Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Were you raised by a gun guy?

I was not. My dad was a very good hunter he only really knew as much as he needed to about guns. He kept several around but they were chosen strictly on practicality and not sentiment. I don’t know how I ever ended up as a loony? No one in the family was one.

My father didn't hunt, wasn't a gun guy. He didn't want to hunt or be a gun guy.

He used to tell me that with all the money I spend on that hunting stuff and guns I could just buy a whole cow.

I have always said he taught me more about how I DIDN'T want to be as a man that how I wanted to be.

My dad shot targets every weekend. He hunted in Pennsylvania when he was a kid, but didn't when I was growing up. My grandfather was an avid hunter and gun collector.

same for me.....interesting indeed

I was. My dad taught me rifle, handgun, wingshooting, and reloading,

I was fortunate!

My Dad was a serious 'chuck hunter, a casual/social deer hunter, and a huge gun collector.

He was such a gun guy that he missed a lot of family events in favor of attending gun auctions or estate sales.

No.

Dad and Grandpa hunted and had guns. Were well informed about guns etc. Not big collectors or accumulators.

Later in years my Dad became fussy about rifle accuracy and took up handloading.

Had a freind in my twenties. He was into handloading and guns. Got me a little interested. At that time I bought a big box of gun periodicals for cheap at a gun show. That box spent my money fast as I could make it for a few years.

My dad was a once in awhile, casual deer hunter. Other than that he shot some woodchucks around the homestead once in awhile when they became a nuisance. Only had three guns his whole life. Deer rifle, shotgun and .22. Haven't seen his deer rifle or shotgun in years but the .22 {an old Sears bolt action} still leans in the corner behind the kitchen door. My gramps was the same way but I had a couple uncles and cousins that were avid hunters.

Grew up in the desert around Tucson with a BB gun my grandfather bought me or slingshots I made. Flipping burgers at 14 and saw some of my friends hunting deer with their fathers. Asked my father why we weren't doing the same. He said we needed rifles and we didn't have any. Got on the bus and went to K Mart an put 2 Marlins on layaway. Surprise was blown when the counter guy said I needed my father to retrieve them. Only seasons I missed since then were my years in the Navy. Dad hunted with me til age 87.
George

Dad and all my uncles hunted, shot every weekend, gun shows, reloaded etc… we had a gunshop/gunsmith a block away and spent lot of hours up there in the evenings. They all bought, sold and horse traded all the time. Shot card shoots with scoped Winchester 37’s and custom barrels. Dad always had some nice guns around.
I learned to read with his stacks of G&A, rifleman etc….

Similar.

Dad had a Stevens double 12 that he could shoot pretty well. It was just a tool to him. He would sometimes go rabbit hunting with us boys, had a policeman friend who had a pack of beagles. He'd show up on Sat mornings and we'd hunt swamp rabbits in our woods.

Other than that, I'm a self made loony, was reloading in high school, working on guns, etc.

He respected what I was doing, didn't criticize. Once he came in the house saying get your gun. There was a bunch of buzzards harassing a new born calf and mother. I got my .244 40XB, stood in the back of his old Ford pickup and we eased up on the scene of the crime. I tapped on the cab, he stopped, I bused one at 80 yds or so. They flew to a tree 125 yds away. I busted another one. They flew, found another tree 250 yds away. Busted another one.

Now the old man wasn't one to brag on anyone, but I could tell he was pleased, maybe even a bit impressed. Of course he wouldn't say anything.

Another time I was sitting on the back steps, had been working on a Rem roller .45-70 that I built using a 43 Egyptian action and a kit from Numrich. A bird landed on a gate about 20 yds away. I sent a wheel weight slug towards him, but the bullet busted the galvanized pipe where the bird was standing. Ruined the gate, as the gate frame was the galvanized pipe. It now had a flex joint where one wasn't needed. Dad asked what I was gonna do about that. I replied I was gonna raise the sights a couple of notches. He couldn't say a word, just grinned and walked away Yep, I was bit of a smart arse even in my teens.

DF

moosemike;
Good afternoon and Happy Fourth of July to you sir, I hope the day's gone well for you.

Initially I was going to answer, "not really", but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that's not correct.

Although we only had a single shot Cooey .22 and Dad's moose hunting rifle - a Savage 99 .250 that I recall first and then a Winchester 100 in .308 not long after that, he took me hunting before I started school.

When I showed an interest in hunting where my brother who was 9 years older than me hadn't, a used Slavia 624 pellet gun showed up quickly where my elder brother never got one.

After I'd proved to be both safe and useful at farm pest removal with the Slavia, it was traded for a Lakefield .22 repeater which I actually still have today.

Following the .22, I started to purchase my own firearms, which while I was too young to do, was supported and when I look back on it encouraged by Dad.

We hunted together when I was in my early teens with him being there when I took my first head of big game and then my first whitetail buck not long after.

When I moved away from home, they moved here to BC and when I came for a visit and stayed for awhile, we hunted together again for the first time in years.

After moving here with my wife in '84 after farming didn't work out for us, Dad again came hunting with me, first borrowing my wife's hunting rifle and then I converted a 96 Swede into a lightweight and light recoiling rifle for him. We hunted together for years after that until his health didn't allow him to ride in the pickup on the rough mountain roads any longer.

During those years, a bunch of firearms came and went from our place and Dad was always interested in seeing the new ones.

Sorry for the too long response, but yes sir, on balance I was initially wrong and in fact Dad likely was more of a gun guy than I'd thought. He was a grand man, a good friend and I was blessed to have him as a father.

Thanks for causing me to take some very pleasant paths down my memories, all the best to you and Happy Fourth of July.

Dwayne

No, home life wasn’t pleasant, don’t really know how I became so interested. A guy I was working with took me out to Ozona deer hunting when I was in my early 20’s. I’ve been interested in guns and hunting ever since. I need to look him up, he is a plumber that taught me a whole lot also.

Well, kinda sorta.

My Dad borrowed a Customized B 303 that’s all
I know about it. It sat beside the front door a few
nights before he went deer hunting.

That rifle put the RIFLE in me.

We squirrel and quail hunted each year so hunting and guns were in my young life.

@ 1960 or so Dad bought a 760, 30-06 and it
looked new to me. Later I used it to hunt when Dad wasn’t.

I was married before I bought my own deer rifle
(I guess you’d call it).
I was NEVER impressed with its limits.

2 yrs later I bought my first 243 and then got on the slippery slide of Rifle Loonyism.
There is NO cure.

So, guns & hunting were in my life at a young age.
My G pa loved to deer hunt..there were FEW deer
in the 60s and he never killed a deer.

I’m thankful for my family’s interest.

Jerry

Pops set up at gunshows, did some 1911 work ( had FFL ) was in one collectors association.

Quit shooting varmints around age 60 but kept killing paper til 80.

Couldnt handle blood LOL.
Id bring home deer and hoist em in oak tree out back and skin em. Hed stay inside.

Used to cast bullets and reload when I was in 6th grade ( I had a 660 in .222 and a Ruger 3 screw 357 ).

Pops did a lot, liked .22 IHMSA.
I hunted and geeked out a little more on some gun stuff.

He was a decent shot til he got bifocals.

Up until the yr before he died, if I wanted to see him Id have to drive to the indoor or outdoor ranges. Retired he had a good time shootin the last 20 yrs.

Not a gun guy by any measure but both my mom and dad grew up on small farms in NC during the 1920's and both hunted small game for food - squirrels, rabbits and quail mostly. That translated into both of them considering it natural and normal to have guns around so when I started showing an interest in them they fully supported me.

My dad was an excellent hunter, but not a gun guy. The only rifles he owned were a Model 94 Winchester in .30-30, which only came out for his annual deer, and a .22 pump. He taught me to shoot and the ethics of hunting, the way the Indians did. If you were worthy, an animal would present itself to you. He taught me to never kill an animal you didn't intend to eat, and to try to use the whole animal, tan the hide and use it to make something useful, etc.

My dad bitched about my hunting. Deer, geese, dove, rabbit, turkey.....he ripped my ass about it til the end.

Was a rough old bastard. Never cut me any slack.

Funny, coworker of his said he bragged about my killin at work

My Dad was a small game hunter growing up and taught me the same, rabbits and squirrels mostly, but I wouldn't say he was much of a gun guy. I didn't own a deer rifle until I was in my mid-30s. Killed my first deer about the same time. My Dad borrowed one of my rifles and killed his first deer a few years later. He continued to borrow one of my rifles until I gave him my 280Rem as a Christmas present when he was 70. Figured it was time he owned his own deer rifle. His grandson, my nephew, appears to be a future looney like me and I'm sure he'll appreciate owning his Grandpa's deer rifle some day. Not to mention my entire collection since I have no kids of my own.

My old man was very knowledgeable about military rifles. He was also a tremendously good shot, and several people saw him do things like wingshooting ducks with a .22, which he did more than once or twice. He also had done well in competition, both rifle and pistol, but had given that away before I started shooting. He had done a lot of small game hunting and duckshooting, but had largely given those away before I started shooting too. Most of what I learned about hunting or the finer points of marksmanship I learned from other family members.

Apart from his interest in military rifles he wasn't really a "gun guy" either. He'd never had any interest in handloading, or ballistics, or scopes or anything like that. In fact he never had a scoped rifle - seeing him shoot with irons he had no real need of one. We always had several guns in the house though, and he would often impulse buy something - usually a .22 - and then after giving it a bit of use it would often get handed off to someone else (me, if I was lucky). He was also happy enough to go with me to gunshops or gunshows when I was a kid, to be the responsible adult if I wanted to buy something.

My dad wasn’t a hunter or shooter, our relationship was never very good for other reasons. My grandpa was an avid deer hunter and shooter but not a big collector. My Uncle had an FFL was a big collector and was into duck and deer hunting, and shot on several club leagues. My grandpa and uncle were both big influences. I spent a lot of time up north on my grandparents land learning to hunt and shoot and going to gun shows and gun stores on weekends with my Uncle.

Yep. I was "helping" in the reloading room as soon as I was strong enough to "two-thumb" primers into cases with a Lee Auto Prime. By college I'd completed my lifetime penance on a Lee Load All shot-shell loader as well. Dad bought and sold quite a bit. By Jr.High I was answering phone calls when he was traveling and had an ad going in Shotgun News or The Gun List.

Very few of the guns that came and went were "collectors", just hunting guns that he'd get a "deal" on, shoot for a while then sell or trade for something else that caught his interest. Shotguns, rifles, and rimfires. Never very many handguns. A few rimfire High Standards and a couple of Colt Pythons that he hunted with and that was about it.

I can recall deer and pheasant hunting being very tough due to low numbers when he 1st started bringing me along. Then about the time I started carrying a gun the CRP program got rolling and pretty soon we had deer and pheasants galore

My dad had a wall of guns, but only fired a few of them during my life. The only new one he bought was one for me when I was 12. Later I inherited all the pieces from two branches of the family. That is when my looniness began. I've been a mess ever since!

Anytime one of my younger guys expresses interest, I take them to the cabin for a days hunt.

My Dad wasn't a hunter, he didn't own any guns either. Lucky for me my Uncle Hank was a deer hunter. He wasn't a collector by any stretch. In the 62 years I knew him all he ever had was my grandfathers Winchester 1894 30-30 and a sporterized 30-40 Krag. When I was 18 I was headed in the wrong direction. Drinking and drugs and getting in trouble. The rest of the world thought I need my arse kicked but Uncle Hank decided to take me deer hunting at the club he belonged to. That changed my life for the better. He introduced me to his camp buddies, some of whom were serious gun guys. My folks saw that Uncle Hank had lit a fire under me and a year later they bought me my first gun, a Marlin 336 in 30-30. I started going to gun shows and buying more guns on my own and soon realized that those "old" guys were pretty cool to hang out with. Uncle Hank passed away last year and he left me his Winchester 1894 NRA Commemorative 30-30 that was presented to him when he moved on from teaching Agriculture to be the Principal at the local tech school. I put a peep sight on it and took it out on opening day last year.

No. Not even close. He bird hunted a little as a kid, but that was it. Did not hunt or shoot past about 14.

My maternal grandfather was for sure, but was too old and unhealthy by the time I came around for me to learn anything from him.

Every word of this describes my dad. He had a Mdl 70 30-06 with a Weaver K2.5 and a Remington Mdl 31 FW 12 gauge with a Cutts. That was always enough; why get any more guns???

He eventually became more of a Gunguy and got a 20 ga IC/Mod Superposed and was bitten by the combination gun bug...drillings. He never got himself a drilling, but I did gardening for an eye doctor friend one summer at age 13, and my pay was a Sauer/Charles Daly 12/12/30-30 sidelock.

My father was not a rifle loony in the sense that I am--in fact he thought I was loony from about the time I turned 12, and started reading a lot about rifles!

But he was a little bit of a gun nut, and hunter. He grew up on a homestead in central Montana during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and everybody in the family hunted for meat. He shot a bunch of small game, and one deer (they were scarce back then).

His father (who was not really a hunter) committed suicide in the mid-30s, but luckily his mother was an avid hunter and great shot, and he learned to shoot very well. But his enthusiasm for hunting wasn't as great as hers (apparently I got her part of the genetics). After working for Boeing during WWII (he was diabetic so couldn't be in the military), he became an English professor.

But he did have a small collection of firearms, including a .22 rimfire Colt Frontier Scout he purchased with the proceeds of the first (of a few) articles he sold on Western history to what were then called "pulp" magazines. He got paid $50, and had always wanted a Colt single-action, so we went down to the Powder Horn in downtown Bozeman, and he bought the Scout. (For those old-time Bozemanites, George Dieruf Sr. did the deal.) I was just tall enough to see over the counter.

Anyway, he did buy an occasional gun, usually just to plink with, but also bought a Western Field (Marlin 336) .30-30 carbine when I started big game hunting, largely so he could go along with me. And he killed a mule deer doe with it, running, at around 50 yards--on opening day of my first season

He died when I was a month shy of my 17th birthday, and while I suspect he may have liked my ending up being a professional writer (many English professors yearn to be full-time writers), he might have been a little puzzled at how much gun writing I do--but might have argued about some of what I write!

Very interesting reading.. Like many my dad hunted a bit, but not much.. My grandfather was the hunter.. He got me started when I was like 5... He was a small game hunter, deer and bear.. But not a gun guy.. He apparently at one time bought and sold quite a few guns, but by the time I came along he had a Fox 12 ga. and a model 54 .30-06 and a .45 auto.. Cousins on my dad's side were great hunters.... My dad wasn't really pleased with all the time I spent hunting, but didn't really complain a lot.. I had some neighbors that were shooters and collectors.. I hung out with them as often as I could.. One of them was an old Camp Perry shooter.. Buy the time I was 15, I bought a used reloading outfit and was enjoying shooting.. Till I was about 45 I tried to keep my collection to about 20 long guns and pistols.. Finally said the hell with it when an older pal said, never sell only buy..

I started buying guns when I was 11 with my own money I made mowing and farm work. 1st gun I bought was a M55 winchester semi auto single shot 22 cost me 10 dollars. Guy at the hardware store knew my dad but asked me if it was ok with my folks and I said yes he said ok. They wrapped it in brown paper and it went home with me on my bike. When I was 14 I bought my first handgun a Ruger single six in 22 mag the guy who sold it to me said he'd take it back if dad didn't like it. Dad was more worried that I'd get a piece of junk than a good gun..I was probably the 1st 14 year old to go to the sheriff's office and put in for a ccp. Back then was no age restriction and it was up to the sheriff or the Sec of State. The codified law said they didn't have to issue one but it was up to them. Had 1 ever since. One day the sheriff asked me if I had ever used birdshot in the ss and I told him yup next thing I know he had me shooting pigeons off the courthouse window sills with it and later on off the upper ledge with graphite gallery shorts in my mossberg 22 rifle. No body needed to tell me if I screwed up even once I was done. My dad would take my older brother and I pheasant hunting. When I turned 17 we both put in for deer licenses and we both shot bucks for the first time. He owned a few guns but they weren't his life they were mine.
I taught him in his 70's how to reload center fire ammo.
He passed away last fall at 96 and 4 months, ww2 vet, dad, husband of 70 years, friend to many and a solid citizen.one of the greatest generation. Mb

I was sitting here trying to figure out how I became a loony. I remember an older kid on the School bus who loved to tell me about his grandfather's 250-3000 and 9.3x62 Mauser. I didn't know what either of those were but they sounded great. I asked my Dad and he had never heard of them. That kid on the bus may have had a hand in giving me the fever.

Dad is 89 and still doing some deer hunting. In younger years, we hunted rabbits, pheasants, grouse and deer. But he's not the guy that turned me into a loony, that was an older relative (distant cousin) that taught me to reload. He was an avid chuck hunter so we shot quite a few of them too. Dad lit the flame but Cal fanned it big time.

Dale

Nope, very avid hunter and fisherman. Guns were simply tools.

My dad did not hunt or own/shoot guns. I did have a Daisy BB gun, but I shot my first real gun and hunted with my stepdad (Deer and Rabbit) when I was 12. Didn't go off the deep end collecting until I was 28, been on a terror ever since 30+ years. Took my dad to his first gun show and to a range to shoot two years ago when he was 80. At that show he bought a 20 ga shotgun for home defense. One of my daughters deer hunts with me every year.

My father was almost totally uninterested in guns, perhaps as a reaction to his father who was a great gun nut but totally uninterested in his children. That grandfather farmed his three sons off to a "grandma" (distant relative, I think) in the Black Hills for the duration of the Great Depression, and my dad's experience with guns was killing a lot of dinners with "Grandma Grimes'" .22 Special--he equated hunting and guns with poverty.

That Grandfather was a soldier and federal cop all his life, did love guns, and owned some classics. Fought the Spanish, the Filipinos, and the Moros, then chased "that rascal Villa" around northern Mexico, and then fought with the 89th Div in France. He carried a Colt New Service DA .44 after he became an officer and gent and had to turn in his Krag, then drank the jammamatic Cool Aid in Mexico in 1916 and never was without a 1911 Colt after that. I ultimately got the New Service.

My maternal grandfather was a mining engineer and "mechanic" who practiced his profession and trade all over the world, prospecting for "fossil water" aquifers, which he then "brought in" for the government that employed him on contract. Did a lot of work for "Old Man Diez" in Mexico, and greatly admired that "controversial" guy. Always carried an S&W .44 Russian.DA breaktop revolver wherever he went.

I grew up in northern California when it was very rural and agricultural and we were surrounded by ranchers and farmers who were WWII vets. Pretty much everyone I admired was a shooter and hunter.

When we bought our ranch in 1948, the first visitor, even before we had a house, was the "nextdoor neighbor" who lived about a mile away, Old Man Duerson, rode up to the back gate, pulled off his hat, introduced himself to my Mom in a very welcoming and courtly fashion and gave her his ranch phone number in case we ever needed help. He had a .45 1911 on his belt and a Win 94 in his saddle scabbard.

I was hooked for life.

My grandfather used his 30-30 in the Alaskan Gold rush to shoot a mountain goat and sell it to the tavern.

My father was chief engineer and patent hold on many guns, but the best known was from the M55, M107, and M110 mobile artillery's.
My father was a pheasant man.

I bought a Daisy model 25 pump BB gun at age 10.
At age 70, I chambered and headspaced a 1903 Turkish Mauser to 260 Remington, last night.
I have become a deer man.

Dad was an avid hunter, but kind of a "one gun guy" - one deer rifle (Win. model 94 in.32 spec.) for his yearly trips to New Brunswick, Canada, and one shotgun for everything else (Rem. 11-48 12 gauge). Gave me a single shot .22 when I was 5, and taught me lessons about firearm safety and sportsmanship that I abide by almost 60 years later.

I would say my dad was right on the edge of being a gun guy but didnt quite catch the bug. He was a very avid hunter and sportsman. He grew up hunting from a very young age and hunted with friends until we moved to Wyoming. He used the same rifle to hunt big game pretty much his entire life even though he had a few other guns. He was a subscriber to Shotgun News back when it was a good publication for sales, bargains and access to items small towns didnt have. I think at his high point he had about 30+ guns. Some were collectors, some were for fun etc. He did reload but kept it pretty utilitarian. I would say he was more of a gun guy than most people but not a full blown looney.

The son of a son of a son of a looney. My great grandfather had a tremendous collection of turn of the century rifles most of which were stolen. My grandfather served with distinction in WW2 and while being an amazing shot never hunted big game after the war. My father was a hunter before coming to Alaska but he pushed us to take the first shots. He was disabled in several auto accidents. He taught me to not sell unless you can double your money. My brother in law ended up with most of his guns while I ended up with his trophies. It was a fair deal. I have two guns that are tied to him. One of my greatest regrets is not doing a couple of moose hunts with him. Life is too short.

To add to my earlier post, while he wasn't a loony he did write this: SMLE

So I suppose you could call him a gun guy, even if he wasn't a loony.

My Dad was not a gun guy like I am, but he appreciated guns. Had an H&R 999 .22 revolver, his Dad's. 22 special pump, and a M99 .300 Savage, all open sighted. He shot very well; I watched him shoot quite a few raccoons, skunks, and a couple badgers that were bothering chickens and graneries on the farm. He thought that ne could kill anything that walked with that .300, and I believed him. Dad supported my interest, and I still remember the thrill when he woud let me shoot the H&R or the .22 special. My Mom's brother, my Uncle Bill, was the one who really took me under his wing with hunting. Growing up on a farm in eastern MT, all I had to do was step out of the house, walk past the corrals, and be hunting. It was a good childhood.

Guys, I’ve enjoyed reading your backgrounds and stories.

To add to my earlier post.

I can’t remember NOT having a BB gun or pellet rifle. I got proficient (good enuff) with a BB gun
to the point of hitting a quarter in the air regularly....no bs.
Dad bought a Tube fed, bolt action .410 for me when I was young enuff that it hurt to shoot.
Part of that was too long LOP, I still have it.

We bird (quail) hunted more than anything else... deer were RARE.
Today deer are a nuisance and Quail are rare.

My Dad was a great influence on me per guns & hunting even tho most of my
life he only had that 760, 06. He died of a brain tumor in 98 at 72 yo.
I still miss him.

Jerry

Dad saw guns as a tool. He brought home a Model 47 Winchester for me when I was five to teach me to shoot a rifle, and an H&R Topper in .410 when I was seven to teach me wing shooting. I used it for pheasants and he had an old Model 37 Winchester in 20 gauge for the same purpose.

I've enjoyed this thread too, great idea for a post!

My dad was an avid target shooter and hunter. His dad was an avid target shooter and hunter. Dad and Grandpa were both reloaders. Both hunted with Model 70 Winchesters. I still have Dad's though I have re-barreled it twice. Dad competed in benchrest, high power, and "F" class. He hunted in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, British Columbia, Yukon, and NWT. He taught me about reloading when I was 12 years old and bought me my first big game rifle when I was 14, along with a Lee Loader for it. Later on, I taught Dad to fit and chamber his own barrels. Attempts to get him to do fine stock work werea dismal failure! On my mother's side my grandfather hunted with a Rocky Gibbs 270 and took me to meet Rocky when I was 15. My mother hunted and killed deer, elk, and black bear. I guess you could say guns and hunting are in my blood. GD

My Dad started out as a bit of a gun nut. Before the farm and kids came along he had a few. A pre 64 model 70 30-06, a model 64 30-30, a Winchester 67 22 LR and a model 1873 44-40 and for a shotgun he had an Ithaca 37 20 gauge. After he started farming and the kids started coming along, he got rid of all but the 67 and the Ithaca. Much to my disappointment. He simply didn’t have time as a dairy farmer raising livestock and kids to indulge his gun interest.

As I grew and developed a strong interest in shooting, hunting, fishing and trapping, he was able to speak gun with me up to a point. In later years he would often call me to ask about some obscure gun or round he’d read of in a book. It kept me on my toes. I certainly miss my frequent phone conversations with him. Seems like never a week goes by but what I have a story I’d like to share or a corny joke.

Dad never did anything to stifle my outdoor and gun interests. He made sure I had time to shoot on the high school rifle team, hunt, fish and trap as the farm chores allowed. We had 85 acres of woods on our farm and I had the run of a dozen nearby farms with similar amounts of woods. Some of them had steams and ponds. It was a great place to grow an outdoorsman.

Dad did teach my brother and I to shoot and taught us firearms safety. He wasn’t a shotgunner so that I had to learn on my own. After the farm sold Dad did a little hunting with me but he had lost his right eye and never shot enough after the accident to develop any real confidence.

I was raised in a household fairly devoid of guns and hunting. My Dad and my grandfather had given it up before I was able to enjoy it with them. Grandpa and my Great-Grandpa were both enthusiastic bird hunters. Dad was a trap shooter and occasional pheasant shooter. It was all over before I got there.

All my shooting and hunting experience came from hanging out with older friends after college. The hunting was mostly self-taught.

It is great!

...

Thanks guys. Glad you like it

Bob B257

Did U ever hear of a Paragraph ?
Whew !

Jerry

My Dad is 91 and love him like a father. He wasn't a true gun guy but took me bowhunting when I was only 8...deer gun when I turned 12. Well before I turned 10, Dad had a High Standard (Sears) 22 auto rifle that I so much looked forward to shooting. One day he took me aside and said he felt he should trade the 22 for a recurve bow to give to a guest evangelist who had traveled from Kentucky to preach at our church. The preacher had a very simple bow he used as an object lesson on aiming true in life. Dad explained all this to me before he did it but promised me a new 22 rifle when I turned 12 which he made good on. About a year after receiving the Ithaca 49 for Christmas, I traded for a Remington 22 bolt gun and later a 10-22; all without parental approval and have been buying and trading ever since. I blame my Dad for making me a looney!

Well not really but.....
My dad loved fishing, and took me probably before I could walk. We spent lots of times outdoors even though I grew up in the city. Once I started reading Outdoor Life and Sports Afield and doing book reports at school reading any hunting book in library (they actually had hunting and gun books in library back then), I started talking with my dad about hunting. He grew up in small southern Illinois town where his dad was a coal miner, and he said as a kid used to hunt squirrels and rabbits with a 22 to feed the family. But the mines closed and his family moved to Chicago for work, my dad went to war, and had never owned any guns.
Due to my interest, I was suprised with a 22 single shot one Christmas. Me and dad would go to indoor range to shoot, and took a few trips back to where he grew up to hunt squirrels. This inspired my dad I guess to get a couple shotguns for hunting pheasant and rabbits. I got a Ted Williams 20ga pump from Sears and my dad bought a new Rem 870 12ga. I can remember him saying he must be crazy for spending $90 on a shotgun! I still have his 870 and man has it accounted for tons of small game, and a few deer after I got a slug barrel for it after he passed.
I so miss the times we spent together hunting, shooting and fishing. He died at 64 ten days after retirement....what a frickin pity!
That 870 was the only gun he ever owned. I've had several hundred go thru my hands at this point.
So, I guess dad was not a gun guy, but he gave me the start to enjoy them.

My father hunted a lot when I was a kid, deer, birds, rabbits. He duck hunted almost every morning of the week during the duck season. My uncles hunted a lot too. My father wasn't a gun guy by any means, he only ever owned a .22 (Reminton 521 T), a shotgun (16 gauge Ithaca 37, later a 12 gauge Remington 58) and a pistol (Hi Standard G-380).
One of his brothers reloaded for his .270. I'm probably the only real gun guy from my generation. My brothers don't reload and only own 15 to 20 guns each, including rifles, handguns and shotguns. My two sons have a lot of guns and reload.

Interesting...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Model_37

I was at the range on Saturday and two guys were sighting in their Card shoot guns. Both bolt action 12 gauges with scopes and custom 32" barrels. A lot of money just to win a meat tray or a frozen turkey if you're lucky

My father had only a 30-06 and a 12ga for all my youth. He hunted frequently before he had a house full of children. With more restrictions, less game and higher licensing fees he hung it up. At least that is what he told us…

He worked most weekends and holidays for the overtime pay to keep a roof over our head and clothes on our back. The man really sacrificed many years of his life to take care of his family. I did not understand when I was young but now that I am older with kids in the house I fully understand, respect and appreciate all the sacrifices he made for us.

After we all left home he has gotten back into it a lot and his collection is impressive. Still not an active hunter like he was before children but definitely a gun guy!

My Dad was a WWII guy.He said he had enough of guns and shooting.Both my Gramps and Uncles were hunters and shooters and took me under their wing.

Being from a pioneer family, guns were something everyone in my family had. My paternal grandfather was chief deputy of our county and had quite a collection. The first thing my dad did when he got to Europe in WWII was trade his M1 for a Springfield (he had no love of those new fangled automatics). My mom's dad was somewhat of an outlaw (made for some interesting family gatherings) and although he didn't have many guns, was an avid hunter. He took one of his biggest deer at 93. He had my brothers and I hunting quail at a very tender age with a single shot hammer 410, a true lesson in humility.
My brothers and I all started helping dad reload as soon as we could be relied on to do any chore like case trimming. My oldest brother was an avid reloader and the real loony of the family and went on to be a design engineer at RCBS.
I am not a loony because I only buy guns for a good reason. I just keep coming up with more reasons!

My dad had been a cavalry scout back when they actually used horses and went thru all of WWII as an infantry first sergeant.

He started me out with a single shot .22 rimfire and once I was squared away on its safe handling would send me out with a single round saying "bring me back a sage rat". Naturally, I'd come back empty handed and then he'd sit me down and ask questions about the shot. What was the sight picture when the gun fired? Did I squeeze the trigger? How far away was I? Where was the sun? Was I above or below the target? Did I use cover to get close? Then he'd send me back out with another round and tell me to focus and hone on one particular skill. When I started consistently bringing back a sage rat for every round fired, he then would give me 2 rounds and send me out saying "bring me back a Magpie". Then I graduated to bringing back rabbits with the single shot.

The day I brought back a coyote he moved me up to the M1 Garand. From .22 rimfire to .30-06 at twelve years old.

I still have that .22 single shot.

Dad’s first gun was an old Winchester 37 Redletter in 12 gauge gifted to him by his father for his 12th birthday. This was in 1958.
Dad went on to become quite the outdoorsman fishing and hunting and even scuba diving for several years. He also enjoyed shooting and had an appreciation for a fine firearm.
Dad bought me my first gun in 1973 when I was but six months old. It was a Browning BL-22. My uncle followed suit six months later giving me a 12 gauge Winchester 37A with a 32 inch barrel. I still have both.
Dad had pretty well given up hunting by the time I came of age but he still liked to rabbit hunt and fish.
Pops liked nice guns acquiring several through the years. He took extremely good care of them and would clean them and polish on them as if they were worth millions.
Somewhere early on I was bitten and became a full blown loony at an early age. I would sit and stare at the guns in the gun cabinet as the light seemed to cause the walnut and blue to take on some type of seductive sheen.
Dad worked with a bunch of gun nuts and hunters in the tool room at GM. Several had their FFL’s. They were all the time sending Shotgun News home with Dad along with gunmakers catalogs which I pored over.
My Grandfather and Uncles had all given up hunting but they loved their guns and rare was the Sunday dinner when there wouldn’t be someone bringing a gun they had bought or traded for. When Dad’s older brother died, he had 176 guns.
All of the the neighbors had guns and traded them for firewood, hogs, cows, trucks and whatever else was needed. Guns were everywhere.
Having no television, if I wasn’t working or in school,I was hunting, fishing or reading about it.
When I hired on the Fire Department there were a lot of gun guys working there. They would pay me to clean their guns.
We had a big kitchen table and some evenings that table would be covered with guns. There would be retired guys there, off-duty guys and even some cops. I would hate to think how many guns that I saw bought, sold and swapped in that place. I thought I was in heaven and pretty well stayed broke, lol.
So, no, I never had a chance and wouldn’t have it any other way. More of a loony now than ever!
So yes, I guess you could say I was raised a gun guy!

Dad was a quail hunter. Model 12’s and 42’s were in the shotgun section. Rim fires we Model 61’s, 74’s and a 69. He only had one Model 70. I guess I was an abused child.

I fixed it for ya.


Jerry

J Trapper

That's about as good as it gets. Congrats

Jerry

A related note:

A close friend of mine 1 month younger than me -- died last Fri. He didn't hunt or shoot.....He told me he did enough killing in Nam.
I didn't ask for details. I'll miss him a LONG time.


Jerry

Thank you!

sorry for your loss

Thanks Mike

We never have too many friends

I and we hate to lose any.


Jerry

My Dad grew up in the co. mountains and was a very capable meat hunter. We went on family horseback elk and mule deer hunts every year we were in the states. My dad always had his WW2 19ll and a Garand in the house but we used family rifles when hunting. When we lived in Tehran, Iran my last 2 years of high school the NIOC guys my dad worked with were avid hunters and members of the ruling class. We went on lots of hunts in the Alborz and Zagros mountains for Ibex, sheep, deer and wild boar. Those wealthy Iranians had some exotic rifles and scopes and spectacular camps and horses. Gangs of coolies were always present to do the hard work except stalking and shooting.

We spent a lot more time fishing and skiing than we did hunting. My dad liked skiis and fly rods much more than he did guns.

My step father hunted moose and grouse but he was not a gun guy. He owned a Lee Enfield Jungle Carbine, a Model 12 and a Marlin 22lr semi. A box of 303 would last him years but it was him that got me into hunting.

Later, when I got married I needed a hobbie. Weekends with the boys wasn't going to happen any more. I got into guns on my own as a result.

My father liked to hunt and fish but was not really interested in guns as such. To him, they were just tools. Nevertheless, I grew up hunting, fishing, hiking and climbing and had lots of great experiences. I have both my parents to thank for that, because they liked the outdoors and provided opportunities for me.

Yes thank God. He always reloaded and taught me. We did a little of everything from fly fishing to bowhunting.

jwall, sorry to hear about your friend..

The only guns my dad was interested in... were the ones on his fighter.

I was raised by Jack O'Connor.




GR

Thanks WCH

Wasnt everybody?

my brother and myself were raised with guns ,my family were not gun collectors they kinda used guns just to either hunt with for food or get rid of critters not wanted around farms. most were Veterans of wars and they like to tell us about the war time battles a little. my one uncle has his name on the patent for plastic hull crimp he invented for Federal Cartridge that all companies in the world used to crimp their plastic hulls and paid Federal Cartridge to use this process. so as a teenager i seen these new plastic crimp hulls and the colors Uncle Stan picked colors for each gauge on plastic shotgun shells too for Federal Cartridge before the public ever seen these plastic hulls and shot a few too. Dang i was to busy as a kid to pay enough attention or understand all this neat stuff at my age of 12 -13 uncle Stan did for Federal Cartridge that was World wide used , but i did get real cheap purple 16 gauge shells to hunt with.

That’s not far off for me when it comes to CF rifles. True

Jerry

Nope. Dad had a bolt 22 and a Remington pump 270. No target practice. Became a gun nut on my own. Any deer that came running past Dad was in the freezer. End of story. Ed

My dad has guns and shot some - like once a year maybe - when I was a kid. HIs 2nd wife is afraid of guns, so now he rarely shoots but I take him when I can.

My granddad had guns but never shot as far as I know. I have an uncle who used to hunt but never took me.

I really started shooting with co-workers from my first job and hunting shortly after that.

Raised to hunt and fish by my Dad. He started reloading shotshells because we shot trap. In about 1974 he started reloading .38 special and .243 Winchester. I can’t say he was a “Gun guy” because he wasn’t as interested in calibers and ballistics as My brother and I were. He definitely steered us in the right direction.

Ron

My very first shotgun was an Ithaca 49 in .410.
Christmas 1968, when I was eleven. Through the years that followed, more kids were introduced to the shooting sports with that Ithaca single shot.

Dad hated guns, they were a necessary evil that allowed him to hunt. We had a 22 for small game and a Marlin 30-30 for deer, and they were hidden most of the year, fired only to zero and at appropriate game. We had a bit put back by my desire to shoot and know about guns. I wound up hunting to shoot guns, and then shooting, reloading, etc took over. Come to think of it, I did a lot of things he didn’t agree with, but he still accepted me for who I am. I miss him, and still try to hunt with his old Marlin every year on the anniversary of his death, he died carrying the Marlin while hunting.

Old70

My dad was too busy with work to hunt or shoot. That is ironic since I have heard stories of how good a shot he was as a youth. By the time I was born he only had one firearm- a single shot Remington .22 with a ring in the barrel. He used it for varmints and predators around the farm. His dad only owned one firearm- a 16 gauge long tom single shot shotgun that had a pitted barrel and a loose breech. He liked his squirrel and dumplings and would send me to the woods behind the barn to kill his breakfast while he milked and fed the livestock.

Different story on mom's side of the family. My grandfather was always trading shotguns and .22 rifles. He never had more than one or two at a time, but the inventory changed often. My uncles were gun nuts and helped me to become a gun nut myself. One uncle introduced me to varmint hunting and another started me deer hunting.

Dad traded a pig for my first shotgun- a Winchester 37 in .410.

My dad had a single shot 16 ga shotgun. My cousin is the one that got me into guns.

Dan oz,
Thanks for posting that. Back in college I tried to write poems about guns and manhood, but few understood them. What a legacy!
Best,

Nope. Though everyone in my family was a gun owner, I totally did this on my own 😁
GreggH

No. My grandfather was accidentally shot in the stomach by his uncle when he was 18, in 1910. It took them several hours to get him to Staunton to the hospital and he had the bullet in his guts the rest of his life (61 more years!). Dad's older brothers hunted squirrels some, my dad not much. I had a bb gun and a friends father taught me to shoot a shotgun and .22. I started hunting deer a little bit in my late 20s, but until 3 years ago I had only one C.F. rifle, one .22 and 2 pistols. At 50 I bought my first pre-64 Model 70, and I've turned into something of a gun nut. I now have 4 Model 70s, a Winchester 69, an Ithaca 37 and a Stevens 87a, along with a Colt Commander. I started mounting my own scopes a couple of years ago. I appreciate all the help guys on here have given me, I'm always willing to listen and learn.

I'm also of the Jack O'Connor school. There was an April, 1965 copy of Outdoor Life laying around school when I was 12 or 13. The Ram and The Silver Bullet was the story that sparked an interest in hunting in me and I've been an O'Connor fan ever since.

Nope. My dad didn't hunt or fish. Neither did anybody else in the family. He did let my brother and I hunt and would take us to a hunting club he joined so we could deer hunt. He had cut his wrist really bad when a window that was stuck broke. He didn't have any feeling in his hand and I think he was afraid he couldn't control the trigger properly. He did a lot to ensure my brother and I had about all the hunting and fishing we needed by getting some friends to take us.

The vast majority of us weren't raised by gun loonies. I think gun loonies used to be a lot rarer than today

Thanks mate. He could be hard to get along with, but I think that poem says a lot about what it means to have a rifle and know how to use it.

Mom and dad both grew up on small farms during the depression.
Mom in W Va and dad in Ohio.
As kids they hunted for food for the family.

They went pheasant hunting on their honeymoon in Findlay, Ohio.
Used to be famous for pheasant hunting.

Mom gave dad a 1957 Sweet 16 as a wedding present and ironically he gave her a 57 Light 20.

Then a few years later dad got into the fast draw craze of the 1960s and started collecting and shooting Colt SAAs.
Mom shot with him too. They had a range and timer set up in the basement where they would practice every evening.

I was born in Dec of 62. Christmas I was 12 days old.
Under the tree was another A5 Light 20 with my name on it though I wasn't big enough to shoot it until I was 9 years old.

Dad started taking me rabbit hunting with him and my uncle when I was about 2-3 years old.

Started me on a Red Rider BB gun in the back yard at age 4 and I quickly became very frustrated.
He'd blow up balloons and tell me to shoot them, I couldn't hit squat.
One afternoon mom came home from work and said " go grab your BB gun, I wanna try something."
She blew up a balloon and told me to shoot it, of course I missed.
She said" This time, put the rifle on your right shoulder rather than your left."
Low and behold I broke it, and the next 5 .
Dad was left handed and assumed I was as well, boy was he ever wrong.

Dad was an avid wing shooter and started me on a single shot bolt action 410 that had been his first shotgun at age of 5.
Took me dove and duck hunting at age 7.
We started shooting clays w a group of his friends and by age 8 he had me reloading shotgun shells.

At 9 he introduced me to handguns, and by 12 I was reloading handgun ammo on my own on a Rock Chucker that I am still loading rifle ammo on to this day.

Dad never deer hunted a lot until I got into high school and that was only because I got the bug.
He only owned 3 centerfire rifles in his life, a 740 Remington in 280, a Model 81 in 300 Savage and a Browning A Bolt in 30-06.
He shot that 740 for over 50 years until part of the action bars wore out and the rifle wouldn't cycle reliably.

The only 22s dad had were both Brownings
A Grade III Belgian Auto and a Grade 2 BL22.

So yeah I was raised by a gun guy.
When dad passed in 2000 he had 67 Colts and Browning's one or two Remington's and a couple of Mdl12s in the safe.

I still have them all.

As far as the rifle looney part ?

I am self taught.

HTD

Man, THAT is a resume !!

Jerry

Nope, but Dad knew several who were. My first rifle that I could use and have (for about 6 months) was a Winchester 52 sporter. About cried when I had to give it back to dad's friend after I got my Boy Scout badge. Had the loan of a old Marlin octagon barrel in 45-70 from a good neighbor, dang that thing was heavy... With a hooked style metal butt plate kicked as well. Did get a deer with it however. Same neighbor took me duck hunting for the first time. Borrowed 16 gauge SXS, two triggers. I had Choppers on (no finger gloves) of course I fired both barrels, dang near went over the side of the boat. Black and blue shoulder as well. Did get a duck however.

+1

Yes and no. He is one of the best shots, rifle and pistol, I’ve ever met, but not a “gun guy”. He taught me and my brother gun safety and marksmanship, but guns were tools to him. He had a 12 gauge shotgun and that was it. We bought guns, .22s, shotguns, pistols, and center fire rifles. He could shoot them all better than we could. He would hunt quail, but that was it. After Korea and Vietnam, he didn’t have much of an appetite for shooting things. I do remember one now humorous interchange; Dad “What chambering will your rifle be?” 21 yo me “.30-06; it has plenty of power for deer.” Dad: “Why not a .223?” Me: “.223 isn’t powerful enough for deer!” Dad: *shrug* “.223 seemed to work pretty well in Vietnam.”

My old man was a definite "Gun Guy" . Ex Marine, owned a DCM M1 Garand, belonged to a Gun Club with ranges out to a 1000 yards. Must have rubbed off on me, when I worked at a Ski Area doing Avalanche Control I shot a 75 mm Recoiless Rifle as well as using hand thrown explosive charges. Fun Times.

The whole time I was growing up my Dad went deer hunting once. I was younger so I did not get to go. He was working with a guy when I was about 7 or 8 that would hunt foxes. So he got a 243. That was something he could use for fox or deer. When I was in Jr. High my older brother got in to coon hunting. He would go with him and sometimes I would go. When I was in in my mid 20's my other older brother got into hunting. It sounded fun so I borrowed my Dad's 243 and went antelope hunting with my brother. The next year I brought my own gun and started hunting with my brother. My dad started going out with us. He was never the gun guy that I am.

I know people like that. Would rather have stuff than use stuff. A lot of people seem that they would rather tell you about what they have then take the time to go use it. It’s not just with guns either.