What were your first hunting/shooting experiences?

[C-130 Dude]

How old were you when you first went hunting or shooting? Who were you with? What gun(s) were you using? What game were you after? Where were you doing it?

Sometimes it's fun to rethink why you got into this crazy hunting/shooting game. Take a moment and tell us your story.

I'll go first.
I was about 9 years old when my dad took me hunting. We lived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where my dad was stationed from 1965-1967. He had bought a couple of .177 caliber Diana pellet rifles. Open sights. Still to this day, the most accurate short range gun I have ever shot. He purchased them at the Rod & Gun Club in Weisbaden, Germany. He took us all over the place allowing us to see the "lions, hippos, and crocs". Mom stayed at home. Not a hunting fan. But that's OK. Obviously the .177 pellet rifle was limited to very small game. A friend of mine had started shooting and collecting various birds. And some of them were spectacular. So we got the bug and started or own collection.

And that is my first hunting/shooting experience.

How about you guys?

 

[Bravo 4]

At 4 years old my aunt bought me a red rider type BB gun and used to take me to a slough to shoot at turtles and snakes. Once I learned to work the lever on my own, I was on my own. Growing up in the 80's & 90's I read whatever I could get my hands on and was self taught to hunt and shoot.

 

[J Brady]

I was probably 5 years old when I started shooting a bb gun. My uncle introduced me to bird hunting, he pointed the flashlight and I would attempt to shoot sparrows under the roof eves. It's funny that I can remember something that happened over 60 years ago and not what happened yesterday, ha ha

 

[hesse]

I started out at the age of 6 shooting a daisy grizzly BB / pellet gun there's only a one pumper. Then at the age of 10 I got a h&r single shot in a 20 gauge

 

[memtb]

Not counting all of the birds and snakes killed from 7 years on ….here's the history of hunting game for eating!
I was around 5 or 6 tagging around behind my Dad and some uncles, while squirrel and rabbit hunting……really, pretty much anything we could find. I'm guess'n my fist kill was around 8, with a Stevens 22/410…..a rabbit taken while using a "one eyed" dog!

My first deer, most people where I grew up had never seen a deer, was taken with that same Stevens. It was 1963, I was was 11 years 10 days old (my Dad recorded stuff like that) hunting with my grandfather, using the top of a big, downed Oak as our blind. I got a shot with a 410 slug, on a little buck @ 55 steps (accord to my Dad). I got really lucky, I was aiming behind the shoulder but ended up hitting him in the neck. We trailed him while he eventually bled-out!

We took him took a local butcher, and word got out about the kid that had just killed a buck deer. There were locals that came to the shop to see the deer and the kid that killed it! memtb

 

[Bob Wright]

An M1 carbine BB GUN by Crossman. Accurate and deadly on sparrows. I won't mention the BB gun fights we got into. We had safety procedures.
Don't aim at the head.
How am I not blind....

 

[C-130 Dude]

At 4 years old my aunt bought me a red rider type BB gun and used to take me to a slough to shoot at turtles and snakes. Once I learned to work the lever on my own, I was on my own. Growing up in the 80's & 90's I read whatever I could get my hands on and was self taught to hunt and shoot.

At 4? Wow! It should be a rule that every kid get a Red Rider. I think I saw that somewhere??

 

[C-130 Dude]

I was probably 5 years old when I started shooting a bb gun. My uncle introduced me to bird hunting, he pointed the flashlight and I would attempt to shoot sparrows under the roof eves. It's funny that I can remember something that happened over 60 years ago and not what happened yesterday, ha ha

It's fun to reminisce.

 

[C-130 Dude]

Not counting all of the birds and snakes killed from 7 years on ….here's the history of hunting game for eating!
I was around 5 or 6 tagging around behind my Dad and some uncles, while squirrel and rabbit hunting……really, pretty much anything we could find. I'm guess'n my fist kill was around 8, with a Stevens 22/410…..a rabbit taken while using a "one eyed" dog!

My first deer, most people where I grew up had never seen a deer, was taken with that same Stevens. It was 1963, I was was 11 years 10 days old (my Dad recorded stuff like that) hunting with my grandfather, using the top of a big, downed Oak as our blind. I got a shot with a 410 slug, on a little buck @ 55 steps (accord to my Dad). I got really lucky, I was aiming behind the shoulder but ended up hitting him in the neck. We trailed him while he eventually bled-out!

We took him took a local butcher, and word got out about the kid that had just killed a buck deer. There were locals that came to the shop to see the deer and the kid that killed it! memtb

An old over_under 22-410. Now that brings back memories.

 

[C-130 Dude]

An M1 carbine BB GUN by Crossman. Accurate and deadly on sparrows. I won't mention the BB gun fights we got into. We had safety procedures.
Don't aim at the head.
How am I not blind....

My neighbor shot me in the butt with one of those. Those Co2 guns could hit hard!

 

[Bob Wright]

My neighbor shot me in the butt with one of those. Those Co2 guns could hit hard!

It was a barrel linear cocking type. Pneumatic spring piston, which you shoved the barrel straight down into the action. Never seen that before or after. It stung like a bee if you got smacked with it. I wish I still had it! It made the red ryder types a feeble defensive weapon that you had a chance to dodge an incoming round LOL!!

 

[LVJ76]

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.

 

[Ol' Red]

I went through the Red Ryder BB gun stage starting at 8 years old. Between that BB gun and the homemade bows and arrows that my little brother and I made, we were a threat to the local sparrow and starling population. Thanksgiving day when I was 12 years old I got my first .22. A single shot Winchester model 55. One of my uncles that had just retired from the Corps gave it to me. My Mom was raising four sons on her own, so we did not have much. That .22 put a lot of meat on the table for us. Lots of memories hunting with that rifle, and it still sits in the back of my gun safe.

 

[338 dude]

How old were you when you first went hunting or shooting? Who were you with? What gun(s) were you using? What game were you after? Where were you doing it?

Sometimes it's fun to rethink why you got into this crazy hunting/shooting game. Take a moment and tell us your story.

I'll go first.
I was about 9 years old when my dad took me hunting. We lived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where my dad was stationed from 1965-1967. He had bought a couple of .177 caliber Diana pellet rifles. Open sights. Still to this day, the most accurate short range gun I have ever shot. He purchased them at the Rod & Gun Club in Weisbaden, Germany. He took us all over the place allowing us to see the "lions, hippos, and crocs". Mom stayed at home. Not a hunting fan. But that's OK. Obviously the .177 pellet rifle was limited to very small game. A friend of mine had started shooting and collecting various birds. And some of them were spectacular. So we got the bug and started or own collection.

And that is my first hunting/shooting experience.

How about you guys?

First hunt was with my father. We were both noobs, one of his friends got us started archery hunting hogs near Lake Okeechobee in Florida. after that it progressed to duck hunting in the same area with a double barrel JC Stevens 12 gauge from my grandfather made in 1907. I still have it today.