How old were you?

[Pete92FS]

Around 11 or twelve - single shot, bolt action .22 rifle at Boy Scout camp in west Texas.

[A-R]

First was a BB gun, the Daisy Red Ryder type (though I think mine was a more basic version without the engraved stock and the leather tassles ). I think Santa Claus gave it to me on Christmas. Was roughly 7 years old give or take (memory is bad).

First firearm was a Winchester Model 74 in .22 short given to me by my maternal grandfather when I was about 10 years old. He showed me how to load it, unload it, clean it etc. But I did most of my shooting at my paternal grandfather's ranch. Still have the rifle, but it hasn't really been very functional the last 15 years or so. Have had it "fixed" three times by gunsmiths, only for it to break again within 50 rounds each time (firing pin keeps breaking at the tip and gun is so old, the smiths are having to fabricate new pins themselves - gets expensive). If I can get it running again, I'd love to hand it down to my kids. It's still the best, most accurate iron-sighted .22 rifle I've ever shot. Solid wood stock and adult-size length of pull make it as solid and heavy as most deer rifles. Very light trigger, well worn in mechanism. As a kid, BEFORE eyeglasses, I could shoot soda cans off fence posts at 75+ yards no problem.

First handgun was a Colt Mustang Plus II aluminum frame .380. Purchased it myself about 6 months before I got my CHL in 1998. Sweet-shootin' gun. Had a longer grip and longer barrel than the standard Mustang - looked more like a miniature Government model 1911 whereas the standard Mustang looked more like a miniature Officers model. Traded that gun in for $350 toward my first Glock (an early Gen 3 model 23) in late 1998. Now that Mustang gun is worth close to $900 oh well ...

[MasterOfNone]

I was a late bloomer at 18 when my Uncle Sam started letting me shoot his guns. Been shooting ever since.

[G26ster]

BB pistol at age 10. My "uncle Sam" gave me a M1 Garand at age 20, an M14 at age 21, and a 1911 and a M2 .50 cal. at age 22.

[stroo]

Started with my BB gun at about 7. My Dad also let me shoot his 22 at about that age. I still have his 22 with a scope on it. My Dad sighted it in 50 plus years ago. It still is good to go.

[steve817]

Around 11 or twelve - single shot, bolt action .22 rifle at Boy Scout camp in west Texas.

Same here, then at 14 I got into some pretty serious trouble with the law and some neighbors of ours decided to run intervention.

They took me to the range and taught me how to shoot a .357. We started with .38 and moved up.

Right after I graduated high school and I turned 18 one of my Dad's friends sold me a .45 Colt. Some cheaply made

double action revolver, but man did that thing shoot straight, wish I would have never gotten rid of it.

[Beiruty]

My daughter shot my 9mm pistol at age of 7. 1-shot at time. Her tiny hands could not wrap around the grip. She shot the BB rifle way better than I do!

[fickman]

Around 11 or twelve - single shot, bolt action .22 rifle at Boy Scout camp in west Texas.

Beat me to it.

11 years old at a Boy Scout Camporee at Worth Ranch. . . seated .22 bold-action rifles shooting paper targets and (probably) 20 gauge shotguns shooting trap.

My dad had a 12 gauge pump, 16 gauge single shot, and a .22 of his own, but we hadn't gotten out to land where I could shoot them yet.

[jimlongley]

6 years old in the family basement rifle range with a .22, and 8 years with my grandpappy and a 1911.

[7075-T7]

After varied and many years with bb guns, 8 years old with my mom's Pre WWII Browning Hi-power. Held it wrong and ended up bleeding pretty good, I put the gun down and without skipping a beat the first thing my mom said to me was "If it hurts on this end, imagine what's it's like on the other end."

Always respected them after that, the scar is mostly gone, but memories are forever

[USA1]

I never had the advantage of being introduced to firearms from my dad. He was just never into guns.

It wasn't until my early twenties that I bought and shot my first gun...a sweet little stainless .25 with pearl grips.

I made sure to get my kids started young. My son has been shooting since he was big enough to level a gun.

[shooter76blue]

I started out shooting my friend's BB guns when I was about 6. When I was 7, my Mom bought a new car and she really loved it. Trouble is she parked in our driveway underneath a huge tree filled with birds. After about 2 weeks, my Mom came in the living room afer work and asked me if I wanted a BB gun!!! She told me she would buy me one if I kept the birds from crapping all over her new car. I agreed and the birds got wise pretty quick!!! When I was 10, my Dad bought an old Winchester .22 off one of the local ranchers and gave it to me. That was my first official gun...

[karder]

I managed to nag my parents into buying me a Crossman BB gun when I was 8 or so. Next year I added a Crossman CO2 pistol to the collection. I must have fired thousands of BBs through those two guns. The fun was euphoric.
I managed to save my pennies and at 10 (I'm pretty sure I was 10) my Dad let me get a Remington Fieldmaster. He put $10 in the pot and called it a birthday present. I can't remember if Remington called the gun the "Fieldmaster" at that time, but it looks the same. It shot .22 short, .22 long, and .22lr. My mom only let me shoot .22 short because she thought it was safer. The smell of the gun powder from the cheap ammo I shot, wafting in the chilly winter air is one of my favorite memories. I carried that rifle in my Dad's truck and then my own truck until I was in my mid-twenties before I replaced it with something more powerful.
I looked at Remington's website and they have a nearly identical rifle in the Model 572 going for a bit over $600. I remember paying about $75 for mine new. Prices have gone up a tad over the decades.
I still have the rifle and though I have not shot it in a long time, it was functioning perfectly and has never had any kind of failure. I have refinished the stock twice, but no other work than just cleaning. I may take it to the range next time I go, now that I am getting nostalgic.

[68Charger]

I was around 7 or 8 when I was first introduced to firearms. My father sat my older brother and I down to let us know what it was, and how it worked. Of course he gave the speech about how important it was to not play with it. Later around 12 or so, I shot a 30-30 out in the woods with my uncles when they were hunting. Around 14 or so, I shot my father's pistol (the one I talked about earlier.) on New Years. Later that gun was stolen from our apartment when growing up. My brother and I are trying to buy him one here soon for Christmas that is engraved. He loved that Ruger Security Six revolver.

Wow... that brought back memories. Cheers!

[BigPa]

I was around 6 or 7. My Dad let me shoot an old plastic stock 22 autoloader. Never looked back. Been avid shooter ever since.