Shot as a kid at my grandparents, who lived on the farm my father grew up on in Western Ky. from about age 17 to 55 I didn't shoot anything (grad school in Illinois, living in NJ made that easier to do.) When I moved to Indiana me, and my boys, got involved in scouting. I shot some at summer camp and made friends with people that shoot. Break-ins in the neighborhood while people were in the house motivate buying the first gun.
Telling a kid a gun is a toy just kind of seems like asking for tragedy.I have a weird story. My dad used to work security and carried a Beretta 9mm. I asked him when he came home one day if I could see his gun or something like that, I was probably 7 at the time, he said no and that it was a toy. I became suspicious of what he said. I became curious about the ''toy'' on his hip. This incident along with watching action movies, playing video games, being around my dad's side of the family who are gun nthuiasts all lead to a hobby that I spend way too much money on.