Not a lifelong gun owner. Who of us started when older?
- Thread starter hoosier8
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U.S.SFC_RET
Member
Been shooting since I was at least ten. Shooting was regarded as somewhat a responsibility and taken seriously. Respect for firearms was always taken very seriously. Shooting was always a part of my life.
aerod1
Member
I was 36 when I purchased my first gun.
surfinguru
Member
Grew up with a daisy BB gun (rifle) but never fired a "real" gun until I was in my late twenty's early 30's (?)
Ten years later, I'm 40, married and have a 7yo son. My wife and I went to the range together about a month ago and I just finished my first safety class today. Still don't actually own, but currently saving for an M&P 9.
Ten years later, I'm 40, married and have a 7yo son. My wife and I went to the range together about a month ago and I just finished my first safety class today. Still don't actually own, but currently saving for an M&P 9.
ArmedLiberal
Member
When I was 9 or 10 my dad bought a Sears .22 bolt action rifle and a surplus (from Finland?) Russian 7.62. He taught me gun safety and responsibility and I got to go target shooting out in the woods 3 or 4 times a year. We moved to the city when I was 12 or so, never went shooting after that. Years later my soon to be former spouse turned them into the Sheriff to be melted down, she wanted to be mean and spiteful.
I've spent all my life thinking "I really should get back into shooting". I'm in my fifties now and feel the chill winds of mortality blowing. This January I bought a Ruger Mark III 22/45 pistol and started teaching myself to shoot.
Ruger Mark III 22/45 .22 pistol
Mossberg 500 Persuader 12 ga. Haven't yet figured out how to use this without pain.
Marlin 1894 .357 lever action. Sweet!
Ruger Blackhawk .357 Have figured out how to let it roll and not try and hold back the recoil.
Ruger P89 9mm
It's quite gratifying how much improved my marksmanship is from 6 months ago. Having a great time, meeting new friends, found a whole new universe of online gun forums.
Looking forward to a Garand from the CMP and maybe a Ruger 9mm carbine. And a Colt Python. When I window shop in a gun store or look at the online gun auctions I can fall in love with most of the guns I see. And I'm learning how to keep a proper hold on my wallet.
What's really interesting is how many people I work with or know casually who love firearms and shooting and never talked about it until I brought up the subject. I've come to believe that we would win the gun control debate in a week if all gun owners were not so secretive about their guns and would invite their non-gun friends to go shooting.
AL
I've spent all my life thinking "I really should get back into shooting". I'm in my fifties now and feel the chill winds of mortality blowing. This January I bought a Ruger Mark III 22/45 pistol and started teaching myself to shoot.
Ruger Mark III 22/45 .22 pistol
Mossberg 500 Persuader 12 ga. Haven't yet figured out how to use this without pain.
Marlin 1894 .357 lever action. Sweet!
Ruger Blackhawk .357 Have figured out how to let it roll and not try and hold back the recoil.
Ruger P89 9mm
It's quite gratifying how much improved my marksmanship is from 6 months ago. Having a great time, meeting new friends, found a whole new universe of online gun forums.
Looking forward to a Garand from the CMP and maybe a Ruger 9mm carbine. And a Colt Python. When I window shop in a gun store or look at the online gun auctions I can fall in love with most of the guns I see. And I'm learning how to keep a proper hold on my wallet.
What's really interesting is how many people I work with or know casually who love firearms and shooting and never talked about it until I brought up the subject. I've come to believe that we would win the gun control debate in a week if all gun owners were not so secretive about their guns and would invite their non-gun friends to go shooting.
AL
Interesting Replies
The response to my post has been interesting. I think it speaks to the fact that , for the same reason that I posted the question, we have a want to explain how we got into shooting or collecting firearms. I think we would all like to tell someone our story. I see a lot of "got bit hard by the bug" and that is the way I feel. Since I believe most people's chance of an incident is between 0 and 1, I could probably sell all of my firearms tomorrow and be fine. The problem is that something in me has changed since I started owning and carrying firearms. I sometimes feel like, since I have the right, I feel like I have the duty and with that duty comes great responsibility, a responsibility I take very seriously. Both ownership and really looking into the 2nd amendment made the change for me (along with finding out my daughter had a natural ability with firearms), and this at a much later age than most of you replying.
I think ArmedLiberal's post reads much like my experience. I have found a surprising number of people that shoot that I did not know about. I have enjoyed finding the forums, and found a local one with a pistol for sale that I am going to pick up on Tuesday. I looked at a CMP and ended up with a DPMS LR-308AP4 because I wanted a 308 and decided I wanted an EBR in case evil looking rifles got negative legislation again.
I have had nothing but fun with this.
The response to my post has been interesting. I think it speaks to the fact that , for the same reason that I posted the question, we have a want to explain how we got into shooting or collecting firearms. I think we would all like to tell someone our story. I see a lot of "got bit hard by the bug" and that is the way I feel. Since I believe most people's chance of an incident is between 0 and 1, I could probably sell all of my firearms tomorrow and be fine. The problem is that something in me has changed since I started owning and carrying firearms. I sometimes feel like, since I have the right, I feel like I have the duty and with that duty comes great responsibility, a responsibility I take very seriously. Both ownership and really looking into the 2nd amendment made the change for me (along with finding out my daughter had a natural ability with firearms), and this at a much later age than most of you replying.
I think ArmedLiberal's post reads much like my experience. I have found a surprising number of people that shoot that I did not know about. I have enjoyed finding the forums, and found a local one with a pistol for sale that I am going to pick up on Tuesday. I looked at a CMP and ended up with a DPMS LR-308AP4 because I wanted a 308 and decided I wanted an EBR in case evil looking rifles got negative legislation again.
I have had nothing but fun with this.
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