The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Kid next door had an airgun (I could barely cock the thing let alone fire it) when I was about what...6?

Found some old (really old and rotten) .303 cases on the cliff tops (trenches during WW2).

Started collecting cases (mostly nicked from local Naval range, now gone).

Got own air rifle, joined cadets....shot for county full bore.

Helped old range warden out on same range, acted as enemy etc for booties (woudl never get away with it these days), learned enough to get second highest recorded score in gunnery science and SAA prize in JLRRA.

Joined Junior Leaders, shot for Regiment small and full bore...won a comp or 2.

Went into regs, got any interest in shooting beaten out of me....shot missiles, still interested, dabbled in collecting.

Transferred AAC, became SAAI, helped many get any interest in shooting beaten out of them as well tesnews

Ex decided I was leaving the Army.

Got Harris Hawk, Got a taste for shooting airguns/rabbits....ended up with 9 of the things (airguns not rabbits).

Told current wife that it was no good, I had to plug the gaps (shoot a Bolt action at range accurately) or lose the will to live ( think shooting is in the blood, I have been up to all sorts but always returned to the trigger...albeit badly) so she suggested a club.

Joined the Dorset Riflemen, helped a lot, shat myself when I realised what I had fallen into (F class).

Thankfully wife very supportive, and it all snowballed.

Ended up in the Euros last year and loved it and out to make a plonker of myself in the league this year.

Met some great people (and the odd tosspot), cartridge collection has quite literally exploded....very gratefull to any of you that have helped out there ( I took the plunge and got a collectors condition that allows expanding, AP etc live until I render them inert or live if I want a load of live ammo kicking about...which I dont).

Did the RCOs course....which for an exe SAAI was quite an eye opener....more a thousand yard stare to be fair :roll:

Now have 2 air rifles (all but redundant) and 3 full bores....that's as many as I can sensibly shoot and do Ok with.

Although I like the idea of a backup, I think the saying "beware the man with 1 gun" has a lot of truth in it.

Too many people spend an arm and a leg often finding that if the just learned to shoot what they have properly (or at least change one thing at a time and do it intelligently) they would do better.

Great sport, great people (apart from the tosspots and the walts) enjoy

I remember in 1993 when I was 9 years old, I went to the local fireworks display in Danson Park, Welling. My parents parked the car nearby & we walked towards the park & before crossing the road I remember seeing a gun shop, with two pistols (Cartridge handguns) in the window & I stopped to look at them in detail. I remember the words 'magnum' & the pistols were semi-automatics, as they didn't resemble a revolver. From that day on, I showed an interest in guns. I was smart enough to know what handguns were used for (On a range, not against other people)& the young people in those days used to talk about air-guns & football stickers. No gangsta rap crap mainstream then or wailing, idiotic ,feral, mothers bringing up scummy kids who shoot others.

Three years later my beloved interest came to an end, when handguns were banned & I saw them being surrendered, to be destroyed on telly. My mums comments were 'they should ban all guns & only permit farmers to have a special, special license'. I said 'what about the Olympic Team?'. She half-agreed that they should be spared, but to my horror I realised later that those .22s weren't to be, after Blair got voted in.

I went off guns, as I liked handguns & I had an anti-gun mother (Even though has fired them on ranges in Purfleet, back in the SLR days & even though her own father owned some at one time) after being invited, via my dads corporate chauffer. Also rifles & others didn't appeal to me, as well as cap n ball handguns. However from February 1999 aged 14, I started buying Gun Mart, every month, which rekindled my interests & soon I hope to start my NRA course & pass it, on the way to getting a FAC.

Started in my early teens with a Spud Gun -> Modified Red Cap Spud Gun ( that really stings ) -> Gat Gun -> BSA Scorpion Pistol -> Banger Powered Spud Grenade Launcher -> Told off, so took a break -> Theoben Air rifle -> .22RF Pistol before ban -> Pistols in SA -> Then more recently back to Air rifles and most recently FAC and who knows what may happen.

Always been an experimenter/modifier/tinkerer.

Mark

Shot air as a kid some 30 years ago. More recently, my son (who isn't into 'traditional' sports) enjoyed some shooting with the Scouts and so I thought buying some air rifles for plinking would be fun. This then resulted in me researching and us joining a local club, me taking up (air) pistol shooting and buying a match pistol to shoot comps with.

Alongside this, I took up clay shooting with a friend who shoots regularly and has been for a while. Joined a (his) syndicate for game shooting, which meant I also have land available for shooting on. With the Club having a live side and the syndicate land available, I was "forced" to apply for my FAC. I now need a new gun cabinet, as the one I have is no longer adequate as it has gone and filled itself up....all of a sudden.

All this in the space of 2 years. Didn't realise what fun I had been missing out on!

I used to SCUBA dive a lot and teach a little, which was my distraction from work. This stopped due to taking up too much time and work commitments. The shooting and reloading has filled this gap, while being acceptable to SWMBO and good bonding time with my son. My youngest is old enough to join us at the club next year on the air side and she is already looking forward to it, while the wife actually admitted the new M96 I bought from Phoenix last weekend was "actually very nice". :)

Safe shooting all.

Mark

markyw wrote:Shot air as a kid some 30 years ago. More recently, my son (who isn't into 'traditional' sports) enjoyed some shooting with the Scouts and so I thought buying some air rifles for plinking would be fun. This then resulted in me researching and us joining a local club, me taking up (air) pistol shooting and buying a match pistol to shoot comps with.

Alongside this, I took up clay shooting with a friend who shoots regularly and has been for a while. Joined a (his) syndicate for game shooting, which meant I also have land available for shooting on. With the Club having a live side and the syndicate land available, I was "forced" to apply for my FAC. I now need a new gun cabinet, as the one I have is no longer adequate as it has gone and filled itself up....all of a sudden.

All this in the space of 2 years. Didn't realise what fun I had been missing out on!

I used to SCUBA dive a lot and teach a little, which was my distraction from work. This stopped due to taking up too much time and work commitments. The shooting and reloading has filled this gap, while being acceptable to SWMBO and good bonding time with my son. My youngest is old enough to join us at the club next year on the air side and she is already looking forward to it, while the wife actually admitted the new M96 I bought from Phoenix last weekend was "actually very nice". :)

Safe shooting all.

Mark

I have found th same thing, my lad and me got thrown out the house on Sunday and told to go to the range so my SWMBO could study..bonus clapclap :shakeshout:
Alan

Wives/Partners that are interested are a bit of a minority however when they are interested it is a huge bonus, right up to the point at which they start shooting, then start to shoot well and start buying rifles.

Mine has a thing about SOWR's (Strange Old Wooden Rifles) and we seem to be a home for waifs and strays when it comes to old and unusual service rifles.

Luckily SWMBO has always shown an interest and shoots/stalks now and again.