How young are you guys?

[338LM]

Immortal Wombat,
Like the saying goes, "better late than never". Do not worry, you are still young. You have many years left to hone your skills in the shooting sports. And you are part of a great group of people.

[Nighthawk]

I started shooting at 4, I'm almost 20.

[dbhostler]

Over 50. Began active woods hunting in about 1958 or 59. Broke in on a .22 Savage bolt and a Win. mdl. 42 .410. Have shot my share of BBs too. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
db

[sambo3006]

I'm 33 and have been handloading since I was 16. Needless to say, my ammo is now alot better quality now than it was when I started. I shot on the Smallbore Rifle Team in college, where I earned my varsity letter using an Anschutz model 54 target. You could lay down 10 shots from prone at 50 feet with aperture sights and then drop a loaded round into the hole and the rim would not pass through. I just couldn't figure out a way to sneak that rifle out and take it home!

Hi Wombat - I am 49 and would most likely swap with you to be 18 again if i could keep my experiences in this old head!
I have been hunting since about 8/9 with my first air rifle and since then have shot pigs consistently over the last 38 years.
I have seen pigs and rabbits in numbers which may never be seen again as well as some pristine hunting in Africa. I began hunting in Zimbabwe just after the civil war ended in an area of 2M acres where only 2 operators were found. The same area now has about 8 operators hunting there and the trophy sizes have diminished greatly. My first trip I saw 1500 Cape Buffalo in one herd and in the same area 5 years ago spent 10 days to see 300 total!
On the other hand the knowledge [such as this forum] and equipment available is unbelievable compared to 20 years ago. Just that short time ago there were no synthetic stocks; rangefinders; or really accurate factory ammo. If you wanted accuracy then you had to reload. Even in that sphere we have a much greater choice of all components.
Enjoy the learning trip!

[ 08-19-2004: Message edited by: aussie powder burner ]