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How old?
Mr. Perfect
Member, Moderator Posts: 66,381 ******
I think most folks on this forum have been gun guys and gals their whole lives, but there are some that only got introduced to them later on, I suspect.
How old were you when you first shot a gun? What kind of gun was it?
How old were you when you first paid your own money for a gun? Do you still have that gun?
I had an air rifle when I was 8, and first shot a 22 lr rifle (not sure what make) at the age of 10, thanks to my uncle.
It wasn't until I was 22 that I bought my first gun. A 30.06 that I bought to hunt with. I still have it and love hunting with it.
Some will die in hot pursuit
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Comments
Age 5......22 rifle, my 1st purchase at 16 yrs. 870 Wingmaster .12 ga. full choke, both still in my possession.
"Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee
I was about 8 years old and was given my great grandfathers 22 to shoot at a woodchuck. I’ve been around guns since then and I’m 66 years old now.
Growing up with a lot of older brothers I had shooting opportunities that came to me and I cannot tell you exactly just how old I was. There must have been 3 or 4 BB guns and a couple pellet rifles laying in closet corners back when I was still in diapers. Living with a creek in the back yard I must have sent enough frogs to frog heaven that I kind of fear the gang that is going to meet me below that Rainbow Bridge when I get there!
The first powder propelled gun I ever shot was a single shot 4\10 when I was around 7 or 8. It was just a one shot deal with my dad showing me the ropes. 22's didn't come along for me until much later at around 13 y\o or so. I saved enough money picking cherries that summer to buy a used bolt action single shot. I think it was a Remington but not sure. I passed it down to a younger brother trading it for his services doing my chores around the place while I had better things to do.
How old were you when you first shot a gun? What kind of gun was it?: Five years of age. The gun was my dad's Model 63 Winchester. It is now in my possession.
How old were you when you first paid your own money for a gun? Do you still have that gun?: Age of 14. The gun, a 1917 Eddystone wearing a Bishop? sporter stock. Yes the gun is still in my possession, although it now belongs to my brother, and it wears a military stock.
I was about 10 yrs old dad bought a Ithaca 410 for 8.00 I think to resell it but I layed clams on it So it became mine .
About 12 yrs old my grandfather gave my mom a 22 pistol a old chrome I think fie brand so I was given it still have both of them
Also when I was about 10 or so I received my first bb gun
And with in a few hours my first police visit you can not shoot a bb gun in city limits .also wheni started hating neighbors for not minding ther own business
When I turned 16 and got my 1st job u started buying guns dad had to sign of course. A 22 a 30 carbine a 30-30 a 30-06 and a 12 game pump
I had no place to shot them but just enjoyed guns
Then came hot rods and hot girls lol
hey ended my gun buying making 1.65 a hour only goes so far
About the time I hit 22 I started buying a few more guns
Skip ahead a decade or so
I bought both my sons bb guns at same time one was about 12 the other about 8 yrs old . When they each turned about 12 I bought each one a ruger 10-22
They still have them it's still the only gun my oldest son ownes my youngest now has a FFL and I lost track of what guns he has bought sold or kept
I had bb/pellet guns as a kid, shot a few shotguns and a Saturday might special in my teens, at 17 joined the ARMY so got trained on M16A!, M60 & 45. Bought a Model 94 in 30-30 around 1980 when I got out of ARMY, I think it ended up at a pawn shop a year or so later. Bought another Model 94 in 44 mag and a Super Black Hawk in 44 at a gun show when Clinton took office, still have both and started getting into 9mm carbines and other 44 pistols and revolvers, I picked up a 12 gauge and a couple 22s along the way. Been building AR's from 80% lowers for the last 18 months or so, not sure how many total guns I have right now, inherited a couple rifles which I still haven't shot, a marlin 336 30-30 and a sporterized 1918 Winchester 30,06...
First was Moms .22 rifle. Don't remember how old when first shot it, and don't remember ever not shooting it.
Probably around the age of 8 I got to try dads 69A Winchester. A couple of years later I tried his mod42 410. Both of them are around here in one safe or another. Bought my first 22 when I was 15 and my first centerfire, (mod 94 30/30), when I was 18. Since then I don't even want to contemplate how much I have spent on guns and shooting. Suffice to say it would probably add up to more than a few new Vettes. 😁 Bob
I know the first firearm I ever fired was my dad's Winchester Model 12 shotgun, it was 16 gauge with a full choke and a 26 inch barrel. I was about 12 years old then. The first gun a ever bought was a J C Higgins 16 gauge bolt action shot gun. It was a full choke and had a 26 inch barrel. I bought It with my own money because I was a paper boy. I was about 13 years old when that happened. When I went off to college I sold it to my youngest brother, Dennis, for $20. He hasn't had it for many years. I don't remember what I paid for it but it was about $20.
5 bb gun. 7or 8 .22. 8 had a 311 Stevens .410 . 10 was shooting a Model 70 Winchester 30/06. 20 gauge 1100 remington all thru HS. Purchased my first pistol at 21 a Colt Woodsman .
I dont know how old, but it was a crack shot 26. Still have it.
My Dad taught me to shoot with a Daisy Red Ryder around seven or eight, first firearm was a .22 Winchester that my Uncle would let me shoot rats in the corn bin on his farm with at about eight as well. He would give me a handful of .22 rat shot and the rifle and I would sit up in one corner on top of the dried corn and wait .... not for long either because those suckers were hungry and plentiful.
These rats were as big as squirrels and they just kept coming, man that was fun ....... the original video game and a box of rat shot was less than fifty cents.
My Dad taught me how to shoot a handgun with his Colt 1911, he was on the Navy pistol team and would often let me go to practice with him.
First purchase was at about twelve, a sorta rusty, totally beat up Winchester .22 rifle that was as deadly accurate as any firearm I've ever fired for a bicycle frame and five bucks. Every kid I knew over the age of twelve had a .22 rifle, Heck, I thought it was the law. 😁
It was a different world then, now, a kid with a rifle would strike fear into the hearts of every democrap on the planet and have a life expectancy of about fifteen minutes. I sure am glad that I grew up in the era that I did. America was still great and the people were unified after the war, proud and strong ............................. now, not so much.
Still rather be here than anywhere else in the world.
I have one of those, they're a hoot to plink with.
The first rifle I had was a BB gun, I was 8 years old in 1958. It was my grandmothers brother’s BB gun, he was killed August 26th 1918 during WWI. It was made by the Markham air rifle company Chicago. It’s all wooden and has a brass barrel embedded in wood. I shot my first sparrow with it that year, and it still shoots today. Uses a leather gasket between the barrel and power piston I guess you would call it. If I knew how to post pictures I would, google it and you can see what they look like. Crossman 22caliber pellet gun at 12 years old. Now the first firearm I had was an 8mm Lebel. My other great uncle use to have all these NRA magazines at my other grandmother house. They advertised this rifle for $5 in the back of the magazine so I ordered it, yes I lied about my age, I was only 14. When it cam it was packed in grease. I remember dad just kind of shacking his head. Them were the good old days, would mow lawns to make some money to buy ammo for it, and no it’s been long gone.
I was 5yo first time firing a gun 22lr a remington 580. Still have it as it was a gift from dad.
1st gun i bought with my own money was a winchester 670 in 30/06 still have it too Will shot any ammo amazing for a eco grade winchester
Don't remember which came first , but gun or the 22 .Learned to shoot really good with s stevens / springfield 87A . First shotgun was a winchester model 37 . Think i was about 6 or 7 when I started .
I was 5 when my dad let me shoot his Model 72 Winchester 22. It now sit's in my closet and when something absolutely positively needs shot with a 22 it's the one I grab.
I was 14 when I bought my first rifle, a Model 70 in .270. Still have it and it still shoots great groups.
I grew up in the country so there were guns in my house all my life. Shot a lot of BB guns from about 5 on and got my first bow around 8. The first real gun I fired was a Ruger MKI when I was 7. My Dad let me shoot it off a rest until I got the feel for it... I still have that firearm.
The first gun I purchased with my own money was an Ithaca 37 Featherweight. When I was 15, in 1974, I spent many days that summer baling hay, mucking barns and walking beans for all the neighbors around me. 1.25 an hour. In the fall I bought the Ithaca for 140 bucks and that included a full case of 12ga shells. I still have it and most of the time it has a special place in the safe, I do shoot it during dove season or sporting clays with the neighbor...
Never saw a M-79 when I was in. Had the M-203s on the bottom of the M-16, but not everyone got one. ^^^
age 7 carried a winchester model 42 pump in .410 many trip afield with my dad and brothers quail hunting. like Barney Fife i carried 1 shell in my pocket. 4th trip i was able to hunt and shoot. after than training i was able to use the browning 16 or 12. bought my 1st gun at 12, money from mowing yards. western auto had barrels of sporterized milsurp. i chose an enfield 303. won a remington 12 gauge pump at a du quoin state fair raffle. then the flood started creating an arsenal cartel moguls would envy which continues to this day.
Quote from @discusdad : "then the flood started creating an arsenal cartel moguls would envy which continues to this day."
I too can admit the same. Just that the dang flood consumed them all! 😁
That's my sad story and I'm sticking with it!
just got my sisters first gun a few years ago. Dad bought her a new model 42 winchester in the early 50's, she shot it 3 times twice at a can to "sight" it in, then once at a squirrel she killed, she started crying over killing the squirrell and he took her home, she never shot it again or went hunting again. I allways blamed my brother in law, saying he only married her so I couldn't get the model 42. I finally "guilted" her into giving it to my grandson few years back, but it is in such nice condition it will never see the woods as I don't want to put the first scratch on it........
My Dad got me a Daisy pump gun when I was 6.
Shot my first 22, one of them Browning semi's that load thru the stock, when I was 7. It had a scope on it. I couldn't figure out how to shoot with a scope. I knew sights. You know, put the front sight in the middle of the back sight. So I would put the scope cross hairs on the target then I would hunt around for the front sight. Hey, I was a little kid!!😂😁🤣
M-14 at 17 years old. Uncle had me and a M-14 spend a night watching his property at 17. First firearm was a Universal M-1 carbine bought at age 19.
water pistols at 5?, slingshots at 7?, then to bb & pellet rifles and so on till 18 when I saved up enough money to buy a Savage-Anshutz 164M rifle in 22 magnum, still own and shoot it, then at 24.. because it was really difficult to get a handgun permit where I lived in N.Y. so, first real handgun a S&W mod. 66 4" full target . still have it but converted by S&W to 2.5" back in 1978. now I live for the last 20 years in the great red state of Florida where our Second amendment rights are supported and encouraged by most of the population and even more so by an overwhelming percentage of our many Florida counties Sheriffs and their departments.
Second only to my 17 caliber addiction, is my enjoyment of 22 rimfires.
Where to start??...... I guess the beginning.
At about 7 or 8 my younger uncle showed me the family's "Winchester 22 hex barrel" rifle........beautiful.....actually a Win 61 Octagon barrel. Four decades later, I ended up with it.......never to leave the family.
(edit: I'll add a pic of a 22, acquired a few decades later........a Kimber Custom Match.)
Dad a an old single shot 22 he let me shoot at 9. I wish I had the gun.
Very cool BB gun!
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Shot dad's Winchester 72 - .22lr when 5. Was given a new Winchester 1200 - 12ga at 14 to go hunting & a Mossberg 144LSB - 22lr at 15 for shooting on the High School rifle team. Yup, was carrying a 22 rifle to & from school in the early 70s and no body cared.
Guessing I was about 8 when dad first let me fire his 38spl.
When I moved out of the house, he gave me an H&R 622 to take with me. Sadly I do not have this revolver anymore.
When I was 20 I bought a Mossberg 500 combo and a Ruger 10/22. Still have both and they get used frequently.
Not gonna count pellet or bb guns because I can't remember....first time I ever shot a firearm I was six years old on my grandmother's farm. It was naturally my dad's 22LR bolt gun...my Dad and Uncle's were out shooting that day.
Mr Perfect, Thank you for posting the picture of the BB gun I learned to shot with. My understanding is that it only cost 50 cents new when my uncle purchased it.
BB-guns early (5) and Dad got me my own at 6. When I was 12, he took me to Monkey Wards and got me a bolt-action, clip-fed 12ga, and the Christmas I was 13 there was a Remington 511 clip-fed 22 from Santa. Didn't buy my own until I was 22--a 30-40 Krag carbine, paid $29.95 for it. Don't have any of them anymore, but I bought an identical Rem 511 twenty years ago that shoots better than anything I've had since. Uncle Sugar gave me some neat ones to play with back in the 60's, from .308 to 106mm (my ears are still paying for that sucker) but now I won't look at anything much younger'n me--and I'm an OLD s.o.b. My favorites are 25-35's (I have 3) and old smoothbores and combination guns; can't shoot a handgun worth sour owl spit.
Dutchwind
sonny, whar i growed up, "magnum" wuz anuther name fer "lousy hunter"!
Shot dad's Model 62A Winchester at age 8, got an Ithica Model 49 .22 @ age 10, a Win. Model 370 12 ga.@ age 11, a Rem. Model 760 .30/06 @ age 12, and I bought a Ruger Standard Auto @ age 14. The Ruger was $49.95. I have all of these guns and there are rumors I have acquired more.
Like most BB gun around 8 then my grandfather's Remington 41 target master came next. I was maybe 10 when I got FIE single shot 410 for Christmas. Used dad's Winchester 94 32 Win spl for a few years for deer hunting was 14 when I bought my first rifle a Savage170 30-30
I'm not talking about age. I will say it was the most technological firearm of it's time; a flintlock.
11 years old when Dad bought me a Daisy for a Christmas. Our house had woods behind it, and an open field to the left side. Had fun learning to hit what I shot at. There was a drainage ditch between our back yard and the woods. Bull frogs were plentiful and I did my best to blow them to smithereens. I had a Daniel Boone * skin hat, and I wore it all the time. I still have that BB gun, sixty two years later. The Daisy still works, but it seems my hat has disappeared.
I shot a single shot .410 when I was 9. Bought my first Daisy BB gun when I was 10. Got my first .22 (Remington 41-P single shot bolt action) when I was 12. Bought a single shot 12 ga. when I was 13, shot my first deer with it at the age of 14. Ruined me for life. :-)
I was allowed to carry the 67 Winchester while koon hunting, empty chamber of course. Probably about 8 years old. Still have it.
I started shooting when I was about 7 or 8 yo......got my first gun for Christmas in 1980.......the year before my dad passed away. He gave my brother and I both 1906 Winchester rifles.
I still have it of course. May not be the most valuable dollar-wise..............but priceless to me.