The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

Made me think of my youth.

This one is a Lakefield Mark II but it's close to the Marlin bolt.22 that my oldest brother taught me to shoot with when I was six years old.

Yes sir this little rifle is perfect to teach kids how to shoot.

Bolt action rifle with a scope will give kids the skills that they'll need when they start hunting big game.

Picked this up for cheap.

So what did you learn to shoot with?

I got caught in 1st grade with a cowboy action High Standard .22 that I took to school cause other boys did'nt believe I had it. I got in a little trouble. 1963. I shot other guns before it but I don't know what they were. My 1st that was mine was a Cooey .410. I got my oldest grandson a Crickett .22 that shoots like that.

Marlin model .99, then graduated to the H&R topper 12 gauge as hunting here is shotgun only

My first was a Marlin 99.... and I still have it. The old man handed me one bullet at a time.. Reloading a semiauto 1 bullet at a time sucked...I was crapping in high cotton when he handed me 3 rounds one day.

Now I can see his reasoning..

For me it was a 1973 Marlin Original Golden -39M (But not the first I shot, there was 4 others before it, see below) that my dad picked up new at the Rod & Gun Club at Zaragoza AB, Spain. I inherited the old gal a few weeks before his passing in September 2011.

Like I said I learn to shoot on the Marlin but it was not the first weapon I fired. My dad took me out to the desert around Mountain Home AFB, Idaho in 1975 when I was 8, put his JP Sauer and Sohn Western Marshall 44 mag in my hands, and had me pull the trigger, which promptly busted my forehead open from the hammer hitting me, then the Parker Hale 270 w/ scope. That one left a very nasty scope bite, which busted the skin above and below the eye, and along the nose. I looked like Petey the dog from The Little Rascals. Then his Remington 1100 12 gauge, then his Winchester Model 94 Antique 30-30, then lastly the Marlin 22. Back then we didn't think anything of not using earplugs so not only was I bloodied but I couldn't hear worth a damn for a few days.

After the shooting the Marlin, which I thought didn't fire due to feeling no recoil and not being able to hear anything by then, he told me I would learn to shoot and hunt with that rifle. I would be responsible for the maintenance, repair, cleaning etc of said rifle.

After we got home my mom thought he had beaten me and asked that of him, his reply was "No I didn't beat him, I taught him how to shoot properly, he'll never make those stupid mistakes again".

You know what he was right I never did made those mistakes again!

A Remington 572 with a Weaver K2.5 on it. and a Colt frontier Scout. Spent many an hour at the dump up at the cabin popping rats and mice with them.

I learned to shoot with the same gun my father learned to shoot. A Winchester Model 310 single shot 22. I bought myself a Ruger 10/22 as soon as I earned enough money to buy one and I’ve put thousands and thousands of rounds through it. Now when I take a 22 out the Ruger stays at home and my single shot Mauser ES340b comes along.

Mosberg model 320B single shot. My first rifle and ......I still own it.




Shot every Saturday from age 8 till age 10. From the time I was allowed to take the NRA safety test (which was required in our club).

My first gun was my grandfather's 1948 Winchester mode 72-22 and I still have it. No reasonable way to mount a scope, but it has good sights that are plenty for the effective range of .22lr. I liked trying to pick the caps off 2L soda bottles at 80 yards. I was always impressed by its accuracy and ease of shooting.

These are some great stories. My first experience shooting a 22 rifle was my grandfather's Remington 552 Speedmaster. I loved that rifle. I still have a real passion for rimfires and Remingtons.