jag312
Member
It was the late Fess Parker that started me into recreational shooting. Thank you Mr. Parker.
Who taught you to shoot?
- Thread starter rilkil23
- Start date
The first time I touched a firearm was at Boy Scout camp, maybe about 1960. I remember being taught sight picture and trigger "squeeze" and it must have stuck, as I was the hero of the troop that day with the best target.
It was my only exposure for a couple of years, until I got into an NRA Junior club in Auburn Mass, which shot at an indoor 50' rifle/pistol range in the basement of the City Hall. I often wonder how long that range lasted when the gun climate in Mass went off-track. I worked my way quickly through the Junior ranks to Distinguished Expert, and in high school years acted more as an instructor for the younger members. We had a bunch of DCM .22s, and lots of Remington ammo to use. I outgrew the club rifles and bought a Savage Anschutz for competing in the 4 position postal matches.
I went off to college and spent a lot of time on the ROTC indoor range at UMass with their NCAA rifle team training and shooting in Intl 4 position matches. I had moved up to an Anschutz 1413 by this time, and all the "stuff" needed to be competitive, like jackets, gloves, sling cuff, etc. That's another range that I expect went away as there doesn't seem to be any mention of it on the UMass site now. If I remember correctly, it was in Dickinson Hall.
Moved back to the Auburn area after switching to a different college with a daily commute, and got to spend time instructing at the Junior club again, and got involved with the adult pistol club shooting at the same range. I very quickly acquired a new Model 41, a slightly used .38 Master (M52), and a used accurized 1911 for the NRA 3 gun matches.
When I enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1970, I sold the M52 and 1911 to other club members, and kept the M41, which I still have. Of course, I've been kicking myself the last few years for not keeping the others, but at 19, I didn't have the foresight and the money was more attractive. As a side note, the thing I most regret selling was the very original 1946 Indian with sidecar. Arrgh.
I got assigned to a cutter in Boston, so I had most nights and weekends off, and continued to shoot with the club when i could get there, having to borrow back the centerfire pistols to compete. I also took the NRA Rifle and Pistol Instructor courses during this period, and remember being slightly PO'd because I couldn't get my Certified Instructor rating at the end because I was a few months shy of my 21st birthday.
In 1973, I ended up in Seattle when the Boutwell moved here from Boston, and never really got into the shooting scene here. I kept the M41, but it went into storage along with the barely used Winchester 101 Pigeon Grade I bought. The last gun I bought during this period was a M39 no-dash which I also still have, that was found through a newspaper ad.
Fast forward to about about 5 years ago, when our closest social couple friends announced out of the blue that they were going to buy handguns and take some training classes.
I hauled the old M41 and M39 out, cleaned them up, and we went off to a local indoor range for some familiarization.
That was the beginning of the current phase. Now I have a small safe stuffed with S&W semi autos, my wife has her own sort-of S&W, a PK380, and her carry permit, and 3 of us have gone through lots of practical Defensive and Tactical training classes, mostly through the Firearms Academy of Seattle. My wife can't participate in many of those because of some physical limitations, but she does enjoy range time.
Good Grief! This has ended up being a life story. Sorry!
BB
Seattle
It was my only exposure for a couple of years, until I got into an NRA Junior club in Auburn Mass, which shot at an indoor 50' rifle/pistol range in the basement of the City Hall. I often wonder how long that range lasted when the gun climate in Mass went off-track. I worked my way quickly through the Junior ranks to Distinguished Expert, and in high school years acted more as an instructor for the younger members. We had a bunch of DCM .22s, and lots of Remington ammo to use. I outgrew the club rifles and bought a Savage Anschutz for competing in the 4 position postal matches.
I went off to college and spent a lot of time on the ROTC indoor range at UMass with their NCAA rifle team training and shooting in Intl 4 position matches. I had moved up to an Anschutz 1413 by this time, and all the "stuff" needed to be competitive, like jackets, gloves, sling cuff, etc. That's another range that I expect went away as there doesn't seem to be any mention of it on the UMass site now. If I remember correctly, it was in Dickinson Hall.
Moved back to the Auburn area after switching to a different college with a daily commute, and got to spend time instructing at the Junior club again, and got involved with the adult pistol club shooting at the same range. I very quickly acquired a new Model 41, a slightly used .38 Master (M52), and a used accurized 1911 for the NRA 3 gun matches.
When I enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1970, I sold the M52 and 1911 to other club members, and kept the M41, which I still have. Of course, I've been kicking myself the last few years for not keeping the others, but at 19, I didn't have the foresight and the money was more attractive. As a side note, the thing I most regret selling was the very original 1946 Indian with sidecar. Arrgh.
I got assigned to a cutter in Boston, so I had most nights and weekends off, and continued to shoot with the club when i could get there, having to borrow back the centerfire pistols to compete. I also took the NRA Rifle and Pistol Instructor courses during this period, and remember being slightly PO'd because I couldn't get my Certified Instructor rating at the end because I was a few months shy of my 21st birthday.
In 1973, I ended up in Seattle when the Boutwell moved here from Boston, and never really got into the shooting scene here. I kept the M41, but it went into storage along with the barely used Winchester 101 Pigeon Grade I bought. The last gun I bought during this period was a M39 no-dash which I also still have, that was found through a newspaper ad.
Fast forward to about about 5 years ago, when our closest social couple friends announced out of the blue that they were going to buy handguns and take some training classes.
I hauled the old M41 and M39 out, cleaned them up, and we went off to a local indoor range for some familiarization.
That was the beginning of the current phase. Now I have a small safe stuffed with S&W semi autos, my wife has her own sort-of S&W, a PK380, and her carry permit, and 3 of us have gone through lots of practical Defensive and Tactical training classes, mostly through the Firearms Academy of Seattle. My wife can't participate in many of those because of some physical limitations, but she does enjoy range time.
Good Grief! This has ended up being a life story. Sorry!
BB
Seattle
OIF2
Member
US Army.
