I have an extremely negative memory for my first experience with a gun. My older cousin (who was about 16 or 18 at the time) tried to shoot me. I was about five years old. My four-year-old cousin saw him aim the gun at where I was swinging. She jumped off of her swing and pulled me back. I was really mad at her until I heard the crack of the rifle. I froze while realizing what happened. The bullet missed me but went through the window of our trailer. He walked away, angry. I still have no idea why he tried to shoot me. I can't ask him because his younger brother killed him about seven years ago. Luckily a short while after this incident, my father gave me a positive memory with a firearm. He taught me how to shoot. It was a great bonding experience. He taught me how to aim and care for a gun, mentioning that the most important things were to treat guns and people with respect and to properly clean guns. We spend most of the afternoon shooting the target in the yard. I think it was a mock-up of a deer.
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Comments
My first memory of guns is learning to shoot with my uncle. Hunting is very near and dear to the people in my area, and I grew up with them all around me.Me being taught gun safety was extremely important to my parents so I remember them from a young age.
I'm glad so many people have such a positive experience with guns. It's sad what they can do in the wrong hands. You never really hear much about what they can do in the right hands. Guns brought my father and I closer together. It was something he knew well that he was able to teach me. I will pass on the same values to my little one.