Who taught you to shoot?

[Blackwater]

I'm not entirely sure this post belongs here, so if it needs to be moved, no problem. But I've been curios for some time now about who taught us to shoot. In my own case, it was my USMC Dad when I was very young, along with a few of his good buddies who'd also been Marines. They taught me the basics, and absolutely insisted that I do it RIGHT. Apparently, they learned a thing or two from their drill sergeants? They were more "nurturing" than a real drill sgt., though, and that was appreciated, even though at the time, I'd have put up with anything to learn to shoot my little BB gun at the time. They really did a good job, too, because to a man, they'd been taught right. They even taught me to use the sling on my Daisy to "steady up," and it was a revelation to me how much it helped. I was a terror thereafter to the little sparrows and other birds in our yard. Ah! The good ol' days of REAL "big game" hunting! Nobody ever put more into the effort of stalking than I did on those tweety birds! HAR!

Since then, I've avidly sought out every tip and lesson I could from wherever I could find them. And it's paid off. I'd go down to the lower 40 and try all of them out, with varying degrees of success and satisfaction, and just kept what worked and abandoned and forgot what didn't. Slowly, though the years, you can learn a LOT about how to hit what we're aiming at or that needs to be shot. It's a process, not necessarily a technique, that allows us to get really good with a gun of whatever kind we like or need to learn to shoot well. The pistol and the shotgun were my biggest challenges, and the shotgun is still a real challenge for me, but that's another subject here, I think.

And now that I have some infirmities that challenge me even more acutely, it's at least reassuring that I'd still not want me shooting at me.

The must fun and somewhat contradictory type of shooting that I've done is with unaimed fire - quick "instinctive" shots. That takes a lot more practice, but it really CAN be acquired IF we're just persistent. If you haven't tried it, give it a whirl. It'll probably be mostly humbling, but it CAN quickly become rather surprising, too, especially if you mostly just use one gun and learn its "feel," and use that to "place" your shots. At close range, it CAN be amazingly effective with only a little practice, and it's FAR from "ammo wasted." It DOES require some persistence, of course, but like Pavlov's dogs, conditioning CAN yield some very surprising and gratifying results. And it's just plain FUN to deal with a good challenge like this, too.

Now, who taught YOU to shoot?

[runfiverun]

pretty much taught myself.
the shotgun was/is super easy, just look at what you want shot and shoot it.
don't much matter where/how I hold the shotgun, upside down, sideways, on my head, one handed, left handed [shrug] it hits what I look at.

handguns took me a bit to figure out, I didn't know if the front sight went in the notch [flat] or if the front sight stuck up or what, I never had much exposure to them.
shooting them like a shotgun sure didn't work too well for group size, except at 10' feet or so.

[williamwaco]

My father and one of his buddies - Kent Bellah, Saint Jo, Texas. Or if you are a history buff, Head of Elm.

[sqlbullet]

I learned gun safety and sight alignment from my father. Not much mention about trigger control.

Supervised shooting mostly occurred in the presence of my maternal grandfather. We had matching daisy bb guns, and I went through several tubes of BB's anytime I would visit for the week.

We still shoot whenever I go visit him.

My family only owned rimfire and shotguns though. A church friend introduced me to centerfire pistol and rifle. He was as much of a gun nut as I was. In addition to our love of guns, we both suffered similar ailments. I had severe asthma as a teen and he was on the loosing side of COPD. One of my most treasured gifts from him were his back issues of American Rifleman. I had them clear back into the early 60's as I recall. My mom, bless her heart, tossed them during a move while I was at college. Don has been gone for 20 years now, and I still sorely miss him.

[NSB]

I pretty much taught myself how to shoot the shotgun, rifle, and handgun. I did a pretty good job of self teaching I guess. Five state pistol championships, two regional championships, one third place at an international championship with handgun. Two state championships with shotgun and two regional shotgun championships. Sponsored shooter for a major powder company for several years and won one super regional three gun championship and won or place at every major three gun shoot in Sportsman's Team Challenge matches. I spent a lot of time and money getting to the level I was at before giving up competition shooting at that level. I used to shoot 50,000 rounds of rimfire and center fire with handgun and rifle and about 20,000 rounds of shotgun a year. After retiring I gave it up. Even when you win it doesn't pay for the ammo, guns, hotels, and entry fees. It was a lot of fun though while it lasted.....and that was quite a while.

[blackthorn]

My Dad was not a shooter. He had an old .22 Winchester, hand-cocked "Rabbit" rifle that he kept around the farm to shoot at stray dogs, cats coyotes etc. the extractor did not work so the empty cases had to be flicked out with a jackknife. The gun only used .22 shorts, although in retrospect the reason was likely due to the chamber being plugged with lead. At some point in its life the poor old gun had been run over by the farm wagon and busted the stock. Dad's "fix" was to wire the broken pieces back together so it would shoot. The gun was one of the type were the trigger was separate from the rest of the action, depending on a pin through the stock to act as a pivot and to allow it to line up with the bolt release. The wire "fix" resulted in the rifle having a hair trigger (and I do mean hair). At age 10 I pestered Dad sufficiently that he said I could use the old gun to shoot Gophers and Jack rabbits. The sum total of my "training" was being told "be careful with that, you could kill a man with it". I did get some pointers from a neighbor (friends Dad) but that was a lot later. The condition of the gun usually meant you only got one shot at most things so I did learn to be a reasonably good shot. Eventually, Dad had one of our neighbors fix the broken stock by splicing on a new forend and that fixed the hair trigger in the process.

[pworley1]

Experience

[Geezer in NH]

My father for function and safety, my high school rifle team coach for the ability to be an accurate shooter and then many other mentors on many different ranges and matches.

[Schrag4]

I'm 37. My only exposure to firearms when I was young was my grandfather letting my brothers and I take the single-shot 22LR rifle down to the creek. We had no instruction, and no safety equipment either. I'm a little surprised nobody got hurt.

I grew up shooting air rifles, but again, no instruction whatsoever. I knew projectiles flew in an arc, but it didn't occur to me that there would/could be 2 distances that the optics aligned with the projectile's path. To be honest, I was pretty ignorant about the whole thing.

I only recently got into shooting, about 6 years ago. Again, no instruction, so I'm pretty sure I taught myself a lot of bad habits at first. However, this new hobby has consumed me to the point that I'm reading threads like these, so I've picked up a lot of advice, and I try to put it into practice. I'd say I'm half-way decent with a pistol by this point, but I still have a lot to learn. I'm no noobie but as you know skill levels are logarithmic and I'm somewhere in the middle, meaning I'm orders of magnitude better than where I started and orders of magnitude worse than the experts.

[Thumbcocker]

Ross Seifried and Elmer Keith. Never met either one of them.

[tmc-okc]

My father. BB gun at age 6 shooting at squirrels he didn't see so he could find them a knock them out of the tree with his ss Remington 22. Boy Scout camp gave me the opportunity to prove to hin I could properly handle a 22 RF. On my 13th birthday I got a hand me down Remington 22 and the following year he traded me a Win. 63 22RF for the Remington ss. Dad managed sporting goods stores so we had all types of firearms in the house. My high school Police Athletic rifle team coach (retired Army) really brought me along. The Army and their Train Fire course helped a lot. Friends and hunting buddies and everything I could read. Hunting coyotes was a challenge I enjoyed and my wife's grandfather had a pasture filled with prairie dogs. A day on the roof of the old milk shed with a Ruger 77 in 22-250 taught me a lot. Then a Remington XP 100 in 221 Fireball was a great challenge also on those doggies at 300 yds or more.
Ron H

[W.R.Buchanan]

My Uncle taught me to shoot ground squirrels when I was 8 with his Mossberg 22.

I got my BB gun, which I still have at age 9. Taught my self sight alignment and sight picture by shooting walnuts out of trees for snacks.

Got my first .22 at age 12. Still have it. Hunted small game near our house virtually every Saturday for years.

Went to Air Force got to shoot an M16 once,,, 60 rounds total! Hit 59/60. got a ribbon for it.

Started Reloading in 1971 for my Sako Forrester in .243 cal. Still have the Lee Loader but sold that gun which was a big mistake. Learned to shoot a high power rifle with that gun.

Bought my first Centerfire Revolver in 1978 .44 Mag. S&W M29 8 3/8's Learned how to cast boolits with that gun. Sold it 3 years later, don't miss it a bit.

All basically self taught thruout this time period.

Went to Front Sight first time in 2001-2 ,,, Thought I really knew how to shoot. Expected to be teaching class by Noon the first day.

Rude awakening! I knew Squat! I sucked outright!!!! Realized this and joined Front Sight as a Member after first trip. Been back 1-2 times a year for the last 13-14 years.

I am now actually proficient with Pistols and Rifles and Shotguns.

Lots more to shooting than just aiming and pulling the trigger. Learning how to run a weapons system is the key to proficiency, and the more Weapons systems you are familiar with the better you will shoot all of them.

I am 65 now and I shoot better now than ever before,,, including Rifles Pistols and Shotguns.

I accredit this to the training I have received over the last 12-13 years. Success in my chosen sports of 3 gun shooting and Silhouette shooting have proven that this training has paid off.

I use most of what I've learned virtually everytime I shoot. The rest is applied as needed.

It's all good! And I urge others to follow simply because you have to be taught how to do everything. Nobody is born knowing everything and the sooner people learn this about themselves, the sooner they can get on with it!

https://www.frontsight.com

Randy

[dtknowles]

I don't really know, I had bb guns as a kid and could hit frogs and birds pretty good, was holding off of targets because the sights were fixed and I knew the gun shot up that way so I held down this way. I learned breath control and trigger control in High School shooting 4 position 22's at 50 ft., don't even remember the coach's name. Learned to shoot handguns better by reading a lot of stuff.

Tim

[paul edward]

I learned form my Father. Raised on a ranch in New Mexico, he served in the US Border Patrol before WW2 (with Bill Jordan) leaving to join the Air Corps retiring after 25 years. Taught me all of the safety and handling procedures as well as cleaning, care and maintenance of small arms. After age 12, I was allowed to go the range whenever he re-qualified. Learned correct use of the 1911 A1 and M1 carbine that aircrew carried at that time.

[Porterhouse]

I'm another one learned from Ross Seyfried and Elmer Keith. From their writings and pictures.

[tigweldit]

Dad gave me the basics. Classes and good coaches, along with thousands of rounds fired in practice,made me the mediocre shooter that I am today. God I love this hobby!

[762 shooter]

No one in my family was a shooter. Played with BB guns some during the summer at my grandparents farm. No instruction other that " don't shoot your eye out".

First good info was the Boy Scouts. Then a 22 and squirrel hunting. Army added a little m16 info.

My brother and I started IPSC with a U S Property 1911, canvas mag pouches, and a leather flap holster. Loved the adrenaline rush.

Friend started me in reloading and I was done for. Silhouettes, 3 gun, sniper matches, casting, and I am a lost cause.

40 years later I love the smell of burnt gunpowder. I won't live in a world where I can't shoot.

762

[bedbugbilly]

First person to teach me was an old gunsmith in his 80s that ran a small one man gunsmith shop. I was really interested in muzzleloading - he was restoring my grandfather's old half-stock percussion rifle that had gone through a fire - my Dad had promised my grandfather before he died that he'd get it restored. My grandfather was born in 1867 and had purchased the rifle from a fellow who came to the Michigan Territory in early 1830. I have been shooting BP ever since he taught me the basics in his shop and him having me shoot out back of it. I still have a 1 lb can that held FFG DuPont that I bought in his shop - cost a whopping 75 cents. A tin of 100 Remington caps were 25 cents.

The fellow who taught me how to shoot "modern" guns was a family friend - a WWII Marine. My Dad could shoot but didn't have the patience that our Marine friend had. He taught me you to shoot SA revolvers as well as rifles. He was like a "second Dad' to me - he owned a hardware store and in the back room of it, taught me how to field strip and reassemble a 1911 Colt blindfolded.

For shotgun shooting . . . we had a neighbor across the street who had a great pheasant dog. He took us hunting and taught us a lot about knocking birds down with a scattergun. In the early 60s, we had lots of pheasants - now - we very rarely see one.

Good memories all of them.

[texassako]

I learned gun safety from my Dad, and still unlearning some of his shooting lessons today. First to unlearn was a massive flinch from him letting me pull the trigger on my first real gun(20 ga), without showing me how you put it up to your shoulder and not an inch away. He had a pretty interesting way of teaching anything with helpful lessons coming right about the time bad habits had already been set. The whole you have to know failure/pain before success mentality.

[Powder Burn]

My dad. He had a Winchester model 43 in 22 hornet with Redfield 3x scope. I must have been 8-9. I can still remember how loud it was shooting in a creek bed. Taught me how to breath, aim, trigger pull. 40 years later (during my M1 collecting days) I took my dad out to shoot one of my M1's at some water filled milk jugs at 50 yds. He hit 5 for 5. He handed back my Garand and said " I still prefer the O3 Springfield.

[Beagle333]

Grandpa. :D But the man had eagle eyes and could actually hit nail heads. He was a tough act to follow. I was 4-eyed early and have always been a little unsteady.

[Murphy]

I truly can't recall who first placed a firearm in my hands as a youth. My father was an over the road trucker and did well to spend a weekend in deer camp with his 3 brothers once a year. His three younger brothers were all hunters, deer and small game mostly. When my father couldn't make it to deer camp (we lived 250 miles away) I usually wound up there with my uncles in my early years and as a teen.

Hunters Vs Shooters. And I don't mean to open a can of worms here, but there is a difference. They grew up in the 40's & 50's. That being said, very little ammuntion was expended on target practice. And visits to the grandparents farm (I grew up in a major city) would sometimes meant I got the joy of shooting a box of .22 LR's, under supervision of course. I was taught to aim and that was the extent of my education. I can't recall when I first the term 'squeeze the trigger'. I'm sure it didn't help in my formulative years that I was more than likely yanking it, ha!

Then one day my father annouced we were moving 'back home' where grew up. I was 13 years old. I probably did more shooting the first 2 years as a country kid than all my other years put together. Once out of school, I pretty much became the same as my uncles, often borrowing a 'deer rifle' for deer season. Other than that, I don't recall having guns in the house. Mind you my father wasn't opposed to them, just didn't see or feel the need to keep one all the time.

Then, in my early 20's I began to become more interested in firearms. It was until mid 20's I discovered just how my I really enjoyed shooting. I must give credit where credit is due. Hunting magazines with firearm articles with the writings of Skeeter Skelton, Bill Jordan and Elmer Keith brought me to full attention and lit the fire. I wanted to learn to shoot. I had no mentors I knew of, so I invested and got busy shooting. I read everything I could get my hands on and tried various styles and techniques. Then, I read an article about a man named Ed McGivern. I can recall as clear as day cutting out the magazine add, going to the post office where my aunt was the post mistress with my money in hand and asking her to order a book for me. Ed McGivern "Fast & Fancy Shooting". I already had most of the basics down, sight alignment, consist grip, squeeze. Handguns have always been my most favorite of my firearms. As for rifles? I one day found a book at a garage sale "The Accurate Rife, by Warren Page". I read and reread it. I still have both those books to this day.

I guess to sum it up, I taught myself to shoot. The majority of my friends say 'That man can shoot'. Then again, they ain't that good uh' shooter either. :)

Murphy

[popper]

Self.

[NSB]

Murphy, good post. There is definitely a difference between shooters and hunters. The NSSF says that 98% of the ammo purchased in this country every year is by hunters. Those hunters shoot less than two boxes of ammo a year on average. The 2% who are shooters shoot in the thousands of rounds every year. I just came back from the range about half an hour ago where I was shooting in a local silhouette match with long guns. I shot a 35x40 which isn't anything to write home about. Ten years ago when I was shooting competition I would have shot a 40x40 or a 39x40. The guys I was shooting with think they're pretty decent shots, and for the average gun owner, they are. They mostly shoot in the mid teens or low 20s. One other shooter besides myself shoots in the 30s pretty regularly but he is also a "shooter". His technical knowledge is better than mine. I'd call the rest of them good shooters for being hunters. Watching Lones Wigger and David Tubb shoot the rifle will really show what the gun and an excellent target shooter are capable of. But you know what? As long as everyone's happy what's the difference? It's all about having fun doing something you like.

[Ifishsum]

Maternal grandfather was a longtime hunter and shooter and he taught me how to sight, lead a moving target, etc. Used to turn me loose on his little 40 acre patch to terrorize whatever small game I could scare up. Gave me my first real rifle at 14, a sporterized .30-40 Krag he had used for many years.

[Bzcraig]

Like R5R pretty much self taught. Trial & error (experience as one mentioned), reading, reading shooting, reading, more shooting. Only had a very basic understanding of reloading and no casting experience so more reading, reading, reading. Finding this site did significantly decrease the time I would have spent in the 'learning curve.'

[Mauser48]

My dad taught me all the basics then I really took it upon myself and went to a whole new level with reloading, collecting, and just firearm and military history.

[stu1ritter]

For rifle, sort of figured it out and my high school rifle team coach and pistol, the old grizzly New York City detectives that ran the detective qualification range at the 34th St. Armory in NYC whch my high school rifle team used for our home range. We would show up early and the detective instructors would be just finishing their day and say "you wanna shoot my gun kid"? Army pistol teams after that.
Stu

[Lead Fred]

My Ole Man
In the 60's, before Chonies, ballistic tables, and software, The Ole Man was doing 900 yard shots with a 22-250
With a slide rule, and a note book.
Smartest man Ive ever known

[avogunner]

Dad put the first gun in my hands and exposed me to both gun safety (enforced with an iron hand) and the basics of gun handling and accuracy. The Marine Corps formalized and refined that so as "sight alignment/sight picture" is now my normal lexicon.
Semper Fi and God Bless America!

[bobthenailer]

Really no one! I did it all my self !

[Randy C]

My Grandfather there was nothing he loved more than the farm, Hunting and fishing. O and of course me when I was little.

[Randy C]

This subject brings back a lot of good old memories.:popcorn:

[OverMax]

Two forms of tutoring I received. My Father showed me (how.) The Marine Corp taught me (how.)

[Doc Lange]

My US Army Dad who taught me safety and marksmanship skills. Official Hunter safety taught by two old WWII vets. Have a picture of Dad letting me hold the old Winchester 90 when I was 3. Shooting sparrows with BB's at 5. Killing paper, bottles and old stoves with the Win 90 at 7. Stalking prairie dogs and learning patience waiting for them to come back out for another shot when I was 9(no supervision). First gun purchase at 10 with 'wages' earned plowing for Dad-a little single shot rolling block Savage-Stevens 72 ($56 in 1975) which I still have. First high power rifle at 17-Christmas gift-Rem 700 in 243-no jack rabbit, coyote or p-dog safe in our end of the county. Lots of self teaching along the way-lots of reading too from all the writers in the gun rags. Lots of great memories form those early days learning the art.

[opos]

Dad took me to Gart Brothers in Denver in about 1948 or 49 and bought me a Winchester 62A 22 pump..he took me out to Cherry Creek and we shot up a couple of boxes of 22's and I think that was the total of my "family training"..had a bunch of buddies that all had 22's and that is where most of the early experience came in..My handgun love and experience didn't occur until I was in College and that was mostly "self taught" or with guidance from friends that also shot handguns.

I began to hunt in the mountains in high school with a buddy and his Dad..his Dad was a very skilled hunter and I learned a lot from him and killed my first deer and antelope with them..in College I worked in a small sporting goods store that sold used guns and boats/motors...I was a good friend in college with a guy that was a hunting addict and he and I fed our families on wild animal and bird meat through much of college...began to reload in the late 50's ....lived the dream in Colorado during the 60's and then moved to California...sold all my guns and began to offshore fish..no more hunting or shooting until about 1980 when I picked up some guns and started shooting and reloading again...still going strong at nearly 78

[Toymaker]

Master Chief Croaker taught me pistol and Gunny Finley taught me rifle. Dad figured that at 8 years old I'd listen to someone else better than I'd listen to him so he turned me over to a couple of his friends who were top shots. Both of them put me through the works, inside out, frontwards and backwards, and back again. Then they made me do the same thing - left handed; and how to control eye dominance. Then they put me into every competition they could find. Their lessons were the foundation another Gunny in Saigon found when he started schooling me in long range shooting, ballistics, range estimation, handling recoil, etc., etc., etc. and I learned how little I knew. Today, whether I'm shooting a competition, practicing or plinking I can still hear those three voices, and my dad laughing.

[flint45]

My Dad and the gun writers of the 60's&70's

[brtelec]

My Dad and the Boy Scouts

[Cherokee]

No one in my family was a shooter, some owned guns for farm use/protection but that was it. I learned on my own, starting with BB guns in 1950, then to rf and cf rifle, then pistol. Never cared for shotgun until I started SASS 12 years ago.

[tygar]

My dad did some minimum training with my BB gun he gave me but he was a WW2 boat driver in the pacific & his landing party weapon was a Thompson & his rifle skills were somewhat lacking. My real teacher was my Uncle who was a Normandy vet & a hell of a shot with both rifle & pistol. He taught me to shoot a M1 & 1911 while still quite young. He did start me on a .22 but quickly moved to the other stuff.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

My Father, Uncles, Grandfathers/mothers and others that were lucky enough to grow up in the country. Everyone took part , we young un's went into the Army/Marines had very little problems with marksmanship and taking orders and learning from the old gruff sergeants that that were the trainers......Semper FI:redneck::redneck::redneck:

[Pilgrim]

Taught myself. Learned to shoot while hunting or wandering in the hills around my home. My father had no interest in teaching me...strange as in his earlier years (before I was borne) he was a world class rifleman, and apparently a fair hand with the 1911, too. I never saw him shoot. At a range or anywhere else. What I learned about him was from his old time buddies. Found some medals of his from Camp Perry. Sad tale...

[Light attack]

Both my parents were shooters. The first thing I remember shooting was a .36 cap and ball Manhatten Firearms pistol. I think I was about five at the time. Same time I learned casting. My father had a ladle that he melted the lead in and cast into a single cavity Lyman mold for conical boolits. I still have that set up. Later my Dad gave me a .22 single shot Win 67 that he had had as a kid growing up in West Texas. My Mom also grew up in West Texas on a farm and always had a .22 or a shotgun. Like earlier posters said, a lot of memories stirred up with this thread.

[Aunegl]

I'm self taught and I tried to wear out a library card doing a lot of reading. I was getting tired of missing my targets. Come to think of it. I'm still doing a lot of reading and I'm missing my targets a little less often.

[smokeywolf]

Dad taught me gun safety. Taught me that one mistake with a gun can ruin your life and the lives of others and can't be undone or taken back. Always look beyond your target and always consider who might be on the other side of the wall.
You don't get a second chance. You have to do it right all the time, every time.

Taught myself sight alignment.

[Seeker]

My father died when I was 18 mos.old. Grandpa died just before him. Grandma took over and taught me how to aim and shoot. We had a blast.

[klutz347]

I had to teach myself.

No one in my family was a shooter so I was on my own.

There was a few guys at the local range that would give me pointers, but I had to find out what worked for me.

[A pause for the COZ]

I would like to say my dad or at least my grandfather... Nope it was grandma. That old girl could shoot too.
Started me at 8 years old on a daisy BB gun, Then the marlin 22, By 12 I was shooting her Marlin 336 in 30-30.
She did a good job too. Thanks grams!!! It could have something to do with Gramps always out working and Grandma was around to be bugged until she gave in. :-)

[Smoke4320]

I was self taught .. Sold christmas cards ( from boys life magazine) door to door at age 10 .. sold enough to order a Crossman 760 pump ..
It was all up hill from there.. learned real fast f I wanted to hit anything consistently I needed to shoot pellets ..

Won many a competition in my hayday.. must have learned how to shoot..:) :)

[Hang Fire]

Me. myself and I.

[10 ga]

Grandads both had a hand. started out with a BB gun with one and then on to a 410. Other just started me with a 1911 45ACP. Dad didn't like either one doing the gun thing but I was hooked. Boy Scouts did a bunch too. Dad finally relented and insisted I get NRA instruction when I was 11 as a Scout. Dad hunted and took me too after the class. I really didn't learn about CF rifles until I was at VA Tech and my roommate was a high power competitive shooter. Learned a whole lot about rifle shooting from him, and I taught him about how to hit stuff with a shotgun. I've won a few "matches" with ML, shotgun, handgun and rifle but at 65 the eyes don't allow me to compete successfully any more. I still compete but just don't quite get enough X and 10 hits to take high placements. I will add that the deer, turkeys, squirrels, foxes etal still fear me. My stalking skills are as good as ever as I have more patience and depend on closer shots for clean kills. My shooting skills aren't quite so good but my hunting skills are better than ever. 10 ga

[Blackwater]

Wow! What a response. And the thing that I take away from it all is that it's really 90+% just up to WANTING to learn to shoot well. You guys who are self-taught are a shining example of that. I used to be pretty good, but it's really hard to retain much of that skill when your ol' body starts to decline, the hands get shakier and the sights are harder to see. Still, I wouldn't want me to be shooting at me, and there's a lot of carry over that we never really lose. Timing is a big factor, too, that comes with experience. it's long been my observation that all it really takes to get good is simple desire along with the simple determination to watch ourselves as we shoot, and identify what we might need to do to get better and more consistent, and then faster at doing it. Sure is good to walk down "memory lane" in subjects like this, and I, and I'm sure most of us, really enjoyed the remembrances of our early days. Thanks to all of you.

[rintinglen]

My Dad taught me the basics of rifle safety and shooting.
The Marine Corps taught me the finer points of marksmanship.
I taught myself to shoot a Handgun using the writings of George C. Nonte and Jeff Cooper.
I can't shoot a shotgun for beans.

[murf205]

My grandfather. He was a gun guy and a hunter par excellent. He also taught me a lot about being a good man and what was expected of a man. He gave me my model 12 Rem .22 on my 12th birthday. Still have it and still love him for the lessons I'll never forget. What he taught me made my military time a lot easier (he was a 1st Lt. in WW1). We shot up many a box of shells together and now I have a son and a grandson who will inherit this plunder of mine and I'll have the pleasure of paying forward the lessons he taught me, as I have done with my son.

[Blackwater]

Rintinglen, just an aside, but I'm in the same boat, and struggle with the scattergun just to be "average," but am mostly just mediocre. FWIW, I just got Bob Brister's book, "Shotgunning: The Art and Science," and I believe I've FINALLY put my finger on the problem, so it just MIGHT prove of help to you, and a copy is a LOT cheaper than the thousands of shells it'd take to learn by trial and error. I'm gonna' see if the magic's there soon with a round of sporting clays, and I'd highly recommend it to you as the first place I'd go for aid in getting better. He makes the concepts and principles very easy to understand and apply, and that's always appreciated. FWIW?

[Blackwater]

Just a thought here, that might provide some insight along with the neat reminiscences herein. As I told Rin above, about Brister's book, I've long been frustrated by my shotgunning. I can have absolutely awful days afield where I'll be lucky to get my limit, and I seem to be constantly struggling with the scattergun. Through the years, I've had guns that I just seemed to shoot better than others, and now shoot an old B-2000 Browning that I seem to do as well as I've been able to with any previous gun I've had. Brister's book MAY (?) have illuminated me enough to get better now. My problem is that I just plain LOVE shooting the shotgun, and thus, focus more on the fun than the effectiveness I might have with it. I guess I'm just like a bird dog on point? Having too much fun to concentrate on anything else, maybe? Anyway, a large part of my problem, I think, has been trying to use all 3 types of techniques with the same perceived "lead." I'll use spot shooting that I learned on quail darting between trees and bushes, the sustained lead and the pull through interchangeably and indiscriminately, and folks, that just doesn't work very well. Incoming birds are usually dead, anglers maybe, and crossers I miss WAY too often. I really have to bear down, and that inhibits the pure joy I have on a bird field. I've probably just been having TOO much fun to notice this, and it's our blindness that keeps us from getting better, usually.

Anyway, I've always had a little tendency toward art, though I've never really been an artist at much of anything, and it's the artist in many of us that CAN sometimes put us on to better methods of shooting whatever kind of gun we have in our hands, and you shooters who are self trained and good can probably thank your own tendency toward being artists at heart for your abilities. Art is always the simple method of looking at things and figuring out what to do about them. It's really just noticing what we do and figuring it out as we go. A dear friend now used to be a really good mechanic. He loved cars and engines and was the type that could tell you more about an engine by listening to it, sometimes with a screwdriver on the engine with his ear pressed against it, than a newbie with his computer ever could. He's proven that time and time again, too. He's just an artist with an engine. I told him this and he thought I was crazy, but as time went on, and I got him into fly tying where his real inner artist has come out, he's finally realized how accurate I was in my original declaration. Just thought it might help some of you understand how to get better. Now if only someone can tell me how to become a better shotgun shot! HAR!

[Jtarm]

A Jeff Cooper book and & many thousands of rounds through an S&W Model 17, later centerfires.
Rifle: various articles & lots of practice. Shooting smallbore rifle silhouette.
Shotgun: Bob Brister books and lots of practice. I was lucky to have worked 10 minutes from a shotgun range for a couple years where I spent many lunch hours. Also watching expert shooters.
Competition: You learn a lot from veteran shooters.

I was blessed to have a dad who got me interested in hunting & outdoors, but he took a dim view of my propensity for burning ammo.

[Mytmousemalibu]

Dad taught me, first projectile launcher I squeezed a trigger on was a Benjamin .22cal air pistol, I still have it and the leather holster to this day and still remember dad telling me not to tell mom about the pellets & holes in the fence!

[blackthorn]

Shotguns---oh yes---funny (true) story---My brother in law and my good hunting buddy and I were finishing a very successful moose hunt, many years ago. We had dropped the moose meat (3 animals) at the meat cutter and we still had 5 days left before we had to return to work. We knew the better halves would trot out the honey-do list so we gassed up the truck and took off for a bit of late season deer hunting at our favorite lake. We decided to shoot a few ducks, so we set up along the lake shore and waited. After awhile along came a "V" flight of 5 teal. We all fired at the lead duck (that would be 3 shots for me and Gene and 2 shots for Roland). The lead duck was the only one that got away! I am likely the worlds worst shot-gunner!! Gene and Roland (RIP boys) were no better, but we had fun and we did get 4 blue wing teal.

[jonp]

My grandfather I guess. Never really thought about it. My grandmother too. Funny several of us had a grandmother involved. Started roaming the hills in gradeschool with a 410 bolt then a 12g as tall as I was. No one paid it no mind when I set off for the woods with a dog and 12g at 7 or 8yrs old and woyld be gone till dark.

[PbSnSb]

In the mid 1950's they had a 22 program for dependents at Camp Lejeune where I was taught the fundamentals of position shooting.

[TXGunNut]

I learned to shoot 22's at Boy Scout summer camp. My dad had a few guns but figured a city kid didn't need to learn how to shoot. Got some more formal instruction when I got into police work but I learned the most in PPC and other competition. Never really got very good at it but have had more fun than may be legal in some jurisdictions. Most folks think I'm a really good shot but thanks to my comp career I've met some top-ranked shooters, it's a humbling experience.

[Eddie789]

I was taught at an early age. I started hunting with dad when i was about 6 years old. It was just then that i was interested in guns and hunting. I still remember well when dad would make me shoot a 30-30win and i thought it was the scariest gun! I hated that thing but now its in my blood! I am 25 now and still going strong till this day! I have killed many deer in my past. Its something i love and will keep doing it till i can!

[Jtarm]

Ross Seifried and Elmer Keith. Never met either one of them.

I learned a lot about cast boolits by reading Seyfried. He turned me on to Veral Smith and LBT long before Al Gore invented the internet.

I met him once at the 1991 SHOT show in Dallas.

[mpawlina]

Shotgun - grandfather, everything else - self thought.

[Bigslug]

Dad and his friend gave me the bug when some small semi auto .22 pistol was placed in my hands somewhere around age five. The rest of it is a now-undecipherable mash of liking to read, study, and shoot. I think my first formal coaching was at a DCM clinic Dad and I went to in my early 20's when we learned that Uncle Sam would sell us Garands for cheap. That lead to getting hooked on Highpower competition and a MASSIVE refinement in our handloading and shooting technique.