Whats Your First Gun Experience?

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First gun fired was a friend of my moms Target pistol. I just remember it was very odd looking and shot a rifle round. I helped reload for an entire weekend to be able to shoot it. around 8-9yrs old. Probably slave labor now that I think back on it 40yrs ago... lol

First gun owned was a Glennfield/Marlin 60 when I was 9-10. Still wears all the scars from me bicycling all over NM with it.
 
After 9/11 I got mobilized to become the Disaster Preparedness Officer for Goose Creek Weapons Station in SC; we went through sidearms qualification and I was introduced to the M-11. After that I had to have one. Later at a gunshow in Columbia I was lucky to find a civilian version - a beautiful Sig P228...now I got the uncurable Signess.
 
My father and his 3 brothers all served during WW11, yet I never recall any discussion of guns while growing up ... for or against. My first experience with them was in February of 1967 in basic training.
 
As a kid growing up my father enrolled me in a Police Athletic League riflery course. At the local PD range every wednesday evening we'd shoot .22 rifles. Despite the fact that some of the rifles were repeaters we were only given one round at a time. The officer would walk the line and pass them out. We'd load and aim & fire on command.
It was a pretty safe way to do it. I have to wonder if that department is doing that today; it was in a liberal Connecticut town and I well imagine parents would throw fits if their kids were handed rifles to shoot these days.
Times change ...........
 
Bubbad Chinese type (or could have been Turkish) 8mm Mauser. 18" barrel and modified bolt handle.

I was definitely being watched over from above, because I did some very stupid things. I was 14 years old and snuck it out of my fathers gun cabinet so my friend and I could try it.

I knew nothing about firearms at the time. I found some rifle bullets that "looked" correct. To be honest I had no idea what rounds it took. The barrel didn't identify its caliber. Another friend guessed at the caliber, and that's what we tried.

Life lessons:
1.) Recoil hurts. Bad. Especially when you don't hold the rifle properly.

2.) When test firing, put in only one bullet. Don't max out the magazine. Explanation in part 3...

3.) Golden Rule #2 and #3. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy and Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. My friend had no interest in shooting that rifle after he saw what happened with me. We decided to leave and since I couldn't figure out how to drop the magazine floor plate, I worked the bolt to empty the magazine while propping it on my stomach. The rifle went off on the last round and missed my friends head by about one foot. I didn't notice this at first, because the rifle's recoil made me puke. (BTW, yes we are still good friends. We just don't joke about this incident. Ever)

4.) I learned soon afterward (but sadly not soon enough) that there is a type of ammunition called "corrosive". Enter father.

It took a little while before I was willing to venture back to the firearms world. This is why I'm willing to teach anyone how to PROPERLY shoot. I almost killed my best friend. I decided I needed to help make sure no one else goes through that.
 
Age: 21
Gun: Glock 26

I always liked guns and had a bb gun and a nice pellet rifle but due to my mother I didn't ever shoot any real guns as a kid, although I am sure my dad would have done differently were it up to him/he cared enough.
 
First shooting experience: Boy Scout Camp, Summer of 1963.
First guns I bought: Winchester M1917 and Browning High Power, 1968.
Still have them.
 
Dad was in the Air Force - a flight engineer/crew chief on C-130's, always going somewhere or other TDY (temporary duty). He and a loadmaster on one of their TDY's to Vietnam had to jump out of the aircraft and provide ground security with their M-14's and .38's while they waited for a "package" to be delivered for a short hop to Tan Son Nhut. Fortunately, nothing came of it except a wager on who was the better shot.

When they got back home (Dyess AFB, Abilene), arrangements were made to take a couple of M-14's, .38's and a couple of the rod and gun club loaner .22's out to the range to settle this thing like men. Not sure who won the bet - they were having too much fun.

The loadmaster had a son a year older than I was (14 at the time), and he showed me the .22 and how to fire it. Musta put a hundred rounds downrange that day.

Next time I picked up a gun was at Lackland AFB four years later... an M-16!
 
When I was very young, 8yo my Dad was stationed in Okinawa. He took me to the on base range and set me up with an M1 carbine. I got to fire as many rounds as I wanted that day. I fired a hundred or so and really really enjoyed myself.

Not long after my Dad bought me JC Higgins .22LR rifle. It had a 5 round magazine and I really enjoyed shooting it. Its no longer in our family, I'm sad to say.
 
The first gun I fired was a Ruger Mark II. It was my freshman year of college for ROTC, so about 6 years ago. I loved it then, I love it now. :D
 
Guess I was 8 or 9 & fishing with Grandpa on Mullberry Creek outside of Salina Kansas. Some guys were plinkin' with a Ruger Standard .22. They let me have a try.
 
Going with my dad to the range

With his 1911. Long time (about 48 years) ago...

Still remember it like it was yesterday
 
First gun I shot: SKB 20ga when I was 4. I got my cheek too far back, practically between the stock and my shoulder, but my dad didn't notice. If I hadn't busted up my face I probably wouldn't have remembered it.

First gun I owned: New England Firearms Pardner 20ga. I think I was 12. It was Christmas morning and when I opened my "big gift" it was a doll house.:confused: My dad said, "Oops! That was supposed to be for your sister. You must've opened all your gifts already." He waited till I was good and disappointed, then he pulled out the shotgun. I still get excited when I buy a new gun, but it's hard to beat the feeling of the first time... That's the best $80 gift a 12 year old can get. The next Christmas I got a really nice Ruger 10/22 SS with a "greenish" laminate Mannlicher stock.:D I still have both.
 
My first BB gun, I have no idea how old I was. Probably 6...8 or so. I literally wore it out.

My first "real" gun was an Ithaca M-66 Supersingle 20 ga single shot shotgun. Got if for Christmas when I was 14 or so I guess. I remember finding it under my parents bed about a month before Christmas. (I wonder if kids still go hunting to see where the Christmas presents are hidden?) I was afraid to take it out of the box, so I'd just sneak in, and open the box and stare at it, then close the box up real quick and put it back.

I remember opening that box and a box of Sears shells, grabbing a couple of shells and stepping out on the back porch and just shooting across the yard into the woods. I broke the gun, pulled that empty shell out, held it to my nose and breathed in that wonderful aroma of just fired shotgun shell. Man that was about the best smell ever. I still do that from time to time today.

Oh...my son has that Ithaca today. I suppose his son will have it one of these days.
 
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A Savage\Stevens walmart rifle semi auto in .22lr... don't get me wrong, me and that gun had some memories and i still have it... but its still a jam-o-matic.
 
I'll never forget the day when i was 10 years old and my dad brought out his BL-22 and gave me my first shooting lessons with a "real" gun. I remember working the lever, and the apprehension I felt the first time I had to lower the hammer to half-cock on a live round. I don't remember the first squeeze of the trigger, but I do remember my uncle showed up mid-lesson, and how I was more than happy to have more of an audience. I had proven myself previously with airguns, and shooting a "real" gun was just about the most exciting thing i could imagine. Twenty-odd years later, shooting a "real" gun is just about the most exciting thing I can imagine!!!! As familiar and complacent as we may get with firearms, theres still no rsh quite like squeezing that trigger, whether you are taking aim at a soda can or a trophy critter!
 
Beat up 12ga shot gun. Whenever we were "acting up" my Grandma would calm us down by saying "if you keep it up, I won't let you shoot the gun tomorrow" One round of bird shot into the weeds out back was always something to look forward to when I was 6 or 7.

No real lessons, she just held the gun, standing over us and let us pull the trigger.
 
My first gun experience was with a .410 Guage. It was my friend, his grandpa, his brother, and I. We each got 2 shots "his grandpa didn't, he just reloaded for us". We where shooting at this plastic gallon jug. I was the only one who hit the jug both times from 20 feet away. I was proud of myself.
 
My first experience with guns was my dad teaching me to shoot with a Daisy bb pistol when I was a kid. Following that, I never had any real experience with guns until I joined the Army at 18. It was a few years ago that I finally bought my first pistol, a Hi-point C9 that served me faithfully for quite awhile before I traded up. Now I carry a Colt or a G26, but I'll always remember that beat up old C9.
 
Air guns only from the age of five-ish until I was 22 yrs old. Went to Rocking Horse Ranch on a solo getaway for a weekend, and fired a single-shot .22 with gallery rounds as my first firearm experience.
Only a year later, fired a Thompson submachinegun at a rental range in Las Vegas, baby! :)
 
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