Poll: Who else literally grew up with firearms?

[HaveGun]

Ditto to the OP.

Firearms and their handling and use is as natural as breathing for me.

 

[Cheapdad]

Yep, grew up in Bellevue (Medina). Pheasants in yakima/moses lake, deer in the methow valley, geese in the skagit...and shooting at a small range by issaquah high school.
Cheapdad

 

[Dinglenutz]

So it's been a bit, votes have been cast and a trend is obvious. What conclusions is it safe to draw from this data?

 

[rjmt]

I purchased a Chipmunk rifle for my 6 year old son back in '81 at a gunshop in Portland
all the kids started on this rifle - as they outgrew it, moved them up to a Remington Nylon bolt

 

[DeanMk]

Yep, grew up in Bellevue (Medina). Pheasants in yakima/moses lake, deer in the methow valley, geese in the skagit...and shooting at a small range by issaquah high school.
Cheapdad

Used to hunt deer up in Winthrop/Twisp....I used to work in Issaquah, too. What was the name of that tavern? the one with the giant moose head on the wall? The Union Tavern?...something like that....something about a shooting range out that way rings a familiar bell, too.

 

[DeanMk]

I purchased a Chipmunk rifle for my 6 year old son back in '81 at a gunshop in Portland
all the kids started on this rifle - as they outgrew it, moved them up to a Remington Nylon bolt

View attachment 723457

Those are made by Keystone now. Same people that make the similar "Crickett" rifle.
Took a look at one of those Crickett's the other day....smallest rifle I've ever seen. I mean, really tiny!

 

[rjmt]

but the trigger to buttstock length is perfect for a 6 year old

I also liked the pull-cock safety for beginning shooters

 

[DeanMk]

I also liked the pull-cock safety for beginning shooters

Yeah, me too.

(btw, with the Crickett, there is also an option for an adult-sized stock. In case your "kid" is like, 7....or 49. )

 

[JCKelly]

Dad took me with him target shooting in the 1940's. At that time the most accurate, and reliable, .22LR ammo used Lesmok powder. Which stunk, and I may have reminded Dad of that.
Got my Red Ryder age 7 or 8, bought my first B-B's from Mr. Stewart, at Stewart's hardware in Indiana, PA (his kid Jimmy was an actor).
Lever action Marlin 39A about age 12. Various other revolvers shotgun & rifle came along thru my teens to about 20.
Great-great Grandpa's rifle was always on the wall. Was told I had to be a head taller to shoot it. Did get a head taller, but shot a great-inlaws muzzle-loading rifle about age 15.
Yeah, I grew up with firearms.

 

[DeanMk]

JC,

Anyone in this photo (besides the obvious) look familiar?


...found it on Wikipedia.

Dean
P.S. "Lesmok" gun powder. That one gave me a chuckle. =)

 

[Mills]

Gun's have always been in my life, I grew up on a little 200 acre dairy farm in South Jersey, got my first gun at 6, a 12ga. Stevens 30in. single barrel, had to grow into it, cleaned and rubbed that thing so much I think I wore the bluing off, took shotgun hunting test at 10 & bow at 11. Memories of hunting with Pop-Pop & uncles priceless, my renegade dad, rest his soul run guns & cigarettes back then, worked on ton's of gun's for pop, guy's from town come over on weekends to shoot, safety was always my top priority, gun discipline followed by gun cleaning regiment when finished, when farm got sold my love for N.J. went with it, been here 6yrs. love it, but here like back east I know some people that should never touch a gun.

 

[kahr man]

Was given my first .22 single shot by my grandfather when I was 5 years old and taught gun safety. Started shooting trap and skeet with him when I was around 10. He is now 95 years old.

 

[Flymph]

Was given my first .22 single shot by my grandfather when I was 5 years old and taught gun safety. Started shooting trap and skeet with him when I was around 10. He is now 95 years old.

View attachment 732702

 

[DeanMk]

Gun's have always been in my life, I grew up on a little 200 acre dairy farm in South Jersey, got my first gun at 6, a 12ga. Stevens 30in. single barrel, had to grow into it, cleaned and rubbed that thing so much I think I wore the bluing off, took shotgun hunting test at 10 & bow at 11. Memories of hunting with Pop-Pop & uncles priceless, my renegade dad, rest his soul run guns & cigarettes back then, worked on ton's of gun's for pop, guy's from town come over on weekends to shoot, safety was always my top priority, gun discipline followed by gun cleaning regiment when finished, when farm got sold my love for N.J. went with it, been here 6yrs. love it, but here like back east I know some people that should never touch a gun.

If no one has mentioned it yet, welcome to the forum Mills.
Sounds like you had a pretty good childhood.

Dean

 

[made in china]

In my home growing up, no guns (no Dad around, but fortunately no one was anti-gun). But, all of my friends had guns. I had many Mormon friends growing up and they taught their kids how to use guns from an early age.
Thanks to my friends while I was growing up, I was very familiar with guns and began buying them as an adult.
I gifted a Henry .22 lever action to my son so he can be in on the action.

 

[Professorthedo]

My dad started me shooting before kindergarten. The early 70s, and first ever gun I shot, Colt woodsman match target. At age 13 I had a gun cabinet with several guns. And at I got my first center-fire handgun. A Ruger Redhawk 44 mag.

 

[Richierich1]

im 66yrs and grew up in Texas so i guess that speaks for itself in some places. I got a daisy bb gun at 5 and.when i subsequently movez to LA at 8 yrs i recall going out on thd santa monica pier in early 1960's and paying 25 cents in the arcade for a .22 rifld with 10 shorts in it and no teather , with my dad. No one turned around and shot the.crowd. different planet i.guess. as i was taught from 5 yrs old on about how to handle a gun i am aghast at the people i hear in line in gun stores speaking while buying their first gun as well as the behavior of some folks at ranges.its almost enough to make u want to consider thoze democrats ideas on gun......i said almost. Im sure u know what i mean. Theres alot of bubblegumheads out there buyin guns whom i wouldnt trust with a bb gun. They watched Dirty Harry and that other tripe and dont really get the idea that when Matt Dillon shoots someone with his .45 colt long that the guy shot doesnt really just say OOWWE wipe his arm and walk away hense u get folk like that jerk 17 r old that cop wannabe who killed those 2 people in Wis. and wounded another with an M4. Where in hell did a 17 yr old get a gun like that? I could barely afford the $29 glenfield marlin .22 at Kmart . richierich

 

[Andy54Hawken]

@Richierich1
First welcome to the forum.

And secondly....we have a swear filter that uses the word "bubblegum" in place of certain words....
This is because we try to maintain a family friendly forum.
We also strive to have a non-divisive forum...one as free as possible , from political strife.
Andy

 

[Richierich1]

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 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 think the big problem these days is that weve left rural america behind us for the urban areas which of course means more and more people growing up with only tv as their firearms teacher as here in san jose if u didnt go to a range u have to drive a hundred miles to shoot in the sticks and in this democrat bubblegum state thats probably not far enough still. As.a a teen in LA we had to drive about 60 miles to shoot outdoors without having law problems or just worryin about the jerks a lane.down shooting crossrange.with so few getting exposure to hunting and shooting from competant older folk lime myself(66) the non gun folk are winning the battle by the numbers but they are not deep thinkers. As thd bumper sticker so aptly puts it.....when guns ard outlawed only outlaws will have guns......so they think banning guns is going to make them safe. Its the old genies out of the bottle conundrum. The number of guns in civilion hands now is almost as many as there are people in usa.Not to mention the laws make no sense that they do make which means people have little respect for nonesense lawz.ie: the fact that (in calif) any 18 yr old can buy or order on line younger, a black powder non gun as the atf classifys them. Cant buy a switchblade own nunchukus , a swordcane, a blowgun, but u can have a Walker Colt . blackpowder guns have taken more lives than we lost in ww1 and 2 combinez(civil war). I could go on all day with the contidictory bullbubblegum lawz but u know them as well as i. Here in cali we have to go thru a background check each and every time we buy ammo and of course theres a fee. Richierich

 

[Sabertooth]

I grew up out in the country and all us kids had had BBguns or Pellet rifles. Then 22 rifles. Evey house had at least one rifle and shotgun and pistol and non were under lock and key.. We were depressed when we found out that we could not hunt deer with a 22 rifle or use a pitch fork or spear to get salmon or steelhead. We still did but were very careful about it.. The simple question was to do you want meat on the table or not.