Early experiences with firearms
In this section, Veterans describe their first experiences with firearms. Many Veterans were exposed to firearms at an early age. They described the positive social and familial aspects of participating in various activities and family traditions that involved firearms - the bonding experience of getting their first shotgun, accompanying family members on a hunting trip, or getting to tag along to go target shooting. Some recalled that their family had owned firearms for protection. Others spoke of not having much experience with pistols or handguns until much later in life, such as during their military training.
Firearms were an integral part of childhood
For William B, firearms have been part of his life for as long as he can remember.
For William B, firearms have been part of his life for as long as he can remember.
I guess a little of just the short and sweet of the background of firearms, I’ve had them for as long as I can remember. I mean first grade of school, so that would’ve made me like six. I shot my first deer. I hunted, and fished, and camped and all that my whole life. At 14, I started butchering cattle and hogs and stuff like that. So, I’ve had, I mean I’ve had a gun in my hand my whole life. It just wasn’t – I’ve lived out in the country since I was six. It was just the normal thing for a kid to do, or a normal thing. Because I didn’t do sports and that kind of thing, so that’s what I did.
You know, a hunter safety course was read to me by the game warden. And he checked the answers on the test. I was that young. I couldn’t read the test. So, I – importance of safety and all that, it stands that I was fully aware and well educated as far as that went.
Jason recalls fond memories of his first hunting trips with his grandfather.
Jason recalls fond memories of his first hunting trips with his grandfather.
Yeah, it was a hunting trip of my grandfather. I was ten or 12 years old, or something like that, the first time. But we would go out and camp for a couple of days, and go hunting. And he would show me how to use it and clean it, and how to take care of it, and how to carry it. And what to do and what not to do. Spending time with my grandfather; it was definitely about gun safety, gun usage, and stuff like that. But it was also, kind of, him spending time with me and, kind of, teaching me how to grow up, or how to be a man kind of thing. And I really did enjoy that. But I look back on that, those memories, with good feelings.
Where he grew up, Doug says having a “gun rack on your pickup sitting at school…with shotguns” was normal.
Where he grew up, Doug says having a “gun rack on your pickup sitting at school…with shotguns” was normal.
I grew up in a rural part, in a real little town; and my family, my family’s friends, everybody owned guns--shot guns--it wasn’t unusual to spend a Saturday shooting clay pigeon. And so, I grew up using guns and hunting--mainly hunting quail and dove; occasionally, we’d go to another state to hunt pheasant.
Where we grew up, it wasn’t uncommon to have a gun rack in your pickup sitting at school, at high school with shotguns in it or--it was before the era of school shootings, so it was pretty common, lots of us carried weapons with us like that; and it's usually to just go shooting after school.
Sam describes growing up with firearms around and remembers always being comfortable with them.
Sam describes growing up with firearms around and remembers always being comfortable with them.
What ended up happening, I live in the country, Mississippi, country boy, grew up around firearms in Louisiana, that’s where I was born, and we always had firearms. I think I was five years old and got my first BB gun and just seemed like I got a new firearm every few years. I was always comfortable around them. I never had any problem with them.
From a very young age just with the BB guns shooting cans and targets in the yard, but I got my first rifle, which would be a .22 rifle caliber, and then my first shotgun was a 20-gauge single-shot shotgun. My dad would take me hunting, squirrel hunting and various things. But, yeah, I grew up -- they were in the house and they were literally just in the corners, like in the rooms, just leaning in the corner, up against the wall. I was just so used to them. It wasn’t like these days, I would never, if I had children or anyone that lived with me, I would never just leave guns laying around, especially loaded. But back then, when I was younger, we just knew better. Even at a young age, we just didn’t play with them. If we weren’t using them as a tool to go out and do what they’re meant for -- if we weren’t doing that, we didn’t play with them. We didn’t mess with them. We just knew better.
Keith started using rifles for target practice from an early age and says that "it was a family-based activity.”
Keith started using rifles for target practice from an early age and says that "it was a family-based activity.”
My paternal grandfather was a big outdoorsman. He was very active in hunting. After he passed away, my grandmother’s next husband owned a large tree farm, and they had a shooting range. So, when I was 6, 7, 8 – I don’t remember, somewhere in there – we would go in the summer and use the various rifles for target practice. That was my first time touching a gun.
The gun range was very nice. Well, he owned a massive tree farm, Christmas tree farm, so the gun range abutted it and it was in the middle of nowhere, very safe. This was my grandmother’s third husband. He would bring out all of his various guns and he would have targets set up. It was a family-based activity.
We would all do it: my dad, me, my mom, and my sister would sit on my dad or step-grandpa’s lap and she would do it too, at age 5. These days, it would be unheard of. I can’t imagine people doing it, but this was 40 years ago. Things were different back then.
As a boy, Daniel was taught how to use firearms responsibly, and recalls going hunting to help put food on the table.
As a boy, Daniel was taught how to use firearms responsibly, and recalls going hunting to help put food on the table.
Okay, well, my first experience with firearms, I think I was maybe 9 or 10 years old. I grew up in a little town and we used to hunt a lot on the river and on the bayou and stuff. I think my first firearm had to be a .410 shotgun for deer hunting, and sometimes we’d hunt wild boar and rabbit for food on the table. I think my grandfathers were the ones that, you know, traditionally taught the boys how to hunt and stuff and chores. I think we pretty much were safe having firearms. We were taught how to clean them and take care of them, and keep them, you know, away from other kids and stuff; be responsible.
Jack’s family kept shotguns in the house that he and his brother would use to go hunting.
Jack’s family kept shotguns in the house that he and his brother would use to go hunting.
When I was a boy, a teenager. We had firearms in the house. My step-grandfather gave me a .22 rifle when I was – I don’t know, 12, 13. He was a World War I veteran. And gave my brother one also. And so, we would – and my dad, we had shotguns in the house. And dad – we could use them any time we wanted to. So, we would go hunting, my brother and I. Sometimes together, sometimes not. So, I was used to rifles. No experience with handguns, but there were no handguns in the house.
Just back then, it was a different world in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, the early ‘60’s. Nobody kept handguns around where we lived. We didn’t even lock our doors. You didn’t take your key out of the ignition in your car. We lived out in the country, rural South-Central Kentucky. And so, what do you need a handgun for? You don’t hunt with a handgun. But we live in a different world now.
Family owned firearms for protection
Steven explains that his family had a firearm “in case someone decided to cause a problem.”
Steven explains that his family had a firearm “in case someone decided to cause a problem.”
My entire family, including my extended family; most of us owned guns. Our family was all about protection. Out of all of us, maybe, I think I have an uncle that hunted. The gun we had in our home growing up was in case someone decided to cause a problem, cause harm. It’s interesting to think about that because I lock my doors here where I live now, but back home we never locked our doors. Mostly because we all know each other on this street. We’d all know that even our neighbors’ own guns. It’s kind of a cultural thing. It just felt really normal to have it for that, in our homes for protection.
Honestly, growing up around guns and then transitioning into the military made it easier for me to make the decision. You know? I never wanted one, but when I made the decision to get a gun it was easy for me. It was like, “Oh we had that when I was growing up.” You know? I’d forgotten gun safety, and I’m glad I got a refresher. I will say for myself, from what I’ve experienced for myself and other folks in my life, I’ve noticed that folks that have been exposed to them when they were much younger are folks that feel more comfortable purchasing, or at least feel comfortable saying, “I may not want a gun but I know how to operate one.” I know how to. If I were to pick up one, I know what to do and handle it. Not just handle it, but handle it safely, which I think is really important.
Keith recalls his father telling him that guns were to be used as “a deterrent.”
Keith recalls his father telling him that guns were to be used as “a deterrent.”
I’ve lived all over the country. When we moved 40 years ago, my dad and I drove, just him and I. He drove, and I sat in the passenger seat. One day, and this was the middle of nowhere, one day, and I’m a Libra, so I’m very curious, so when I was playing around in the back seat, he had wrapped up a loaded pistol. I asked him. I said, “Expecting trouble?” He said, “No, it’s a deterrent,” and then he told me a story of his father, who died very early in life, during the Great Depression.
When he was driving, in the middle of the desert, he picked up a hitchhiker just for company. Well, during the trip, I was told, he kept a loaded revolver on the front seat between him and the passenger. After they got out of the outskirts of the town, the bum pointed the gun at my grandpa and said, “Pull over.” So, he pulled over. Again, I was told this when I was young. The bum said, “Okay, give me your keys. Give me all your money.” My grandpa looked at him, said, “It’s not loaded,” socked him in the face, and left him there, and picked up the gun. It was loaded, but the guy was startled. He was shocked.
So, does that kind of frame the relevance of guns in my paternal family? Do you see what I’m saying? Guns are seen as a deterrence against crime, predation, being a victim. So, they’re seen as security.
Tony remembers an incident when his father used their shotgun to scare off some unruly people.
Tony remembers an incident when his father used their shotgun to scare off some unruly people.
My father had a shotgun in the house. The neighborhood we lived in, you know it was not bad back in the late sixties and early seventies. Things started getting worse in the seventies, though. Anyway, one day he had to come out and use it because some guys across the street threw a basketball through our window. My father would not let them do what they wanted to do. You know? He lit the sky up with it. That is when I really got introduced to it. When he used to go to work, I used to go in there and grab a shotgun and play with it. I never fired it though. I never fired it. I learned how to work it just messing around in the bedroom.
William A remembers his father telling him the reason he kept a gun in the house.
William A remembers his father telling him the reason he kept a gun in the house.
When I was a kid, I found my dad putting a pistol up underneath his seat in his car. And I said, "Dad, what's that all about? What are you carrying a gun for?" And he said, "Son, there is bad people out there, and if they start shooting at us, I want to be able to shoot back." So, that was a mindset that I've had all my life. So, I've always carried concealed.
Limited exposure to firearms
Seth had some early training and exposure to firearms through Boy Scouts.
Seth had some early training and exposure to firearms through Boy Scouts.
Yeah, I mean, first experiences were in boy scouting and you know, doing the summer camp thing, and the .22 range. That was really first experience. It certainly wasn’t a daily one. It was a maybe once a summer thing and that was for a, you know, five, six years of boy scouting. Other than that, I don’t know. I don’t remember. But that was that time period.
And then while I was in middle school, mom dated a few different guys that were hunters and you know, there would be that, “Hey, you know, I’m going to show the girlfriend I’m good with the kid and let’s go out and shoot a bird,” kind of thing. And okay. Never really got to be my thing.
I think I went on an elk hunt once with a buddy and that, I’m good. Don’t need it. So, it’s yeah. That’s, that was kind of the initial exposure.
Bill’s father had a rifle for hunting and a service pistol, but he “didn’t really grow up around guns.”
Bill’s father had a rifle for hunting and a service pistol, but he “didn’t really grow up around guns.”
The only two guns in the house at that time was his old rifle from WWII which he was able to bring home and that he used for deer and pig hunting and his service pistol. The rifle he didn’t keep locked up but he didn’t have any ammo around so as a young kid I had discovered it and never told him. And he had shown me his pistol and let me shoot it a couple times when we were out in the woods. Other than that, I didn’t really grow up around guns. I knew families that did. But it wasn’t really the ultimate evil as I was growing up either.
We did do target shooting when I was a boy scout. So, you know maybe once or twice a year I would go do something and I think when I got older into my mid-teens, I had some friends that used to go trap shooting, you know shooting clay pigeons, and I would go with them once or twice a year. So, it was infrequent, but I wouldn’t say to the point where I grew up around guns, you know. There weren’t five or six guns in a safe in the house you know, kind of thing. But I knew people that did.
Robert describes participating in target shooting exposure through Boy Scouts.
Robert describes participating in target shooting exposure through Boy Scouts.
Yeah, well, when I was a teenager prior to going in, I had a .22 rifle and I was a Boy Scout. One of the things you would do when you were in Boy Scouts would be target range shooting with .22 rifles, bolt action .22 rifles. I don’t know if that was the first time I ever fired a firearm. It probably was. It probably was when I was a Boy Scout. So, you know, coming out of puberty, 13, 14, 15, in there.
Little to no exposure to firearms
Nick recalls “being really afraid” when he joined the Coast Guard and saw a gun in person for the first time.
Nick recalls “being really afraid” when he joined the Coast Guard and saw a gun in person for the first time.
So, my experience with firearms, I do remember seeing my first gun in person when I was younger. And to be honest, I was really afraid because I didn’t understand it, you know. And I think it was over at a friend’s house. I was maybe 17, 18 and he pulled out the gun and showed me it. And I was scared to hold it to be honest with you. And this was before I went to the military. And I think because I had been so programmed, watched so many movies, so many – because I really like action movies. But they make it seem like it’s so easy to just shoot a gun, you know, hurt somebody, kill somebody potentially. So, I kind of had already this concept in my mind of like this is a dangerous thing.
It was kind of a culture shock simply because I didn’t grow up around firearms. You know what I mean. Like my pops didn’t own a firearm. Nobody in my house owned a firearm. We didn’t even talk about firearm safety. We didn’t talk about, you know, protecting the home in any way, shape, or form. There was nothing that was ever spoken about. So, I’m so big on that now, on security, because I was in the military. Like I have a whole way of like, you know – like I have cameras in my house. I have certain alarms on my windows and my doors. It’s because I was taught that in the military. So, it was never a thing until, you know, like I said, I seen it from a friend at his house when I was younger. And it was like – you know, I had only seen it in videos – movies. And I’m like oh, this is a real gun. I was so afraid. I was so scared because I’m like I don’t want to – I don’t want to – you know what I mean. Like when he gave it to me, I didn’t even want to hold it. I was like, “Here bro. I don’t want it.” You know what I mean? I didn’t really want to play with it or touch it because I know like this thing could potentially kill somebody
Jessica had “no firearms experience whatsoever” before she joined the military.
Jessica had “no firearms experience whatsoever” before she joined the military.
I mean, I had no firearms experience whatsoever before I joined the military, growing up in an urban area where there was very little access to firearms, I think the only people who had access to them were at private gun ranges in--where I’m from, you have to actually sue the city to be able to get a concealed carry permit, so firearms were just not part of my upbringing; even though I was sort of out in the horse country, as it were, where you might need firearms, that’s just not something that I was ever exposed to as a child or as a teenager. And so, basic training, Week 5, rifle marksmanship, they put a rifle in my hand and I'm like, "I don’t know what to do." But one of my drill sergeants said something that stuck with me to this day, that they loved people who didn’t know anything about firearms because they were always the most careful, and that was extremely true in my case.