Where did You Learn Riflemanship ?

[mc223]

Where did you learn all of those little tidbits of info that get posted on the Forums?

I started in a normal Midwestern progression of BBs, Pellets, 22, 410, 16ga, 12ga
30-30, 30-06.
I was when I was young and am now an avid hunter, and recreational shooter.
I have been crafting my own ammo since my teens.
I also did a little time in Uncle Sams Army, where at one point was a part time armoror.
I have been a Machinist since before the Army and a Tinkerer all my life. I am a mechanical engineer with career emphasis on fasteners, (retired).
The info I post is as factual as can be confirmed in any method other than the internet first and then only to trusted info on the net.

Whats up your sleeve?

 

[Nick5182]

i've never posted about my riflemanship, but 99% of what i learned about shooting came from my father who was a BATF firearms instructor for 7 years.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

I grew up poor in the oilfields in the country in the late 50s, early 60s. hunger makes you a good shot. vegan is an old indian word for poor shot. we didnt have tv till I was 10 so we hunted and fished. I still got my Sears and Roebuck single shot .22 my dad bought me used for $10, lots of money in 1961. the military helped me a few years later.

 

[TCU]

i was from the city growing up so i didnt really learn weapons until the USMC. Its a big hobby of mine now though. I shoot very well and can only get better so i learn as much as possible from asking, practice, and reading theory. I love to learn about long range shooting though, as it is the most demanding and that is where the true skill lies. Alot of pistol guys disagree, and Close quarter is cool, but less variables. Close quarter can be difficult, but as you learn your weapon and style it comes to be muscle memory.

 

[husker]

Camp Ashland Nebraska
On the national guards firing range when i was a we lil lad about 10 or 11. back in 78-81
I would watch them guys shoot for hours at a time.

 

[Geno]

I learned shooting rifles and shotguns from my uncles and cousins. I plinked thousands of rounds through my BB guns, and my aunt's .22LR. I learned to shoot handguns from my former BIL, a now retired LEO. I learned bow and arrow in junior high school. It was a required segment of study for us in 7th and 8th grade. We even had to do tests.

By the time I took hunter safety, I had already been shooting for some years. Finally having a hunting license, I cut my hunting teeth on my aunt's over-under .22LR/410. That was a great lil' firearm. After hunter safety, I hunted with my uncle's M94 .30-30 Win, and my grandfather's .30-30 Win bolt-action rifle.

It wasn't until about age 24 that I began serious shooting, and learned handloading from my Uncle Dave. The man is the single best shootist I ever have witnessed. He taught me several tricks for squeezing out every ounce of accuracy a rifle has to offer, from selecting which rifle has the tightest action and cleanest bore, to how to break in the barrel.

In more recent years (1996ish though 2003ish), I used to frequent a local shooting range. There was an elderly WWI vet, John, who attended the range every day to teach anyone who would listen. I listened, watched, practiced. I learned a lot from John.

Over the course of the past 8 years, I have been taking (invitation-only) Tactical Shooting and Advanced Tactical Shooting courses. Heck, I even reenroll in MCPL courses here in Michigan just for the refresher aspects of it, and for the shooting fellowship.

All in all, I have been fortunate to have been associated with some of the biggest shooting names in Michigan. The name doesn't much matter, but the skills and experiences they hold that earned them that name is what matters. The sum of the whole has taught me to be a respectable and respectful shootist.

Cool thread! Thanks for starting it.

Geno

 

[nathan]

I started with a .17 cal airgun rifle at age 11. Shot a big rat right up to thehead at 5 yds. Split it into two. I was amazed at the pinpoint accuracy as it was my first kill.
My first centerfire was in 1995, got me a new in the box unussued Russian SKS . I still have it to this day and will never part with it.

 

[wanderinwalker]

I learned from dad around 8 or so with a little Marlin single-shot that was too big for me to hold. Then a little while later I had a baby-sitter whose husband coached the junior smallbore shooting team. He taught me quite a bit that I've been practicing and refining since. Plus match shooting clinics and then actually competing, which compress a lot of learning and practice into a small space. I also help out at the new shooter clinics our Highpower group runs in the spring, teaching people is another great way to refine your knowledge and learn alternative methods and techniques.

 

[AirForceShooter]

The US Air Force, The US Army and the Australians.

They all did it slightly differently but their systems all worked.

AFS

 

[Picher]

I shot BB guns for thousands of hours, spending almost all my chore money and part-time earnings on ammo. I actually wore out three BB guns in about two years of shooting.

My older brother had given me his old Red Ryder after he got a Rem 514 and a couple of other guns, including an M-1 Carbine. He taught me the basics and I took it from there. My sister's boyfriend had a handgun and he taught me how to shoot pistols. I'd go with them to shoot in gravel pits many times.

After I got my drivers' license and was working more, I bought my own guns. First was a Stevens semi-auto .22LR., then one of the first Savage 110s, a 30-06, which I put into a semi-inletted Bishop blank, making it look and feel like a Weatherby. That was my first glass-bedding job (1960). A 2.5 Weaver was mounted and my buddy and I then started hunting woodchucks for practice. Handloading came a couple of years later.

 

[Coal Dragger]

Started on a .22LR revolver at roughly age 10, then a 22LR rifle at 13 or so, then a .38/.357 revolver at around 14. Somewhere along the way my dad picked up an SKS which was my intro to centerfire rifle. At 16 I got a Para Ordnance P14 which turned out to be a turd. At age 19 I joined the United State Marine Corps and served a little over 6 years total in the Infantry. I also shot competitive pistol for Missouri State University my senior year and made nationals at Ft. Benning in 2003. Prior to that I had started shooting competitively on my own with an HK USP .45, trading it in on a Kimber Super Match while I was shooting for MSU.

The Marine Corps was good experience for shooting, and I qualified as an expert rifleman multiple times, and qualified expert on pistol the one time they bothered to have me shoot the M9 for score. I really refined my shooting at MSU with the pistol team, and from taking elective classes in rifle marksmanship shooting precision small bore from field positions. I could have shot for the rifle team as well, but didn't for lack of enough time to do both.

 

[BADUNAME37]

When I was about 12 (in the mid-60's), I took a Shooter Safety Course at the local YMCA and they had a range in the basement that we used with their .22's to shoot five rounds each, at the end of the course.

Then I started going weekly to shoot at the range along with others who all had .22 rifles. For my birthday, my dad bought me a Remington Targetmaster (or Matchmaster), I have since traded that gun and have kicked myself for doing so as it was really clean (like brand new) and was a real tack-driver.

I ended up getting NRA certified as Pro-Marksman, Marksman and Sharpshooter. I went to a couple of matches and almost won one match, it was down the wire to another young guy and myself to shoot one final target. I think the award went to him because that was his range that he always frequented and I was just a visitor. The targets were so close, they could not tell what the scores were. After that loss, I kind of lost interest in shooting the .22 at the range the amount that I had been up to this match. That's why I never made it to Expert.

 

[Skyshot]

My dad,retired USAF and my Uncle, retired Army got me shooting at age six and that was in 1959 and there was no P.C. back then. One of my dad's buds was an AP in the airforce and when he got out he went to work with the Texas highway patrol, he got me hooked on deer hunting when we lived in Texas. When dad retired from the AF he went to work for a large gun retailer in Tn. so I also was introduced to reloading. As for me, Member of NRA,NWTF,TN.Hunter Ed. instructor,gunsmith and range saftey officer,hopeing our sport live's on to the next generations. But now we are facing P.C. and liberalizm running rampent and the break down of the family unit working against us. There is a lot of kids out there with no dad or uncle to teach and mentor them and thats a bad thing.

 

[Wedge]

Cub scouts (BB guns)
Parents bought my brother and I pellet guns and set up a range in our basement
Boy scouts, 1st merit badge was Rifle Shooting.
Camping, friends and shooting (plinking) 22s through HS and college

 

[dagger dog]

The Old Man served WWII Army 30th Feild Artillery , qualifed Expert ,rifle,BAR, his brother my Unc,served WWII USAAF tail gunner 8th Air Force, qualified Expert, rifle,twin 50 BMG.

They both lived well into their seventies, long enough for some of their tutoring to sink into this thick skull, the rest was gained by noctournal subliminal recordings of Elmer Keith, Skeeter Skelton, Ed McGivern, and other gun gurus played back night after night

 

[montveil]

Dad with a old Mossberg 22 auto followed by US Army with M1 in 1960

 

[Quentin]

The first rifle I fired was an M14 in basic training, 1966. Then the M16 in Vietnam.

 

[Quiet]

Boy Scouts of America

 

[KSDeputy]

Where did you learn riflemanship?

From my Dad, who loved to fish and hunt. I got my first gun, a 410 pump, when I was 10 years old. I was the oldest of 3 boys. When my brother turned 10, he got the 410 and I got a new 20 ga auto loader. Later I got a 12 guage auto loader. I also got a 22 auto loader, that is how I really learned to shoot a rifle.

 

[jon_in_wv]

I learned to shoot growing up on a farm in Minnesota then from the United States Marine Corps. The last several years I have been learning about shooting longer ranges with a precision rifle and optics. This year I'm going to concentrate on reading wind conditions.

 

[00 Buckshot]

I joined the U. S. Army fresh out of high school. I qualified expert in basic training with the M-16.

Not too much rifle work since then other than some occasional recreational target shooting.

I'm more of a shotgun fan these days.

 

[Still Shooting]

I grew up surrounded by hunting and shooting, in central NY. Even my mother, an only child, said, "I was my father's only son!" My dad took me out at age 8 to shoot my grenddad's .22, and I waited until age 12 for my first BB gun. I used it every day, all summer long. At 13 I was given a Crosman .22 air rifle, and at 14 I bought my first rifle from a friend. It was a Savage 340, .22 Hornet, and the first summer I had it I eliminated 97 'chucks from the surrounding farmers' fields. I also did my Hunter Safety at 14, and started hunting grouse and rabbits with Dad.

Dad presented me with a press, dies, powder, and a box of bullets for my Hornet when I was 16, and that year I also spent my first week in the Adirondacks with Dad and Granddad deer hunting with a borrowed 6.5x55 Swede.

My high school graduation gift was a Remington 760 in .270win, and shortly after my Dad's 1912 Marlin 16ga. was handed down. At 24 I got my NRA and Conn. state Hunter Safety Instructor's certs, and taught it for a few years.

Later, in Mass. I became interested in handguns, bought several, and taught Defensive Handgun for Permit classes there over a 4 year period (I have always believed that teaching people to own and use firearms safely is the best way to protect our Second Amendment rights- the more of us there are, the harder it will be to take away the guns!)

I have belonged to sportsmen's clubs continuously over my adult life, and learned a tremendous amount at ranges, while hunting, and just connecting with others who share a love for guns and shooting.

 

[Harley Quinn]

Shot a lot of BB guns and archery as a youth...

17 years of age, USMC taught me all I needed to know at Camp Matthews San Diego CA. 1959...

I was high expert of the platoon, got a trophy to prove it...M1 Garand was the rifle

Because of high regard for good shooters, I went to Sea School...
Very lucky for me, traveled the world and saw much... High expert all the time in Corps, with pistol also

Regards

 

[TCU]

jon_in_wv for reading wind conditions your best bet is to understand the influences of the wind especially in your area. Whether it be thermal heating, pressure systems, tertiary currents, any mechanical lift, etc... Anyway it is easier to read when you have an idea of the what to expect and what is the dominating feature over your engagement area. Anyway if you have any question on any affect of weather id more than happy to answer.

 

[Hanzerik]

My Dad wasn't a shooter, so he took me to a Elks club friend who happened to be a Range Master at a local civilian range and a retired USMC Gunny. He taught me the fundamentals of rifle shooting and firearms safety/handling. He also ran the local Boy Scout ranges during the summers. He needed an assistant and asked me if I wanted to do the job. I first had to get my Rifle/Shotgun Merit Badge, so I got that on a one-on-one bases with him. Then over the next three years as a Range Assistant/Instructor at two different SoCal summer camps, I proceeded to teach 100's of Scouts gun safety/handling, and everything else to becoming a better shot. We would sometimes get a Marine on loan from 29 Palms for the summer (Great break for those guys)...Sarge still had some pull with the USMC. It was always fun to go head-to-head with a true Active Duty Marine in friendly competitions when we had an empty range, and he also taught me some stuff. Sarge even got some USMC marked Remington 40x 22lr target rifles donated to us which we used to shoot NRA BSA postal matches (Which I used to win a few with some perfect scores). I had lots of practice; I shot maybe 500+ rounds every day during the summer out of many different rifles, luckily the ammo was donated by Winchester and we had cases of the stuff.

So even though my Dad wasn't a shooter, I did have a great Instructor who taught me tons of information on rifle shooting. I'm sorry to say I lost contact with him after joining the Military in 1988, but his teachings follow me to this day even 23 years later. I never knew his real name for all the time, I knew him as Sarge. Great old man who did three tours in Vietnam, great coach, great shot, and continued to bring great credit to the USMC even though he was retired.