how did you start???

[mark_mjs93]

now i dont know if this is already a post but i thought it would be nice to know how people got into shooting,

 

as for me, well i was influenced by all sorts, i started off shooting air rifles in scouts, and i shot my cousins air rifles alot, i enjoyed shooting and then last year i decided i would get into shooting, i had always wanted an air rifle and i decided that i would finally ask my mum about it, at first she was a bit sceptical but then accepted the idea, i had the money as i had been saving whilst trying to convince mum to let me, when she agreed i got her to take me to the local gun shop (i chose the gun on guntrader.co.uk which the gun shop owner had advertised i had reserved it and we went in and he was very helpful) he showed me the gun and i liked it brought it and that night on a visit to my auntys (with mum so i took the gun to show my cousin) he liked it and i already had covered myself with basc (that day when i got back from the gun shop) his dad owns a barn with a field behind it (less of a farm the barn is more of a garage he fixes cars in) we went to the field and i shot my first rabbit i was very happy and i went home with my first rabbit the day i got my first gun and since then i have been hooked i love it, puts food on the table, and gives me a good day of enjoyment out on the fields, and now at the end of this month im going to apply for my SGC,

 

so that is basically my story sorry if it makes no sense im a little bit tired and im mighty ill so i have probably missed bits and repeated myself, looking forward to reading your stories, if you have any photos from your first hunting expedition attach them aswell...

 

Happy Shooting

 

Mark

:unsure:

[Billy.]

A close family friend used to take me goose shooting and I'd be allowed to stand next to him on pheasant shoots. This was all when I was about 6, so it all sank in nicely!

[dogfox]

my mate and his family really, but my dad also shot when he was a kid and my great grandfather was a sniper in WW1, so i guess its all in my blood really!

[bushtrekker]

Reading imported copies of Guns and Ammo when I was about 8.

[Guinea Fowl]

I grew up on a farm in South-Africa, and we had lots of fruit trees, apples, pears, peaches, grapes and apricots.

And with all these fruits comes allot of little birds eating them, so when i was 4 i got my first air gun and was paid something stupid like 2p for every bird i shoot. so of i went shooting, man did i buy lots of sweets and fire crackers with that.

 

Then when i was 6 i got my hands on my grandad`s pump action shotgun, then there was murder-everything got shot, birds, bunnies and the occasional impala or kudu.

 

It just went from there then, the shotty turned into bigger rifles and the game got bigger.What a way to grow up eh.

 

After all that nice shooting i have never ever had a go at clays tho, funny ain`t it.

 

 

Regards Chris.

[scolopax]

I was born and brought up and still live in the city. But my dad was born and brought up in the countryside, albeit just outside the city. He had a few farmer friends from his own youth, mostly glorified small holdings, often around sixty acres with a small dairy herd a few pigs etc (all gone now). Anyway he wanted to foster an interest in country matters in my brother and myself and we started at the age of about 8 or 9 ratting in the ramshackle piggeries of one particular farm. Great fun with sticks and the farm terrier plus torches which always died just when we really wanted them. Soon enough my Dad bought a BSA Meteor .22 to shoot those rats which were in view but inaccessible generally between partition walls or up in the rafters. It was not long before we were allowed to use it ourselves, mainly on our own well away from the rest of the action, our favourite place was watching over a ditch which ran alongside the back of the biggest pig shed and waiting for the rats to come out of the holes which pock marked the banks. I cannot remember the first rat I shot but do remember my firts bird, a young starling which I shot out of a horse chestnut tree. That farm was sold and the fields sold off individually mainly as horse paddocks.

 

Because of the rats we bought a ferret, it was really my brothers pet but 'polo' saw plenty of action ratting around the farm and we were soon bolting the odd rabbit from the warrens down the fields. We got asked onto other land by my Fathers farmer friends who as I recall were all keen to encourage two young lads into country sports. I shot my first rabbit on a day out with a farmers son ferreting some good ground. I used his .410 and it was my first shot at a rabbit (earliers in the day we were allowed a shot each into a squirrel drey), it was bolting past me and I rolled it over stone dead, strange as since then I have never been able to hit rabbits! As we got that little bit older we were going beating ever other saturday and also doing quite alot of ferreting, we decided we needed to up gun for the bolting rabbits so my Dad got his SGC and he bought a single barrel BSA 12 bore. Aswell as the rabbits the bigger shotgun allowed us to go pigeon shooting we used to sit in a ditch next to a rape field and took turns with the shots, happy days. At 15 I got my own SGC and at christmas we got an old s\s Belgian twelve, again to share. It was mainly pigeons and rabbits but the farm shoot were we went beating often let us carry a gun on the end of season days. At 18 I joined the local wildfowling club and since then 'fowling has been my main sport.

[Baldrick]

I was brought up on the family farms, and at a boarding school which had a working mixed farm and a driven shoot. Grandfather served as an Army sniper, and a PH in central Africa, before returning to farming, so I got trained up from a young age to understand actual fieldcraft, marksmanship and unswerving respect for firearms. I got given a .410 when aged 7, which I used to take ferretting and use to great effect on farmyard rats, pigeons and other vermin. Used to go out each day with the keeper or farm workers, carrying 'my' .22LR. Got experienced with centrefires from the age of about 9 or 10. Got a 20-bore aged 10, and then the obsession with game/rough shooting really took hold. Experience with hill and woodland stalking, foxing and dangerous game came in my teens.

 

I still shoot in some form or other almost every day.

[GJUK]

I've always found it interesting and decided to take the 'jump' and try it. Glad I did.

[steve_b_wales]

I started at a young age with a .177 GAT pistol. I thought I was the kiddy with that. For what good it was, I may as well have thrown it at the rats down the rubbish tip. Still, it my mine, and I was pleased with it .Early teens, and I bought a Relum Tornado .22 air rifle from Kays catalogue. Spent many a happy hour shooting with that. My 1st shotgun was a Baikal 12 bore single barrel. Bought off a friend for £20 inc case, suede cartridge belt and a few boxes of Baikal cartridges. ( back in 1972 )

I went on to own many wonderful and not so wonderful guns, including small bore/full bore pistols. I hope to continue my love for shooting for many years to come.

[webber]

I first started shooting with an air rifle when I was in the Scouts. My dad was one of the scout masters, and had been a good shot in the army. In my teens I acquired a Jelly air rifle, and shot cans and rats with other local lads on waste land.

 

I started shotgunning in my 40s. I attended a corporate hospitality and training session run by one of our main suppliers. On the agenda was 4x4 off road driving, quad biking, air rifle, and shotgun.

 

I was very good at the shot gunning, and came away like a man possessed. That was on a Thursday. On the Saturday of the same week, it was rather quiet at work, and I started chatting with Mcf who worked for me at that time. I had signed his firearms application forms and therefore knew that he was keen on shooting.

 

I asked McF how hard it was to acquire a SGC, and how many guns he could have on his license? I then sent him home to get changed and collect his SGC, also to think about the best gun shop in the North West to go to. I opened the company safe, and counted out a substantial amount of cash, signed an I O U, and awaited the return of McF.

 

We paid a visit to Bamfords, and after some time emerged with a Beretta OU and gun slip. McF kept hold of it, and we started going clay busting, or in my case attempting to bust clays. I eventually discovered that I was left eye dominant, and having tried varies suggestions found the Uni Dot sight from the states. The sight transformed my shooting, and I was eventually allowed to accompany McF shooting woodies. I was also eventually allowed to enter his hallowed shooting ground in Scotland. McF eventually left my employment for pastures new, but our friendship and shooting companionship endured.

 

webber

[Trussman]

First started plinking with an air rifle in the back garden. Later would shoot a few clays at a friend's farm with their clay trap. On that farm I also went out shooting for the first time. Missed a fair few rabbits and pigeons, but from then on I was hooked.

[Guest topshot_2k]

Grew up on a farm, started shooting with air rifle, then .410 then 12bore and it went from there :unsure:

[cleaner4hire]

i also started with air rifles in scouts... it planted a little seed

[Greenhunter]

My grandfather was a keen shot and ferreter. I got hooked listening to his tales of days out ferreting( like the day he took a jill and her six kits out, put them all down a huge set at the top of an old quarry and then wondered why he had rabbits flying everywhere including into his lap while he was trying to put another net on). It all sounded very exciting to a young lad of about 8 or9. I got an air rifle first, a .177 break barrel Diana. Shot more sparrows and starlings with that than I care to remember. I broke the front sight off it and used a matchstick instead! Still hit things with it though!

Aged 14, got my hands on my grandfathers single barreled AYA 12g ( still got it to this day) really light gun and kicked like a mule with alpha max 5's in it!

 

Eventually saved up and bought a Sliver Sable S/S with 25" barrels. I still shoot a short barrel now, I just got used to it I guess.

 

Had a long lay-off while at uni getting married and having a family but returned to shooting again about 6yrs ago and don't want to do anything else....ever!

[Imperfection]

I was brought up shooting by my dad and thought i was the ultimate hunter with my .177 air rifle! I never was allowed to use telescopic sights cos dad always reconed they took the sport away from shooting! As i got older i progressed through .22LR,410g & then 12g (all dads guns though),but when i hit my late teens-i discovered alcohol,cars and girlies so shooting took a backseat.

 

Then last year at the age of 38 i got a hankering to start shooting again so applied for gun licence.

[parislondonparis]

a colleague took me on a driven boar hunt in Germany. That got me hooked.

[Guest]

I have always been interested in shooting and guns since I was young, I remember playing cowboys and indians in my home country, all the kids around "the block" had toy guns and it wasn't such a PC issue back then in Romania. AS I grew up I had other interests, but in october of last year I decided to take up shooting since I had never shot a shotgun before, I was a little nervous at first, but decided that I had enjoyed it very much, so now I plan to keep on shooting clays and maybe even hunt in the future if I can find the land to do it on.

[manc-munsters]

I was working on a building site about 25 yrs ago and had taken an air rifle in to set the zero in my lunch hour. A stone mason came over and said "stop messin with toys and come with me on Sunday". He took me to a local pistol club and I was hooked. Over the next few years I got semi-interested in clays, and then went the usual rimfire and centrefire route.

After having mainly pistols for a few years, I got into pest/vermin shooting and a bit of rough shooting. Target shooting has been a constant.

 

In 1998 I had most of my pistols stolen from me by HM Govt. In 1999 they took the rest of them.

 

In 2000 I made my first trip to Bulgaria to shoot pistols, and have been back 3-4 times a year ever since. Next trip is 9th Feb.

 

Rifles have, obviously, now taken priority in my shooting preferences (all types from long range target, thru 25yd indoor rimfire, and to pest and vermin) but I was introduced to someone with working dogs a few years ago so now do a lot of beating and dog training with HPRs (specifically Large Munsterlanders).

 

Most of my shooting "career" has been guided by happy coincidences rather than any type of planning. Its amaizing how meeting someone new can lead you off into a different direction with your shooting!!

[mark_mjs93]

this is really cool being able to hear peoples stories of how they got into shooting (wish more people would leave their stories here)

[Breastman]

My dad taught me the basics on an air rifle just plinking in the back garden, I then got an all-powerful GAT .177 and later a G10 steel BB gun, oh yeah(!) My interest then shifted to the build-them-yourself Airsoft kits which took me through school and progressed into more and more complex guns.

Then when I was 17 a friend of the family introduced me to pistol shooting and I was hooked! I’d been shooting with him for about 6 months and was in the process of filling in my FAC app when a paedophile in another country got my sport banned.

After the utter collapse of pistol shooting with no support from other types of shooting or from shooting ‘organisations’ I became completely disillusioned with firearms and instead took the plunge into Airsoft skirmishing which took me from 1997 to 2004 when I started to get interested in firearms again.

I joined an indoor rifle club and that developed into outdoor rifle and then stalking. Stupidly on my behalf I had always stuck my nose up at shotgun shooting as I thought it was ‘cheating’ having to use all those pellets to hit one target . . . .D’oh! Fortunately a friend persuaded me to go to a clay ground and I was instantly hooked, again!

I now do clays, game, woodies, PSG, indoor/outdoor rifle, pest control and deer stalking.

 

Mark

[dustyfox]

When I was 17 I went to an agricultural college, made new friends and one of them took me out shooting for pigeons during the day then Wildfowl in the afternoon. Ever since I was keen to start shooting.

 

short post.

[JohnGalway]

A few years ago my dad had to have his hip replaced. I took over the running of his sheep farm for a time. During lambing that year , on one particular part of the farm I suffered a lot of lamb losses. I did question myself if it was my own lack of understanding to blame for the losses. But I rejected that seeing as how things were going very well on my own farm and also on other parts of the farm. All the sheep had their proper doses and vaccinations, they were in grass and being fed, the system I had going for dealing with twins etc was working well.

 

One day, I met a local man who had a bit of a reputation you could say. I knew he was able to deal with fox problems, but, I didn't know what to make of him or what answer I'd get if I asked for help. One previous year I did ask his dad, who I knew quite well, about one fox giving me trouble. The very next morning there was my fox left laying beside the feed trough with a spent BB cartridge left in his ear. I was impressed by that. Anyway, I met him by chance and asked if he would come with me some night to have a look and see what the foxes were up to. He suggested we go that very night. I asked what I should or shouldn't do. He said no noisy clothes and no talking.

 

The evenings had been drawing out, we headed in just after dark which I think was sometime around 10.30pm. I remember very well the first fox I saw under the lamp. We were on one end of a U shaped hillock near dads old dipping pen. I stayed put with instructions not to make a noise ever. The fox was on the other end of this hillock. John had his old side by side, a battery and his handheld lamp got from a motor store, no calls, no gadgets. They made their way towards each other, it was all (and I mean everything) I could do to sit quiet, just around the foxes side of the U I saw John raise the shotgun straight up then drop it to follow the beam to the fox. He'd shoot one handed like that, with the barrels resting on the forearm of the lamp hand. They can't have been anymore than 15 or 20 yards apart and she dropped with the first shot. An old vixen with well worn teeth.

 

We went on farther into the farm. From a neighbours land overlooking the problem field, which was full of pregnant ewes and ewes with young lambs, John shone the lamp across the field. At that one short moment in time we saw no less than six foxes in among the ewes.

 

With me as guide, as he didn't know the land, and him with lamp and shotgun we removed 13 foxes in seven nights. We got two a night except for one night when we had just the one. We took another few tours out after that but the problem had been well resolved and no foxes were spotted.

 

I did not loose one single lamb after that week that year.

 

For a farmer who cares about his or her stock and holds pride in having good quality stock losing so many lambs in one year leaves a distinct impression. Young lambs, sick or defenseless animals have no protection against predators, fox, mink, hooded crows etc. I applied for my own shotgun later on that year, as I couldn't be depending on other people to always be there to do the job for me. After that I got my first rifle and it's gone on from there.

 

It's a strange thing, I prefer to go foxing with my shotgun and John thinks the rifle is the absolute business.

[Toombsy]

I was born into a shooting family. Both my dad and uncle were AA class trap shots (still are bloody good at it), and they both took up shooting from an early age. It's a standing joke in our family as I always asked mum where dad was when I walked through the door after school... he was either at work, on the bog, or out shooting.

 

He did and still does live for it. Everything in the house seemed to revolve around either winning that next trophy, planning the next marsh trip, planning a week in Scotland goosing, or reloading for any of the aforementioned. One of my first memories is seeing my dad zeroing his Predom Lucznik (?) air pistol by firing it into a tin target holder in the kitchen, of all places!!

 

So, I inevitably was dragged along to a place called Ben Jacobs in Nettleton, Lincs, on Sunday mornings for the clay shoot and my job was to bag-up the new cartridges (for reloading!), and I started collecting the different sizes, colours etc. And I started asking questions about shooting and gradually my clothes turned green - through no choice of my own. By the age of about 10 or so I had Hunter wellies, a scrim scarf and an imitation Barbour. At least I half-looked the part!

 

I think it was about 12 when I got a BSA Meteor which I think I used a lot in the garden. Can't quite remember that bit. But then, when I was 15-ish, I got a Weirauch HW35E for Christmas. Everything came together that year. I couldn't leave the thing alone. I saved up for a 4x32 wide angle tele and that was that - I went through literally 1000s of pellets in a few months. I could hit the head off a match at 20 yards, and even smeared jam on A4 sheets of paper and waited for the wasps to land, then blew their heads off.

 

That year I fired my first shotgun. A really heavy MK38 Trap gun. And it hurt.

 

Meanwhile my dad was swapping and changing a few bits and bobs and bought a 20-bore for me to use. He also got me into Barton Wildfowlers and North Lincs Wildfowlers too. I went with him quite a lot, but there just wasn't enough going on to keep my attention and I soon got bored - but I learned a lot, and got extremely cold. And wet. And muddy.

 

I caught on with the shotgun really quick, but as dad was so competitive I never really stood a chance, so just tagged on to all those shoots he had to go to up and down the country.

 

The next summer, after getting the HW35E I approached a local farmer and, amazingly, he gave me permission to shoot on his land straight away. Things were very different then! Dad shot a rabbit and showed me how to skin it and I was left to it. That following two years I taught myself all sorts about fieldcraft, prefering to find out and learn by mistakes than read about it. The last thing I shot there was a hare that I had followed and tracked through hedges, stuble, mud and stream to eventually get within 30 yards and kill.

 

Then I noticed those things underneath girls' tops and I left my kit in dust for 20 years. What a to**pot!

[Wookie]

A lot of the other scouts were sons of farmers and shot, so I got into air rifle quite early. Then, when I was in the CCF at school, they let me try out for the shooting team on the basis of how well I did with the SA80. I did well enough that I was in the team for four years, captain of it for my last year of school and a weapons instructor for two years.

 

After that, I was at uni and never got a chance to shoot until I got home and a bit of land. Now it's got the stage that I have permission and time to go shooting when I want (sort of) and I really enjoy it. More than I ever did I think. Tergets are good (and I was good at targets), but live game is better. I like eating what I shoot.

[mikee]

the guy next door ran a local clay club and when i was about 10 re roped me in as a trapper on sunday mornings, when i got to about 12 i asked to have a go and got a couple of boxes of shells and 50 clays each week rather than the £7.50 for trapping, then got into brushing on a couple of local shoots and got invited on pigeon days and cock days when i was 16 i talked the folks into me getting a sgc and a browning A1 skeet gun, since then ive shot at least a couple of times a week at clays, fowl, game or woodys,

 

mikee