Best Firearms Memories and Experiences?

[FlyingPen]

What have been your favorite and most memorable experiences so far when it comes to firearms. That is, either a milestone or just something very positive that you remember.

For me:

1. Obviously, to start, picking up my own very first gun, a Sig P226R CPO in 40SW. Still have it but heavily modified now.

2. Shooting a 1911 for the first time and finally understanding what the fuss was all about.

3. Hitting out to 800+ yards on my first few tries with a Remington 700 308 and a lot of guidance from Randall.

4. Reliably being able to land 20 rounds from a pistol in a 2 inch group from 7 yards. Next milestone is 10 yards.

5. Today, emptying all 9 00 buck shells in about 6 seconds from my Benelli M1 Super 90. I have the bruising from when I tried to do it with full power slugs and quit at shot 5.

6. Putting together my first AR, doing the LPK install myself and wondering why I even hesitated.

7. Having my friend pay for me emptying a full auto MP5 twice in LV.

[FEDUPWBS]

My first complete 30 round bumpfire magdump!

[bubbaskyjacker]

i have 2.
1. about at the age of 15 i shot a robin out of the air with my red rider bb gun. (i was very suprised)

2. when i was in boot camp i scored a 40/40 on my marksman test.

[peekay331]

shooting my dad's 10/22 bazooka style when I was 5 because I couldn't hold the rifle normally.

[Moonclip]

Having to buy an extra gun safe Buying some guns for a 1/5th or less of their value. Finding a special gun after a 14 year or so search.

[jamesob]

i was 16 and my mom got me a mini14 for my b-day. it came with a few 30 rnd. mags and had a folding stock on it. ahh the good ol days.

[joeyriv]

Scoring a "Possible" at the 300 yd rapid... on "Qual Day". Might not be a big deal to some, but I've only done it once, so it's a big deal to me.

[napahunter]

Getting my wife her first rifle for deer hunting is one up on my list.

[sorensen440]

First time shooting with my girlfriend
shooting at cans with my dad and brothers

[pullnshoot25]

-Popping grapefruits with a .22 while sitting on my brother's knee in the back yard when I was 5 (That is what started the disease!)-First time shooting with the girlfriend.
-Any time with the girlfriend.
-Taking a side trip with a friend that involved thinning a flock of nasty chickens with the .22s and attempting to ride horses bareback.
-Having my brother home for 2 months when he broke his butt in a car accident and having him wheel out in a wheelchair and shoot any rabbits or pesky birds that I saw with his BSA Super 10.
-Riding horses with Mollie and showing her how to shoot afterwards.
-Nailing my first crow.
-Hunting squirrels with my friend.

Hot damn, just about every experience was memorable!

[Black Majik]

I have a couple that I could think of..


1) First exposure to firearms was shooting blanks with an M-16 in my uncle's basement when I was 12 full auto.

2) First time shooting was when I was 14, shooting that M-16 full auto with live rounds.

3) Bruce Gray's class in 06'. Seriously some of the most fun I've had. Wake up at 6, get to Angeles an hour away by 8, shoot til' 5 or 6, eat dinner til' midnight, drive home and get home til' 1 or 2 and do it all over again for 3 days straight. Oh yeah, our rediculous 75 round stage of all steel with three texas stars, AT NIGHT. Such BS.

4) Our BRI shoots. I still remember our first one we held. True memories from those shoots.

5) First time shooting a .50 BMG. 2nd time was Ben's .50 BMG off hand. Ouch.

6) Open Carrying in Arizona

7) Concealed carry in CA

8) The "Fat packet" in the mailbox.

9) Hitting the 100 yard chicken (3-4") at the veery end of the pistol range (140 yardishs) offhand with Bambam-31 using pistols.

10). Buying that first handgun. Of course, a 1911.

11) Exposure to tannerite

12) Exposure to watching bowling balls whistle in the air as you hear it "thud" when it finally drops.

13) The "Twins" 1919.

14) Taking friends out to the range for their first time

15) Taking my dad out to shoot a few games of trap with me

16) Taking my little sister out to Angeles. She got some damn good instruction from our group, thanks guys.

17) Making my first smiley face on a paper target

18) Hitting the 50 yard steel silhouette with Ben's .500S&W and watching the steel swinging like crazy

19) "Ram, 50 yards" "Ping" says the pig

20) Coming up with names for the steel at angeles. Cheveron, postage stamp, tetris, "themometer" , pizza slice, chicken, deathstar, chocolate bar, and claiming our steel in the process.

[M1A Rifleman]

Ok, I'll play:

1. Giving my dad the $135 to purchase my 1st 10/22 rifle as a 14yr old, then shooting.

2. Picking up my first 1911 pistol from my friends dad who was an FFL.

3. Scoring second highest score on the pistol range in my College AJ class - was only two points from high score by Watsonville PD officer. The class RO's were all standing behind me watching as non of them could believe this skinny 19 year old could out shoot most of them.

4. Buying an M1A after seeing them at Reeds and dreaming about one for 20years.

5. Blasting away at some old hulk in the Nevada desert.

6. Participating in my first service rifle match to qualify for an M1. I had to talk the club leader into letting me shoot as he wanted me to first take a class to learn the positions, bla bla bla. - I scored expert.

7. Opening the box of my parked steel and wood beauty that showed up in the mail 8-months later after placing the order to DCM/CMP.

What do I win?

[FlyingPen]

17) Making my first smiley face on a paper target

I am totally doing this next time I go.

[ojisan]

Finally buying my first gun, learning to use it, keeping it loaded next to the bed at night, and having years of PTSD nightmares (from the violence during two armed take-over robberies) slowly fade away. Worked much better than any councellor. I strongly recommend firearm ownership and training to all violent crime victims. It let me sleep again at night. Sleep is good!

[BamBam-31]

Me, me, me! Here it goes:

--Shooting my first rifle, an M1 Garand. PING!
--Shooting a sub-2" ten-shot group at 50' offhand w/ my 220ST.
--Hitting the 4" steel chicken at ASR w/ aforementioned 220ST offhand....from 140 yds.
--Shooting my first .50 cal rifle. Cleared my sinuses, boy.
--Getting beat by Vu at HORSE. Lucky bastard.
--Attending Bruce Gray's class, where I met some of the most badass pistoleros of the NKK.
--Scoring a pair of consecutively serial numbered Fazakerley No. 4 Mk. II's....new in wrap.
--Scoring a beee-yootiful unissued Finn M39 (Sako).
--Taking first place in Production Class at Norco USPSA (it was like my fourth or fifth match ever). Lucky for me, most of the regulars were at a bigger match in AZ.
--Driving two hours to Taft to buy my first OLL from 10%. Banding all my buddies together a week later to drive out to CWS for their OLL's. This was during a dark and heavy rainstorm, when Hector was still dealing out from his backyard. "Two weeks!"
--Building aforementioned OLL's into AR's. ALL of them.
--Scoring the notorious "RJ Special," a Marlin 39 Mountie, for $200 (a previous owner e-pencilled his name on the receiver). Cleaned up REAL nice.
--Inheriting my Dad's unfired Colt Diamondback snubby.
--Shooting my first Les Baer (Thanks, Rich!). Bought my 1.5" Supertac not long after.
--Assembling all the target stands and props for our first ever BRI (aka Ghetto Norco). We're less ghetto now, however.
--My first boar hunt. From the hellacious ATV ride, to the kill shot, to the field dressing and skinning (thank goodness for guides!).
--Monthly meets w/ the Varminters' Club from the now closed SGVGC. Those guys have forgotten more than I'll ever know....

Really, though, my best memories are of all the friends I've made through the sport. Just hanging out, shootin' the $#!+, going to shows, grubbin', etc. People from different walks of life, old, young, rich, poor, etc., all drawn together by a common interest in firearms. THAT is what I'll take with me after I've left all the guns behind...