Who was your biggest influence in the firearms/shooting world?

[DustyGmt]

A thread recently made me think this might be a good topic, who was your initial influence that got you started or made you interested in firearms collecting and shooting guns?

For some it would be grandpa or dad on hunts or on the farm taking care of critters and land/food plots, for others it may be Josey Wales or some other outlaw character or an untold number of westerns, lawmen vs bad guys, action films, etc...

My uncle was the one who really exposed me to firearms and when I was sent there as a kid, I could pull out any number of different handguns after I was able to show that I understood safety, function and basically as soon as my thumbs were strong enough to load mags, he'd let me take them out unsupervised which was pretty awesome at about 10 or 11 years old.


Edited to shorten and remove about 5 or 6 unnecessary paragraphs

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

Dean Grenell / Fin Aagard: (Everything else I taught myself)

 

[Hugger-4641]

My grandad was probably #1 for me. Lones Wigger and Carl Bernosky were two that I remember him and I reading about in my teens. Bob Munden was fun to watch, not sure he was any better than Jerry Miculek, maybe not as fast as Jerry, but he was still amazing.

 

[Ignition Override]

My Dad and I only used a gun once when I was young, and it belonged to his father. Just casual plinking with almost no instructions. This had very Little influence.

OP : "Who...?" The larger group of seven or eight "whos"., most of Whom are depicted here . No joke or exaggeration... whatsoever. I owned just a .22 rifle (seldom touched it) until age 52; you should have seen my wife's befuddlement at that time when the shopping began. And prev. I had joked that only women like to shop.

Milsurps always were the appeal because of Combat and these guys' characters, but there was such extremely infrequent personal exposure to firearms (vs pellet guns) that the interest lay dormant for decades.

 

[marksman13]

My dad was a gun junkie and there’s no doubt he passed his addiction on to me.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Three big influences:

Father/Grandfather- Exposed me to .22, .410 and big game hunting rifles (Age 10-12).

Older Brother- Exposed me to classic firearms, such as a C96 and P08 (Age 11-13).

Boy Scouts- Scoutmasters/parents were armed and supported broad spectrum shooting on Troop camping trips, including things like a .357 Blackhawk, 4" 629, .380 PPK/S, .22 Browning Autoloader, Marlin Model 60, Winchester 9422, HK94 and various shotguns (Ages 11-17).

 

[.38 Special]

Mine was Chuck. After retiring as an instructor for a local PD, he set up an NRA action/Bianchi Cup-style club in SoCal. He did more to help me understand handgunning than any ten other men combined. We lost touch years ago, and he surely is long underground. I hope he had an idea how much I valued him.

 

[Plano11]

My father who was in the army for 20 years.

 

[horsemen61]

Easy my mentor I met him years ago when we were working both in college and he said he could show me how to shoot more often more accurate for less money and that’s how I got into handloading, We are very good friends to the point that I trust him completely and I am closer to him than my actual blood brothers

 

[Riomouse911]

My Dad took me shooting first, but my Grandfather on my Mother’s side taught me the most. He had a huge cattle ranch in the Texas hill country (1,500-odd acres) where I spent just about all of every summer roaming the canyons in search of squirrels, doves and quail (in season) fishing in the lake, etc.

A Daisy b-b gun harvested cans full of grasshoppers to catch sunfish and perch, a Winchester 1890 .22 LR knocked squirrels out of the oaks and a Winchester model 12 16 ga was a companion on many a dove or quail hunt. (By the time deer and turkey season rolled around I was back home and in school.)

Mr Grandfather taught me about treating the land well so it pays you back, taking care of the garden that feeds you, respecting game animals and fish to kill only what you will eat, and even about proper range management where some things (plant or animal) need to be culled in order to maintain the overall vitality of the land, game and the stock.

He passed in August of 1990. It’s been nearly 33 years since, yet every day I walk upon the Earth I give thanks for all he taught me.

Stay safe.

 

[Nuke8401]

Watching The Rifleman from as early as I can remember. The values portrayed in that show seemed to fit how I was raised. My Father landed on the beach in WWII and while he hunted as a kid/teen, the only time I ever saw him touch a gun was when he gave me my Sears 22 (I was 10) and my Mossberg 500 20ga (I was 12). He had two Purple Hearts and never talked to me about the war. He had a good friend who took me squrrel and rabbit hunting.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

My mentors were Charlie Askins, Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan, Skeeter Skelton, Dean Grenell. No personal mentors for me, never had any long term contact with any real gun gurus, etc. Only formal instruction I had was in Boy Scouts and the Army. Only knew one "gun guy" in the Army.

 

[Fatcat3]

Dad. WWII vet. and then one of the chosen frozen. Not a Gun Crank, guns were a tool to him.
Elmer Keith

 

[Barbaroja]

My dad got me started but my old neighbor was the guy who really expanded my horizons. I think he took a shine to me because he Is an old school kinda guy and the first time I took him up on an offer to come by and shoot I brought a 41magnum Blackhawk (my only gun at the time). Through him I’ve had the opportunity to shoot a ton of very nice guns I would have not had the opportunity otherwise. Taught me how to shoot trap. Great guy

 

[JEBruns]

My dad didn't do a lot of shooting or hunting when I was growing up, but had as a youth. He did introduce my brother and I to shooting and encouraged our participation in a little bit of youth NRA stuff though. So he got the fire lit, but it was all me after that. I wanted to hunt and shoot in the worst way. Had to have my mom sign for guns I bought in MN when I was too young to purchase them myself. I was a young teen when I bought my first new shotgun, a Master Mag pump 20 gauge from Coast-To-Coast hardware for $99. Earned the money flipping burgers, and killed a few pheasants with it. Good memories.

 

[King Medallion]

Neighbor guy Larry let me shoot a Kentucky rifle when I was 12. Then a .22. That was the start. My Dad never did anything outside of farming. Both my grandfather's were outdoorsnen, and actually got together once and took me fishing, best fishing day ever! Sadly Larry was killed a few years later on an ATV, be he got me started in shooting. MY 1st gun ever was a CVA Kentucky rifle I built out of a kit, and still have it! Haven't fired it in 40 years, but I still got it.

 

[Hartkopf]

I was about 5 years old when my dad taught me how to remove the cylinder from a single action 22 Magnum revolver. He went over the gun safety rules and I still remember how serious he was. Those are etched memories that are getting fuzzy but they’re still hanging on.

Fitting that on Father’s Day most of us are remembering what our dads taught us.

 

[sparkyv]

My Dad. Happy Father's Day to my Dad!

 

[Anchorite]

Obviously family. Beyond that, Ferris Pindell, Dr Palmisano and Mike Walker.

 

[Kingcreek]

Back in the olden times, we built our own slingshots, went thru countless experiments with slings, atlatls, darts, bows, arrows, and wore out a couple BB guns before the age of 12 when I got my first real gun. a single shot .410. Grew up hunting with cousins. I had guns only for hunting until I was in college and living in a real sketchy neighborhood. I bought my first handgun, a used S&W revolver from a county deputy.
Later met a man who became my best friend and introduced me to reloading and an interesting collection of everything gun. He also worked for Springfield armory at the time. A guy by the name of Rob Leatham ran the custom shop back then. He built a custom 1911 for me and I bought a Dillon progressive. Then I got a good deal on an M1A. Well, you know, one thing leads to another...

 

[chicharrones]

Maternal Grandfather, Father, Boy Scouts, Brother after his stint in the 82nd Airborne, some gun scribes I read in the ‘90s and early 2000s, and THR.

 

[johnjohn]

No real "gun guys" in our family. The only gun in the house was a Springfield Trapdoor 45/70. Don't think it had been fired till I was about 25 and bought a box of Remington factory loads. I had a Winchester single shot .22 I got in trade from another for my pellet rifle. And inherited a single shot 12 guage from my Grandfather who bought it the year he got married,(1900)

 

[George Dickel]

I don't really know what got me interested in firearms and shooting. I don't think my grandfather ever owned a gun however my dad had a single shot .22lr when I was really young. That rifle disappeared at some point in time when I was around 7 or 8. I guess it could have been the influence of the western shows and movies popular at that time that sparked my interest.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

My Father got me started. My 1st gun was a Daisy BB gun. My brother was late getting into guns. His best friend got him started.

 

[Howland937]

My dad, solely. Shooting, hunting, reloading...he started it all.