Your shooting career/Are you experienced?

[Hamden]

I'll be 60 this year. Started shooting at least 50 years ago. Chronology goes something like this:
22 rifle prone and plinking while Dad shot his deer rifle in SoCal.
First deer rifle was a sporterized 03-A3 at about age 12
Second deer rifle was Rem725 270 that was my first success story.
Got into benchrest with the CF rifles about then. Shot lots of 200-1000 yard prone with sporter CF rifles. Sort of pre F-class. Still in my teens. Admired the HP shooters and even got to shoot their garands at 600.
In Oregon now. Hunting mostly replaced benchrest.
Had a 5 or so year period of NRA Smallbore Outdoor Prone with Win 52s in my early 20s.
In 1969 became hot on pistol. Was groomed on High Standards for Olympic freepistol by ret Army LtCol shooter. Never got into Int pistol. Bullseye pistol became the main sport far and away.
Much experience with Remington 721,2,&5 rifles, Win 70, and Sako. Of course very into original HS target pistols 106-107. And of course S&W K&N target pistols. Shot Colt OMMs better though.

How about you?

 

[Hamden]

I'll be 60 this year. Started shooting at least 50 years ago. Chronology goes something like this:
22 rifle prone and plinking while Dad shot his deer rifle in SoCal.
First deer rifle was a sporterized 03-A3 at about age 12
Second deer rifle was Rem725 270 that was my first success story.
Got into benchrest with the CF rifles about then. Shot lots of 200-1000 yard prone with sporter CF rifles. Sort of pre F-class. Still in my teens. Admired the HP shooters and even got to shoot their garands at 600.
In Oregon now. Hunting mostly replaced benchrest.
Had a 5 or so year period of NRA Smallbore Outdoor Prone with Win 52s in my early 20s.
In 1969 became hot on pistol. Was groomed on High Standards for Olympic freepistol by ret Army LtCol shooter. Never got into Int pistol. Bullseye pistol became the main sport far and away.
Much experience with Remington 721,2,&5 rifles, Win 70, and Sako. Of course very into original HS target pistols 106-107. And of course S&W K&N target pistols. Shot Colt OMMs better though.

How about you?

 

[Wickahoney]

Grew up in rural Idaho. Guns were always around. I'll be 60 in August.

I was given my first 22 single shot bolt gun at age 8. No ground squirrel was safe nor was any jackrabbit. Shorts cost 38 cents a box and a short wlk down the highway usually resulted in enough pop bottles to buy a box with the refunds.

My first centerfire rifle was a sporterized Mauser 98 in 257 Roberts given to me by my dad, grandfather and great uncle for my 12th birthday. I killed my first deer and antelope that fall with that rifle.

I hunted hard and my dad usually hunted 4 to 5 states each year . It was the only vacation he ever took. By the time I left for the service I owned half a dozen rifles and a few S&Ws.

When I came back from the service I got into Law Enforcement. So I got into revolvers.

Since then I've always packed a gun on me and have hunted all over and bought guns.

I've compeated in PPC, and Pistol Silohuette.

I still hunt every year. I currently reload for 105 centerfire cartridges and punch a bit of paper during my slack time.

I collect Ruger #1s and S&W post War revolvers. I own a lot of other things.

I've been at it for a while. ;-)

RWT

 

[redlevel]

Seems like 60 is a popular age. I got there last December.

I grew up in rural South Georgia. We owned about 170 acres and rented more. I grew up quail hunting over good bird dogs. My first gun was a 20 gauge Parker Trojan Model my Daddy gave me when I was about 10. At the time I was disappointed because it wasn't a Stevens 311 like several of my friends had. I bought my first gun with my own money, a Marlin 39A, with money made selling boiled peanuts, when I was 11. I still own both those guns. Money, of course, wouldn't buy either of them.

I was fortunate enough to have land to hunt, and friends in high school who had even more land, so I was in a quail hunter's paradise from about 1960 to the late seventies. We didn't have a deer season until the late '60s, and I didn't get interested until the early seventies. My first deer rifle was a Model 94 "thutty-thutty." I have killed the most deer with a Model 99 Savage in .250-3000. I probably killed more quail and doves with a Belgian Browning Sweet Sixteen. It was a quail killing machine.

The only time I ever set foot on a formal range was in 1973 when I was in Atlanta for a three-week police academy the state was running for GBI and local SOs and PDs to send officers for the then-new mandate training. I qualified with a six-inch Model 28 S&W. My earliest handgun shooting was with my Daddy's cut-down Victory Model, then with a WWII era 1911A1 that my brother bought in 1964, and that I still own.

Over the years I have accumulated a fair collection, nothing super expensive, but some pretty fair specimens. Nothing like many members here have, but pretty good for a country boy.

Answer to the question, "are you experienced?" I would say yes, maybe not in the sense of the number of rounds fired like a military or LEO competition shooter, but in the sense that guns and hunting and shooting have been an almost every day part of my life for fifty years now.

 

[Grayfox]

I'll be 55 next week.
Got my first .22 rifle for my 10th Christmas. Hunted squirrels and rabits with it. Dad was big on quail hunting and I've bagged my share of them even though I never really got into shotguns.
High School ROTC I made the rifle team. Spent three years with that. Very fond memories of the man who taught me the fine art of the rifle, CSM Paul Walls.
Spent the next three years playing with Uncle Sam's toys. In Basic I ended up having to qualify in a pouring rain, missed expert by three points. That pissed me off no end. Did make expert every time I re-qualified, but the offical record still shows me as a Sharpshooter.

The Army also introduced me to handguns. I did qualify Expert with the 1911A1. Thus began my life as a disciple of JMB.
Late 1970s, newly married, working nights and living in a not so nice neighborhood, I decided some home protection would be a good idea. Spent most of my paycheck on a used 4" Model 19. Of course we see where that lead.

A few years and a couple of guns later I took up reloading out of necessity. Store bought ammo just wasn't in the budget.
Spent most of the next 20 years or so busy raising a family, making a living and trying to feed my range habit. Took a brief stab at bullseye and rifle matches, but limited budgets and bad shoulders quickly put an end to that.
Sadly, my hunting days are all but over too.
Discovered IDPA about 6-7 years ago. I'm not really very good at it. Again the bum shoulders along with tri-focal glasses, but I do enjoy it.
Probably the closest thing to real world practice for those of us who chose to carry too.
Speaking of which, I got my first Handgun Carry Permit in 1992. Back then the Sheriff's Department handled them. The rules were very strict and the permit was only good in your county of residence. Been alot of changes in Tennessee carry permits since then.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[2Loud4You]

Ok, some of you guys are almost double my age, I turn 34 this month.
I don't remember what age I started shooting but my father groomed my brother and I at an fairly early age. Untold thousands of rounds plinking with .22 pistols and rifles. Learning to shoot 20 and 12 gauge shotguns. My dad has this one 20 gauge auto loader that kicks worse than any 12 I've shot, the whole barrel retracts as part of the action. We would shoot skeet on a friend's property and that was the 1st time I shot a .357 magnum. We've all sen the videos of people firing a .460 or .500 and gun almost flying out of their hands, well that was me with the .357.
Once I moved away and got on my own I bought a Mossberg 500 (doesn't everyone own one of these?) for home defense. Turned 21 and bought my 1st handgun, S&W Sigma 40C. From there it's turned into a hobby/obsession. Probably the only reason I don't have A LOT more is I'm also a musician so that soaked up my money as well.

So am I experienced? When it compared to many of the people on here, I'm just starting but I'd like to think I've been around the block at least once.

 

[Bob Wright]

I can't remember ever not being interested in guns. As a kid, I thought I knew all about guns. Then, my older brother brought back a souvenier from WW II, a Mauser M1910 .25 ACP. The caliber stamped was "6,35mm" and nobody in our family knew what that was. My Dad took the gun to a gunshop and learned it was a .25 ACP, and bought a box. We tried that gun out that weekend, and when both my brother and my Dad missed the bean can sitting atop the fence post, I stepped up to show them a thng or two. Well, I missed, too. But I decided then and there to learn to shoot and learn all about guns I could. Still learning, by the way.

I went half-interest on a .22 Single shot earned by selling Cloverine Salve door to door. Then, a Daisy Red Ryder, and a Marlin 39A. Finally, I got enough money to order my Colt .45, one of those $29.95 deals through mail order. mine was on old Colt New Service, formerly a Canadian Mountines .455 reworked to .45 Colt. I later converted it to a .44 Special.

When I graduated from high school I went into the Army. I lucked into the position of company armorer, and in 1958 bought my first brand new revolver, a Ruger Blackhawk .357 Magnum. Stationed at Camp Roberts, California, I had plenty of opportunity to practice, and had aspirations of becoming an exhibition shooter. Unfortunately, the Army decided I was needed elsewhere, so lost my practice area.

Got into handgun hunting, NRA bullseye shooting for awhile, shooting my last competition in the NRA Winter Matches of 1960.

At age 71, been a serious shooter since 1954. Still shoot at least once a week to keep in form, shooting about 10,000 round anually.

Bob Wright

 

[H Richard]

Age 68 and retired 3 years. Started about age 12 with a American Legion Jr. Shooting Program and made it through the NRA 6th Bar before I discovered other things (like girls and cars). Qualified Expert in USAF (with 30 carbine). When out of Service got re-interested in Archery, and shot Field and Target Archery for nearly 10 years. Bought a Colt sgl action scout .22 and got frustrated with sights, so traded it on a Mod. 17 (could have been a K 22 as I didn't know the difference at the time). Joined an indoor club and shortly traded the 17 for a 41. Added a Mod 19, added a Colt 1911 .45, added a Parker Hale .243, Since son was getting old enough and developed an interest in target shooting traded the .243 for an Anschutz Mod 1407 ISU match rifle for him to shoot. Son shoots 4 years on High School Rifle Team and reaches Distinguished Expert. I become involved in bullseye shooting with the club I shoot with and trade mod 42 for High Standard Victor, begin shooting IHMSA Metallic Silhouette and help begin a new club. New club grows a lot and hosts the Masters International Shooting Championship. I participate in Action Shooting and long range pistol shooting. Join IPSC. Get certified as IPSC Range Officer. Go to NRA training school, get certified as Instructor for Rifle & Pistol. Start Bullseye League with my original club which I have now been Sec/Treas. for quite a few years. Run Bullseye League at club for 25 years, (just handed out trophy's for this years league last night). Qualified as Distinguished Expert (Pistol) a few years ago. This years league (10 weeks) shot average 271 on 300 Point Gallery round. Began hand-loading in the early 80's. Shot High Power with DCM Garand for a few years. Shot 100 yard Prone small bore matches for several years. very interested in loading for accuracy, and got into Prairie Dog shooting. Love making those shots at longer than 500 yards on the little "dogs". When I built my Condo 3 years ago, I put in my loading room with a walk in vault. Also have a 10 meter Air Gun range, as I participate in International Air Pistol postal league's. I've been collecting S&W's (break tops and pre-war) for a few years now.

About 12 years ago I was invited to shoot trap with some friends, well I have been shooting a trap league ever since, and now a skeet league in the winter. There are a few Sporting Clay's rounds shot, but lack of a close by range keeps me out of that.

I did build my own competition Comp Gun (Springfield Armory 1911) and did everything except milling the slide for the Bomar sights and Metaloying the frame. Now I do some minor gunsmithing on my old S&W's.

I haven't had any problem keeping occupied in retirement.

 

[feralmerril]

68 the end of april. Cant remember my first time, pretty young! Dad taught me. The usual basic hunting shotguns and rifles growing up in wisconsin. Then a ruger single six in my late teens, followed by jobs the rest of my life wearing and qualifing. About the same time started collecting and experimenting, haveing a number of custom builds. I now have a nice collection, and really dont shoot near as much.

 

[raveneap]

I'm 70 and started shooting when I was about 13 or 14 with a JC Higgins .22 semi and a JCH 12 ga bolt action. Joined the Navy and then did almost 30 years with the State Police. Guess I've been shooting for a little less than 60 years.

 

[Gutpile Charlie]

I guess this thread is for oldsters? I'm 68, started shooting .22 rifle at about age 14. Went to Army at age 18, trained on the M1 rifle and shot 8" howitzer in the reserves. (Does that count for anything? Could hit a school bus at 11 miles!

) In basic training I qualifed expert on the M1.

Started deer hunting in my thirties and hunted the Wasatch Mts. in Utah. Also started firearms collecting when I was about 40. I have a pretty fair representation of military rifles from 1895 till Vietnam.

I went to Camp Perry many times starting in the 90's. Shot in the first John C. Garand match and the next five years. I have shot service rifle competition at Camp Perry and other places with the M1 and the AR.

Presently my competition has been military rifle bench rest with a bunch of geezers from the Tulsa Air National Guard. When you start getting a little older, this is much easier on your body than service rifle!

 

[Ron H.]

Are you experienced?

Sir, for a callow youth of 43, I suppose I'm somewhat experienced.

I started shooting BB guns and .22s in grade school, got my first shotgun and started hunting at 13 or so, served two tours in the Marine Corps (0311), and have been competing in NRA high power for the last 9 years. I also handload and do as much of my own gunsmithing as I can.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

 

[deralte]

This is to all you younguns that have posted so far - I'll be 76 this coming Sunday. I grew up in the hills of southern WV and started shooting at the ripe old age of 7 with my uncles single shot .22. My first job was hauling dynamite and caps for a coal company and was required to carry a gun. Spent 2 years in the Army and 24 years in the Air Force. Qualified on the M1 carbine, M1 Garand, BAR, 1911 pistol and the M1919A4/A6 machine gun. Spent 6 years as a federal agent and have been shooting ever since. Guess that all means I have been shooting for about 69 years.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

59. First firearm I ever handled was the M-1 Carbine my old man brought back from WWII. First
shooting experience-Boy Scout Camp, Summer 1963, 22 LR rifles.
First rifle purchased-M1917 Enfield, purchased when I was in the Army. First handgun-Browning
HP, also purchased when I was in the Army. Qualified Expert on the M-14 in BCT. Carried an
M-60 in Vietnam, also an M1911-first time I fired a handgun was the M1911, in combat. Really learned to shoot a handgun when I was on a pistol team in college practicing Bullseye.
Have 3 shotguns, more for SD than for sport shooting. Also collect.

 

[Bassamatic]

Better post in here before I croak.

I'll be 62 in May. Youngster in these parts.

Like most of you, I got a BB gun at age 7, went hunting for the first time at age 8. Dad let me carry a single shot .22, put me on a stump and told me to watch the ravine while he went down and started a drive towards me. I'm not making that up. Times were different then I guess. I don't think I was ever so excited in my life. I sat on that stump for over an hour till he got back. Never saw a thing.

By age 12 I had a Springfield 03A3 and was hunting by myself exclusively. Dad was just too noisy in the woods. Bless his heart, he did introduce me to the sport. Been hunting ever since and shot all different kinds of game over the years. As I got older, I noticed dad just wasn't getting out hunting like he used to. So, I told myself that putting meat on the table or a rack on the wall is not the most important thing in life and I started taking him out with me. Those years were the best of them all. We became very close, traveled all over the west and had a blast just him and me camping out in the mountains. We even got a few deer down. He died two years ago at 87.

I've got a safe full of pistols and rifles, some are collectibles, some are shooters.
My shooting range is in my back yard and I reload as much as I have time for. Looking back...I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

WOW; You guys have some experience behind you. Good on you. I got my mothers Rem. Model 33 single shot rifle at 13 when we moved out to the country in Calif. Always lived in town before. This was during WW2. 1944. Then my buddy Joe & I managed to slay a bunch of rabbits & ground squirrels. Got a 16 guage single barrel Stevens shotgun for Christmas in 1945. Gave the quail & doves Hell after that.Went in the Calif. National Guard in'51 stayed until 1960. Did a lot of firing at Camp Stoneman before summer camp. M-1's, Carbines. 45's, etc. I was 60 MM mortar section Sgt, for a while them Platoon Sgt. Shot the BAR's & 57 MM recoiles rifles. Machine guns I left alone, too damn hard to clean. Had a bunch of guns thru the years, mostly hunting guns but still have a M-1. As I age I find myself going to lighter rifles & pistols both for carrying & recoil. Use my 16 guage Win. double more than my Browning 12 guage. A .308 Winchester suits me just fine. Never missed the Magnums at all.Killed my first Elk with a Model 95 Win. in .35 Win caliber. Just gave the old gun to my son in law last year. He took it out & hit the bullseye first time at 100 yds. My handloads of course.He wants to get an Elk this year with the old bugger.I'll be 78 in June & need a scope now. Iron sights just don't do the job anymore. Keep shooting guys & gals, it's the finest sport going outside of one I can think of thats done best at home. LOL.

 

[MKT]

Another youngun here, turn 50 this year. Got my first gun at the ripe old age of 6, a Savage .22/.410 O/U. Learned the basics with it and hunted rabbits and tree squirrels in the Big Thicket until graduating to a .22 bolt gun. The old O/U is still in my Dad's guns case, no hurry to reclaim it though because it will come home with me when he passes. About my second year of high school I started learning the art of the pistol and purchased my first revolver at 17 (my money, Dad's signature), then followed that up by buying a 4" Model 19 at Oshman's the day I turned 21, obviously predetermined to go into law enforcement.

Took a few years to start wearing a badge, shot well at the academy, taught firearms at the academy for two tours and have shot competitively for years and put at least 30-40K rounds down range each year. I have 24 years on now, and have to retire in 7.

I would claim to have experience, but perfer to say I am proficient.

 

[RonJ]

I've been shooting for 40 years, rifle, pistol, shotgun. Competetive, fun, hunting......
I still feel like a beginner compared to most of you guys.

 

[Frizzman]

Got my first toy guns when I was too young to remember exactly when. I had a cap pistol that fired Greenie Stickem Caps that were stuck on the back of plastic cartridges that took plactic bullets. There was a spring in the cases and when the cap was struck, the spring pushed the plastic bullet out fast enough to knock down cardboard targets. I believe I had a copy of a SAA and Winchester 92 that shot those.

I got a Daisy BB gun that looked like a Winchester 94 a few years later. I used to shoot flies on the side of the dog house with it. At age 12 I got my Remmington .22 and I still have it. We lived in a rural area and I spent many wonderful hours in the local woods shooting and camping.

I got my first muzzleloader when I was 15 and taught myself how to shoot it and cast lead balls and cut patches, etc. It was a .45 Navy Arms Kentucky caplock. I gave it to a nephew who became interested in shooting ML rifles a couple of years ago.

I shot on the NJROTC rifle team from 8th grade to graduation. I hunted small game. I shot trap and muzzleloaders while woods bumming with friends. I got my first handgun, an 1858 Remmington Army .44 replica revolver at age 17 for Christmas.

I joined the Navy after HS and eventually got on the ship's boarding party and was a rifleman and also was backup on the M60. I continued to shoot and hunt whenever I could. I Became a police officer after I got out of the Navy. I bought my first cartridge revolver in 1976. It is a Ruger Security Six SS 4" .357 and I still have it.

As a LEO, I carried a number of handguns and shotguns. I shot PPC revolver competition and started shooting IPSC and built a couple of 1911's including one on the first Para Ordinance frame sold in my area. I also started to do rendezvous with the ML crowd and continued to hunt, mostly deer and turkey. I also started reloading. I started out with Lee Loader hand tools and worked up to progressive presses.

Later, I started shooting SASS matches. I collected guns and developed loads and joined various gun/shooting clubs. I continued to hunt and shoot some competition matches. I still do many of these things and have introduced many people to proper gun handling and shooting. I have gotten younger members of the family involved in shooting sports. Its always been a big part of my like. I am a long time member of the NRA.

Now, if I could just find a couple of those guns that fire the plastic bullets and the Greenie Stickem Caps to take to the retirement home...

 

[wbraswell]

I'm about to be 56, and I envy the youth that you guys had. I am an only child and my mother was sort of overprotective, she didn't like guns and hated motorcycles. Now I have a room full of guns and stuff, and a garage full of motorcycles. Go figure. I didn't get a BB gun until a was 11, a Daisy Spittin Image of the Rem. .22. I got an H&R single shot 20 gauge when I was 13. Dad wasn't a hunter but he did get an 03A3 back in 1960 that I still have. He gave me a Nylon 10C when I turned 21. My interests turned to handguns when I got my own home at age 24. I discovered the gun show, and I was in heaven. Started reloading when I was 25 or 26. Got a big Kingsberry safe about the same time. Hmmmm...I don't know why I have that safe, I don't have any guns. I didn't say I had any guns did I ? Oh, I was mistaken. Not me,no.