Bronze Supporter
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8 years old for me. Dad's .22
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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.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 in our high school rifle club.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
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
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.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
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
Thank you.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.