a hell of a rimfire stash developed and it mostly remains with decreased shooting.... times change.

I have the personal defense side of things covered too.