I got into the shooting sports a while ago.

The whole family are gun enthusiasts. Handgun, shotgun or rifle. Nothing exotic but practical.

My paternal Grandpa had some cool stories told by my uncles and dad about rabbit hunting escapades. Grandpa always carried a double barrel when rabbit hunting and did phenomenal things with it, at least according to his boys anyway!

One uncle retired from the Navy, one was in the Army and my dad retired from the Marine Corps. Guns have always been a part of our lives. Respect for them and proficiency with them were taught from my earliest years up.

My dad had a love for Smith and Wesson revolvers, mostly his M1917 that he got from the NRA back in the '50s. It is a family heirloom now.

He taught me BRASS long before the Drill Instructor did. I can remember shooting with him in the Federal Building in downtown Detroit when he was the NCOIC of the recruiting station there. By that time he had a M36 that he carried everywhere. We would go to the range in the basement and meet up with some real creepy looking folks as I remember. Long hair, dirty, hippies of all shapes and sizes. Must have been undercover feds.

Then as time went on, I spent some time with the Marines myself and deepened my love for firearms. Ones that could kick the rump of any other nation's light infantry weapons. The M14, what a firearm! The M16, The Might Mattel, an engineering marvel, impressive to say the least in functioning.

When I got out of the Corps I started a family and had a son first. I knew I had to get him started right with firearms. To make a long story short, he has quite an arsenal now. One he started when he was still at home and in school. I told him it would be hard to get your "toys" once the kids started coming. Now he has 4 sons himself. He hasn't bought a gun in a while!

Then with the kids and one income the NEED to reload came up. Got some equipment on loan a long time ago and replaced it with Dillon progressive equipment over time.

I got into handgun competition and found the need to reload more and faster. Now I will be passing some of the earlier Dillon stuff on to our oldest son for his kids/shooting enjoyment.

There is one other fellow that I want to mention too. Gene Harmon. He was an NRA instructor and a competitor that gave me a run for my money. He was one of those kinds of guys though that would share anything he knew. All you had to do is ask the right question. You would always get an intelligent and courteous answer. He died suddenly and unexpectedly, a great loss.

Then the folks here on the forum. Been great folks to talk to and learn from, thanks.

All in all, as far as the firearms sport goes I have been blessed to have the "teachers", encouragers that I've had.

How did you get started?

Particular mentor more likely a particular organization Scouting and Explore Scouting or should I say the Scout Leaders that promoted rifle marksmanship. Then there was the Marine Corps institutionalized emphasize.

My family were always "gun" people since they came over from Scotland in the early 1800's. Few reloaded as such until about the time of the World War II. That was when they finally gave up thier old muzzleloaders and went to modern rifles and shotguns. There were a few pistols in the family but they were just that; few. My dad never owned a pistol until after I went into the Navy in 1959. He was a shotgun and rifle man most of his life, also my grandfather. My uncle started me into reloading when I was still in high school, about 1958 or 1959, I am not certain of the year. He introduced me to loading with an old C-H "C" press which I still have and use. He loaded for the .357 mag., the .308 Winchester, .243 Winchester. I still have his old .308 RCBS dies. I have introduced anyone and everyone that showed an interest in reloading to what I consider a wonderful hobby in its own right. Since I don't keep records, I don't honestly know how many I have introdluced to reloading but among them were my father, my brother, my son, my 5 grandsons and a granddaughter. The first thing on the agenda is always a good long talk on safety. I have and continue to learn from those who know more about the subject than I do. God willing, I will still be learning when He calls me home.

My Dad taught me to shoot. I still remember the first time he took me shooting, when I was 8 or 9 years old. Dad took my sisters and I to sunday school, and when we got there, he tells me wait a minute. After my sisters went inside, he asks me "Want to go shooting?" We went out of town a little way and shot at hedge balls in a creek bank. We got back in time for the regular service, and I remember him telling me "Don't tell your mother". That was my first time shooting a Colt 1911. When I was in college, he gave me one of his old .45s. I don't know if it is the same one, but I'll pretend like it is.

He never reloaded, I started that about 2 years ago. I had a lot of help from people at the range where I shoot, and I asked a lot of questions here.

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Common sense isn't so common.

Same here.

Mine is still alive, R.W.Porterfield a WV State Trooper (Retired), His son and me were best friends. He was like a second dad to me, He got me into shooting and I started shooting Bullseye then we went to PPC for five year. He was a High Master, his wife was a Master, Bill and me were Sharpshooters, and the Sister was a Marksman. At that time you had to be in Law Inforcement. I worked as a Reserve City Cop on weekends to pay for ammo. He was a man that had no fear, and could hit a peanut at 50 yards with full 357 Mag loads. He sign for my first gun, A colt gold cup to shoot Bullseye, Traded it for a S&W and that is all I have own since I was 18 almost 40 years ago. He showed me how to tear one apart and do a action job, He went to school at S&W everytime they had a update class. I will never forget him .

Sometimes the stories we have are just too interesting!

I started shooting with a Daisy, one of the first Red Ryders with a plastic stock, and I must have shot a gillion nickel and dime tubes of BBs. We had big red ant hills on the levees south of Houston and the ants provided many a target!

I got the same .410 for my 12th birthday my dad had gotten when he was 12. It's a Central Arms from St. Louis that my son has now.

When I got out of the Navy, my dad gave me a new 6mm Rem 600 in 1965 that started my reloading habits. Dad and his cronies had the loading equipment that we all used.

Soon after that, I got a J.P. Sauer & Sohns .357 Mag that lead to some trading around and ending up with a new M28-2 in 1972. The M28 accounted for my first handgun deer, with the infamous Speer #8 load with a 125 gr bullet!

A new 870 pump in 1973 got me into shot shell loading and buying lots of Green Dot and Alcan 5. Dove hunting was a family affair that included trips to the Laredo area over the milo fields, before they started plowing everything under after harvest.

3 years in the Army introduced me to 1911s and M16s (I had qualified with the M1 Garand the first time around), but neither one was as impressive as the 105mm in the tanks!

There's never a dull moment in reloading. Today, we, #1 son, #1 grandson and I, loaded 1 1/4 ounce 12 gauge loads with 33 gr of Blue Dot, but part of the 1 1/4 ounce was 2 round balls .496" in diameter. That should make some real good hog medicine!

My mentor is long gone, but I was incredibly fortunate to have a great one. His name was Robert Wood and he was an Army Air Corp veteran of WW2. He had lost his right eye while in service but continued to shoot right handed. He was also a competitive shooter and reloader who spent hours teaching me shooting positions and the fundamentals of reloading. His workshop was a great place that was filled with everything from a milling machine to a Lyle gun! I spent countless hours helping him reload and assembly M1's from surplus parts. He died in the late 60's, but I have always been thankful that he took an interest in me and was willing to share his time.

My late father taught me to shoot in 1959, and I always read his Outdoor Life, American Rifleman, True, and Shooting Times magazines, drooling over the full page Interarmco ads in the back that listed every Mauser rifle known to man for $19.95 to $69.95.

As a kid I used to hang out at a local part-time gunsmith/FFL dealer who had a shop in his basement. I was his extra pair of hands on some projects, and swept up, dusted, took inventory, and did other odd jobs in exchange for boxes of 22LR ammo. I also used to "tablesit" for him at loca gun shows, where I'd help carry in rifles, handguns, and "junk boxes," then watch the tables whule he went and horsetraded. Pay for a show was two boxes of 22LR, two hot dogs, and two 12 oz Cokes in the tapered glass bottle, for two days' work. All the time I hung out in his basement, he'd take pains to explain in detail what he was doing, and how he did it while drilling & tapping, polishing, merely replacing parts, barreling an action, or whatnot. I learned a lot.

My uncle (late father's brother in law) taught me how to reload metallic cartridges and shotshells on his equipment in the mid-to-late 60s. That experience was to reloading as the part-time gunsmith was to guns in general and gunsmithing. I got my own reloading press in 1970 as a jr in HS.

In 1972 I graduated HS and entered the Marines first as a Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic, but after range qualification where I was the "top shot" in the Recruit Series I was told by the Series Commander that it would be in the best interest of the Marine Corps if I were to change my MOS to 2111, Small Arms Repairman, and what did I think of that? I said, "Sir, this recruit will do what suits the Captain and the Marine Corps, Sir!" And about eight or nine weeks later I found myself at Aberdeen Proving Ground at Armorer School.

After two years on active duty my request to go Reserve was approved and the next four years were spent in college with not much time or $$ for shooting. After college with a BS in Mechanical Engineering I went to work in industry, and one of the techs at the plant was a shooter about 15 yrs my senior. He ended up being the brother I never had and we are still like "family" to this day. I don't have enough time to relate all that I learned form him from 1978 to present. W.R.T. the Marines, I got out of the USMCR in 1986 as an E6, two yrs Active and 12 yrs Reserve.

Now that I am halfway to 110, there's a couple young men and women to whom I'm handing off my experience, as well as chipping in with my 2 cents on various firearm boards like this one.

Noah

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Noah,
I didn't know you were a Jarhead! Semper Fi!

Which is a lot more impressive than just being a jarhead.

Nobody in my family was a hunter or a shooter. My parents golfed in the summer and bowled in the winter.

I became interested in the outdoors, camping and fishing as a Boy Scout. I took a hunter safety course and shot a bolt action .22 target rifle on a nice, indoor range at a high school. It was fun. Friends hunted, mostly rabbits and birds, so I bought myself a shotgun, more to hunt than to shoot, per se.

I decided I wanted to hunt deer with my friends and bought a decent rifle, a Remington 700 in .30-06. It was tremendous fun to shoot. I got fascinated with reaching way out there and smacking rocks and stuff. Ammo was expensve and that led me to handloading.

I didn't know anyone who loaded metallic cartridges, so I began to read up and taught myself. I bought a Lyman handbook, and then a few shooting magazines, mostly Guns & Ammo and SHOOTING TIMES. I really enjoyed the writings of men like Jeff Cooper, Skeeter Skelton, Jack O'Conner, Jon Wooters and a few others. I especially identified with Cooper's philosophy and outlook on life and values.

I was extremely fortunate to have a man named Dennis Tueller as my firearms insructor when I attended the police academy in 1981. Dennis is a natural teacher, affable, intelligent, likelable, believeable and very, very experienced. He was born to teach. Dennis is the author of the "21 Foot Knife Rule," the idea being that, if you are facing someone armed with a knife, and your gun is still holstered, the person can close the distance and carve upon you before you can react, draw your handgun and shoot him; thus, "The Tueller Rule." Dennis was a senior instructor at Jeff Cooper's Gunsite, and when I attended my first class there, I was again fortunate that Dennis was the lead instructor, along with Mike Harries, the flashlight guy.

Dennis brought a number of excellent instructors to town to teach classes for both P.O.S.T. and local departments. I was able to attend training taught by Chuck Taylor, John Farnam, Manny Kappelsohn, Mas Ayoob, Ray Chapman and others.

I would have to call Dennis Tueller, Jeff Cooper and Skeeter Skelton as the men that most impacted me in my shooting interests. I am greatful that I got to meet them and read a lot more of what they had to give.

OOrah!


Thenk yew.

Noah

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Well, the Marines are a department of the Navy, Paul. The MEN'S DEPARTMENT!

Tell me what other service, other than the Navy, dresses in drag when they cross the Equator? No thanks.

p.s. There is nothing, as far as being in the service, that is more impressive than being a United States Marine. It's the only branch that once through their boot camp, you need to go to no other. I think that speaks for itself, squid!

My Dad was a Marine Corps DI (hence my user name) and then when into the USAF for a total of 28 years. At the age of 8 years old he weaned me off of BB and pellet guns to a Colt 45 Government model. Over the years, he taught me to shoot all manner of firearms. He was my Hero as well as my mentor. Below is his USAF OSI service revolver.

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mark

My mentor or more like my hero is my dad. He did take us rabbit hunting but it was more to protect the vegetable garden. Anyways, he was a working man who worked 27 years before calling in sick. When I asked about this cause he got paid sick days, he replied "If I'm getting paid, I'm going to work for that pay". Only made 30K one year (his last) and left Mom with an enviable nest egg to live out her life. If I can be half the man he was, I'll be all right. I try and live everyday with "What Would Dad Do"

He is now resting in peace.

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Barry, youngest son of Claud

Like most guys where I grew up (the South), my dad introduced me to shooting and hunting at an early age. I got my first gun when I was 8 yrs old. Dad was one of those guys who thought guns were just for hunting, but I thought guns were for shooting, and hunting just gave me more opportunities to shoot.

My shooting mentor was actually P.O. Ackley. I never met the man, but I read everything I could find that he wrote. I still think he knew more about guns and cartridges than anyone before or since.

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NRA Pistol Instructor

Love reading the posts made on this thread!

Shooting Mentor

Cres Lawson

A gentleman of highest caliber. Outstanding shot, studious hand loader, accumulator of fine firearms. More importantly he was a fine example of a generous, courtly man who showed me how to age gracefully.

He was 50 years older than I but we were best buds.

This photo was taken 20-something years ago.

Life Mentor

My father. Still my hero at 82. Knows more about how to be a real man than anyone I've met. Wise and perceptive, he sets a wonderful example to his children.

I was going to ask who the young whipper snapper on the left was!

Great Bryan!

My father of 30 years in the Corps.Pop was an ole ridgerunner as a kid. Rifle in one hand, fishin rod in the other.Followed in his footprints. USMC 78/98. 2112 5th. Then 8414/8412. Don't hunt anymore. But still enjoy shooting.Taught both of our daughters,24 and 14. Oldest packs a .45 as she has a CC permit. my Bride of 26 years enjoys shooting her Makarov.

My dad, Ervin Mayberry, gone now for 36 years. All of our guns were working guns. Dad owned four, A Browning Auto 5 12 gauge, a home customized 98 Mauser in 30.-06, a Springfield .22 and a S&W model 15. What he lacked in variety he made up for in ability. He taught me to be safe, to provide for and protect your family, and live my life with unwavering integrity and honesty.

A close friend of his showed me the joys of having guns for fun. John T. lived in a shack that on today's market would sell for $5,000.00. Inside the shack, in the living room, all four walls were literally covered with guns. Rifles, shotguns, pistols, muzzle loader (some home made). In the corner was his bullet casting/reloading area. If you could get the huntin' dogs off of the couch you could dig a couple of pistols from under the cushions. These weren't cheap guns either, the most expensive being a German drilling that he paid $800.00 for (in 1972).

Both my dad and John T. are long gone now, but neither they or their lessons are forgotten.

Firearms were common on my Dads side of the family, mostly shotguns and .22 rifles with a high power rifle here and there.

The only handgun that was visible was a S&W .38spl M&P that hung on Grandpas bedroom wall. He had won it in a raffle and kept it for home protection. It fascinated me.

Grandma was a local legend with a .22 and taught me there was a higher level of shooting beyond just putting food on the table. I took that and applied it to handguns when I got old enough to shoot one.

I would have to say Grandma was the biggest influence. And I would have to add Ed McGivern too, or at least his book since I never met him.

Getting kind of sentimental tonight. Thought I would bump this thread to the top.

Good reading here folks. Take a minute to give some flowers to folks while they are still alive to enjoy them!

If they have passed on, take the time to give them a word of praise here anyhow!

BTT

My old man turned his back on me when I was 6, nobody else in the family was into guns or hunting or any outdoor sports. My mentors were the older Scouts who ran the ranges at Scout Camp, then the cadre and instructors in BCT, then Skeeter Skelton, Charles Askins, Bill Jordan, Elmer Keith, etc.

My father was the one that got my brother and myself into shooting, with our first BB guns when I was 7--boy did our mailbox take heck, shooting cans beside it and off from it. Remember when we went to get the BB guns, my brother got the last Red Ryder they had, and I got a daisy both single pumps--shot many a squirrel and chipmunk with that gun. Eventually my brother got a Rossi 62SAC with short barrel, what a fun gun to shoot. Then I got a Marlin 882 .22 Mag bolt. Shot quite a bit until parent's divorced, and by then was in the car frame of mind as a teenager, and spent almost every earned dime on my first car. Was until my maternal Grandfather passed away a couple years ago, that I got back into shooting. Received a Ruger Ranch Rifle (mini-14) that my Grandfather shot his last deer with, and purchased a Winchester 290 semi-auto .22 for my son to have when he gets old enough. Also purchased a S&W 459 which was basically NIB, because I don't think my Grandfather ever shot it. Ended up selling that for my 5906, which I am much more accurate with, and serves as my HD weapon. Currently, my father-in-law is acting as my mentor for getting into reloading. With these Maine winters, and no in-door ranges, need to do something to pass the time.

My Dad is my mentor. He has Alzheimer's disease now and it has progressed to the point that he chose for me to remove all of the firearms from his home. I was grateful he had the wisdom and foresight to make the decision. I was really dreading having to make the choice for him. There is no way I could reconcile taking his firearms after the sacrifices he made to buy me my first guns and taught me to use and care for them. But as always he showed me the correct path and made the choice before anyone had to deal with an unpleasant situation. I'm very fortunate to have him as my Father and mentor.

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Andy

My father gave me my 1st guns, several BB guns followed by a breakover 410 at the age of 10. Next was a single .22 rifle passed down from maternal grandpa. Then a Browning A5 from maternal step grandpa. MY Dad & I went hunting once or twice, but he wasn't much for the outdoors. I had a litle bit of hunting with my Uncle & some friends. My love of guns was exposed when a co-worker & friend took me out to shoot his S&W collection. I shot a .22 auto, 2 snub nose .38s, 2 9mms, 2 .357s, a .40S&W, & a 1911. That is all it took!! I was hooked!! A month later I purchased my 1st gun at my 1st gun show. A month later my 2nd, a month later my 3rd, & yep, a month later my 4th! Then, after counsling, I slowed down. I recently inherited a SxS 12ga frm my Uncle after he passed. It had belonged to my paternal grandfather. My mentor taught me gun safety & maintenance! He also introduced me to reloading! He went out of his way to teach me the right way to enjoy guns! Which could also lead to my divorce!! J/K For all that you did, even though you didn't have to, thank you David Grigg!(AKA BigBoy) Now if I can convince him to help support my habit!

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~ "JJ"

Me too. Also collect, farm, preserve food...well, everything!
He was a gun nut, and so were his veteran friends.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

My Dad taught me to shoot and I have been teaching my sons to shoot.

Skip,

I'm still trying to figure out how to get my sergeant stripes to show up in the signature line. So, this will have to do until I get it figured out.



I also have to mention Jon Campbell (chunkum on this forum). We spent quite a bit of time hashing over gun related subjects prior to his passing. I still use quite a few of his tips on casting and reloading. I also made sure I got in on the group buy for this bullet that was a favorite of Jon's.