How old were you when you first fired a firearm?

[JTHunter]

I was maybe 5 y.o. when my Dad taught me how to shoot a pump-action .22LR rifle. IIRC, it was an old "gallery gun" that he got in the late 50s. The next gun he taught me to use was his National Guard M-1 when I was 7. I didn't fire a shotgun until I was in my teens. That was a bolt-action .410.

 

[entropy]

5 years old. Ruger MkI in the basement into a bullet trap Dad made so he could shoot in the winter.

 

[tws3b2]

I really don't remember how old I was. Between 13 and 15 I think. I remember my dad going hunting but I don't remember any guns being in the house.
Sometimes I helped my dad at work. I made few $. I remember walking into Hipp's hardware and seeing a Stevens 410 on the rack. Guns were sold at many different kinds of stores at that time, even handguns. I don't think there was a such thing as a gun store then. Anyway, at Hipp"s, I had $7. $7 was a lot of money for a kid at that time. I think the 410 and a box of shells came to about $20. I put my $7 down as first payment on the 410 and a box of shells on layaway. I had no idea if or when or even how I would ever come up with the rest. After helping my dad at work for some weeks I remember we were on our way home from work. My dad asked me what I was going to do with my money. I didn't even know how much I was going to get yet. I told him that I would like to put it down on the 410. 410? I never told him I had the gun on layaway. We stopped at Hipp's hardware on our way home and he paid off the 410.
Some years later I traded that 410 for another with plastic stock. Worst mistake I ever made. I think that's why to this day I will not sell, trade or give away any gun for any reason.
Anyway, now I,m 78 and have not been without a gun, multiple guns since. And they are stacking up. But never again.
I hunted for many years. But other than hunting I have never thought of guns as something for killing " other than hunting". Today I do have guns that were not made for hunting. And sometimes it saddens me because I do.
Another thing I remember. I remember as a kid I hear about ww1 and ww2. I remember thinking that it could never happen again. That people would surely get past killing each other. But, Seems not.

 

[X62503]

I was 8 years old when my Grandfather let me carry and shoot his Remington Model 41 .22 rimfire. A few months later, after a lot of practice, I was off to the woods with it, but on my own, or with my younger cousin. This was in East Texas, near Chireno. I still have his rifle.

 

[Caplock]

I was 5 or 6. Grandpa bought me a bolt action 22. He would take me squirrel hunting. Also let me take it fishing when we went to some private strip pits. Had to thin down the snapping turtles. Water so clear you would see a dark circle with a little head above the water. Catch Bluegills all day long and shoot maybe 50 turtles same day. God those were great days! Cast n blast!

 

[JimKirk]

Around 5 years old... I entered the first grade at 5 years old and had been shooting before I started school ... single shot Remington .22 LR

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I was 6 years old when my Dad and my uncle took me to the old family family farm and let me shoot the family. 22 rifle that set behind the kitchen door when they were kids. All I remember was it was a .22 bolt action. Years later on family holidays at my uncle's I'd look to see that the rifle was still hanging. Never touched it without permission first.

correction: "... shoot the family .22 rifle ..."

 

[Enfieldier]

The amusement park in West Mifflin Pa (still in business) had a shooting gallery with Winchester 62s and Marlin 39 carbines that fired actual .22 rounds. That was my first taste of firing a gun, probably 10 or so. My dad bought me a Glenfield 25 .22 at a hardware store when I turned 15 in 1969

 

[fastbolt]

I was told I was 5yrs when my father let me fire my first firearm, a .22 rifle. He bought me my own rifle a little later, but he kept it with his guns. He started giving me handguns in my late teens.

 

[entropy]

I was 6 years old when my Dad and my uncle took me to the old family family farm and let me shoot the family. 22 rifle that set behind the kitchen door when they were kids. All I remember was it was a .22 bolt action. Years later on family holidays at my uncle's I'd look to see that the rifle was still hanging. Never touched it without permission first.

Did you line them all up before you shot them?

Maybe the period should have been closer to the 22. I had to read that through twice....

 

[Ed4032]

Waaaay too young to remember.

 

[LV Gun]

I was 12 I asked my dad if I could shoot his 12 gauge double barrel JC Higgins he said sure you can , we went down to the gravel pit on our farm, he hands it to me and I ask him if I should pull both triggers with a grin on his face he says sure you can , all I remember is getting up off the ground and him standing there laughing like hell I never shot a gun again until I was 40 . My father in law got me to go to the range with him and we all know what happens after that

 

[welldoya]

I was 5 or 6. That was almost 65 years ago.
I shot a Stevens single shot .410. It was my grandfather’s at the time. It’s mine now.

 

[Freudianfloyd]

I don't know exactly how old I was, my dad and grandpa have been into guns my whole life, so I'm sure I shot some pretty early, but the first I remember, I was about 6 or 7 I would say, and we were in the desert, and my dad let me shoot his 870 12 gauge. I fired one shot and it knocked me on the ground. I got up and gave him back his gun. The thing I remember most about that trip was my mom set up a watermelon and told us kids (my sisters and me) that this is what would happen to a head if you shot somebody. Obviously it exploded and left quite the impression. I can honestly say, I have never shot anybody in the head to this day because of that early lesson.

 

[unclenunzie]

20 or 21, 10/22 in upstate NY. But if Coney Island air-driven bb machine guns count, must have been maybe 7 or 8. Paper target with a red star in the center. Blow it fully out with 100 shots and you win a prize. It was a gyp. LOL still had a lot of fun.

 

[FROGO207]

My grand father and uncle were target shooting out in the back yard. Informal 100 yd range as the whole family were gun people. I was sitting at the picnlc table bugging them to let me shoot at 4 or so years old so my grandfather gets his 30 carbine and a 5 round MAG.sits down beside me puts a stick of firewood up to hold the muzzle up and lets me sight down the barrel and pull the trigger as he held things steady. Liked it so much I kept pulling til she was empty. They got scolded by mom and grandma because they didn't put earplugs in my ears first. Handgun was about 4 years later when my uncle figured I could handle his H&R .22 revolver safely by myself. Now look at me all I think about for hobbies is shooting and reloading LOL.

 

[tactikel]

Shot a .22 rifle, one shot at a time at 5 years old. I did well, my Dad said if I learned firearm safety and was responsible he would buy me a .22 rifle when I turned 10. He kept his promise.

 

[velojym]

11, Marlin model 60, and I woulda won a turkey at the Optimist Club turkey shoot...except that I wasn't a competitor.

 

[Berserker]

10/22 , and not sure. I was listening to podcast guys 5 year old was killing deer. Good for him. But I dunno

 

[Hillbilly Hydrographics]

5 or 6 years old I started shooting my great grandpa's winchester model 67 single shot bolt action 22. I'm 41 now and it's still my favorite gun to shoot. I've used the exact same rifle to teach all my little sister's how to shoot. And now I'm using the same exact rifle to teach my nieces and nephews. It's one of my most prized possessions. And it will be buryed with me. Ive got others to leave to my nieces and nephews but my 67 is going with me. This old rifle has put food on my table when there wouldnt have been anything without it.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

I don't remember my age, but I DO remember the gun.

My oldest brother had traded a 35 mm camera setup for a left-handed bolt action Remington 700 in 30-06.

He, one other brother, and I went to a cousin's house along a river in the country and sighted it in at 100 yards. Right where Bicycle Bridge Rd. crosses the Tippecanoe River, between Battleground and Delphi, Indiana. (Lotta good memories there...fishing, target practicing, varmint hunting, gardening, family get togethers.)

So my first shot with a "real" gun (BB guns don't count) was that rifle from a prone position at 100 yards.

I hit the target, no problem. No issue with recoil, excepting the scope bumped me right above my right eye. No mark left by it, though.

I hadn't even shot a .22 or shotgun at that point.

 

[black mamba]

I was eight years old and my brother was ten when my dad took us down to the creek to shoot his Mossberg 16 gauge bolt action for the first time. My older brother went first, touched off one shot, winced, handed the gun back to my dad and walked back to the house. I don't believe he ever fired another firearm in his whole life. After that, my dad asked if I still wanted to try it. I said yes and let 'er off. It shook me pretty good, but I couldn't wait to fire it again, and started hunting with it soon after. 61 years later I'm still hard at it. I got a Ruger 10/22 for my 12th birthday, bought my first center-fire, an XTR 30-06 model 70 on my 18th birthday, and on my 21st birthday bought a NM Blackhawk in 45 Colt.

 

[armoredman]

Bonus points if you know what it was. Also can break down as to rimfire, centrefire, handgun, longarm, etc.

13 years old, Marlin Golden 39A. .22LR

13 or 14 years old, Ithaca side by side 16ga

14 years old, Winchester 1894 carbine in .32 Special. Might have fired a Winchester 1892 in .25-20 previous to that.

Handgun, both centrefire and rimfire, age 14 during hunter safety classes.

I’m extremely embarrassed with my late start in life, as in other threads, I noted many of you have been firing firearms and experimenting with incendiary devices since about kindergarten.

I’ll forgive y’all if I’m forever banished from this forum because of it. . My late start has a reason. My father was a LEO and we were not allowed to play with toy guns as kids as my father reasoned correctly there’s no place for toy guns and “when it’s time” I could have a real firearm. And, one Christmas, there was a Marlin Golden 39A, which I still have. Bought used and with condition, the same thing I do today (I’ve never bought a brand new firearm).

10 years old, High Standard Double 9 22lr revolver.

So I started MY boy at age 10 with a CZ 452 22lr rifle.

He has upgraded over the years.

 

[.308 Norma]

10 years old, High Standard Double 9 22lr revolver.

My first handgun was a High Standard 22LR. I think mine was called a "Sentinel" though. I purchased it through my mom's and dad's country store/gas station when I was 17 or 18.
That revolver turned out to be the first gun of any kind my wife (of going on 54 years now) ever fired. She came home to Idaho with me (from California) when I was on leave, 23, and one year from being released from active duty in the Navy.
My wife took to guns and shooting like a "duck to water" as they say, and truth be known, is probably better than half the reason we raised two guns and shooting loving daughters. Only one of those girls likes hunting though. The other is too tender-hearted to shoot an animal. I don't know where we went wrong with that girl.

 

[GEM]

About 8, a pump 22S on the boardwalk at some moving ducks in a stand.