who or what got you into guns?

[SlowStar]

I must have been born a gun freak. I was shooting a .22 rifle before I started school. Six years old and less. I wore out many gun catalogs and Shooters Bibles before I got out of high school. The USMC really gave me a boost by letting me shoot all the fine guns available at boot camp. Plus, providing a small but steady income. I bought my first pistol in a Salt Lake City hock shop for $35. My first 1911. Wish it were still mine. Oh, yeah, the USMC furnished enough 45 cal ball ammo to finish shooting that barrel out in 6 months. And they promptly gave me another new one that our armourer installed. I think I nearly filled the great Salt Lake with lead.

Slowstar

 

[Sindawe]

Two events.

Caribou Ridge/Ruby Creek drainage, Idaho and Waco, Texas.

 

[cfabe]

The first time I shot was .22s at boy scout camp, and I just shot at camp each summer and enjoyed it but it didn't go any farther. Then when I went to philmont in new mexico when I was 17 one of the camps was a rifle camp where we did reloading and shooting of bolt action .30-06s. That's what realy got me interested in guns.

 

[atek3]

I started with one gun, an M1 Garand, all because of our gratious host Oleg's page http://www.a-human-right.com
Which got me into highpower rifle.
Then I read Uninteded Consequences, which turned me into a gun nut.

I realized IPSC would be fun so I bought a 1911. The I realized I needed a 22 to teach new people. A battle rifle for SHTF, a match rifle for long range shooting, a .........
and things rapidly spiralled out of control. Then I sold every gun which I didn't "need" paring me down to five:
22 lr pistol, 40 S&W pistol, 223 rifle, 308 rifle, and 7.62x54R rifle. Now I can't do EVERYTHING, but those things I can do, I can do pretty well.

atek3

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

My Dad (God rest his soul) was a small-arms expert in the Korean War. He'd had enough of guns and killing in the Army, and being a city kid, never hunted or fished. We never had guns around when I was growing up.

However, I heard a lot of stories from him (especially about his favorite assignment, commanding an M-16 halftrack with quad-fifty machine guns), and that fueled an interest.

I'm not sure where my interest in hunting came from; my maternal grandfather was a big-time outdoorsman, but he died long before I was born. Maybe I inherited a "gun gene."

 

[Edward429451]

What a great place for a Fed DC joke but I wont go there...It was my dad.

 

[TonyB]

My Father..he's a real jock,and I wasn't...after he tried(unsuccessfully)to get me into any sport,he took me shooting....we really connected...and of course now I can out shoot him(mostly because I shoot a ton more than him)..Not only was it a bonding thing,but it has become my "passion"..
some of my fondest emeories growing up,is of us skeet shooting on the weekends..non-shooters don't realize what a family thing shooting can be,it really can bring people closer..

 

[Billy the Kid]

I was 22, my parents nieghbor is a pretty okay guy, he is an investment banker, but on the side he tests new guns and whatnot as a private contractor for thye government. He invited me and my brother one day to try it out, i dont even know what we were firing but they were all illegal to buy he said, but he had a special lisence to get them.

He had a wierd gun it was gray and black it shot .45 calibur slugs and it was some kind of "tactical" israeli urban fighter gun he said i dont remember exactly. we were shooting melons at 400 yards with another gun he had.. it was so cool i was instantly hooked. I went to my local police department got the forms filled em out, took the NRA course on safety and had to wait 6 or 7 months for my lisence to go through. Ive had it for less than a month now and i bought a .38 special Taurus (snubby) im working on getitng some rifles next.

 

[AZ Heat]

I was always slightly interested and had an old Star 9mm Largo but rarely shot it.

Then a couple of years ago my aunt was shot and killed a couple days before Christmas by a 16 year old kid in an attempted carjacking wanting to drive somewhere to buy some drugs. I have a family and decided then and there that I would do everything I could to protect myself and my family. I bought a Kimber Ultra Carry II and started practicing alot, reading these forums and studying the laws in my state. I got my CCW, a membership at the range and a big safe.

Then of course the more you shoot and the more you learn about different guns, the more you gotta have. And you gotta get a 9mm to add to your .45, and then that .40 was a good deal. And the Makarov is fun, the Seacamp easy to carry, NAA was a good deal, gotta have a shotgun, and that 30-30 is nice. Everybody's gotta have at least a couple of .357's and don't forget the .44 Mag. A couple different types of .22 is a must! And that's not even counting the 1911 addiction. But I think of myself as more of a kind-hearted man that is offering a nurturing and loving home to all these lonely guns! Ya... that's the ticket!

So protection for my family got me interested which later turned into a hobby.

 

[JohnBT]

My grandparents gave me a BB gun, cleaning kit and wall rack combo along about 1955, and my father already had me shooting by then, but my uncle was the gun trader in the family and always had something interesting for me to shoot.

Everybody had one or more guns - uncles, cousins, great uncles, etc.

John

 

[SunBear]

Grew up in the 50s.....Dad didn't shoot but we had every kind of toy gun there was and later BB guns.....watched Combat, Wild, Wild West. ets.but Roy Rogers on Tumbleweed Theater on Saturday afternoon TV really got me started. First pistol was a repro blackpowder- too messy.....then in mid-70s Blackhawk 357 shooting Super-Vel about 1600 fps (thank you Lee Jurras) Every primer was punctured and I was on my way. Happy trails, Roy. :

 

[Bainx]

My father always had a modest gun collection.
But, it was the yapping and drivel of the anti-gun Klinton regime that got me started 'head-long' into firearms and CCW. I simply can not stand being told how to live my life by some elitist.

It is the only positive thing I can thank Klinton for.

 

[Kar-el]

A Mom who would never let me shoot one..........

 

[45R]

A friend of mine showed me his Sig when I was younger. Wanted one ever since. When I was able to afford one. I snatched it up!!

 

[OneFireStick]

I moved from a big city to the family farm (fruit trees, grapes, etc.) when I was 9. Since there wasn't much to do other than school, I got to know an older schoolmate that had a BB gun and he would let me shoot it from time to time. I really enjoyed shooting it! I then talked my family to giving me one for my birthday and spent countless hours shooting it.

That is how it started. I then purchased a 12gauge & a .22 rifle when I turned 16 and when I turned 21, I bought a .357magnum revolver. I still have the shotgun & .22 but now have a Glock 20 instead of the revolver and only other rifle I've added is a Remington .300Ultra.

I moved out of the family farm to a city when I was 25 and really miss being able to walk out onto 1000 acres and hunt rabbit and flying game. Those were the days.