First shot - How old were you and what was it

17, USN bootcamp.

I believe it was my older brothers Marlin 60.
Probably 8 or 9 years old

When I was 5 I had a Daisy lever action BB gun. My Dad removed the tube but I figured out how to shoot mud clods from it. Take dirt, add water, make clay-like mud, cock it, stick barrel into mud about an inch, aim at garage door, fire! We must have shot 50 mud clods at the white garage door. Luckily, I didn’t get a crack per mud clods with the paddle. Boy, was my butt sore.

When I was 7 my Dad took me with him and his buddies to sight in their deer rifles on a country road in Pennsylvania. I pestered him to let me shoot. My old man thought it would be funny to let me shoot a 12 gauge SxS shotgun.
I could barely hold the thing up. He gave me instructions on how to aim and Fire and he gave me a strict instruction not to let it fall and hit the ground. I pulled the trigger, saw stars, and landed on my butt, but I didn’t drop it. My Dad and his buddies got a kick out of that.
His friend Virgil let me shoot a bolt action rifle with a scope. I have no idea what round it fired but it sure didn’t kick like that double barrel. I actually hit just above the target they had nailed to a tree at about a hundred or so yards.
We went home to a roast beef dinner with homemade bread. It was a very good day.

I have been hooked on guns ever since.

I was about ten, Dad’s Marlin 39 Golden Mountie.

The first centerfire was an old single shot .410 on my Grandfather’s ranch. I used that same gun to kill my first mourning doves later that summer.

Stay safe.

I was probably 8 or 9 maybe, with my grandfather. Model 67 Winchester I shot a groundhog. I can't remember if he had me shoot it at any kind of can or target before going after the groundhog. If he did I don't remember that part. I had shot BB and pellet guns before that though so I was already familiar with how to aim.

5, Ruger MkI. Dad was holding it up.

About 8, my dad's spanish made double barrel 10 gauge, dad had to hold the barrel up and it knocked me on my butt. Still have the gun.

I was ten years old, and it was my Dad's Remington Nylon 66. I've owned a .22LR pretty much my whole adult life, and I plan to add one of those to my collection at some point.

It was my brother's Mauser HSc .380, the version imported by Interarms. Don't remember how old I was at the time but I think I was in my late teens. Shot it down in the basement while our folks were out of town.

Man those FMJ rounds went through 3 good size phone books, some pieces of cardboard, and the wood crate that was holding our crude backstop and were embedded in the bathroom wall under the sink! We spent the rest of our time digging those rounds out and patching up the holes!

I was almost 4. It was my older brother's single shot Glenfield Model 10 22LR which he had just received for Christmas. I still own that little rifle.

8 years old, single shot .410, rabbit hunting with my father, uncle and cousin. First handgun was a .38 Special at an indoor range, I was about 14 years old. Very addicting. Hooked for life!

Four years old, 16ga single shot that one of my older brothers helped me hold up.
Started my son at four with my Remington 870 16ga that I helped him hold up.

About 1960 at age 8, Winchester model 61 .22 pump. Still have the gun. My dad hunted and I was taught guns were not toys at an early age. The shooting sports have been very addictive. Shot USPSA matches for about a decade. Went shooting today with my preacher and we shot about 300 rounds of 9mm and .40S&W. I deer hunt occasionally, but love to shoot just about any shooting sport. I couldn't imagine living in a country where you couldn't own and shoot guns. And I hope they there are enough Patriots in this country that we never find out!!

I want to say I was about 2. I remember my dad holding me up, as well as the gun. The gun was an M1 Carbine.

Wyman

I was 8 and my papaw had just given me a 410 for Christmas. I still have the gun and the memories of blasting that little single shot at a beer box until there weren’t any shells left

S&W model 39..I was 27, 1978. First USN squadron had a box of these acquired for a combat, VietNam cruise in 1968..hauled them around for 10 years and CO said, let's distribute these to the most senior 32 aircrew, plus ordnance officer and warrant officer. I was number 32...About a year later, BUWEPS found out, wanted them back, had to give it back. Shot it a couple of times.
Next was a CharterArms 38 snub nose for a 'combat' cruise north of the Libyan Gulf of Sidra in 1986. CAG(airwing Commander) allowed aircrew to buy and carry their own guns for any potential operations 'over the beach'..(there were none). NO USN supplied handguns since this really wasn't a 'war zone', no 'green ink'(USN aviators would know what that means). Bought it in Norfolk..walked in, looked at it, showed my military ID card, walked out with it.

Also bought a 12G shotgun for wife while I was deployed. $125 from the guy across the street. Still didn't have gun fever tho until oldest son became part of code enforcement in Denver in 2017 and bought his first Glock, since he had to go to really crappy areas with minors to buy tobacco. He took me to an uncontrolled range down by Deckers(Harris Shooting Park)..and the rest is history..got gun fever..still have it.

I dont remember how old I was, but i got a Daisy spittin' image bb gun for Christmas. I do remember that I wasn't able to cock it. I soon developed an awkward method where I hooked the stock behind my knee......yeah.
I dont remember my first shots with a .22 as dad was a shooter/hunter/plinker/usmc rifleman.
Dads friend ran the lgs. One summer day dad came home with a little LC Smith 20ga sxs. He sat a tin can in the driveway, i shot it. The next morning at daylight we went squirrel hunting.
I've been ruined ever since. I still have the LC.

First shot???
I was very young...probably 5-6 years old.
Shot my father's bolt action .22LR. Still have the rifle sixty some years later.
Also shot his H&R .22LR revolver. My mother gave it away when he died in1968 along with most of the rest of his firearms.
All I was able to keep was an single shot 20ga shotgun and an Ithaca M37 16ga shotgun.
Still have the 20ga. The Ithaca was supposedly stolen from my older brother's house back in the '70s...not so sure that he didn't sell it. He passed away in 2006.

FFGColorado said:

S&W model 39..I was 27, 1978. First USN squadron had a box of these acquired for a combat, VietNam cruise in 1968..hauled them around for 10 years and CO said, let's distribute these to the most senior 32 aircrew, plus ordnance officer and warrant officer. I was number 32...About a year later, BUWEPS found out, wanted them back, had to give it back. Shot it a couple of times.
Next was a CharterArms 38 snub nose for a 'combat' cruise north of the Libyan Gulf of Sidra in 1986. CAG(airwing Commander) allowed aircrew to buy and carry their own guns for any potential operations 'over the beach'..(there were none). NO USN supplied handguns since this really wasn't a 'war zone', no 'green ink'(USN aviators would know what that means). Bought it in Norfolk..walked in, looked at it, showed my military ID card, walked out with it.

Also bought a 12G shotgun for wife while I was deployed. $125 from the guy across the street. Still didn't have gun fever tho until oldest son became part of code enforcement in Denver in 2017 and bought his first Glock, since he had to go to really crappy areas with minors to buy tobacco. He took me to an uncontrolled range down by Deckers(Harris Shooting Park)..and the rest is history..got gun fever..still have it.

Click to expand...

You got all the way through Annapolis or NROTC without firing a shot? (A mustang certainly would have shot at Basic... Or if enlisted aircrew, would have shot in Basic.)

Now if you were Air Force, then I'd believe you'd have never fired a shot up to that point.......

entropy said:

You got all the way through Annapolis or NROTC without firing a shot? (A mustang certainly would have shot at Basic... Or if enlisted aircrew, would have shot in Basic.)

Now if you were Air Force, then I'd believe you'd have never fired a shot up to that point.......

Click to expand...

NROTC and even on 2nd class cruise, with Spec warfare types in Coronado..didn't. I had a USAF exchange gig 1978-1980 and got to qual with handgun for their little geedunk ribbon..50 rounds of 38special outta a really tired S&W model 10(I think)..but no mention of trying that in USN squadrons..I think if the Gunner had set it up, we could have done it. Should've have thought of it when I was sitting in the 'big chair' in 1990-1992(VF-126)..

Yup, air force, flare to land, squat to pee...

FFGColorado said:

Yup, air force, flare to land, squat to pee...

Click to expand...

I was 10 I believe. My best friends dad let me shoot some cans with his old bolt action .22. No idea what make/model it is, but I still remember having a great time. He had no idea what he started! 20+ years later, him, his son and I still regularly hunt together!

If pellet guns don't count, I fired my first shot in October 1979, while doing my conscript service at the ripe age of 19. Valmet RK62.

Daisy/Crossman at 6 or 7.
Garand at 10-11
1911A1 at 12-13
Sheridan at 16, Gamo at 17.