Poll: Who else literally grew up with firearms?

[Old Massa]

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 can totally relate to your "upbringing" got my first 22 (Remington single shot) at age 9 when I was 10 Dad got me an 870 in 20ga, After that when I was 12 got my first 30-06. All of these I still have and still enjoy shooting, (although by age 16 I had to put a recoil pad on the 870 to move it a bit further away from my nose. Dad was a ww2 Vet, Chief of Police of my home town of Bishop Calif. It was a great place for a kid to grow up in, miles of area for 3 kids with 22's to spend endless hours in the summer shooting whatever we could, challenging each other on our marksmanship. Like it only counted if you hit the sparrow in the head, that type of challenges and challenges accepted.

I was raised with firearms, When I was in high school, many of us had out shotguns and rifles in the car so that after school during hunting season we could hurry out to our favorite spot for an evening hunt. Funny how back then guns were simply a way of life and no one ever had a problem with it. I remember one of my buddies getting a 41 mag and bragging about it in class, the teacher asked if he had it in his car, he replied yes so the teacher asked him to go get it so that he could check it out. The 41 was passed around for all of us to oggle and wish over.Imagine what would happen today if the same were to happen???

Brought up my children the same way, can't say that the grand children have it so good but we are doing our best under the current circumstances.

 

[jjfitch]

I shot my first match in military school in1957 as a 12 year old. I've been shooting some form of competition ever since. 22 Gallery Rifle, Gallery B/E, Trap, PPC, Semi-Auto and revolver action games. I've also hunted game in the western united states.

I have a small range in my back yard to 50 yards and can walk out the back yard an find game such as dove, pigeon, deer, bear and rodents.

Here is a local deer that has grown up in our yard, his third year, "Spike" is all grown up now !
He really like our apples!

 

[zdubz]

I grew up with hippie parents in the city and suburbs who taught me how scaaaaary guns were. Then, when I was in grad school a colleague from Tennessee opened my eyes to hunting and shooting. He presented everything to me respectfully and factually. Now I am raising my children to be confident with, and informed about firearms. Am now spending weeks in the woods with my son looking for game.
To all of you who grew up that way, don't ever take it for granted, and please, if you see a hipster out there stumbling around in his Tevas trying to recapture his connection to the land, be kind and help him along. It would help our cause if we are seen as approachable.

 

[DeanMk]

^^^^^ Here, here! ^^^^^

 

[The Resister]

I got my first .22 LR Marlin semi-automatic at the age of 11. I remember getting on the school bus with it and the bus driver asking if it were loaded. I said no, the bullets were in my pocket and we were going out shoot squirrels. He told me to put it in my locker when I got to school. Imagine that scene today!

Since then, I've probably put enough lead down range to pay for a couple of houses.

 

[jantheman]

I got my first .22 rifle on my 12th B.D.(Rem. 341), My 1st center-fire(Win. Mod. '95, 30/40) on my 13th B.D.(killed my 1st elk at 15 with it), bought my 1st pistol(Ruger single-six) at age 16. USMC M-14/M-16 in Vietnam(aged 20-21). Weatherby .300 Mag., Ruger 77(22/250),Ruger 10/22, Bushmaster AR-15(gopher-gun!), & Kimber .45 pistol. Yeah, I grew up in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho & know a little about firearms & gun handling/safety. I'm almost 73, but can still out-shoot most of my friends/relatives. Nobody will take my toys away without my consent...PERIOD. J.Sawley.

 

[pinne65]

I guess the genes skipped a generation. My parents couldn't care less. But my great grandfather was a gunsmith, at one time serving the German emperor and later running a gun range where my mom grew up. My grandfather was a big game hunter, fought the bolsheviks twice, first in 1918 and again in 1939, helping our Finnish neighbors out.
From the earliest age I've been into guns. Joined the rifle club at 11, shooting Anschutz .22 and 6.5mm Mausers.
When we were young kids our parents took our toy guns away, worrying we were getting too waeponized .
We carried on building new ones out of Lego.
Had an interlude after military service. But after crossing the pond and becoming an american citizen I celebrated by getting my first shotgun. A Benelli Nova, which I still own today.

 

[wjv]

Grew up in Chicago.
No guns in the house. My dad didn't object to gun, just never had a need for one.
Turned 21 and bought a Dan Wesson 357.

Focused mainly on handguns, but in the past 15 years or so I've drifted to long guns, and especially lever guns.

 

[Trip Wire]

Got bored watching some guy on TV say something about "Not what you can do for your country" Jan 61.
Went to see what Dad was up to. I reloaded my first round that day.
He passed in 71, When he did my mom had $20 in her pocket.
I made bullets for months for all the gun club members and they bought them from my mother.

 

[DeanMk]

Dang Trip Wire!
Gonna be cryin' in my beer after reading that one.
You're a good son, though. -b

Dean

 

[Catfishmoon]

I am another person who grew up in a small rural town around firearms. Made money as a youngster digging pits for people hunting geese in the wheat fields of Eastern Washington... Like others, I started young with a .22 and bought my first hunting license as soon as I legally qualified. I wish I had kept those licenses through the years as souvenirs.

 

[Tige]

Grew up in a bush town in Alaska. No trees, no TV, no flush toilets. Everybody had a gun. All the time. And all the kids had pocket knives. Had a shotgun at age 6, which may have been about the norm

 

[Wet Mountains]

Six or seven of us would walk through downtown with 22's and shotguns on a way out of town to go rabbit hunting. No one even noticed.

 

[STEELE]

Born during WWII, it wasn't until about 1950 that I started shooting Dad's Colt 1903 .32. I loved it because it fit my hand and the images of those "bad" guy movies who used he '03 played thru my mind. I seem to recall Humphrey Bogart in a scene with his Colt. We lived on 1000 acres south of Erie, PA, then moved to Navesink, NJ to 25 acres. My bullets are no doubt still there. In those days, guns were just tools for fun, collecting and home protection. I can't recall any negatives in the populace or media. Atlantic Highlands, NJ had a shop called Arjay Sports. Put your money on the counter and take your revolver home. Wish I could go back.....I still have the Colt.

 

[Oldamishman]

I grew up with parents that were anti-firearms. I recognize them as a fact of life and part of the culture here in the US. I actually gave my father HIS first gun.

 

[DeanMk]

Born during WWII, it wasn't until about 1950 that I started shooting Dad's Colt 1903 .32. I loved it because it fit my hand and the images of those "bad" guy movies who used he '03 played thru my mind. I seem to recall Humphrey Bogart in a scene with his Colt. We lived on 1000 acres south of Erie, PA, then moved to Navesink, NJ to 25 acres. My bullets are no doubt still there. In those days, guns were just tools for fun, collecting and home protection. I can't recall any negatives in the populace or media. Atlantic Highlands, NJ had a shop called Arjay Sports. Put your money on the counter and take your revolver home. Wish I could go back.....I still have the Colt.

That's a really great story.
Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[Bat-S-Crazy]

So, I grew up in a small"ish" town in Kentucky where my Grandfather still owned our family's original homestead. It was down to 100 acres by 1970 but was full of rabbits, squirrels, quail and doves. I grew up small game hunting where I used my bb gun unsuccessfully while hunting at six years of age. One day that same year towards Christmas while riding in the car with my Mom and Dad I noticed we stopped in front of a Pawnshop that we would go to and buy things at times but this time my father had my Mom and I wait in the car.It was my favorite place to go look at stuff and beg Dad for things that I would find while he would make deals with the owner. It was a strange trip in that my Mom and I had to wait in the car while he made a couple of trips back and forth then wanted me to hold my arm up for measurement. After about ten long minutes he came out empty-handed got in the car saying something to Mom and the two of them smiled at each other as we drove away empty-handed. I slouched in the back seat, I didn't get to go in and look at stuff! But as you have already figured out on Christmas eve as it turned out there was a long package under the tree...Needless to say, we were out on the farm hunting in the snow for Rabbits by the end of Christmas day! I was six in getting my first gun and not allowed to touch my gun unless we were going to be shooting or hunting and I honored my parents' wishes by not ever touching it as I knew what that gun was capable of in previous shoots. Hope everyone has a great Christmas! BTW All four of my grandchildren have shot guns by the age of six and my grandson started bird hunting with me this year...

 

[Bat-S-Crazy]

I grew up with parents that were anti-firearms. I recognize them as a fact of life and part of the culture here in the US. I actually gave my father HIS first gun.

That's awesome!

 

[mhayd93]

As young as I can remember my Dad would take my siblings and I into the Coast Range to go shooting. Of course we started off with rifles in 22lr, but the love and respect of firearms took root in all of us. Hunting and shooting has literally always been a deeply ingrained hobby and interest at all phases of my life (and it has only gotten stronger as I have gotten older).

More importantly than actually growing up around firearms, was that both my Dad and Mom taught us that the 2nd Amendment, like all other amendments, leaves no room for compromise or restriction. Exercising our right to bear arms is a uniquely American privilege and, to an extent, duty.

Sometimes I think of all the people who are against firearms or indifferent to them and it always boggles my mind that they could have such disdain for a core aspect of our Constitutional framework!

 

[orygun]

Sometimes I think of all the people who are against firearms or indifferent to them and it always boggles my mind that they could have such disdain for a core aspect of our Constitutional framework!

Not to minimize the rest of your reply @mhayd93 , which is great, but this last part is something to talk about.
I know people who feel they should have a gun to protect them self, have absolutely no interest in hunting and yet still vote Democrat! WTF?!?!?!?

You know the story, "I'm from the Government and I'm here to help".