I've never won anything but my dad has all the luck. He won a brand new atv once at our local shop and won two guns from raffle tickets at the same time. One browning 12ga and a ruger 338rcm.
WOW! You guys are lucky...looks like a bunch have won guns.
I've never been that lucky, but I did win a weird thing once:
I was about 14 years old and won a huge, larger than real life stuffed black panther cat at the local county fair on some silly ring toss game. The funny thing was shortly after I got it home; I was shooting my old (new back then!) Black Bear bow at a 3D target long before anyone else was!
Twenty years ago I won two dollars on a $1 scratch off ticket. The clerk immediatey handed me two more tickets. I told her "nope, give me cash as I am walking out of here a winner". She gave me the money and a women behind me immediatey bought the two tickets. Before I made it to the front door the women started hollaring as she won $10,000 on the tickets I did not buy.
I imagine there is a life lesson in that story somewhere but my only real take away was to never play the lottery again...
Wife borrowed $10 from me early during a NWTF banquet and navigated away as I shot the breeze with other committee members. Later on they had everyone stand up that had entered a shotgun lottery. Dang, my wife jumps up. I guess that is where my $10 went. The emcee says stuff like, "If you have an odd number, you can sit down. If your number is larger than 750, you can sit down." Wife was last person standing and won that year's theme shotgun. Won some money in a 50/50 fundraiser poker tourney for a co-worker's kid's ball team. Donated it back to the team, though.
I won a western Caribbean cruise from a tv station that was doing a Super Bowl contest, which was 20 questions and the total SB scores (combined) of that years game as the tie breaker. Googled the answers of the questions and looked at all of the past SB score and came up with an average, which won.
When I was a kid (1970's) I won a "color TV with remote".
Won a couple other items here and there.
Tickets to see Bert and Ernie when I was a kid... Recently, like 27 years later, won a pair of Vortex Diamondback 10x42's for doing a revie of the same binos on there website. So I had two of the same, sold a set for 100 bucks.
Had the winning birthdate drawn the first time they drew for the military draft. Good thing I was already in the ROTC program at that time while in college.
I'll list just two; least memorable was a case of Cold Duck at a DU banquet in Denver in 1974, most memorable was a $6000.00 jackpot at our nearest Harrah's a few years back.
I won a Browning A-Bolt Medallion in 300 WSM with the first gun raffle ticket I ever bought. It was the grand prize. I've also won $100 from a gun raffle. Haven't won anything in 7-8 years since, though...
When I was 5 my Dad bought 5 raffle tickets for a gun and had one for me, my sister and three for him. My name was the one they pulled. Technically it was in Dad's name but everyone knew it was mine. My Grandfather thought it was rediculous that I didn't take the money. Anyway, it was a Remington 700 BDL in .270. I have killed my first deer, first buck, first pronghorn buck and first mule deer buck with it. God willing my first bear, blacktail, and elk yet to come. Needless to say its worth more than what blue book says its worth. I have free floated the barrel and refinished the stock myself with matte finish. The barrel has been taped camo. It's the only gun I consistently reload for and it can shoot .5 if I'm not too shakey that day.
Several years ago while I was living in MI I was walking into the grociery store and this old guy was selling chances to win some guns for a local organization. Forked over the $ to buy a ticket and he looks at me and says that was the last one. Packed his stuff up and left. Next day I get a call...won a Winchester 1300 20 gauge. I suppose timing is everything. Most recently won a bowfishing trip in KY. Just cashed it in last weekend. I hope to get a thread going sharing my experience.