TexasCHLforum.com

I was 11 or 12 and out in the woods with my parents and my mom's brothers. My father had no opinions on firearms, and my mother was extremely anti-gun, so I didn't have any exposure to firearms at home. My uncles decided it was time to introduce me to shooting. They chose a 12-gauge shotgun as the first gun I would shoot. I took one shot and decided that I didn't like shooting because it hurt my shoulder.

I wasn't until 12 years later that I had another chance to shoot a gun. Some friends and I were camping on private land and one of them brought out a Ruger .22. He showed me how to load the magazine and hold the pistol correctly. By the end of the trip, I had probably gone through about 500 rounds of .22. I didn't get another chance to shoot until a year later when I was 25. Another friend of mine offered to take me to the range and let me shoot his pistol collection. He taught me how semi-auto pistols operated and gave me pointers on shooting. I shot .22, 9mm and .45 that day. His 9mm was a Glock 17. It was the one that I liked shooting the most. That afternoon, I purchased my first gun, a Glock 17. That was 9 months ago.

I now own five handguns, have my CHL and enjoy taking friends to the range and introducing them to shooting. I can honestly say that I have become addicted to shooting, and it's an addiction to which I don't mind admitting.