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How old where you?

Gene B.Gene B. Member Posts: 892 ✭✭✭✭
edited October 2001 in General Discussion
How old where you when you got your first real gun? And how old should you be to have one, because I got my first gun when I was 16, but I didnt own it, own it. I saved up my money, I gave my money to my dad, my dad bought me the gun, he kept it in his safe, And I couldnt touch it or clean it without him being there, and the only time when I could shoot it was when he took me to the shooting range or my Grandpas land. And every time I went to the shooting range what was about every weekend I would talk to the owners for a long time, they would teach me the proper way to stand and hold my handgun, which guns I should buy next, how to take apart my gun, how to clean and grease it, how to unjam it and everything. And they didnt care if I had a gun at that age or not. but now that I think about it was I to young gun to "own" a hand gun? I was very responsible with gun then and now, and to this day I have never been in trouble with the law in anyway, not even a ticket, I rarely drink and when I do its only 1 or 2 beers, And Ive never tried smoking, or any kind of drugs. But one day when my dad went to take my 16 year old baby brother to go look at guns at a pawn shop, he asked do you have any handguns that could fit a 16 year olds hands? The shop owner said sorry I cant help you, your son has to be 18 for him to even handle a handgun. My dad knows about gun safty and tought my brother every thing about it, and he is very responsible too, but the shop owner still refused to help us. Was my dad wrong or was the shop owner wrong?
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    badboybobbadboybob Member Posts: 1,658 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Bought mine when I was 15. Wincester 94, 50 bucks of my own money earned at 50 cents an hour. No paper work, no bs, just pay and go. Freedom was great in those days.
    So many guns to buy. So little money.
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    ysacresysacres Member Posts: 294 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I tought my son everything about gun safty when he was 12, But in four years he's frogot a few things. 18 means 18 no matter how safe you think your kid is.
    Ruger-Remington-RULE THE ROOST
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    soopsoop Member Posts: 4,633
    edited November -1
    I got a 22rifle when I was 12 and a shotgun at 14yrs.Had a Black powder handgun at about 18 yrs. My dad put a gun rack on my bedroom wall when I was about 14yrs.old.He let me keep my guns and a few of his to fill it. Kept the ammo in the cabinet of the gun rack and I had the key. I had NRA training for gun safety at about 10 or 12 yrs. Things were simpler then. I wouldn`t do that now,but everyone did it back then ( mid to late sixtys) He let me shoot his handguns but kept them in his room. We knew where they were kept,but left them alone.
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    NateNate Member Posts: 168 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I got my first 22 when I was 11. Was always kept in dads safe. I couldnt touch it unless he was around. As I got older I bought more guns but they were always kept in dads safe. Now that I am in college I have my own safe in my appartment, but I still keep most of my guns at home with dad.
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    Andrew AdamsAndrew Adams Member Posts: 227 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Similar story,Dad bought me a 12 gauge when I was eleven, but I couldn't touch it unless Dad was around. My first deer season (12 in PA) I carried Dad's Krag that is a family heirloom. My first gun was my Savage 110 30-06 that I bought with lawnmowing money when I was 13. I gave Dad the money, and he got me the gun. Still, the gun didn't get touched unless Dad was around. Once I reached legal hunting age in PA, I was allowed to shoot my bow in the backyard by myself. I think I was about 15 or so when I first got to take the .22 out by myself either for target or for squirrels.
    When you want to dial long distance...AT&T, .223, or Jeremiah 33.3?Member:Secret Select Society of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets
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    mudgemudge Member Posts: 4,225 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    My first was a Winchester .22 pump. Given to me by an Uncle. I was about 12 (1947). My dad wasn't into guns so I had to teach myself. Ain't it amazing what a little common sense will accomplish. Killed a squirrel with it. Felt really bad about that. Haven't killed anything since. No desire to. It got stolen around 1969-70.Mudge
    I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS![This message has been edited by mudge (edited 10-23-2001).]
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    spclarkspclark Member Posts: 408 ✭
    edited November -1
    My Dad (bless his heart, may he rest in peace) taught me to shoot when I was 10; .32 Special, .22LR. Worked up to .357 Mag by the time I was 13.I won a Browning B-80 DU Special in 1982 but I won't count that.I inherited Dad's "collection" (S&W wheelguns, nothing bigger than the .357) when he crossed over in early 1995... sold 'em all but a .38 Special S&W Bodyguard (2" barrel) in early 2000. Still kicking myself.THEN I got interested again in shooting (go figure).MY "collection" now ranges from .22LR to .308 in long guns, 22LR to .44 Mag in short guns. And that .38 Special.[This message has been edited by spclark (edited 10-23-2001).]
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    nunnnunn Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 36,017 ******
    edited November -1
    My uncle gave me his old Winchester Model 37 in 16 gauge when I was 11. It kicked the fool out of me but I loved it. Still have it.My dad bought me my first rifle, a Marlin .22 auto, when I was 12. I still have it. That was 1964.A bit later, I got a hankering for a handgun. The cheapest good gun I could find was the Ruger Standard .22. I had a part-time job and put one on layaway. As the time to make the final payment drew near, I told my dad about it, because he would have to go and pick it up. He didn't see the sense in it. He never could shoot a handgun so he believed them all to be inaccurate. But he went with me. The GCA 1968 had just passed, and he had to fill out a form 4473. Now that honked him off a lot. He almost refused to complete the deal, but if he did, I would be out about 50 hard-earned bucks, so he grudgingly filled out the form. From the time of my first gun at 11, I was allowed to keep my guns in my room and keep ammo for them as well. After I became mobile at about 16, I often had guns and friends in my car as we went on forays to the river bottoms, plinking and looking for snakes to catch. Often my parents had no idea what I was up to. So how come I didn't carry my guns to school and shoot the place up?
    Certified SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of the General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the premier gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net Jesus is Lord!
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    gunpaqgunpaq Member Posts: 4,607 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    First shot a .22 when I was five. Father gave me a .22 rifle of my own at age nine. Grandfather gave me a Stevens 311 16ga when I was twelve. Then, my father gave me a Ruger .357 Blackhawk when I was fourteen. After that I bought my own guns.
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    Bubba JoelBubba Joel Member Posts: 5,161
    edited November -1
    My dad bought me a 410 shotgun when I was 14....If I ever came back into camp with a shell in the chamber or the gun pointing anywhere else except up or down, I would get my butt busted....I was taught gun safety at a early age....I was expected to keep it cleaned and oiled, and when he inspected it, it damn well better be in good shape..
    I wouldn't mind being the last man on earth-just to see if all of those girls were telling me the truth....
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    DaRoostaDaRoosta Member Posts: 270 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I was given a Remington Sportsman 58 semi-auto 12 guage when I was 10 years old by a family friend who has polio. He presented the shotgun to me with my parents permission. It was one of the single greatest days of my life. I was a pretty big kid, and probably more responsible and mature than most kids my age. Nontheless, I have to emphasize that I was still a kid and could not handle it without adult supervision. I didn't shoot it until I was 12. By that time I had taken hunters safety courses (they actually offered it in my junior high school as normal cirriculum). This led into a junior smallbore (.22LR) indoor league where safety was always the #1 priority.I think it's up to the parents regarding the maturity and responsibility of their child of when they should introduce them to firearms. 16 seems a little old to have your first experience with firearms to me, especially when it's legal to hunt when you're younger than that. In Oregon, it's legal to hunt when you're 12 years old, but must be accompanied by an adult until your 15th birthday. I would certainly bring that to the attention of the dealer in question if it was a problem. It just doesn't make sense to me, but is also just the way I see it.
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    Mark IIMark II Member Posts: 247 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My father taught me how to shoot almost as soon as I could shoulder a red ryder BB gun. Was taking me to the range by the time I was 12 or so, where I shot rifles and handguns up to 9mm and .38. Had my own air rifles practically all my life, got a Remington 12a from a family friend when I was 18, and purchased my first handgun (Glock 23C) two days after I turned 21. My birthday present to myself. I believe that the safety issue isn't one of age, but one of maturity and morality. Knowing the safety rules is one thing, obeying them like someones life depends on it is something else. I've been around people who knew the rules as well as I did, but as soon as they picked up a firearm, they started acting like they were in a Rambo movie. I don't associate with those people anymore. They lacked maturity, I believe.
    "To meet with ill fortune is to meet with good fortune. To meet with submission is to meet an enemy."
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    dheffleydheffley Member Posts: 25,000 ✭
    edited November -1
    Grew up on the farm. My first "real" gun was a daisy BB gun. (it fired a projectile, therefore it was real) Got it at 6. Dad used it to teach me gun safety and his "rules". I graduated to a .22 single shot at the age of eight. Still following his rules. I couldn't touch the gun unless he was with me. Got a .410 shotgun at 11, still under his rules. At the age of 14, I was allowed to hunt his and my grandfathers land unsupervised, but no where else without him. At 16, I was allowed to hunt on my own anywhere I had permission. Also got a handgun (S&W .38 Special) at 16, but the "rules" applied to the handgun. Was drafted at 18, and was gone for a total of 4 years. When I came back, he gave me all of my guns and told me to follow "your own" rules.
    Save, research, then buy the best.Join the NRA, NOW!Teach them young, teach them safe, teach them forever, but most of all, teach them to VOTE!
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    jonkjonk Member Posts: 10,121
    edited November -1
    Well, not counting my BB guns, I learned to shoot on my Grandpa's Remington 33 .22 when I was about 9. My Grandpa then bought me my own .22, a Marlin 880 when I was 15. I bought my first rifle with my own money (I got a few more as gifts between 15 and 18) the Dec. after I turned 18, using some Christmas money. I got a Marlin 60 for about $99 new. As for 'what age is best', I know 7 year olds who I would trust with a gun, and 60 year olds whom I would not trust with a wet noodle, much less a gun. Depends on the person.
    "...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conference in 1899.
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    will270winwill270win Member Posts: 4,845
    edited November -1
    I bought a Winchester model 12 from a pawn shop at the age of 16. Of course in 1988 guns and hunting were often the cause of teacher losing focus and entertaining the class with missed deer stories. (yes I know that was not long ago.)
    If you run, you'll just die tired! will270win@aol.com ~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
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    YankeeClipperYankeeClipper Member Posts: 669 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    we lived on the farm and had family guns to use from the age of 10. My oldest, the marine, saved his money from the paper route to buy his first handgun. I insisted he buy a real good one. So he got a Colt New Frontier. When he was 21 we filled out a new sheet in his name. But the law now says "are you buying this for yourself"? What else can they do to take away everything we enjoy:
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    shaneshane Member Posts: 882 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I got my first BB gun at age 12 and my first marlin 22. when I was 17. I purchased both of them myself with my own money. It's amazing how many guns a person can buy in a short amount of time.( I'm only 28 now)
    Sir Shane of the~Secret Select Society of Sauve Stylish Smoking Jackets~
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    Matt45Matt45 Member Posts: 3,185
    edited November -1
    My first real gun was a Ruger 10/22 when I was 13The best gun I've ever gotten was a Bushmaster XME2S w/20" Bbl, Mini-y Comp A-2 upper and a teardrop FA. My wife bought that for me as my wedding present from her 3 weeks prior to our wedding......WOW! SHE REALLY DOES LOVE ME!!
    Reserving my Right to Arm Bears!!!!
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    timberbeasttimberbeast Member Posts: 1,738 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    My pop bought me a .22 single shot when I was 10. Got a .410 bolt when I was 12, I still have that one. I came home from school everyday, changed clothes, and grabbed one and walked out the back door and hunted, during season, and checked my trapline. I only made one mistake with a gun in front of my father after his lessons, which started earlier during BB gun days. He handed me his Winch. .32Spl, and I handed it back without opening the action. That was the only time in his life he ever hit me. I still have that rifle. He passed in 92. I very often brought a gun to school during high school days, because a bunch of us would go out hunting on the way home. Even had one of my teachers come out to my car and check out my A-5. He went hunting with us a couple of times, too. None of us even had the faintest inkling of thinking about shooting anyone, except for if we were drafted, but I graduated in 75, so never went in the service. Was too busy hunting and trying to be a rock star........
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    dhdh Member Posts: 127 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Got my first real gun at 10,16 gauge bolt action and it stayed locked up with my dad's guns.My dad took me to the range(city dump) and drew my attention to a cardboard box about 20 yards away.One shot took it back quite a ways and he said now you can see first hand what a shotgun does,there is no room for mistakes.Got my first .22 by 11 and it stayed locked up as well.By fifteen a Fox 12 gauge and the previous were in my room but absolutely no ammo.My dad said I had too much of a hot head to have ammo.By seventeen I asked my dad about a handgun and he said nothing bigger than a .22.I brought one back from the gun show where a friend bought it with my money and you better believe my dad was hot on my trail when I came in that day to see what caliber I had bought.They are all gone now,theivery,but I started again,and if my dad were here and saw how many I have he would say,"you can only shoot one at a time boy".
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