Up to 11yrs old I had shot nothing but rifles and shotguns. I shot an old M-10 and before I reached 12yrs old I had my own. Had revolvers ever since.

I recall my Dad and Uncles shooting at cans on the corral fence in our back yard when I was around 4. My Dad held me and the revolver and I fired one off. I haven't the foggiest what it was other than being big and black.

It just dawned on me, that is probably why I can't hear. It was way before people used hearing protection.

My Dad would take me plinking in the fields with his, don't remember how old I was, teenager years. My Brother in law took me shooting, at a range for the first time, with his 1911 when I was 17. I didn't own a gun of my own until I moved to NC in my 30s. (Growing up/living in an anti State sucked)

Remember buying my first cowboy gun at 13 with my mom. A .22 single action, and my mom bought the holster and belt.

Right around 12 when I shot my dads old Police Positive Special. Still have it and air it out once in awhile. It was made in 1927 and has a great action and trigger. When I inherited it was rusted on the outside but the bore was clean so I had reblued as I knew I would never sell it. It was the first handgun I can remember my day had. I remember crossing the country when I was 9 in 1956 with the whole family and it was in the glove compartment of our 56 Pontiac.

I got my first handgun when I was twelve. it was a H&R 9 shot 22 cal. I traded my older brother one of my deer rifles for it. I had shot a pistol before 12, I think 10 or so. My dad had a 32 auto he brought home from WW2 and he would let me shoot it . I now have that pistol and my XD-40 SC. Nothing more fun for me then a day at the range shooting..

My brother-in-law introduced me to handguns about 12 years ago. He let me shoot his RUGER MKII .22 when we were out "plinking" gophers one afternoon. I was given my first "rifle" - .177 pellet when I was about 11. and my 1st .22LR when I was 16.
It was my father-in-law that has stirred my recent interest by "passing down" the wifey his RUGER SIngle 6 last Oct. SInce then - I've added 2 handguns - 1 rifle - and I am currently eyeing at least 2 more of each.

The addiction.........can't......stop.........buying.. ...................must have MORE.......

I shot my first pistol - a National Guard 1911A1 - when I was eight or nine. My dad was a cop, and I shot his service revolvers occasionally. I was really bitten by the pistol bug when I was thirteen or so, and my father was generous in indulging me. I took my first formal training at seventeen, and have tried to keep it up ever since (I'm 36 now).

Although my father and older brother occassionally hunted, and I owned my first rifle and shotgun in my late teens, I never shot a handgun until I was 35.

My boss at the time got into it, then I bought a Ruger Mark II. We shot at a range during lunch that was 1/2 mile from work. I soon bought a Taurus .357.

Many guns later, the rest is history.

When I was a kid the whole family used to go shooting on some private land. While shooting my air rifle along side my mom and dad (who were shooting hand guns) my mom handed me the .22 revolver her dad had given her and let me shoot it. I was six and have regularly shot handguns ever since. In 2005 my mom gave me that .22 so I now own the first handgun I ever shot.

I've had a minor fascination with firearms in general since Cub Scout days with air rifles at the camp's range. I also got into paintball in high school. However, I did not fire a powder-charge projectile weapon of any kind until I was out of college and dating a girl whose grandparents owned some ranchland out in East Texas. We went out one weekend with her 77/22 and her granddad's lever-action .308 and must have gone through over 200 rounds, and through a bolt-action that's quite a bit. It was fun, i wanted to do it again, and eventually I started looking at handguns as a practical tool for both casual plinking and serious business like home defense. The first handgun I shot was the first one I bought. it was great, it is great and it will still be great for a long time to come.

allways had long guns ... lots of them lol when i was a kid, but now that i own my first home, and the first day we stayed there we came home to people in it, I have been a handgun man..

DEREK

I've been around handguns for a long time, but I made my first purchase of a personal firearm when I was 23

Shot my first handgun at age 15. It was a friend's gun. Had my mother buy me a Taurus PT92 soon after.

I was 8 the first time my dad let me shoot anything and that day (July 4th 1988) I shot the winchester model 94 first, then I shot the remington 700 .308 then the winchester 12 gauge and finally I shot his Colt 1911 (At least I think thats how I shot them... I mean it was 20 years ago). He still has all those guns in fact I shot the model 94 last weekend. It was a day that I had looked forward to since I could remember and I will never forget it. He got me my first 1911 when I was 12 its a springfield and it is in my dads gun safe waiting for my son Asher's 12th birthday 04/25/2020 he is almost a year old and when he is 8 he will get to go shooting for the first time with his old man.

17 here. Qualified with a 1911 in the USMC in 1982.

I was 32. First hand gun was a Smith&Wesson 357mag. Then a Ruger 1022, still one of my favorites.

4 months ago!

Starting at age 9 or 10 I was always in the back yard plinking cans with my Red Ryder and my Dad's pellet gun. Got a Remington semi-auto .22 rifle for Christmas when I was 13 that I've recently recovered from my parent's house after it being alone and un-loved for 17 years. My step-Grandfather took me to an outdoor range a few times and let me shoot a couple of his hunting rifles and an old beat-up 22 auto pistol (have no idea what it was.)

Then one day 4 or 5 months ago I realized that I was an adult with a good job and could afford to buy myself a nice present. I'd always wanted a "real" handgun so I started going to the local range to rent and now I own my first handgun and am hooked!

Shot rifles and shotguns most all my life. I bought my first hand gun when I was 15, a 32 cal S&W. I got my first autoloader when I was 18. I'm 44 now and I'll have enough as soon as I get one more...Yeah...one more...that should do it

Originally Posted by RightTurnClyde

... plinking cans with my Red Ryder

Did it have a compass in the stock?

Sorry, couldn't pass up the Christmas Story reference.

In my 30s, because I now have a career.

My dad died when I was 14 1/2....he never took me shooting, though he had a .22 Rem 121 and .35 Rem 141 pumps....by the time I was 15 1/2, I'd gotten a part-time job and bought my first...a High Standard R104 .22 4"....put 500 rds through it every weekend till I could shoot...before I was 16 I had 15 handguns in my desk drawer....the 68 Fed law hadn't passed yet and I'd found a local dealer who liked green enough to turn his back to the counter while "my mother" signed the state book....the weekend before the 68 law went into effect, I put out $61.50 for a Mod 58 S&W .41 mag....those were good days.....

Hi from Portugal!
I have been raised in an anti-gun family.
The first time I shot a gun I was 18. A HK G3 7,62mm of the Portuguese Army. Now I´m 33 and I´m still in the Army, still love shooting and have a handgun of my own. The next one is coming this summer. Here in Portugal law is not friendly to gun lovers......

I have/had (they have passed on) two cousins that were way into guns of all kinds. I was about seven or eight, the first time they took me shooting. I recall shooting several types of handguns that first time, all were revolvers. Most were .22s and at least one was a larger caliber. They started to take me fairly often. I recall, that on my 10th birthday, they gave me a .410/.22 - over & under shotgun/rifle. I think it was a Savage. They also gave me a 9 shot .22 cal. revolver but I cannot recall the brand. That was between 55 & 58 years ago. My, how quickly time has passed!

Johnny