[XDsub40]

...and how old were you?


My very first rifle I ever shot was my dad's old Marlin Model 60 at the age of 12, now I'm 27(I got a late start to guns, due to growing up in Hawaii and dad didn't want to bring any of his guns on over). It's a very accurate rifle.

My very first pistol was again, my dad's Bersa 380 at the age of 11. At the time, dad just bought it at the local gun show so it was the first pistol he owned, just not the first one he has ever shot. Dad was wanting to make sure I can handle, operate, shoot and at least hit the target. If for some reason someone was to break-in to the house, I would have the means to defend myself and mom(mom, on the same day when we were all qualifing with the Bersa, could not hit the target to save her life).

 

[Calvin Wiles]

Don't remember first time I shot a gun. Do remember at about 10 my dad decided that I was old enough to hunt by myself. He had given me a lot of instruction beforehand on gun handling and safety. I took my squirrel dog and Dads .22 pump winchester hunting. My dog treed across a fence in the edge of a creek bottom. I crawled under the fence, shot the squirrel, and when I got back to the fence, I lay the gun down to crawl under the fence, as my dad had instructed, and picked up the squirrel and ran all the way to the house. I was so proud of killing a squirrel all my self, and my dad said "son, that is a fine squirrel, but where is my gun?". I told him and we had to go back and walk along the fence until we found it.

 

[gunman42782]

The first thing I ever shot was a .410 H and R single shot shotgun. I think I was about 8 years old.

 

[RNettles]

I still remember it well... My family was visiting my Uncle Gail, in the Audry State Park aera, near Clarksberg, West Virgina. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were going to get to shoot some of my uncle's rifles. I had never shot a gun before, and this was a great moment for a 9 year old boy. It could be the final victory to prove to my Dad that I was "truely" a young man. The rifle was "geared" in 30-06. They demonstrated all the safeties and precautions of handling a firearm. I was ready. I took aim at the old bottle that had been proped up on the split rail fence post. I lined the iron sights "dead-on". The trigger sinched backward slowly, and the anticipation sored with great expectations of glory and heroism BANG! The round let loose the power of God, and it filled the 1 and a half inches of space between the butt of the rifle and my tender, and soon to be bruised, shoulder. It propelled my 85 pound body upward and to the rear. I completed, not one, but two complete summer-saults, and lay there, pondering things of the cosmos. My Dad and uncle laughed for about twenty minutes, at my expense... and to the amazement of all involved, I shot it again, and hit the bottle this time.

As a side-note: Today I own and shoot a Remington 7400 semi-automatic "geared" in .270, NOT 30-06!

 

[Baldy]

I can say I don't remember the frist time. I grew up with a .22 short Hamilton rifle in my hand. I do remember my frist very own rifle was a Remington .22 bolt action single shot. That was my pride and joy at 10yrs old. I got into hand guns at about 15 or 16yrs old and I haven't looked back. I still got them both.

 

[Keith Smith]

Picture was shot in '79, I was born in 72, so I was 7 in this picture. I doubt this was our first time out.

 

[gunman42782]

The gun is bigger than you are!!! Great picture.

 

[sheepdog]

Looks like a Winchester auto-I miss those old guns that fed s,l,lr or a handful of all...though s is almost scarce and lr is most popular...you could shoot all day on one loading...and we did.

 

[Keith Smith]

That was in Arizona or Ocotillo Wells I think.

 

[white dog]

Don't remember the first time out but vaguely remember my Dad helping me shoot a 22 rifle. One Sunday morning we got back home in the late morning after shooting and heard Pearl Harbor had been attacked.

 

[kansas45]

When I was very small my Grandparent's let me carry My Great Grandad's 10ga double barrel shotgun around the farm for play. Oneday, I found a box of shell's in the store room that fit it. I went outside, loaded the shotgun, sat down with my back agains't a tree & pulled the trigger, the other barrel went off at the same time. That gun can wrap a 7yr old kid around a tree, I'm pretty sure! My Dad still has it. I'll get it someday before long. Don't think I'll shoot the thing though! My ear's are still ringing for my Grandma's word's! That was 46 year's ago!