How old were you when you got your first gun?

[GSP 4 me]

I'll start this one off, but look foward to your replies.

I was 7 years-old when my dad came home with two purchases he made from a local gun shop. He bought himself a used 12 gauge Breda (not a typo, it's not a Beretta) semi auto and he bought me a used .177 crosman pump air rifle. I was the happiest kid in the world when he handed it to me and I was always eager to get home from school for some target practice. Lots of good memories....and no......... I never did shoot my eye out.

The crosman is long gone, but I still have my dad's Breda 12 gauge which I stopped using because of an unpredictable extractor problem.

[Greg Jennings]

I was 6 when I got a Ithaca lever-action, single-shot .410. I still have it. I waited till my kids were 8 and 10 before I bought them a shotgun; a Remington 1100 special sporting in 28 ga.

[luke0927]

I was 5 or 6 when I started shooting a 22 and 410. All started with a red Ryder when I was younger than that same way ill teach my son start them off with a 88 gun teaching them safety and respect of firearms

[ezzy333]

If I remember right my folks bought me a 12 guage side by side for Christmas when I was 12 or 13. My kids all started with a 20 guage single shot when they were 12. I just never saw a kid much younger that was mature enough mentally or physically to be able to handle a gun correctly or more importantly be able to make good decisions under pressure. They all carried the gun for a year before they were allowed to load it. And they all still love to hunt and are starting their kids the same way.

Ezzy

[lightonthebay]

I used my step father's Ithica model 37, 12 guage for my first pheasant, while it was running on the ground (I think the statute of limitations has run on that crime). It was a very clumsy shotgun for me. Soon after I recieved an H&R 410 topper single shot. The .410 wasn't clumsy for me but I had a tough time hitting anything with it.

[sjohnny]

I started shooting .22 pistols and rifles with my dad when I was about 5. He gave me a pellet gun when I was about 8 or 9. I inherited my grandfather's Marlin 81DL .22 bolt action when I was about 12 (still have that one). At 12 I was keeping that rifle and several boxes of shells in my bedroom closet. My son is going to be 5 in November and my daughter will be 4 in April. I'm starting them on gun safety and they come out in the field with me "hunting" sometimes. I don't know when I'll be getting them their first guns but it will be a little while yet.

John

[tfbirddog2]

My dad gave me his savage .22 single-shot 2 days after my 7th birthday carried that for 2 years(heck on rabbits) when I was 9 got a remington bolt .410 from my uncle to use limited out each time I went hunting pheasant and quial.10th bday got 20 ga. singleshot N.E.firemarms.Just bought my 6 yr old girl 760 pump Daisy this week she's heck on the popcans.

[wbockman]

oK, I'll admit it, I was 43, I just got my first,a shotgun this summer!

Wendy

[ezzy333]

Wendy,

Nothing wrong with that. Waiting makes the heart grow fonder and many times our interest change as we grow older. I see way to many young people get things given to them without any effort on their part and they do not have a clue as to the value or any interest in taking care of it. When you have to work for something it becomes a very valuble item.

Ezzy

[markj]

We started at around 6 o so go the first 410 age 8. My nephew is 5 he had his first when he was born Hasnt shot it yet tho but he has one waiting for him.

[gar-dog]

My dad got me a Rem 1100 12 gauge when I was about 15. The thing never cycled well so I bought a cheap Winchester pump at K-Mart when I was about 18 - $189 - my own money! Both shotguns got stolen in a move years later. Times have changed - I kept the shotguns in my dorm room in college and no one batted an eye. We used to go skeet shooting at a place in Austin.
G

[nj gsp]

My grandfather gave me a Daisy BB gun for my 10th birthday. When I was about 12, my Dad was throwing a a milk jug for my brother to shoot out in the hayfield next to the house. I asked if I could shoot it too. So, my dad walked out about thirty yards, set the milk jug down, and handed me the gun. It was my uncle's Winchester 32A single shot - full choke, 36" barrel. He handed me a 3" OO buck round, and I just shredded that milk jug. I shot that jug six times with magnum buckshot loads - my shoulder hurt, but I was hooked!

At Thanksgiving, I told my uncle that Dad had let me shoot the "big gun". He asked if it had knocked me on my butt. When I said "no", he said it was time to get me out deer hunting. My uncle gave me that Winchester for my first deer season at 14. I shot a monster buck too - and it weighed 212 pounds hanging.

[hustonmc]

I got my first pellet gun at 5 or 6 and there wasn't a magpie within 5 miles of the place. At 8 I got my first .22 and had it taken away from me 1 week later because I went from pron to standing up with the gun loaded and safety off, so didn't really have it unitl I was 9. I had to kill 25 squirrels and put 10 shots in a 3in circle from 50yds standing before I got a scope for it. I saved my 4-H money from selling sheeps and steers and bought a model 700 .270 and a 12 gauge Remington 870 wingmaster when I turned 12. That was the last guns I bought until last week I bought a CZ Ringneck 20 gauge, I'm now 25.

[romeo212000]

I got my first one at age 15 when I got a 12 gauge Winchester 1400.

[Ruffshooter]

My bb gun I was eight or nine. First shot gun at 11, was an Eagle arms trappers fold down single shot 4-10, (still have it). At 15 my first rifle was a 35 Marlin. Had 16 guages and 12 guages that I bought from 14 to 17 but that 410 still has some of my best memories.

[topher40]

Great thread! This really got me thinking about things I hadnt thought about in 20 years, thank you!

I was a late bloomer I guess, got my first gun at age 10. Dad never hunted or really ever fished soIt took some talking on my part and I will never forget the argument I used. I told dad that I needed a gun and he promptly asked me why I thought I was ready for a gun. I responded "Dad, I have had guns all my life......dart guns, rubber pellet, cap, etc." I will never forget my dads expression. ( he was trying not to laugh me out of the room) A short while later we went to Wally World and he bought himself a NEF 12 gauge and one for me also. We got home and took them down to the dump out in the pasture and tried our hand. Dad went first then I shot, and that ole 12 ga. knocked my 100 lb butt right to the ground. So we went back to town and got me a 20 gauge. Tried that one on for size and it worked much better! Shot my first rooster with that gun that winter. Then when I was 14 dad bought me an 870 20 gauge and I still shoot that same gun 15 years later.

[Karen]

I actually started with handguns...was still a "late bloomer". Didn't get my first handgun until I was 25 yrs old. Had a Glock 40, Star 9mm and a Beretta 9mm. Got my first shotgun a few years ago (38 or 39 yrs old). In NJ it's a hassle and a half to get a shotgun permit....takes months, you need personal references, they do a whole big background check on you, fingerprint you and the local chief of police has the final say on it. I think it took nearly 4 months start to finish (see what the Democrats have done to our once-fine state!).

[prairiefirepointers]

I got a BB gun when I was like 7 or so. My real dad never hunted or fished, so I never really knew what I was missing till I was introduced to my stepfather a year later. I ended up toting a Crossman Pump Action Pellet Gun on Pheasant Hunts with my dad and his friends. Dad quit hunting shortly after that, and I found myself about 13 years old seeing my best friend going with his father. I ended up borrowing my dads NEF single shot 12 gauge. I HATED IT. It did'nt fit me right and I ended up getting a 12 870 Express Mag for X-Mas that year. Made a great quack whacker. I bought my first gun with my own money from pulling Rye when I was 14. H&R Pardner Model 10 gauge Camo. From there I have owned a miriad of firearms. Now I own only 2 shotguns. A Benelli Super Black Eagle II, and a Benelli Legacy Limited Edition 12 gauge.

[OKChris]

Glad to see I'm not the only one. Neither of my parents hunted or fished so I basically had to teach myself how to do both, which I found I love to do. My first gun was a daisy pump BB gun at 10. I didn't get a shotgun until I was 16, a Rem 1100 now being used by my wife. A friend had a Winchest 1300 pump gun that I loved when we shot and hunted together in our teens, and as a wedding present my wife bought it for me. That's kinda the extent at the moment.

Chris.

[h20fwlkillr]

When I was 11, I got a Trapper's Special bolt action single shot .22. It was a hand me down from my uncle. The ejector was broken on the dang thing, so you had to carry a screw driver to get the shells out. It was and still is the most accurate .22 I've ever shot. When I was 12, my Grandfather gave me a Cresent Arms .410 single shot. It took me forever to hit anything, but after I got it down, I was deadly with that gun.

[Elroy's Bandit]

My dad let me walk the hunting fields with him in S. Illinois when I was about 8 years old. One day when I was about 11 yrs old he and his friends were in the back of the truck loading up ammo etc ready for the their walk when I noticed there were 5 shotguns and only 4 hunters. I questioned the additional gun, and that's when i discovered my dad had decided that his old 12 ga. was now my first shotgun. It was a fairly beat up Winchester Model 12 Repeater, but it was, and still is the most beautiful shotgun I had ever laid eyes on. I still own that gun and amongst my many shotguns , my most prized piece. When my oldest son began his hunting at the age of 9 or so, he walked the fields with me and his uncles. His first shot was with that very same model 12. I did realize that his 70 lb frame was no match for the heavy recoiling model 12.
So my son and I went together and purchased his 1st gun when he wss 12 yrs old. A Beretta 691 YL. A very nice semi-auto ,20ga. youth model. he just outgrew that gun last year and his younger brother will now use it. When I gave him a choice of any gun in the case, he chose his grandfathers model 12!! Kind of brought a tear to my eye.
Bill L.

[RayGubernat]

I got my first gun when I was nearly twelve, a few months before the upland hunting season.It was my dad's first gun, a 12 ga. LC Smith. It was muzzle heavy, handled with all the crispness of a waterlogged two by four and kicked like a mule, but I didn't care. I finally had a gun! I was a hunter!

You see I had been walking with my dad and my uncle and his oldest son for two entire seasons as they hunted,watching them work with the dogs, set up for shots. Part of my job was going into brush piles to flush so they could stand on either side and get a clean shot. My uncle's boy was not much for getting chewed up by briars(still isn't) so more often than not, I went in with my hand on my hat covering my face thrashing around to put up the pheasant or quail. Most of it was multiflora which wasn't too bad, but the greenbrier really sucked. It still does.

Paying dues, waiting your turn and learning how tohave fun and get it done without anyone getting hurt.

RayG

[vols fan]

i got mine when i was 11, the first year i went to neb.it cost 72 dollars. i still have it 37 years later. a 20 guage 870 pump. i had it reblued about 5 years ago.got my first birddog at 12 and have been hooked since.my first year we had 10 people to go ,me being so young and Dr. Miller being 78 slowed everyone down so we took his dog would hunt fencerows while the rest pushed the fields.this is where i saw my first real dog work on a rooster.remember it like it was yesterday.

[Mary@Permatack]

My first gun was a Remington 20gauge 870 youth model shotgun. Shortly after we were married I went on a unsuccessful turkey hunt with my husband's Mossberg A500 12 gauge turkey shotgun. It was so ---- big I couldn't hardly shoulder it!!!!!I He surprised later on that week when I found my very own new gun hidden under my pillow. I was 41!

[GSP 4 me]

I'm glad to see many of you are enjoying this thread. Thanks to all forum members that have posted so far. I think it's pretty neat to see how some of you got a bb gun around the same age as me and how some of you just went feet first into a shotgun or rifle.

Keep up the great posts.

[Sharon]

8 years old ( around 1950 )I was given a .410 for bunnies and my own beagle . (We bred beagles.) If I could carry it around without getting mud/snow in the barrel , I was allowed to shoot it.

[Firstarrow]

I was 6 when I got a Ithaca lever-action, single-shot .410. I still have it...

I was 6 when I got my red rider.
I was 9 when I got my Ithaca Lever -action .410 - Still have mine as well. That fall we hunted Sage Chicken, opening morning I got 10 of the 12 we could get. That was a great day for a 9 yr old.

As to the question of the age where kids are ready for firearms. IMO it all depends on the kid, as well as the exposure they've have with guns. There are some kids ready for firearms while in grade school, there are others with the wrong attitude and little background who are not ready at 18.

[mit]

Boy this thread got me reminising! When i was about 5 I used to walk the corn fields near Windom MN with my father & uncles who were pheasant hunting. When I was about 9 my father gave me a 22 rifle that belonged to my mom. I don't think I ever hit much with it but tin cans, still it was a lot of fun to carry the gun, walk the fields & just be out with the 'guys'.

[john]

It was a Winchester Model 1300 20 ga pump. I started saving up my weekly allowances when I was 7 years old, and I finally had enough money by the time I turned 8. My Father also had to save up for his first gun, a savage bolt action 20 ga. We both still have our first guns. I plan on doing the same thing with my son, when he is old enough.

[prairiefirepointers]

JOHN- That's awesome.. So many kids nowadays don't know the value of a dollar. I'm fairly young, (30) and I dang sure learned how to work for something, and therefore appreciate it even more. As the saying goes "Nothing Worth Having Ever Comes Easy"

[kbshorthairs]

I received a daisy BB gun when I was 5 after taking a shooting class at scout camp. I started hunting with my older cousin and he loaned me a twenty guage single shot after watching me shoot BBs at quail for a year! For my twelfth Christmas my dad bought be a Mossberg 20 guage pump. I have a closet full of guns now, but the most important part of the hunt for me is always the dog in front of me rather than the gun I am carrying.