Gunny G

Listening to Candice and some others talk about their Dads got me reminiscing.

First thing my Father taught me about firearms was sidearms. After a while I was used to having fun and comfortable with the .22's.
Then one day I was handed a Magnum Revolver. I fired it very successfully but shoulda listened to the Old Man better when he told me about the recoil. Hit myself in the right cheek.
Another lesson I received was a semi Auto Pistol. The slide bit me!
He let me make some mistakes but made sure I didn't make any really serious or fatal ones.
Both times, I dared not cry. (My thinking was I might not get to shoot anymore)

I lost Dad in 88 and miss him a bunch. He was a good man and a great father.
I am Lucky,Despite how it may sound, he was not a cruel man.

Was it a harsh lesson? IDK, I never, ever made those 2 mistakes again.
1. Manage Recoil
2. Slides and stuff move and will get you if you don't hold the firearm properly.
3. Most importantly, Don't be a know it all and actually listen to what the Old Man's saying.
Well, I slipped a bit on number 3. Dumb Ass Kid!

Man that seems like a thousand years ago. If anybody cares I miss my Dad. If you got a good one, Don't take the time you have with yours for granted.

Redhawk41mag

So very true Gunny...I was about 3-4 yrs old when I first saw my dads .38 snubbie on the dining room table. I asked "whats that?". He looked at me like never before and said "thats dads gun, if you touch it...Ill break both your hands". He NEVER spoke to me like that before so I knew that he meant business. He ended that conversation with "someday, you'll own this gun and many other...and you'll know why I said that, ok?"

@ 9 yrs old mine started me off with a BB-Gun and that cardbord trap that had the rubber backmat, Once I was solid with the safety procedures, he took me to an abandoned Blimp Base {which is now Miami Metro Zoo} and we shot cans and stuff with his .380/.357. By the time I was 14, I had my own 20ga for dove season and could easily handle any gun he owned. My pop and I went to gun shows, the range, he came and watched me shoot my first IPSC shoot back 25+ yrs ago. He died 11/3/06 and there isnt a day I dont wish I could have had 10 more minutes with him.

Redhawk~~thanks for this thread

james

I lost my Dad in '75, I was nineteen.
He was a great father, a real family man, we always came first.
I have great memories of him and time spent on holidays ect.
Do I miss him..... absolutely.
Do I wish I had followed his advice more closely..... absolutely.
If you still have you Dad, you are indeed fortunate.

countrygun

I lost my Dad ten months ago. He taught me a lot about guns but he wasn't a dedidcated shooter and only had a small collection. It was kind of strange in a way. He was a very, very good shot and the Army had even taken note of it. The freezer usually had venison in it but he looked at guns in the same way as , say a table saw. They were a tool and he taught me to use both safely, with respect for the results of carelessness, efficiently and to the best of my abilities. He saw early that I had "the bug" and that i was far more interested than he. He encouraged this because in days of my youth it encouraged responsibility and kept me "playing by the rules" in an age when most kids had no boundaries. He never took any crap off any other father about my interest "well, you might not like guns, but it keeps him out of trouble, by the way is YOUR son off court probation yet?" I could tell a couple of stories about Dad demonstrating his natural and cultivated ability with a gun into his seventies. His casual and matter of fact manner with guns was something that impressed me deeply.

Ruger Redhawk

I never had those lessons taught to me.My dad died when I was 7 in 1960. What little I learned , I learned from friends, reading and taught myself about guns. I'm by no means an expert.

Bustah_c

My Dad passed away October 6th 2006. He sure taught me a lot about hand tools, power tools,masonary work (I never did catch on to his amazing rock wall skills), painting and papering.
He taught me a lot about life and I miss him a great deal.
He never taught me anything about guns. I don't believe he owned one. Strangely enough, he is the one who got me interested in them because he came home from an estate auction with a civil war-era revolver (French) and gave it to me !

303Lithgow

I was given a 22 semi-auto for my tenth birthday. My safety training consisted of mom telling me not to shoot anyone.

Beerman

My first firearm was an old British 303 when I was 6. ( 1972 ) I used it for every thing, until I got my first shotty a 20ga. It has been on ever since, one gun after another. When my Brother was killed in 2002, hiw wife sold or pawned all of our guns. About 100. My Dad just passed in Oct 2011and left me a nice little .25cal and a old .38cal snubbie.

303Lithgow

That was a big gun (303 British) for a six year old. I bought a No 5 JC when I was 16 and it was way to big for me. I still have that rifle. Sorry about your dad and brother. I knew about your brother from an older post but not your dad.

My own dad died when I was 5. My father-in-law passed last year. He was the kind of man that everyone wishes he was their father.