First Rifle

[N2TRKYS]

6 or 7. I was squirrel and deer hunting by myself when I was 9 with a Remington 1000 20ga.

 

[Shangobango]

8 years old when I was given a single shot .410. Killed my first squirrels, deer, and first few turkeys with it.

I think I was 11 when I was given a pre-64 Winchester .30-.30. I used it for deer until I got my first job and bought a .280 REM.

I still have all those weapons and shoot them fairly regularly.

 

[Leigonofboom25]

I got my 1st single shot .22 at 9 years old. Year or so later I got my 1st single shot 12 guage, still have both rifles. Rem 700 30-06 was my first hunting rifle, 13 years old I think.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Maybe 10 yrs old was given a .22. Was deer hunting with a 30-30 at 13, and got a single shot 20 ga. for grouse at 14. I’ll remember my first wingshot forever.

 

[SFC B]

As an AOH who came from the inner i didn't have a rifle until I started hunting at 33. Bought myself a Remington 710 in '06 which I shot elk and deer with until a set screw from the front base sheared off in the receiver. Still have it but upgraded to a Savage 110.

My son's first rifle was a Rossi trifecta in 22/243/20ga when he was 10. That was the year we got back from europe and first chance for anything for him. Not a great choice. Other than the 22 it kicks like a mule!! After that got him a 44mag handi rifle mainly for deer in IN. We both enjoy that gun.

For my daughter it was a pink Cricket the Christmas she was 8. Then I built her a Howa 1500 in HT-08 on a Boyd's stock for Christmas she was 12.

Both of the kids shot BB from about 5.

 

[darrendbeck]

It’s funny how you remember and hang on to the first guns you have and hunt with. I’m pretty sure I’m going to get my son a .22 this year and hope it makes an impact on him and he carries it for years. I still have the .22 I got when I was 9 and I have the smith and Wesson 20 gauge my dad got for me when I was born. Obviously I wasn’t able to use it until around 12 or 13 but I’ll never sell that gun. I’ll either give it to my son or daughter or maybe one of their kids someday. Time will tell I guess!!

 

[Vanishe187]

Everyone in my family including myself have started with bows around 2 or 3. It wasnt maybe till around 5 i got a 22. I also had a red ryder around the same age.

 

[Cornell Cowboy]

I was 12--and I had to pay for half of it. (Of course I shot my Dad's guns before that, but none were mine.) I now have three boys (ages 6, 8, and 10) and they've had a Chipmunk to share for the past three years. My oldest saved up enough money last year to buy his half of a .22, so he got his first one that is HIS at age 9. I expect the others will follow suit.

 

[MLaird]

I started shooting my dad’s .22 rifle and pistol when I was 8 but he gave me my first rifle when I turned 12 and took hunter’s ed. He bought me a youth model Winchester M70 in .243. I still take that rifle hunting every year and it’s responsible for a lot of deer. My wife has harvested 3 deer with it and next year my oldest will get to use it for his first hunting season.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Stevens youth rolling block .22 age 6;
Ruger 77; 30/06 age 12

 

[diamond hitch]

I shot my fathers guns with supervision until I was about 13. I got my dad's winchester mod. 54 when I finished hunters safety. He bought a used Husqvarna feather weight 06. I remember that the winchester was heavy and kicked me hard till I grew into it at about 17.

 

[Western Traveler1]

Hunter Ed at 8. Had to pass a range test back then. I got a used Winchester model 62 when I was 9 or 10. My first shotgun was a 12ga Marlin air weight pump at 12. That was when I was allowed to go off hunting unsupervised. Usually rabbits, quail or doves. Of course I still have both.
I bought my granddaughter a Savage Rascal .22 when she was 8. I offered her pink but she insisted on black. She has been shooting it for 3 years now and I gave her Remington 870 youth 20 ga. last winter.

 

[rtraverdavis]

I wish I could find the picture of me standing in my front yard all pudgy with my sweat pants pulled up above my belly button on Christmas morning when I was eight, holding my first rifle--a Marlin bolt action 22lr. Apparently my dad bought it for me without my mom knowing about it, and she was pretty pissed.

 

[Griggs]

I was 11 when I got my first .22, still have it. My son was 10 when he got his first one.

 

[3855WIN]

Got a Browning BLR .22 for my tenth birthday. Also inherited Papas Remington 1100 12 gauge about that time when he passed. I killed squirrels with the 12 gauge, 30” barrel that same fall.
Son got a cricket .22 when he was 5 and also got a .223 then. He killed two deer at 6 with the .223.

 

[Shangobango]

I wish I could find the picture of me standing in my front yard all pudgy with my sweat pants pulled up above my belly button on Christmas morning when I was eight, holding my first rifle--a Marlin bolt action 22lr. Apparently my dad bought it for me without my mom knowing about it, and she was pretty pissed.

I can totally picture that scene.

Sometimes a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.

 

[Europe]

Stevens youth rolling block .22 age 6;

same age and firearm manufacturer---but it was a combo.

 

[Howie]

I got a late start. My family didn't hunt and no one could understand why I wanted to or why I spent so much time in the woods.....when I could find some in town. They nuckled under though. I got my first gun at 14. An Iver Johnson 12ga. Single. It was my grandfather's uncle's gun built in the early 20s that a distant relative was storing. The following year was my first rifle. A Marlin 336RC in 30-30 that a family friend sold me. The gun, a sling and a box of shells for $25. This was over 50 years ago. My last big deer was downed with this 30-30 a couple years ago.

 

[JustinsDad]

I remember getting my 410 for Christmas when I was 5. My parents had my name engraved on one side of the stock. I loved that gun. So I had my son’s name engraved on the other side of the stock and gave it to him for Christmas when he was 5

 

[Jbotto]

I grew up on a farm but to a non-hunting family. No recreational shooting either. Dad had his dads guns for slaughtering and pest control. I got the bug when a friend of mine got a BB gun at 8-9. Got my first Daisy powerline BB gun at 10. Had it wore out by age 12. Got to buy my second one. And then at 13 went half in on a .22 with my parents for my birthday. Walked out of fleet farm with Marlin 981t and a brick of Remington Thunderbolts for $168. Still have that rifle with no plans to get rid of it, but don’t shoot it much anymore. Like the removable mag Glenfield 25’s I’ve picked up used along the way a bit better than the tube mag of the 981t