No, this is not how I learned.

I got my firearms training with the Army and then further with my career in LE. I did not come from a hunting and shooting family but ended up being such a person. I started hunting in my 30's. I had several mentors. All men. The finest person was an old man and his family that took me in and taught me my archery skills. So many good memories.

Me. Must say I did not do a good job of it. I learned a lot about teaching as a Adult Leader for 4H shooting sports. Coached 3 position gallery for 8 years. Helped me shoot some but the bad was already ingrained! Where was I when I started? He He

Like Live Oak, I'm completely self-taught. Although right-handed, shooting from the left shoulder was always more natural for me. Luckily, there was no one around to tell me that was "wrong". Nowadays that I do the majority of my rifle shooting from the bench I have a huge advantage over those who do it "right" by having the bolt and the loading port on MY side of the gun.

Safety, my Dad taught me; one lecture when I wanted a BB gun. I bought all my guns but the shotgun he gave me.

Actual shooting, I learned from reading hunting magazines and shooting a lot by myself with my Daisy pump BB gun. Hundreds of sparrows, one cherry-eating mockingbird, many meadowlark, one eye-shot dove on the ground, many rabbits with dog, many rats and mice, one flushing bobwhite quail, rattlers, water moccasins, and one fleeing tomcat as he leaped the front yard fence in the moon light. Neighbor across the street never did know what killed her cat_ The cat, dove, and quail were my greatest BB gun shots and way up on my BRAGGING rights meter.

Graduated to Winchester M 61 .22 - many prairie dogs, many cottontail and jack rabbits, few birds, snakes, etc.
Bragging rights go to either the 175 yard prairie dog kill or the coiled and rattling Missouri rattle snake between my older brothers feet that I shot in the head.

S&W M18 .22 revolver bought in high school and shot from hip until out of college; then I learned to use the sights. Took rabbits, rats, MANY quick draw double action shots at drink cans, etc.
My greatest shot was from top-down cruising TR3-A with door window panels in the trunk on a sitting roadside jack rabbit when passing it at 55 MPH. Driving 500 miles from Austin to Borger at night, you need something to stay awake. No time for sights on that one! There were lots of bunnies out that night and I did not hit the first few bunnies shot at. I still have and shoot S&W revolvers.

Graduated to Parker circa 1900 20 gauge double on a 28 gauge frame that Dad gave to we boys (I shot it best and ended up with it and still have it)- shot MANY doves, quail, rabbits, snakes, and such.
Bragging rights shot? Hunting down a RR track my older brother missed a shot at a cotton tail and it was about to disappear under a trestle (where my little brother and Mike would shoot it). I leaped out and when parallel to the ground, rolled that bunny with a charge from the right barrel of my Parker double ( you remember every detail of shots like that). We were all teenagers and such antics never hurt for long.

My Grandfather in 1959. He was a Game Warden. I started off on a Remington 550, and a Fox 410; both of which I still have. Taught me on 38 and 22 Colt revolvers too; we had a range on our land because the other game wardens would come and practice there. Backstop was the dam for the pond.
He never hunted deer because he had to work in the National Forest during deer seasons and hated them. No deer in our county anyway; seeing one per year was a treat.
My father and I later went deer hunting. Winchester 94 and Remington 141. No scopes of course; no one had a scope in that era in the woods.

Dad taught me firearms safety, Grandfather taught me hunting, Army Reserve Marksmanship team taught me how to shoot.

Mostly self taught. Started with a Daisy in our basement at age 10. Acquired a Marlin Model 60 at 17 and terrorized the rats at a nearby dump, often going through a brick of ammo in an afternoon. That was enough shooting to earn an Expert Marksman rating in a college ROTC program. First hunting rifle, bought in 1961, was a Marlin 336 Texan 30/30 with a 4x Weaver on it.

In the late 1960s, I took up shooting metallic silhouette matches at the Tucson Rod & Gun range. These were the standing offhand variety with 20 steel targets out to 500 meters where the only aids allowed were a scope and a sling.

Over the years, I've owned a few .22 pistols, a .357 M19 S&W and a Ruger Super Black Hawk 44 mag in the way of handguns. Though proficient with a rifle, I stink up the place when using a handgun.

My shotgun shooting is kind of middle of the road. I always did fairly well on a trap range but burned through lots of ammo when shooting doves.

My Dad....started with a Springfield single-shot .22 rifle and a single shot .410 shotgun and moved on up from there. Later, the USMC refined my marksmanship skills a bit.

My dad. Started me shooting at age 3, with a winchester 67A (single shot, pull to cock) cut down to 9" lop. He saved the piece, and glued it back on, when I grew into it. Shot my first snowshoe hare with it, at age 5. At the time, he was a bush pilot (wheels, floats and skis) and my personal guide, in Alaska. Shot my first moose and caribou, at age 7 with a .243, with him backing me up with his .300 weatherby (not needed). My 8th birthday present was a 700 BDL, .270, shooting the original 150 partitions.

Once the basics were taught, he made sure I had a never ending supply of ammo. He loaded 5 gal buckets full of 20 gauge for me, and ordered my .22s by the 5000 round case. Many years I went through 8 buckets of 20's and up to 5 cases of .22s/year. By then, we had moved to southern New Mexico, during a quail and jackrabbit boom (early 1970's)...heaven for a kid with bird dogs and a bicycle!!!

No doubt, I had the worlds's BEST dad and mentor!!!

Andy#3

I started out with a .410 shotgun on rabbits, squirrels, dove, and bobwhite quail.

After I got to where I was killing game, I went to a .22 rifle on squirrels.

In the US Army I learned about zeroing, stock weld, and sight picture.

I then learned pistol shooting with a .45 ACP from an Army instructor.

JOC’s “Seven Lesson Shooting Course” did the rest.

BH63

My Dad was not a hunter.My two Uncles took me under their wing.Both were excellent trap shooters and shot high power rifle at Camp Perry.My one Uncle was a fair pistol shot competing in a Bullseye league.In boot camp I was the best shot from having been tutored at a young age.

Got the BB gun whenever then when I was 9 the NRA and the Topeka American Legion had a 50ft shoot in the basement of the PD on Sat. with 22 bolt rifle. Over a couple of years I got all the bars and badges. Got further instruction in USMC with much scrutiny for being left handed.

Dad taught me shotgunning.

Uncle Sam taught rifle and pistol.

I grew up on a game rich 75,000 acre ranch in the Texas Big Bend country and on another near El Paso, Tx..,Born in a hunting family, Deer season was akin to Christmas, My granddad, dad, uncles, big brother all had a hand in my shooting, I can't even remember when it started or ended, it was just always there..a Law Enfforcement career and a hunting business was just more of the same..Guns, horses, and ranching has been my life, I have been blessed and got a lot done in 84 years,both good and bad hobby has been building custom stocks and some metal work to a lesser degree..

Don't remember not having a bb gun, got a new one every Christmas until I reached the ripe old age of seven then I got a single shot 410 for my birthday, moved up to a 22 at age nine then a model 94 30-30 at eleven.

It was my Grandad, didn't have a dad till I got much older.

Pretty much self taught. My one Grandad was dead long before I was born, and the other one only fished. My Dad only quail hunted in Georgia so I grew up walking and chasing the bird dogs. When I was about 7 they gave me a Daisy Red Ryder (not powerful enough to put a hole in anything, except English sparrows). At 10 I got a 410 and started hunting birds with the men.

When I turned 16 in NY, I enrolled myself in Hunters Ed. and have been doing it myself ever since. Must have done an OK job, as when I went to boot camp I shot high score on the Marine Corps range in San Diego. That pretty well started a love affair with High Power after that!!!

Dad and brothers

Dad -- first safety and muzzle control with a Daisy pop-gun, then on to a real BB gun. (Dad was his squad's sniper in the 97th infantry in WWII.) Shot my first .22 -- with shorts -- in some friends' basement. First hunted with an Iver Johnson .410. Learned real marksmanship in Scouts. Our coach was on a team at Fort Lewis. Grateful for all the training.

I am also self taught. I had a BB gun as a kid with target sights. No one in my immediate family hunted. When I grew a little, my Uncle who was a state champion clay shooter taught me a little until he tore his shoulder out arm wrestling. (Damn those farm boys are tough)

The next time I had a chance was when I married a girl from West Texas and got a Remington 1100 for our first anniversary. Then my shooting just took off. I got formal training from the fellow who trained the local LEOs. The IPSC, IDPA, etc, etc.

My father, about age 8, a Remington 510P.
My brother has the 510P now, I have more five-teens...

My dad taught me about the love of the sport and the fundamentals of safety.
Because of my nuts-crazy love of hunting and shooting, I've taken it to a higher level than my dad would have dreamed.
Lots of folks helped along the way and in return I help those who are receptive. My daughters are a good example of fine game shots! I'm a successful man.

Zeke

I might add that I never owned a BB gun; the adults knew that those would be abused, whereas, no kid would ever mis use a real gun. In the 50s; that is the way it was; certainly not now.
As for pistol, I was on two different Army Division National Match pistol teams and went to Camp Perry with both. But the coaches didn't teach me much. For those who wonder, the NM course was 3 guns; a .45 1911, a 22, and a center fire pistol; for which we used the 45 1911 with wadcutters.

My mother was opposed to guns in general + my dad never hunted or shot. My uncle Warner gave me my 1st instructions with a single shot 22 + a friend of my dads was a big-time bird hunter + would take me out to the skeet range. After that, I took to shooting like a duck to water + thankfully have never lost the enjoyment.

My Dad taught me, mostly, especially about safety. Took junior NRA course in a basement at Ft. Bliss at age 10 and learned the right way to shoot from each of the 4 positions. Also how to be consistent in using open sights. Learned to shoot game, however, outside Moriarty, NM with my grandmother's chicken man (they raised and fought roosters!) taking my brother and I out to shoot rabbits at night. Lots and lots of rabbits. In one week we shot around 140 as I recall. Gave them to a friend who had a roadside attraction of coyotes, a bobcat and a mountain lion. Anyway, after some misses and some mistakes, we finally learned to settle down and make the first shot quick but not too quick. Tom the chicken man was a good sport and a patient teacher. It was a great ride and I only wish kids today had that opportunity. Plus, despite being a youngster, you met really interesting people at the cock fights !

H T, what an interesting post.

No one!
AND
That is why I am no better shooter rifle or shotgun than I am.

My grandad.

Made sure every shot I fired worked, or I got told off.

I used to take my 410 shotgun to school, and he would pick me up to go bird hunting.

Left the shotgun and the box of ammo behind the classroom door.

Oh how I miss those days.

^

Me too, my friend.

BH63

My father....first was a Diana Mod 17, then came a Springfield .22 single shot. Both of those taught me to make the first shot count. Later on, self taught

I can't actually remember when I first pulled the trigger on a real firearm, I was that young. I remember shooting with my dad and his younger brothers when I was still pretty little (like six or so.) For my 12th birthday (in Wisconsin the legal age for hunting at the time was 12) my dad gave me his Savage .410/.22 over/under, the gun I had been shooting for so many years. When my oldest turned 12 I gave it to him. That little gun has taken a lot of squirrels, rabbits and even a few pheasants.

My step dad got me started shooting at 6 or so,
a U.S.M.C. private (who got busted to Boy Scout summer camp shooting instructor) taught me how to use/shoot a rifle standing sitting & prone.
I owe that Man to this day!

My Dad taught me the fundamentals of shooting and firearms safety on a Winchester 67 single shot. I also joined the high school rifle club in the 7th grade and the rifle team in 9th grade. At 13 I bought a Savage 34m 22 magnum, which I still have, and shot buckets full of ammo through it. Rifle shooting came quite easy and natural to me.

Shotgunning was another story. My shotgun ability was a hard won skill. Dad had an Ithaca 37, which I have now, but he didn't bird hunt and never shot clay targets. He kept it for shooting roosting pigeons and the occasional marauding skunk or raccoon. I was on my own to learn the intricacies of wingshooting. I did fair in my youth but it was after I turned 18 and started shooting trap and skeet before my shotgunning skills developed to a point where I considered myself a competent wingshooter. There were a few guys along the way who helped me. One fellow, a friend and mentor, really took me under his wing on the skeet range and helped me immensely. I was asked to speak at his funeral a few years ago and told of the generous investment of his time in making me a better shooter. I think of him every time I shoot a round of skeet.

Handguns have been a longtime challenge for me and while I would say I am a competent handgunner, I am not what I would consider a good handgun shooter. I'm pretty much self taught. Therein lies the problem I'd say. I've never failed a handgun qualification in my work but I am certainly no Keith, Seyfried or Taffin.

My father taught my brother and I. Several times a year when he went to the range to sight in his deer rifle he’d bring along a couple 22’s and we’d shoot up whatever ammo he had. He taught us how to shoot how he had learned in the service. When I went into the army, the course of instruction was exactly as he had shown us many years prior. I shot expert normally and shot on the state rifle team several years in the Guard. I learned a lot through the years after just reading anything gun/shooting related along with shooting on a regular basis (years ago more than now).

I’m the son of a hunter, shotgun nut and gun collector. I was kept in arrows, bb’s, shells and bullets. Fortunate to grow in a wonderful barbarian existence on a livestock and grain farm.

My father started me shooting when I was 4. When I was 8 my crazy uncle Louie decided I needed to learn to reload and laid down a challenge that I could reload and shoot without supervision when I could work up a load for his M-70 featherweight that shot into an inch at 200 yards. I wanted that more than a drivers license and it only took me a couple months to be given my freedom and my own reloading basics which I still have today even though my dad, Louie, the M-70 and my original shotgun are all long gone. I killed my first legal deer when I was 12 with ammo I loaded myself. Almost 100% of all the birds I have killed over a lifetime have been with ammo I loaded myself. My first bow deer were killed with arrows I made myself, but though I have made several bows I never shot a deer with any of them.

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Boarding school - air rifle club .177 then rifle club 22

Later British Army - .303 Enfield

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My Dad put me on the path. Did a lot of hunting early on with the neighborhood scouts too, so some great Scoutmaster mentors as well. Safety has always been the paramount theme taught to me. Accuracy and technique I mostly picked up along the way.

My early years were spent in the Boy Scout programs. At Camp Geiger there was a small bore range that I did much of my early years shooting with a rifle. Kids at camp always got a little spending money from their parents for commissary use and I always spent my money at the small bore range. Got three qualification metals there. My Dad was the shotgun teacher and growing up in northern Missouri we hunted rabbits, squirrels and later on quail. Loved my younger years learning how to hunt and shoot!

Many classes at Gunsite under Jeff Cooper. Started with pistols...wasn’t as fun as it was for my husband. I don’t know why I was so motivated towards hunting(nobody I knew was a hunter)so went on to rifle training at Gunsite. I still go back for occasional brush ups.

Best regards, D. Nelson

Marine Corps and a couple of good buddies.