Were Your Parents Gunowners?

[Coyote Blue]

Saw this question on another site and think its very pertinent and perhaps reveals why many of us are pro 2A and actively carry guns.
We lobby for pro-gun legislation,are 2A absolutist or close to it and believe in the Constitution as it was written in 1789,not as an ever changing,living,breathing document.

I've narrowed down the choices considerably.
My parents owned 3 restaurants in the late '40's and early '50's.
Mom and Dad both packed and 2 more guns were always under the counter.
Plus Dads 12 gauge.
In the lonely swamps south of Jacksonville,Florida from 1946 to 1951 on then lonely US 1,we were very much alone.Except for the guns.They helped bring us through unscathed.

Your story? All answers are very much appreciated, USA Carry.

 

[Happypuppy]

Yes. I hunted and fished with my dad. We spent quality time together as a result.


Go Seahawks!

 

[Kalamity023]

My father owned a .22 but never took it out. It's in my safe now... We were never a firearms oriented family. I'm sort of the patriarch of the firearm obsession in the family. Now I have my mother and step dad with the bug.

 

[telpinaro]

I'm first generation military, and first generation gun owner (as far as I know).

 

[FNWylde]

Dad had a .22 and a .410, shot stray dogs getting into the hogs or woodchucks and skunks which would tangle with the dog. Mom, she was born in 1942 Yugoslavia, her family chased all over by bombs and fighting until making its way to Austria. She has forgotten the horrors of that war and what gun control led to. We have argued until she is so angry that she wants to disown me. She argues from emotion and idealism, me from fact. Her older sister remembers, they argue also, but more about politics and the socialist direction we are going. Again, emotions and feel-good beliefs are no match for accurate fact. A year ago she left Thanksgiving dinner cursing us over politics. It is hard to argue with my mother; I lover her to death and she has blinders on, believing our elected representatives have our best interests in mind. I know she'll live long enough to suffer from what is happening, and I will gently remind her at every opportunity. She will open her eyes at some point; she has to.

 

[Peggy Reist]

My dad was a gun dealer and gunsmith all his adult life. As far as I know, my mother never shot a gun. I've had a pistol for about 45 years.
My husband also has a CC license, but never carries and doesn't much care about guns one way or the other except for antiques. But at least he humors me and goes with me to gun shows and lets me buy guns.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Mom would not allow those dangerous things in the house. It was not until after I went off to college that a co-worker of my dad's suggested that the two of them on ten acres out in the country with out a gun was not very smart, so my dad bought a .357 magnum.

 

[maestromsv]

My dad and I used to hunt and fish all the time. I have since taught my own children gun safety.

Sent from my Milestone X using Tapatalk 2

 

[Coyote Blue]

My dad was a gun dealer and gunsmith all his adult life. As far as I know, my mother never shot a gun. I've had a pistol for about 45 years.
My husband also has a CC license, but never carries and doesn't much care about guns one way or the other except for antiques. But at least he humors me and goes with me to gun shows and lets me buy guns.

Your hubby sounds kike a good guy,Penny. He lets you do your thing. I suppose I had unusual parents, but the time and place certainly dictated gun knowledge and awareness.

I can still remember late Sunday mornings, when the Diner was closed,and waking up to the sounds of gunfire. It was my Mom, practicing with her beloved Colt Detective Special on a target tied to a pine tree! In those wonderful days, you could fire a gun from US 1 to the Atlantic Ocean and hit nothing but another pine tree.

Mom was a fine shot with that revolver and practiced at about 7-10 yards, knowing if we ever had trouble, it would be within that distance or closer.
Fortunately, she only had to pull it a few times but never discharge it. She was a pistol and made it to age 92 in 1996.

We still have that great Colt. My older brother inherited it.When he died in 2010 ,it went to his daughter in Illinois.I believe we will always keep it in the family.

 

[Firefighterchen]

My mom was in the lapd cadet program in high school, but never owned a firearm.

My dad is a Chinese immigrant, he also never owned a firearm. He was and will be the sole provider for my mom and brothers. He is truly the successful American dream.

My older brother and I are first generation gun owning American's, just like my grandmother (dad's mom) wanted us to be.

My mom is considering a firearm today. My dad is intelligent enough to figure out how to survive in any circumstance.

 

[Makarovii]

My dad was an LEO, land bound harbor patrol vs onboard a boat. He had several pistols but always qualified with a 4" S&W .38 Spl. I am the only one of his three children to catch the bug.

 

[Nightmare45]

Dad and Mom both owned and shot guns, mom 38 snub nose, Dad hunter and sport shooter, got first gun at 6 still have it.

 

[farsidefan1]

Dad was president of the wildlife association. I was raised with a fishing rod in one hand and a rifle in the other. He started me out with a bb gun then a.22 rifle and then a single shot 20. The single shot was to teach me to make the first one count. I figured that out pretty quickly as I watched a few pheasants fly away after an overly quick first shot. When I was of age I got a 30.06 for deer and I purchased my first handgun when I was 22. Mom just didn't care one way or the other.

 

[Spartan]

My dad was a naval officer until I was very young so I know he was trained to fire a gun but other than that I have no information about him ever shooting guns before or after that. My mother would not allow a gun in the house. When I was a young boy she would not allow me to watch "violent" TV shows like "Mission Impossible" or "T.H.E. Cat".

This turned guns into the forbidden fruit for me. On Saturdays I would ride my bike to the local gun store or to the Ft. Bliss museum which had walls all but encrusted with firearms from the frontier period until current issue. It was a part of what motivated me to enlist into the Marines the day after I turned 17 with a guarranteed combat arms contract.

 

[Deanimator]

There were no guns in our house when I was growing up, just a few corroded .22 short rounds in a dresser drawer.

My father had carried a sawed off shotgun around in his car at various southern TVA camps as protection against Klansmen. His mother had owned at first a Luger that one of her brothers brought back from WWI, then a Colt Detective Special.

My mother's always been a party line Democrat, infused with the party line. When the Democrats went anti-gun, she went all the way with them, so no guns in the house.

Ironically, I had no interest in guns until my mother pointed out one of the "U.N.C.L.E. Specials" from "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. My grandmother started buying me gun books and magazines shortly thereafter. I got my first copy of "Small Arms of the World" between 7th and 8th grades. I've owned guns since I was in college.

My mother suddenly developed an appreciation for handguns after a mugger smacked her upside the head. Too bad she lived in Chicago when it happened, and could neither own nor carry one...

 

[mikemc53]

Both parents are immigrants and never owned guns. Actually they never were anti-gun, they just never owned any themselves. Come from a large family and none of my brothers or sisters are gun owners but my son and son-in-law both are (owners) and it's good to know that my grandkids are being taught, from early on, to appreciate and respect firearms.

 

[handye9]

Dad started taking us duck and pheasant hunting when we were ten years old. We got our own gun and started shooting at twelve. Luckily, he is still with us and still goes pheasant hunting, at age 84.

 

[FlatFrog]

Yes rifles and hunting with my dad. My grandfather was a president of the USRA, reloader and competitive shooter who was on the 1956 olympic shooting committee. Guess it is in my blood. I now am passing that on to my 13 and 16 year old daughters. Who are proficient with both but prefer the ar over all.

 

[Paul_of_TX]

I have to say I am surprised to learn that about half of the responses so far are from homes that did not have a gun. I guess this is a good thing but still surprising.

Growing up my parents and grandparents had guns. We lived in the country and I carried a bb gun anywhere I wanted to as a kid. I shot rifles, pistols and shotguns at target or cans. I fell away from guns because my wife didn't want any in the house. I waited patiently and spoke with my wife occasionally. Eventually her dad bought a gun and that was my opening I was looking for. I first bought a shotgun for home defense than a handgun. Before that I bought a .22 as a Christmas present for the kids.

 

[tcox4freedom]

My dad was an avid outdoors-man. He participated in all forms of hunting, fishing, trapping etc. His favorites were fishing, gigging & bow hunting/fishing. He owned a sg, rifle & pistol as well. We are also of native American & Scot heritage. So, outdoor living came quite naturally.

The funny thing is mom would not allow anything but fish in her kitchen. The one time she allowed my dad to fry frog legs one of them jumped in the pan. She screamed, threw the pan out & never let him cook anything else. However, she did let me roast a rabbit and fry up some squirrels in her oven once and only once. LOL


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