Good Ole Fashion Giveaway - Winners Posted

[Sinbad]

One of my favorite moments was watching my brother inlaw shoot 3 1/2 inch slugs. He must NOT have had it tight against his shoulder because the bruise was almost black next time I saw him. I had a pretty good laugh.
The other was taking my granddaughter out with a 1022 she had a great time and now she wants to hunt.

[Doug_M]

My grandfather willed me his W.W. Greener .22. It is a Martini-Henry style takedown with nice engraving. I had Greener date it for me and they told me it was made in 1909. My mother tells me my grandfather won it in a shooting competition in England when he was in his late teens. That would have been around 1919 so the rifle (and case with cleaning kit etc) would have been used I suppose, but was the top prize anyway. After WWII my grandfather took his family (and my 5 year old mother at the time) to Rhodesia to farm. After a little over a year they moved back to England and then shortly thereafter came to Canada. My grandfather had many firearms over his lifetime, but my Mum says that one rifle is the only one he dragged from continent to continent and the only one he kept when he finally gave them up (I would have been a child at that time and not aware).

So this brings me to my favourite firearms moment, when a couple of summers ago my parents and sister came out from BC to visit. I took them to the range naturally and they all took turns firing Grandpa's rifle. But my Mum especially, the look of joy on her face! She said she'd never actually fired it before but remembers the rifle being around (my grandparents were farmers most of their lives) and firing it connected her to her long departed (1994) dad. She thanked me for that moment, which always feels nice when you can do something for your parents. That rifle already was a family heirloom, but that day really cemented it for me as I'd never actually seen it prior to it being willed to me. Oh, and it's accurate AF!

[Waterloomike]

One of my favorite moments was watching my brother inlaw shoot 3 1/2 inch slugs. He must NOT have had it tight against his shoulder because the bruise was almost black next time I saw him. I had a pretty good laugh.
The other was taking my granddaughter out with a 1022 she had a great time and now she wants to hunt.

I tried to get my step brother to shoot my 12 gauge when he was 12. He wouldn't do it. I didn't make fun of him. Good job I didn't. He grew up to be a very big man and a bull rider. I ended up coming up to his waist.

[shootemup604]

Best firearms moment ever was when we got a university criminology class out for a firearms familiarization at the range. One girl shot every gun that was available more than once, and was engaging members in conversation about getting her PAL, firearms laws, and the politics surrounding it all. As she left we heard her say to her friend: "I'm never voting Liberal again"

[FightingShiba's]

My favorite firearms moment was turning my wife into a gunnie. She grew up around hunting, so rifles made sense to her, pistols and other restricted firearms didn't and scared her to some extent. She used to pretend they didn't exist. A few years ago she decided she wanted to come hunting with me, so she needed to do her PAL, I told her she should take the RPAL as well. She was in tears when I brought a couple pistols out to show her before her class. Now she has her own pistol and loves getting some range time as much as I do. A close second was getting ready for a Mapleseed last year my 2 year old daughter saw my 10/22 and said "Daddy I want that pew pew."

[Insanity Required]

Favorite would probably be when my boys then 9 and 6 fired their first shot. After that would be the mg42 or the thompson or getting my own first gun, or or or.....

[lone-wolf]

Well, as for an embarrassing moment since I'm one of the lucky mods, I don't have much but last year for the ipsc training and first match - my uber reliable 1911 turned into the fable 1911 jamaholic once it was under oiled and out in some heavy rain.
I got some satisfaction from other pistols ending up the same, but my ego was still struck.
The next day was the first ipsc match, and on the first stage I was using some borrowed 8rd magazines. Into the prone position on a bench I go, squeeze the trigger, and click.
Half a dozen tap - rack but no bangs later, and I finally ditch the bad magazine and complete the stage with my time and ego in shatters.

[elliott264]

My favorite and most cherished gun moment was a group trip to our local shooting hole and having my then 12 year old son (now 16! Time flies!) teach and demonstrate firearms safety to about a dozen friends and family members and then him helping his younger cousins take their first shots. I was a very proud Dad that day

[willis]

When I took my PAL course, way back at the start of the Firearms Act. Late 90's I guess. it was a weekend course. Starting Friday at say 6:00 - 10:00 and pretty much a full day Saturday. It was hosted at a local indoor gun range. On the Saturday a fellow comes in to do some shooting with his Thompson Sub Machine gun. This course had a lot of, cover a chapter, and then spend the next 45 minutes or the next hour reviewing it by yourself. During one of these lulls in learning, the gentleman comes out and asks "Anybody want to try it?" While pretty much the rest of the class looked around sheepishly at the instructor, wondering if it was ok, I was up there like a shot, pick me! pick me! He handed me the Tommy gun and a mag, said, the muzzle is going to tend to try to raise up on you, and, have at er. Thinking back I'm not even sure if any of those rounds even found paper, but was it ever fun. It was then that I regretted not taking my RPAL at the same time. I eventually did challenge the test and upgrade to my RPAL.

[Hidyn]

My favorite firearms moment is actually one of my earliest memories. I have no idea how old I was at the time.

My parents took me on a walk down the midway at the Calgary Stampede. I have no idea why, as my parents both lean a bit to the left, but they decided to let me have a go at the 'shoot out the star' game.

I was so small that I had to rest the stock on my shoulder to reach the trigger and I seriously doubt that I had any concept of sights.

All that I remember is the rat-a-tat-tat of that little BB machine gun and the bits of paper flying! It was glorious!

Clearly I wasn't even remotely interested in trying to accomplish the actual objective and the guy at the booth was so entertained that he gave me a free reload, and off I went again!

My mom laminated that little bullet-ridden piece of paper for me and it was my most prized possession for years. A few decades later I went back with a girlfriend, and relived the memory! The guns are a lot tinier than I remember.

That day fostered a lifelong love of guns.

And a deathly fear of clowns.

My parents also took me through the %#&*'ing funhouse.