Novice Gun Expert

That's what I am. I'm pretty new to actual guns. I grew up really liking guns, and getting a nice BB-gun from my dad when I was 8 years old. Besides a couple trips with my grandpa to sight in his .30-06 hunting rifle and a few rounds of .22 with my uncle, I hadn't really shot any guns. I was living in Canada for the last 10 years or so, as well, and that didn't help (note: I'm an American, I just lived in Canada for a long time).

I finally moved back to the good ol' USA a couple years ago, and got my first gun, a Beretta 96 Brigadier Inox, about a year ago. I was super into guns at the start, and I ramped up my gun knowledge at warp factor 8.2. My CCW permit followed, and then I got a second gun, a Bersa Thunder .380, and then a third, my trusty Winchester .30-30. I became a gun expert/enthusiast seemingly overnight. The fact remains that while my gun knowledge is pretty good, I'm not really an expert, as true expertise comes with time and experience. Compared to everyone I know, however, I'm a total expert on the topic of guns. I'm a fledgling expert, a, a... a novice expert. See? I'm not a know-it-all, that would be irritating, I know my boundaries, and I will be honest and say "I don't know" when I don't know if a newbie asks me something about guns. By the time I'm 40 or 45 years old, I'll be a real gun expert. Until then, well I'll keep working at it.

Update: I'll consider myself an intermediate expert after I get my progressive reloader and load a couple thousand rounds, and after I build my first AR. I've checked out the AR/AK thing, and so far I've only shot the AR. But from holding both, I definitely like the AR better in terms of ergonomics. I'll have to find one in 6.8 spc on account of that's what many enthusiasts say is good, and I can buy their reasoning. I really have a hankering for one of these though. When I get a real job, it'll be added to the vault (when I have a vault)