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

I definitely wasn't. My father hated guns to be around him in his house. And so my brother and I weren't even allowed to have an air rifle. My brother and I assumed that his hate was based on his experiences with WWII and the absence of his father, being a soldier, when Dad was young and needed him very much. My paternal grandfather was captured on the Krim peninsula in 1944 and released from Russian captivity in 1950.
In our opinion father always linked guns to war and war the the absence of loved ones. But we were suprised to see him fire an old military rifle in later years after my wife and I had moved in a rural area into the neighborhood of a shooting range. My brother brought a 22 short Polish training rifle, made in 1932, and Dad, of 1936 vintage, was very eager to try this gun. The one and only "weapon" he liked to shoot was bow and arrow.

Nope! My father certainly wasn’t anti-gun, he was just a poor boy that couldn’t afford unnecessary firearms. He wasn’t a passionate hunter, and probably only went hunting a couple dozen times once he had a family. Most of his adult life he had 2 firearms.....a S&W Model 10 and a Winchester Model 12.

Though, he recognized my passion for hunting and firearms, and gave me my first gun for my 7th birthday....a Benjamin Pump in .177 caliber. This was the beginning of my desire to hunt as much as possible and to aquire a few firearms over my lifetime! memtb

Yeah, my Dad is very much a gun guy, far more than me in terms of collecting. He was a gunsmith by trade for a while. Went to school for it in Colorado, worked at a couple of shops, then had his own for about 8-9 years. He wasn't making the kind of money he wanted at it, though, so he went back to electrical maintainence to finish out his career until he retired. He's getting up there in age now and his eyes have gotten pretty bad, so he doesn't shoot or hunt much these days, but still a collector and very good source of info when I run into a rifle issue once in a while.

My dad owned guns, but like many of his generation, they more a tool than a "fun" item. He enjoyed bird hunting but for him, they were used to fend off owls and foxes from the hen house. And to kill an occasional ground hog that would want to take up residence under one of the barns. He didn't tolerate stray dogs hanging around, either.

Growing up in the Depression he wasn’t so much a “gun guy” but more a hunter, small game, quail, ducks and doves.

When I was little, I remember he had a Colt Police Positive 38 S&W, a Rem Sportsman 58 12 gauge, a Winchester 74 and a Mossberg 20 gauge bolt action. As my two brothers and I got older three 1100’s came around along with some more 22’s. The first centerfire rifle in the house was my 700, 243 that I bought with lawn mowing money. That was when the deer herd started making a comeback and deer hunting started to become more popular.

Lots of good hunts with him and later with him and my brothers when they got old enough. I got checked out of school several times for some good dove shoots. 😊 I still have a partial box of the Peters, paper shot shells with the flying mallard on the front. Can’t forget how the fired ones smelled. 😁

Your grandfather's experience from capture to all his time in captivity must be one to marvel at given the mortality rates of eastern front POWs. Did you ever get to speak with him?

Same here. That generation, in my family, looked on them as tools.

My dad was born in 1927 and hunted rabbits and squirrels as a kid. He said he used to trade those rabbits and squirrels for flour and other essentials at the local store. Oddly enough that old store was still standing when I was a kid as was the house they lived in. He plowed fields with mules growing up. He enlisted in the Navy during WW2 and then went to college at N.C. State University where he was in Army ROTC. As an officer he joined the Paratroopers, which I guess was the special forces of the time, and one jump away from becoming a jumpmaster the Captains parachute streamlined on top of dads and they hit the ground. dad lived the captain didn't. I pain all of his life he did take me squirrel and rabbit hunting. Also quail hunting with his brother and my other uncles on my moms side. I don't really think he enjoyed it that much but he enjoyed being with me a seeing me out shoot the old folks. As I got older, maybe 13 or so he never went hunting again. But he always encouraged me. I went hunting most everyday after school with my model 37 20 gauge Ithaca pump or my Mariln 22 which dad had bought me. he also bought me a Mec 20 and 12 gauge reloader and when we finely got some deer around he bought me a Remington 700 BDL 30-06 with a 3-9 Leopold scope. Shortly there after I had an RCBS press and everything I needed. Dad really didn't teach me much on how to hunt but he supported me and one of his bothers was an NC Game warden and between them both they did teach me gun safety and to respect the game animals we pursue. Most of what I know I gained through reading everything I could, experience, and trapping probably helped more than anything I guess. But my dad loved me and supported me and that is all that matters.

My dad is a hunter at heart, but he does appreciate a really good gun.

My grandfather was a hunter. He had a Winchester 94 in 30-30 that he bought new in 1926. He had a Remington Model 11 in 20 ga that he was an excellent shot with. He replaced it with a 12 ga Remington 11. He took it out on its first hunt and emptied it a pheasant. He walked back to the car, got his trusty 20 ga and never fired the 12 again. I have both now, the 20 ga is more or less worn out and the 12 ga looks like it's brand new, since it's only fired three shots.

My father was also a hunter. He had a Remington 721 in 30-06 with a Bausch & Lomb Balvar scope with the adjustment in the rings, a Winchester 71 348 Win, and a Belgian Browning Auto 5 in 20 ga. He also liked target shooting and had a Winchester 52B target rifle. Just for fun he had an Rockola M1 Carbine he bought from the US government for the princely sum of $25. The only condition was that to get the carbine, you had to be a member of the NRA. How things have changed since 1962.

Yes, but only for a short time. I was just under 7 years old when he did. It was an accident. He fell down the stairs leading into the basement. He wasn't sober at that time. But I recall that once I had asked him about Russia. He replied that it is a wonderful country and that he as a POW sometimes had more to eat than the civilans he had some contact to when occasionally leaving the camp to work outside.

Decades later while celebrating the 40th anniversary of work of a co-worker I learned that my grandfather was one of the guys still talking in Russian while at work. Granddad, Dad and I had/have the same employer. Six years in Joe Stalins camp obviously coins your life even positively.

But my father told me that Granddad must have had nightmares because sometime in the night he was shouting and crying in his sleep.

Another story I recall which came from my father that when Granddad was in Russia and fighting partisans he once took a foxhole filled up with lots of food. Among the cans was corned beef Made in the U.S. At that very moment he and his comrad new: The War Is Over! When the Americans were delivering supply to the Russians there was no Endsieg/final victory anymore.

Pretty much says it all! LOL
Cat

My dad was a gun nut. Neighbors and friends and relatives brought rifles to him for repair, re-barreling etc. His mother and father were gun nuts. His grand father and grand mother were gun nuts. Great Grand mother carried a rifle with her most of the time. They came out West right after the civil war. Great Grand Father had his thumb blown away in that war. They were near where the Calvary chased Big Foot and his tribe to Wounded Knee - exciting times, I bet.

Yes and no?

My dad thinks plenty of guns are cool, but I've only ever seen him own and hunt one centerfire rifle, a professionally sportered Lee Enfield with nice monte carlo stock from an outfit in Ottawa called "Globe". It did what he wanted and has a lot of miles and stories behind it.

Wal-Mart in Pa does not sell lead sinkers anymore

What a great thread. My Dad had a 22 , shotgun, 30-06and killed a bunch of deer & birds but became more of a gun guy as I started hunting with him.& his buddies. My maternal grandfather is to this day the finest shotgun marksman I’ve ever hunted with in 50 years of hunting dozens of guys. When I was his dog as a boy he dropped bandtail pigeons close to the road to make my job easier. Spent a summer with paternal grandfather in South Dakota & he bought me a box of 22’s every day that 10 year old Summer. He had me finish off varmint last that teenagers wounded shooting at the dump - liked his grandson being the best rifle shot. In my big extended family nothing but support for hunting & shooting. My Grandmother chastised my newest son-in-law for missing a big Tom Turkey the day she met him at age 98. None were collectors but I still use an old model 11 as my Turkey gun even though I can’t shoot it as well as my grandfather did.

Dad wasn't what I would call a gun guy. He had some guns, but wasn't a loony and didn't handload. He had a few .22 revolvers, a Marlin 39 (not a 39a), a pre-64 Winchester M94 30-30 and a Remington 720/722 (not sure which) in .257 Roberts. The rifles sported iron sights only. No shotguns, but he had a couple of recurves and a leather quiver full of arrows with practice points and broadheads. He also had a lot of fishing poles and tackle. I never saw him use any of them other than the Marlin 39 to take care of varmints. He had stopped hunting and fishing by the time I came along.

My interest in guns and hunting was pretty much my own although just having the hardware in the house was something. They certainly captured my attention and spurred my imagination when I first found them tucked away in the closet.

Really like this thread also. Find interesting how many grew up without their fathers influence into the shooting sports.
Although my father had a number of rifles, shotgun and handguns never remember him hunting or shooting when I was young.
I believe he hunted growing up but don’t recall him ever talking about it. That said there was never any objection when I got involved with shooting and hunting when I was in high school but he never showed much interest in my activities. I guess my mentors were Keith, O’Conner, Page and the rest when I was young.
Interesting side note. I recall when I was six or so my father was going to go on a hunt in Alaska with several friends. Don’t know why but he never went on the trip ?

No, I got interested in guns by reading gun magazines in the barber shop, the barber started collecting gun magazines for me, joined the NRA at 12 in 1968

my dad was military, but I wasn't exposed to firearms until I was 10 or so. he took me out to shoot a 12 gauge with no working up to it, at 10 y/o.

One the other end, my mom was anti gun... I still hear her to this day.... You don't need that. It won't hurt you. you don't need to go out hunting, you have work around the house that needs to get done instead. you can do that some other time.

yet when her dad died, she wanted each of my brothers and me to have one of his firearms.... she wouldn't let us go shoot them, but she wanted us to have them because they were his.

I hunted a couple of seasons at Ft Bragg with my dad in 1966 and 1967. then he went overseas to Vietnam and that ended that... he was over there several years.
at 28 I started hunting with my in laws in Northern MN in 1980 after I got married. had no guns during college or after I got out and went into the military.

so I was close to 30 y/o before I got to be around any firearms at all, much less hunt.

even then, when ever my mom visited, she'd always go thru my closet and then ask me what in the hell do I need those for., yet she would get into the freezer and find, venison Squirrel etc.... and eat all I had while there..... my first wife hated wild game, but she would always want me to go hunting with her dad, which allowed her to go home and spend the weekend with her mom... but she was happy when my mom would come and eat all the wild game in the freezer.

only as I got older and got away from my first wife, and my mom... was I able to freely enjoy the things I was interested in since my childhood... so my child hood fantasies started when I was almost 40.....