How was everyone here brought into this sport (or family of sports)? Through family? Friends? Walmart?
I imagine for most people it was family, but it wasn't for me.
My family is fairly indifferent to guns. Not outright against them, but not doing anything for them either. Being in NYC, gun ownership was not a big enough priority to bother with.
Around the neighborhood, my friends and I played "guns" where we ran around pretending to shoot each other with anything that remotely looked like a gun. (although none of us actually ever saw a gun except for a revolutionary war musket or something). A solid diet of Arnold Shwarzenegger movies and a lot of manhunt and "guns" left me enthralled with the concept of guns, although wanting in ownership.
It wasn't until 4 or so years ago (I was already a couch commando by then, if not a chairborn ranger) that I picked up a .30-06 from a Walmart in Florida (I was working at a zoo down there for the summer). Mind you, my only experience with "real guns" was in the movies. The .30-06 cartridge looked tiny, as it still can today, when compared to the monstrous things you see on the big screen. (guess i neglected to account for scale
)
So anyway, according to me, a .30-06 wasnt that big. After buying a remington model 700 adl and some ammo (at the same time, no less) I showed it to one of my co-workers who was, and still is, the most knowledgable person regarding firearms I know, and he took me out "shooting". I had been talking big all week about how managable a .30-06 was, so when I asked him if I needed ear protection, he said "Naw, that theres just a plinkin' cartridge" or something to that effect.
At 75 yards I drew a bead on the plastic Poland Spring bottle I wanted to rub out of existence, steadied myself and squeezed the trigger. KABOOM! My ears rang, my shoulder felt like it was broken, I damn near dropped the rifle, and almost passed out. I turned around and my friend was sitting there, laughing his a$$ off at me, with his fingers stuck firmly in his ears. I stumbled over to the truck, put the rifle on the bench and sat down next to it, after a few minutes the ringing in my ears went down enough so that I could hear him still laughing.
"That thirty aught ain't so small now, is it.."
I learned more about gun safety, respect for firearms, and NEED FOR EAR PROTECTION in those 5 minutes than I did in the hunters safety course I took a few months later.
After taking ample time to recover, we checked the bottle. I had oblitterated the cap (not where I was aiming, but I was so happy I hit it.) He offered me a set of ear plugs (which I still use) and proceded to teach me some of the proper ways to shoot while standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone. It took me a month to get rid of the flinch tho.
Since then, I've brought 3 friends from shooting indifferent families into the shooting sports (without the trial by fire that I got).
Any other experiences?
/Arcli9ht
I imagine for most people it was family, but it wasn't for me.
My family is fairly indifferent to guns. Not outright against them, but not doing anything for them either. Being in NYC, gun ownership was not a big enough priority to bother with.
Around the neighborhood, my friends and I played "guns" where we ran around pretending to shoot each other with anything that remotely looked like a gun. (although none of us actually ever saw a gun except for a revolutionary war musket or something). A solid diet of Arnold Shwarzenegger movies and a lot of manhunt and "guns" left me enthralled with the concept of guns, although wanting in ownership.
It wasn't until 4 or so years ago (I was already a couch commando by then, if not a chairborn ranger) that I picked up a .30-06 from a Walmart in Florida (I was working at a zoo down there for the summer). Mind you, my only experience with "real guns" was in the movies. The .30-06 cartridge looked tiny, as it still can today, when compared to the monstrous things you see on the big screen. (guess i neglected to account for scale
) So anyway, according to me, a .30-06 wasnt that big. After buying a remington model 700 adl and some ammo (at the same time, no less) I showed it to one of my co-workers who was, and still is, the most knowledgable person regarding firearms I know, and he took me out "shooting". I had been talking big all week about how managable a .30-06 was, so when I asked him if I needed ear protection, he said "Naw, that theres just a plinkin' cartridge" or something to that effect.
At 75 yards I drew a bead on the plastic Poland Spring bottle I wanted to rub out of existence, steadied myself and squeezed the trigger. KABOOM! My ears rang, my shoulder felt like it was broken, I damn near dropped the rifle, and almost passed out. I turned around and my friend was sitting there, laughing his a$$ off at me, with his fingers stuck firmly in his ears. I stumbled over to the truck, put the rifle on the bench and sat down next to it, after a few minutes the ringing in my ears went down enough so that I could hear him still laughing.
"That thirty aught ain't so small now, is it.."
I learned more about gun safety, respect for firearms, and NEED FOR EAR PROTECTION in those 5 minutes than I did in the hunters safety course I took a few months later.
After taking ample time to recover, we checked the bottle. I had oblitterated the cap (not where I was aiming, but I was so happy I hit it.) He offered me a set of ear plugs (which I still use) and proceded to teach me some of the proper ways to shoot while standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone. It took me a month to get rid of the flinch tho.
Since then, I've brought 3 friends from shooting indifferent families into the shooting sports (without the trial by fire that I got).
Any other experiences?
/Arcli9ht
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