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Post by drycreek on Oct 16, 2021 13:18:12 GMT -5
These are some interesting stories ! Airborne, I was born and raised (until the ripe old age of ten) on a dairy too, although I imagine ours was a little more stoic than yours. Everything was still handled by hand at that time. Like some others have said, in those days shooting at something that you weren’t going to eat was considered wasteful. My Dad never had any use for a handgun, but he could shoot one well. That always puzzled me. My uncle had a .38 Special, I don’t remember enough about it to say S&W or Colt, just remember it was nickel plated. After all, he was a bootlegger, so he had to have a flashy gun ! He always had it with him, and he and Dad shot it some but I was considered too little to shoot it and probably was. Uncle Raymond couldn’t hit the ground with it so after Dad hit a couple cans Unc would put it away.
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johnc
.240 Incinerator
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Post by johnc on Oct 20, 2021 13:55:58 GMT -5
Never had a handgun mentor. We were so poor growing up my family went without sugar for 6 months. We dairy farmed for a living and I did the morning and evening milking while my father did other chores on the farm. We had one handgun, two rifles and two shotguns in the entire house. Firing a shot was only for killing food and a handgun had little use for our open spaces and long ranges. It wasn't till my Army career that I ever learned to shoot a handgun and enjoy it (M-9). After that, shooting SWAT team shoots and LEO competition led me to revolvers over duty autos. I killed my first animal with a handgun shooting a hog at 60 yards with a Contender in 308 and a cast bullet. That was somewhere in my 30's. Since then I have been working toward maximum accuracy in a handgun, not just putting bullets in paper. I have read, studied and worked to make myself what I am capable of today. Sadly now at 44, my skills are starting to fade because of physical limitations such as shaking hands, sore joints and fingers, etc. I am going to enjoy my handguns till I absolutely cant and I am teaching my sons to shoot so they have a head start on me and hopefully will be precision shooting game and enjoying the challenge long before their bodies start to give up on them. that really suks, and i know first hand. my first handgun was a colt 22 revolver at age 17. been shooting em ever since. when in LE i had to get lasik on eyes so could qualify in my 50s. am 70 now and have to wear a glove on shooting hand w/my 45 colts and 45acps. arthritis is a real thing and not fun. swollen knuckles, thumb cramps etc etc. takes the fun out of a lifetime enjoyment. but like you, i ain't giving up yet. now teaching my grandson age 10. he loves it.
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Post by x101airborne on Oct 20, 2021 17:31:54 GMT -5
My 10 year old can hit old chicken eggs at 25 yards with his Bearcat. He also shoots dragon flies at the pond out to about 15 yards. The boy got skills.
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Post by rleprechaun on Oct 24, 2021 6:45:14 GMT -5
I have to thank my dad for a lifetime of shooting and hunting. I started with a Colt woodsman. Dad came home from a gun show with 2. He took the better of the 2 to a gunsmith in Memphis to be rebuilt, he let me use the rag tag one. Then in 1975 I bought 2 Blackhawks a 30 carbine and 45 colt. Now 67 years old, still enjoy hunting and shooting with a handgun.
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Post by bradshaw on Oct 24, 2021 7:23:58 GMT -5
My 10 year old can hit old chicken eggs at 25 yards with his Bearcat. He also shoots dragon flies at the pond out to about 15 yards. The boy got skills. ***** Give the kid more chicken eggs; send the dragonflies to Louisiana. As usual, hurricanes multiply mosquito populations in the beaten zone and environs. After Hurricane Ida passed, south Louisiana fell under mob attack, with the supply of birds, bats, and dragonflies to vacuum the pestilent insect all too scarce. Lizards and banana spiders knock off their share of mosquitos, but just a tiny fraction of feeding done by birds, bats, and dragonflies. David Bradshaw
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Post by contender on Oct 24, 2021 9:43:19 GMT -5
Well, like so many,, I really didn't have any mentors,, but mostly influencers when it came to sixgunning. I watched old western movies & enjoyed John Wayne, Clint Eastwood & many others. Made me want & get SA handguns. Then there were the gun writers,, with Skeeter, Keith, Jordan, & others who seemed afflicted with the same feelings I had. Semi-auto's weren't as comfortable in my hands as a good revolver. Then,, over the decades,, I studied,, discussed & practiced what I could & however I could. I made mistakes,, I was wrong on things,,, but I always wanted to learn more 7 become better. Also,, at a younger age,, Bill Ruger was building a working man's gun, at a price I could occasionally afford.
All of these things influenced me to some degree.
Then, along comes the internet,, and many easier ways to exchange ideas, talk to like minded people, & learn even more. So,, I like to think I'm still a slow work in progress, with older, passed on influencers, as well as sharing with others who are still here & have the abilities & knowledge I like to hear.
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Post by 45MAN on Oct 25, 2021 6:36:06 GMT -5
I STARTED HANDGUN HUNTING AT AROUND AGE 12 WITH A CO2 BB PISTOL. NO MENTORS, JUST SELF LEARNED.
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Post by sixshot on Oct 25, 2021 12:47:25 GMT -5
I've told before how I had just turned 21 when I went into the military in 1966 & was stationed in Sherman, Texas. I got a part time job working in a Gibson's Discount Center in the sporting goods department & my life was changed forever. Working with guns, fishing tackle, ammo, etc, every day was a real eye opener for this young Idaho rooster who thought he already knew everything there was to know about guns & shooting, although I had never fired a handgun that I could remember. I was making $1.45 an hour but it sure helped because my pay from the base was pretty skimpy! I put an H&R 22 on layaway & was making payments on it until a Hi Standard Double Nine came in & I switched over to it, that was my first handgun ever. I was still trying to teach those hard headed Texans a little bit about guns, that's because I only knew a little bit but they were eating me alive, they knew so much more than I did & it was driving me crazy. Isn't the guy behind the counter suppose to have all the answers? It was terrible at first & they were loving every minute of it, they took no mercy on me for a long time until I finally met Moss. Moss Cosper was a retired Sergeant Major & had been an armorer (gunsmith) in his later years in the Army. He could see I was taking a beating & at first had helped those other Texans kick my know it all butt! That changed when he rescued me & started teaching me to reload & cast bullets, finally I could start to hold my own a little bit without getting savaged everyday but it took many trips to Dodd City, Texas to further my education! Slowly but surely I got my head above water & bought a blackhawk 357 & then a model 57 41 magnum & then it was game on. A few years later I had Moss & 3 other Texans join me for an Idaho pack in elk hunt on the horses & old Moss got his dream bull elk with a 7X57 that he had built. I would have to say that Moss Cosper of Dodd City, Texas was my mentor! Elmer & Skeeter came later.
Dick
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Post by reflex264 on Oct 26, 2021 10:31:05 GMT -5
I've told before how I had just turned 21 when I went into the military in 1966 & was stationed in Sherman, Texas. I got a part time job working in a Gibson's Discount Center in the sporting goods department & my life was changed forever. Working with guns, fishing tackle, ammo, etc, every day was a real eye opener for this young Idaho rooster who thought he already knew everything there was to know about guns & shooting, although I had never fired a handgun that I could remember. I was making $1.45 an hour but it sure helped because my pay from the base was pretty skimpy! I put an H&R 22 on layaway & was making payments on it until a Hi Standard Double Nine came in & I switched over to it, that was my first handgun ever. I was still trying to teach those hard headed Texans a little bit about guns, that's because I only knew a little bit but they were eating me alive, they knew so much more than I did & it was driving me crazy. Isn't the guy behind the counter suppose to have all the answers? It was terrible at first & they were loving every minute of it, they took no mercy on me for a long time until I finally met Moss. Moss Cosper was a retired Sergeant Major & had been an armorer (gunsmith) in his later years in the Army. He could see I was taking a beating & at first had helped those other Texans kick my know it all butt! That changed when he rescued me & started teaching me to reload & cast bullets, finally I could start to hold my own a little bit without getting savaged everyday but it took many trips to Dodd City, Texas to further my education! Slowly but surely I got my head above water & bought a blackhawk 357 & then a model 57 41 magnum & then it was game on. A few years later I had Moss & 3 other Texans join me for an Idaho pack in elk hunt on the horses & old Moss got his dream bull elk with a 7X57 that he had built. I would have to say that Moss Cosper of Dodd City, Texas was my mentor! Elmer & Skeeter came later. Dick First time I have heard "Gibsons" in a while. I loved Gibsons. We loved in El Paso about a 1/2 mile from Gibsons. Only place I have ever seen that you could get a jumbo hot dog, groceries and a box of 12 gauge shells in the same store.
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Post by 6gunsonly on Oct 26, 2021 15:52:09 GMT -5
Oh cool + I had almost forgotten Gibson Brothers, too. That's what my grandaddy always called it, and he worked for our local store as the produce manager. They did have a good sporting goods department! I remember getting an Aussie-style camo bush hat there that I thought was the stuff!
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Post by contender on Oct 26, 2021 20:17:00 GMT -5
Ahh,, Gibson's. I remember them from when I was stationed in Texas as well. Bought my first bunch of reloading tools from there. A Lyman Spartan press, & several Lyman dies,,! That was in 1977,,,,,,,!
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Post by 38 WCF on Oct 26, 2021 23:07:34 GMT -5
Back in the early 70's I was an avid reader of Elmer Keith. I would have to say that he was my Mentor from a distance. Me, Elmer, and my OM Ruger Blackhawk 41 Magnum.
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johnc
.240 Incinerator
Posts: 44
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Post by johnc on Oct 28, 2021 3:47:26 GMT -5
reflex264.............when did you live in el paso and where?
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Post by rexster on Oct 28, 2021 11:03:43 GMT -5
My brother-in-law has mentioned buying ammo, recently, at a Gibson’s, in San Antonio, Texas, which I would like to visit the next time we drive to that area.
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Post by reflex264 on Oct 28, 2021 12:11:09 GMT -5
reflex264.............when did you live in el paso and where? The first time we lived on S.Collingsworth St right down the street from Cooley School. That was in the early 70s. The last time was on Sweetwater Dr on the Northeast end. That was from 1974 till 1976.
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