How old were you when?

[alabamafrog]

I'm curious as to what is “normal” as far as how old you were when you started driving a tractor or truck or shooting a gun etc. I am not talking about riding in Daddy's lap I'm talking about actually operating the tractor/truck, etc.

I was 4-1/2 the first time they put me on the 1947 John Deere A hand clutch and turned me loose pulling the wagon while Dad loaded square hay. He had to run and catch the tractor and help me turn around at each end of the field but I would hold it between the bales from one end to the other. By the time I was 6 I was plowing, discing, raking, mowing, etc, by age 8 I would get off the school bus and start plowing or mowing hay or what not and get a couple hour head start on Dad before he got home from work. During my teenage years Dad would commonly say that I was a much better tractor operator at age 5 then I was now.

When I tell folks these things they look at me like I am crazy and/or roll their eyes, including my wife. I know its true and have the pictures to prove it.
I am curious as to the real experiences of other folks???

Here is my list;
Hand clutch tractors = 4
Dirt bike motorcycles = 5
Old car, off road only= 8
First gun that I kept in my room = 8
Hunting alone = 8
Honda 360 street bike = 14 (laws)
Pickup Truck on the road = 16 (laws)
First handgun = 21 (laws)

[JD3020]

Don't remember much from when i was really little.

Got my first sled(Kitty Cat) for my 2nd christmas, and just about killed myself on the first ride.

Got either my little 20 gauge when i was 6 i think, and got my .22 rifle a year or two later. Dad bought me a .22 pistol when i was a 10 or 11, and that year he bought me another 20 gauge for competition trap shooting.

Drove our Suburban on a state highway in Arksansas when i was 12.

And on the farm i have no clue when i started driving tractors or the truck around, but i was little. I spent some time on skid steers, mini excavators, and our trencher when i was around 8. When i was 13 i spent a couple days on a big job running a mini ex and the backhoe on our trencher digging in mainline. Almost rolled it cause the guy that was in the trench checking depth didn't tell me there was a big hole behind me until half of the tracks were over it.

[Bad Mojo]

Started shooting at 4. Supposedly I went on my first hunting trip when I was 3 months old, when my dad carried me in one of those baby backpacks. Started driving the Arizona backroads at 7 I think, in my dad's '78 F250 on 36" tires.

I've never driven a tractor.

[Fantom]

First time I ever shot a gun I was 7 or 8.
Started driving trucks around the job site when I was 8 or 9. Sometimes when I went to work with my dad, the whole day it was my job to move the sealcoat truck forward while the guys sealed behind it.

[alabamafrog]

I found some old pics of me “back in the day”;



Back of this one says I was 4


Back of this pic says I was age 8

[SuperCrutyPS]

Actual driving - Probably 13. Didn't grow up near tractors & Dad didn't have a truck. We were at my Uncle's place. He had an ol' rust bucket of a pickup that he did just used on his property. I got to drive that. My Dad was riding shotgun.

Shooting - 8 or so. Dad let me shoot his .22 - @ 12, he let me shoot his .357.... Now that's a nice gun! My Dad passed away last year - I'm hoping I can find that .357 and Mom will let me take it home.

[acprimus631C]

First drove dad's truck around our subdivision one icy afternoon when I was 12. Needless to say, what a first driving lesson that was. I was driving it around the apartments we own and the subdivision by the time I was 14.

Owned and rode quads since I was 7.

Didn't grow up owning or running equipment except the lawn tractor, so I didn't run tractors or skid steers til I was 15 and in voag.

Shot my first .22 and .45 when I was 13.