What made you a "firearms enthusiast"

[TheBoss930]

I grew up with a ruger 10/22, it was my parents, so I never shot it much but I loved it. One day when I was 16 I thought "Hey, it would be really cool to have a rifle of my own!" I didn't know where to start, but I have always loved military history and eventually bought an SKS.

 

[alclark2]

One thing leads to another.. you start out with a chipmunk 22 as a little kid and next thing you know, your family are all 3%ers.

 

[StringerBell]

My dad had a couple of nice varmint rifles in the house while I was growing up. He'd always been a gun guy and reloader, but had kind of moved on to black powder firearms and other hobbies by the time us kids came along. I was always fascinated by his rifles and bugged him to go shooting every time we had the chance. Then, I went to Boy Scout camp and got to spend time on the rifle range and was hooked. I had a rickety reloading bench set up in my bedroom by the time I was about 15 and had dug all of my dad's old reloading equipment out of storage. That was many, many dollars ago!

 

[Arthur Dent]

Oh my! That must be like jumping straight to heroin!!

That would probably be a good analogy. Bought my first handgun shortly after the NFA shoot and I've been very slowly acquiring new guns as I can afford to. Which isn't nearly fast enough for me.

 

[oldsecuritydogmike]

started shooting when i was a kid,both my father and grandfather were hunters back east. since the late 80's most of my shooting was for done for the old ppc since i was in security work. but i've been on disability since 2012 and just now able to get a new hand gun. it's a sararms sar b6 hawk.an all steel copy of the cz 75b from turkey,but alas i have not been able to get out to shoot it yet. i think what really got me into hand guns is both western movies/books,plus law enforcement type movies/books. a;so i'm new to this site

 

[KrisMT]

My step-dad was a "not in my house" kinda anti-gun. Grandfather and uncles were hunters, one joined the Corps, one fled the state over child support, Grandfather died when I was young. Never fired a gun until I joined the Corps. Got out right before Clinton's AWB sunsetted but wife at the time said no guns. After we got divorced, I rented my grandmother's spare bedroom for a bit, had a window view of a drug house. My grandmother had her LTCH and kept an old .25 in her purse (likely hadn't been fired in years if not decades). Saved up for my LTCH, then my first handgun, haven't looked back since, manage to buy 1-2 new guns a year.

 

[Dosproduction]

OBAMA

 

[TKDMaster10]

My entire family is extremely pro-gun but for some reason I never had the desire to shoot a gun. Until I got into video games such as COD and BF when I was around 13-14. Once I turned 16 I asked my uncle to take me shooting and I've been hooked ever since! I am now the biggest "gun nut" in my family, and its all thanks to video games! LOL

 

[Pinger5560]

Yeah started at a young age myself, was taught by my father & grandfathers how to properly use a firearm. I was like 5 yrs old when I shot my first, it was a S&W 44 mag with wad cutter. My dad wanted to seem if I was going to like it or be scared. From age 3-5 he taught me how to hold, safety check & aim a firearm. I was given the 4 laws of gun safety, got them drilled into me, I would have to say them before I was allowed to even use my BB guns. I got my first rifle when I was 7ish, it was a Papoose .22 LR. I lived in the rural areas of Indiana, my family had a house that was on 1.75 acres but was surrounded by the old family farm. We had about 500+ yard outdoor gun range growing up. I really miss all that land & all those lost guns that where sold over the years.

 

[Spear Dane]

The progressive left made me a firearms enthusiast.

 

[brchixwing]

I had the exact opposite background and ended up similar. I grew up in deprived New York City, shot/hunted 2-3 times a year growing up when visiting family friends in rural NY, then moved to California which is shockingly better, and recently moved to IN. I think almost all non-liberals love shooting, the ones that don't just haven't been exposed yet. What's not to love?

With the right friends and *rights*, most guys find huge appeal in shooting sports irregardless of background/media.

Preference wise, 2 of my first guns were matching nickel plated Model 29's because watching Harry Callahan shaped by childhood (even though his were blued). Also love shooting my DE44 probably because I loved playing Counterstrike. Movies and games absolutely influenced which firearms I own for novelty.

 

[JoeG1]

My dad would take me shooting from time to time as a kid, was hooked instantly.

 

[sheltowee]

I think being a firearms enthusiast is just natural for males. My sister in law would not let my nephew play with toy guns when he was a kid. They were strictly outlawed in her home. But every time I saw that kid he would have a stick with one end pressed against his shoulder and the other end pointed at an imaginary target and he would be going " pew pew".

 

[Klanham5576]

Simple little thing really...a little incident where a guy with an 18" long piece of pipe thought he wanted my wallet more than I did...I convinced him otherwise but still spent a week in ICU...carried ever since...

 

[85Cosmo]

Just enjoy the accuracy challenge. Could shoot all day, just like catching and releasing 3" bluegill all day, ITS FUN!!!!!

 

[TheARfan]

My entire family is extremely pro-gun, so I was kinda born into it