Poll: Who else literally grew up with firearms?

[Patriot1775]

8 years old for me. Dad's .22

 

[USAF Medic]

Grew up in Ranching and mining area of southern NM.
We could work on our guns in high school
Shop classes. Our high school had a rifle club.

 

[johnboy]

6 yrs old bbgun......10 yrs....22........12 yrs 3030 mod 94........16 yrs 12ga........17yr 30.06........hunting since age 10...love it still....

 

[Zanester]

I was born and raised on a small horse outfit outside of Moscow, ID. My biological dad was a writer for Field & Stream, owned a chain of gun shops in the region, and was a Marine sniper. Stepdad was a rancher, then a cop, then FBI, then Chief of Police.

I got my first .22 at age 10 and was let loose in the Idaho woods alone with my trusty firearm. By age 13, I was riding horseback 50 miles a day in the mountains with a .22 Ruger Single-Six on my hip, alone, and would camp out in the woods occasionally.

I don't remember ever not knowing about guns or having one handy.

Seems a lot of folks these days grew up without firearms and got into them later in life.

I admit to sometimes not understanding their perspectives or issues with firearms and being a bit insensitive about certain subjects with folks like that.

Just wondering who else here had a proper upbringing like me.

I was introduced to firearms by my Dad who lived in Alberta on a farm. Probably around 10 years old, mostly the .22 but a few others snuck their way in. Long time back but the funniest thing in my childhood was a fracas in a Kress 5 & dime store when I was six. Another kid picked up a rubber knife out of the "western" toys bins. I grab a tomahawk and raise it. We both threw a few slashes and jabs , next thing I know, blood everywhere and my eyelid was cut wide open. Into the office, towels and pressure slowed it but took 5 stitches to close. Never really felt it but how damn ironic a rubber knife wielded by a 6 or 7 y.o. could do that. I still laugh about it.

 

[USAF Medic]

I did in S.W. New Mexico. Every truck in the high school parking lot had a rifle in a rear window gun rack.

 

[3putts]

When very young (in the 1940's), lived in a wartime housing project between Portland and Milwaukie (McLaughlin Blvd.), called Kellogg Park. We learned of an abandoned gravel pit east of the project, between the two sets of railroad tracks. As I grew a bit older, I, along with friends, were given BB guns, my Red Ryder was awesome. My dad gave me a Winchester .22 pump, but could shoot it only when he was present. That gravel pit was a trove of adventures with the BB guns and slingshots. When my mom and dad divorced, the Winchester went with my dad, never to be seen again, by me. It was many years later when I bought a Ruger .22 and my Winchester Model 88 in .308 for some serious hunting. Many guns since and never looked back......

 

[Hummer]

My earliest memories were being with my Dad when he went to shoot at the range. Guess I was about 3 or 4. At age 6 we moved out of apartment and rented a house. My bed was right next to the gun cabinet. Shot my first rifle competition in 1957 when I was 11. I beat everybody on the Wofford College Rifle Team. He was tickled no end. Went to Camp Perry first time in 57. Shot there first time in 61 I think. Last I shot there was 2012, was getting ready to go in 2013, got rearended and wound up getting C5,6 and 7 fused in neck and that ended my competition career.

First time I ever saw more ammo than I could shoot was when I got asked to come to Aberdeen Proving Ground and became a Small Arms and Ammunition Test Director. My biggest day was I shot up $63,000.00 worth of ammo when the gun broke. 25MM Chaingun at $57.00 a round then. I last heard they are $125.00 a round now.

 

[MCMXI]

grew up in south east portland in the 60's, got a .22 from my dad at 11, went out to troutdale to my grandparents all the time shooting, good times to remember. some posters talk about powell butte, me and the kids hung out at mount tabor and the reservoirs.

 

[wired]

My kids. They've grown up with firearms. My dad was smart enough to wait to have them around when we were late teens. Not because of us though. There was always the chance of Mom ventilating him. A bit high strung she was.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

We moved here from the bread basket in 1965. Boeing pulled my ole man from Honeywell.

Every spring two adults and as many boys as we could pile into a station wagon headed for down town San Juan Island. There at the dump, every year they offered a 5 cent bounty on rabbits right foot/leg.
(or the whole critter).
What a racket. My ole man change me 50 cents for 50, 22 cartridges, and I got 5 cents a head.
We were rich.
That was Jr High. High school (Renton) we had inter school shooting competitions. Twice a month we would carry our 22 target rifles to school. Mom would have the rounds in her purse.
We would go to Me Thomson's office. Where the rifle was stored in a wall locker in his closet.
Mom gave him the ammo, which was in a safe under his deck.

I dont know about your high school, but at Renton High the annual pictures were taken in the fall. Hunting season. There are 1-3 trucks with shotguns in them, in the book today. My girlfriend went to Federal Way High. Her best friend's boyfriends truck has his shotgun in it, in there annual too.

We did not live in gun free zones, and NO ONE ever got shot

 

[DeanMk]

Went to San Juan in '96.
Thumbed my way over to Eastsound.
Cool place. Next time I'm taking the truck, though.
Caught the wrong ferry home, ended up in Friday Harbour. We just stayed on and rode it all the way back. No one minded.
Still remember that one spindly little dock where the boat pulled up and one guy walked off the boat.
I think that was Shaw. I heard they've since torn down that dock and replaced it with a newer, bigger one. =(

 

[Scrammer]

We moved here from the bread basket in 1965. Boeing pulled my ole man from Honeywell.

Every spring two adults and as many boys as we could pile into a station wagon headed for down town San Juan Island. There at the dump, every year they offered a 5 cent bounty on rabbits right foot/leg.
(or the whole critter).
What a racket. My ole man change me 50 cents for 50, 22 cartridges, and I got 5 cents a head.
We were rich.
That was Jr High. High school (Renton) we had inter school shooting competitions. Twice a month we would carry our 22 target rifles to school. Mom would have the rounds in her purse.
We would go to Me Thomson's office. Where the rifle was stored in a wall locker in his closet.
Mom gave him the ammo, which was in a safe under his deck.

I dont know about your high school, but at Renton High the annual pictures were taken in the fall. Hunting season. There are 1-3 trucks with shotguns in them, in the book today. My girlfriend went to Federal Way High. Her best friend's boyfriends truck has his shotgun in it, in there annual too.

We did not live in gun free zones, and NO ONE ever got shot

I was in our high school rifle club.
We had as many young women as guys.
I served as the range master, my best friend was the safety officer and an instructor.
It wasn't unusual for students to have rifles, shotguns and fishing poles in their truck or cars.
Funny we never had any school shootings.

 

[skywag]

I grew up in SW Portland on 7 acres. I got my first BB gun when I didn't have the strength to cock it. I had to shoot.........run into the house to get my mother to cock it.........and run back outside. Finally figured out to jam it against a tree and pull hard!

 

[Pops1911]

Only the last 60 years. I turn 70 next week.

 

[medicmike63]

My dad was a collector, got his FFL shortly after the GCA of '68. Discovered his cartridge collection in a shadowbox in the hallway when I was in the second grade (about 1970) spent MANY hours studying it. There were a lot of kitchen table deals, 1911s laying around as he built them up from parts. He recently passed, I inherited a handful of guns from his collection, his cartridge collections, ham radio gear and some other stuff. Definitely grew up with firearms being a common household fixture.

The shadow box, I am going to restore it, add some of his later and rare acquisitions to it and hang it in a proper place in my den.

 

[11Charlie]

My dad was a collector, got his FFL shortly after the GCA of '68. Discovered his cartridge collection in a shadowbox in the hallway when I was in the second grade (about 1970) spent MANY hours studying it. There were a lot of kitchen table deals, 1911s laying around as he built them up from parts. He recently passed, I inherited a handful of guns from his collection, his cartridge collections, ham radio gear and some other stuff. Definitely grew up with firearms being a common household fixture.

The shadow box, I am going to restore it, add some of his later and rare acquisitions to it and hang it in a proper place in my den.

View attachment 657554

The display case is amazing!!! Personally I would leave it as is. I think the story and the history behind it is even more amazing!! If you wanted you could start your own to add to the story and history

 

[medicmike63]

The display case is amazing!!! Personally I would leave it as is. I think the story and the history behind it is even more amazing!! If you wanted you could start your own to add to the story and history

Thanks, I always thought it was darned cool. He used a flocked foam as a background and it is really degrading, some of the lead bullets are starting to corrode as well (especially the old large bore rimfires) so it does need some maintenance. He had another collection that I grabbed that had some great brass 12 bore brass slugs, a Dardick Tround, a Gyrojet, a couple civil war paper cartridges, and some other cool stuff that I am sure he would have included if he had them at the time it was built.

 

[DeanMk]

Dude! Artillery rounds?! You're my hero!
Cool collection!

 

[Mikej]

My dad was a collector, got his FFL shortly after the GCA of '68. Discovered his cartridge collection in a shadowbox in the hallway when I was in the second grade (about 1970) spent MANY hours studying it. There were a lot of kitchen table deals, 1911s laying around as he built them up from parts. He recently passed, I inherited a handful of guns from his collection, his cartridge collections, ham radio gear and some other stuff. Definitely grew up with firearms being a common household fixture.

The shadow box, I am going to restore it, add some of his later and rare acquisitions to it and hang it in a proper place in my den.

View attachment 657554

Sorry to hear about your Dad. Was he in Florence too? Just curious as we're looking to move there in the next year. And been spending a chunk of time in the area each September for the last 21 years. We get to the club while we're there with a NWFA member that lives in Green Trees. Plan on joining ourselves when we make it down.

 

[medicmike63]

Sorry to hear about your Dad. Was he in Florence too? Just curious as we're looking to move there in the next year. And been spending a chunk of time in the area each September for the last 21 years. We get to the club while we're there with a NWFA member that lives in Green Trees. Plan on joining ourselves when we make it down.

Thank you.

Dad was down in Medford (I grew up down there). Florence is a great place to be but you have to enjoy being at the end of the road, not a lot of shopping but Eugene is a doable drive for Costco etc once a month or so. The club here has a great range, I am a member but need to get off my posterior and renew my dues for the year, have a few new to me guns to wring out. We are just up the road from Green Trees. Hope to be welcoming you to Florence permanently soon!