What were your first hunting/shooting experiences?

BB guns and solid fiberglass bows until I was 12 or 13.then went on my first dove hunt with 20 gauge side by side. Shot two boxes of shell before I hit one. The light came on. I'd figured out how to get in front of them. Nearly 60 years ago but I can still remember that day. didn't own a center fire rifle until my late 20s. Killed a lot of stuff with shotguns and 22 LR. That and better archery equipment.
 
I was 4 and had a few BB guns my dad thought me to shoot. At 5-6 he got me a marlin 22 semiauto and birds where in a lot more trouble.



I started my daughter on nerf rifle and then a 22lr with a tripod mount back this summer. where we live i cant just let her run free with a bb gun like I did. She got pretty good with the 22 and red dot. She wanted to go hunting so I broke out the 410 with tss and took her. She got her first bird this week at 4yo. Tripod gun clamps are a game changer for youth shooting and hunting. As is TSS for turkeys.
 
Last edited:
Was 4 when I got my first Crossman 22 cal pellet rifle and when I shot my first 22lr rifle, it was a Remington black and chrome Nylon 66, used to shoot silhouettes from the bench with it.

With the Crossman I took down rabbits with head shots, doves and quail, and some other birds. My first kill was a dove at 5 yrs old.

My son shot his first air rifle last year at the age of 4, and will soon be shooting his first 22lr.

I shot a lot at an early age. At age 8 I shot complete smallbore silhouette matches, 40 rounds off hand with a lightweight single shot 22lr H&R rifle, I was so tired at the end of the match of holding that rifle in the air, but it was so much fun .

They used to make, and I believe they still do, the silhouette targets but for air rifles, and my dad had me practice almost every afternoon in the backyard, so I got used to shooting offhand really young.

At age 6 took down my first ducks. Using my godfathers Browning semi-auto 12 ga, had a system where the barrel absorbed the recoil, so it didn't recoil much. We'd wait for the ducks to land, then I'd take the first shot at the ducks in the water and my dad followed up as they were taking off the pond. These are some of the best memories I have with my dad, freezing cold mornings with hot cocoa and shooting at ducks.

At age 7 I shot my first javelina with a Savage 24V, over under 223/20ga with a Redfield 3x9 wideview I think it was called, it had an oval shape. I used the 223 Rem shooting Speer 70gr bullets, and did a follow up shot at that Javelina with the 20ga with buckshot because it was still kicking and I scoped myself, still remember the blood coming out of my forehead, I actually still have the scar over my eyebrow.

Those were some awesome times.
Hot chocolate with a nip in the air. Oh, those days...You haven't lived till you've been scoped. Oooooo..
 
Daisey Red Rider around 5. A used ruger 10/22 and a used winchester model 1300 20 ga shotgun at 8. Went on selected hunts since I was 4 or 5. The first game I shot was a cotton tailed rabbit with the 22. Pigeon with the shotgun. 1st white-tailed doe at 12 with a winchester 100 .243 on the run at 100 yds 2x through the heart and lungs. It seemed like an eternity between shots but my dad said it was a couple seconds at most lol.
 
Didn't own a bb gun or pellet gun until I was a teenager but I was given a 12 guage single shot shotgun Harrington & Richardson and and1/2 box of paper shell #6 shot at the ripe ole age of 7.
That thing kicked until I learned to lean forward a bit and then I was fine.Killed my first deer with that shotgun.
 

Recent Posts

Top