Gwion wrote:I started shooting at the age of 11. Practicing at tin cans with my mate's .177 and .22 slug guns.
There is nothing 'nambie pambie' about practicing shooting skills to be able to confidently make clean kills.
referring to mambie pambie in regards to starting on a 22 because you could be recoil sensitive line everyone trots out these days - way too much limp wristed people these days I reckon - ol mate's not going to be worried about recoil if he's shooting 12g and I'd rather see him shooting foxes with a CF than a 22 because the chances of him killing it outright are better with a CF than a 22 for the simple fact he may not nail it in the sweet spot being a novice (I assume he is) - the CF will allow a bit of room for error so to speak and give him more flexibility when it comes to shooting other stuff down the track, the 22 is really a rabbit cal and a plinker in reality (nothing wrong with em got 3 or 4 of the bloody things myself but just not that versatile compared to a small cal CF for a first rifle if one is on a bit of a budget and can't afford a heap of diff cals straight off the bat (which would be the majority of us I'd say)
I can't say I ever really remember going to a range to specifically learn to shoot as a kid, all my lessons were in the real world learning to hunt - funny how times have changed hey.