Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Gun Nuts, a Question

As a kid I loved cowboy movies and TV shows. I particularly remember Roy Rogers doing trick shots on TV. I always had toy guns but my Dad wasn't a hunter and didn't own any guns. Several of my friend's fathers had guns proudly displayed in the ie houses and I always admired them.
When I was 18 I was pretty rebelious and headed in the wrong direction. When the rest of the world thought I needed my arse kicked, my Uncle Hank took me deer hunting instead. That did it. I was hooked. My parents saw that a fire had been lit inside me and bought me a Marlin 336 in 30-30 for my birthday. $88 at the local farm store.
Some of the guys at deer camp were gun dealers and I was always drooling over their Ruger 77's and No. 1's. I bought myself a Remington 742 in 308 and soon traded it for a Ruger 77.
Those guys are all gone now, Uncle Hank being the most recent this past Spring. He left me his Winchester 94 NRA Centennial that he never fired. I took it out Saturday for the opener of our deer season as this was the first time in 45 years I wasn't able to hunt with him. God I miss those guys.

Gotta agree with that one. Dad had a 22 rifle and a revolver. I was always fascinated by them. In the 5th grade there was one book on guns in the school library. Something like a Boy's Rifle, I think by someone named Tom McCann. That was signed out to me all year. Two books I read over and over were that one and My Side of the Mountain.

Very early age. My grandfather was retired by the time I was born. We trout fished, and rabbit/squirrel hunted it seemed like weekly. He had a nice collection of shotguns and 22’s. And had lots of pellet and BB guns. We shot lots of pest birds

Father was a avid deer hunter and trout fisherman. He had a few different rifles, and liked guns pretty well. He couldn’t afford to buy all the guns he wanted but had nice rifles.

Fathers best friend is a gun collector for which I have never seen the likes of. He owns what seems like a dang museum. I asked him around 2010 how many guns he owned. He said in 1998 he had 520.
Unsure exactly how many he had in 2010. It was a lot I assure you. Not cheap firearms either. Told me he hasn’t sold a gun since Bill Clinton got elected the first time. I credit him for some of my gun affliction/addiction for sure as he always let me hunt with and shoot guns that I thought were interesting or cool

My dads older brother owned a gas/service/bait shop/guide service/ gun store in west plains mo. when I was little he would pull a chair away from the circle in front of the wood stove and put it in front of the gun rack so I could see them up close. my dad and his 12 other brothers and sisters all had a gun or 2 and they all hunted. it was the way they ate most times . they were worse than dirt poor growing up .I just thought that the guns were really something . then my dad gave me a 22 when I was 8yrs old and that was it. now some 50 years later I have a good herd of them and shoot weekly. But, to me most firearms are working piece of art !

I grew up on a farm, with both my grandfather and father being hunters and gun owners. Killed my first critter, an English Sparrow, with a 410 when I was 5. Daddy took me squirrel hunting, and we were always shooting 22's. Got my first gun, a 22 rifle for Christmas when I was 10. Later on I got beagle hounds and rabbit hunting became my passion. Never had deer hunting until the mid 60's, and I have not missed a deer season since. Both my father and grandfather carried pistols on them, and this was back before concealed carry was popular. Guess I just inherited loving guns.

My dad was another depression kid who brought home rabbits and other small game for my grandmother to use as stew meat in the 1930's. Used a Winchester Model 67 that I still have. He saved his paper route money and got a new Iver Johnson Champion, 16 ga. single shot shotgun about 1940. Had to have his older sisters boyfriend ( my future uncle) make a "straw man" purchase of it because dad wasn't old enough to buy a gun. That was his pheasant (among other things) gun until he went into the navy straight out of high school in 1943. I have that one also and had it restored in 1978 . Those were the only two guns he ever owned. I grew up in the 50's amongst squirt guns, BB guns, dart guns, etc. etc. and it just continued and intensified from there.

When I was a kid my dad had 4 guns. A rem 700 all 6mm, a Browning b2000 3" 12 gauge, a high standard pump 12 gauge, and a colt python. I started with a bb gun at age 7 and was hooked. I started reading gun magazines at the grocery store about age 8. Got my first real 22 and shotgun at age 11 and got a lee load all 2 and started loading shotgun shells by myself the same year.

My dad didn't hunt much but I put him in for deer and we drew a good tag when I was 13. He shot about a 28" typical 4x4 that year and got interested in hunting again. As i got more and more guns later in life my dad has got several more too. He blames his accumulation of guns on me because he has got guns from me but I've still never got one from him. He used to get quite envious when I would save up and get a new gun. Always tried to weasel me out of one somehow.

I don't know where i got the gun nut thing from. I knew far more about them by the age of 10 then anyone in my family. By age 13 the local gun store would call me when they had a question they couldn't answer before the internet.

I remember only knowing one other person that owned a chronograph in the 90's. I also remember ranging with a mildot reticle before laser rangefinders changed everything.

Bb

I was in awe of what my grandpa could do with a rifle. Offhand shots all the way across a field to hit whatevr he was aiming at. They were part of the culture in Alabama, shown respect and treated like tools. I guess I had the desire to be like him in whatever ways I could.

My dad grew up in the Great Depression. He was a very frugal man. He abhorred waste and made his dollars stretch. However, he truly enjoyed collecting and shooting firearms. The only time he told me that "wanting it" was a perfectly acceptable justification was when purchasing a gun.

My dad gave me a gun when I was 12 years old.
I was the only boy in the neighborhood with a gun.

One year later, I was the only boy in the neighborhood.

As the story goes my dad owned several rifles in the 70’s and reloaded. As the more kids my mom popped out. Rifles, reloading gear was sold. I do remember him buying. Marlin 22 l.r and single shot shotgun from yellow front store in buckeye az in early 80’s. He would drive around shooting rabbits and I tag along on when go
Shoot quail. We moved to Oregon when I was 9, as a family were dirt poor and broke. So he borrowed guns from my uncle, yo go hunting. One of the first deer be shot in Oregon was with a rifle he borrowed from another fella it was a 788 in a 44 mag. He finally had money coming in and bought couple rifles. One was a 99 savage in 243 that was mine to use. He had a 99 savage in 300 savage. Anyhow he started wheeling and dealing he was always dragging something home. He did local gunshows as well, always had a table. I’m the only one that got the gun bug out of all my siblings. I have rifles and pistols coming out of my ears. My reloading setup takes up bunch of my garage space.

Dad bought me a BB gun in '53 or '54.. I got really, really good at dispatching sparrows up to 50 feet away.. The rest is history..

Kind of the same here though the year was '72 IIRC. Still have it being resealed twice.

I think it sneaks up on you slowly.

Simple at first then before you know it you can't get out.

When you do try to make a break they keep pulling you back in.

I did it myself. My dad is the dumbest person on planet earth and grampa was the definition of SOB. Mom was basically my dad and was the driver in getting me a Marlin bolt 22 when I was about 12. I am very mechanical, and was interested in cars and engines, but when I graduated HS, I followed the pull towards firearms. There is just something about holding and shooting a nice firearm that is unexplainable, as I am sure we all know. My three daughters are familiar with firearms and have no problem using them. My youngest is my hunting and fishing buddy and has killed two bulls in two years, so I am very blessed. I also have a beautiful lady in my life now who is getting the bug. A couple weeks ago, she said she wanted a 10/22 and a 223, because she likes using mine. She was hitting steel at 400 with my MVP the first time shooting. I am doubly blessed.

I consider myself more of a firearms enthusiast, than a gun nut. I grew up in a home with no guns. My immediate and extended family were avid fisherman though. And while my Dad spent a few years growing up on the family farm in New Jersey, he rarely shot the guns on the farm. He did like archery though.
When When I was around 12 years old one of my friend's older brothers sold me a Crossman pellet rifle for $5...and "that's all she wrote!". When I was about 18 I had a friend who was a hunter and shooter. He helped me purchase my first centerfire rifle, a used Ruger 77 in .280 Remington, which I still have, and taught me how to hunt whitetail deer.. Fast forward a 4 decades, and I have a room full of firearms of all types, from that first Ruger Rifle to a few WWII Lugers and a Lahti. I still deer hunt with the same small group of friends, all of which are far better marksmen then me.... a couple of which are highly ranked High Power competitors.

Everyone here has guns.
At least a 22, shotgun and deer rifle.
Many have some handgun.
Those are the ones without many guns.


Dad pretty much was that way for awhile.
Not sure where my interest came from, but Dad embraced it and
got to buying more stuff too.

Bought a 44mag at 17, in Dads name of course.
Couldn't afford ammo, so started reloading.
That, was a cuss word to my whole family.

Then we started hunting Colorado and got magnum rifles.
A couple rodeos involving factory 7mag ammo, and Dad seeing
my results with Partitions, and I was loading hunting ammo for Dad.

That one hit too close to home. DNA, my older brother and a Diana .17 in my case. Wore it plum OUT.

My brother got me started hunting. A friend got me started varmint hunting. Another friend got me started hand gun shooting. Once II got started I kept on getting more.

I just love a good Christmas story!