Any watersheds in your gun collecting personal history?

[bushmaster1313]

For me there are several:

1) First gun

2) First "collectible" gun

3) First upgrade of a gun I already had to a better example of the same gun

With respect to each of the above it has been an ever accelerating spiral with no chance of pulling up

 

[Mexican Kerry]

My first pistol was a Springfield GI .45 (WW serialed) that I bought in 2007. I will never get rid of it. I don't think I'm a bad parent but they would go hungry before I'd sell it. Not true but I really like it.

I have genuine GI pistols I'd get rid of first.

 

[wbraswell]

My first S&W, Model 25-2. I've had N-frame lust ever since.

 

[sureshotbob]

My first pistol a Browning High Power Sold.

My first collectable pistol a Browning High Power engraved Renaissance model Sold.

My first S&W a mod 58 that a buddy added sights to Still have it.

 

[G.T. Smith]

I have my first gun, a Sears and Roebuck Ranger .22 rifle. actually a Marlin 80. Still shoot it and will never part with it.
collectable: 1908 Colt Vest pocket .25 made in 1922. Nice gun and a good shooter.
Upgraded: Ruger MKIII target that I added fiber optic sights, MKII hammer bushing, Volquartsen adjustable trigger and a rail with a light.
I do have a Colt 1911 that I changed the Main spring housing on but can't really find anything wrong with the way it is stock. It is always tempting to change things on a 1911 but I always have gone back to the factory parts.
Peace,
Gordon

 

[Iggy]

I was perfectly happy with 2 S&Ws and one Ruger handgun until I found the S&W forum..

 

[BAM-BAM]

I was perfectly happy with 2 S&Ws and one Ruger handgun until I found the S&W forum..

Yep.....kinds of sums it up.......... I'm way past 'need" thanks to you guys/gals!!!

For decades I never had more than a handful of guns......concealed carry auto and revolver.......a 6 or later a 4inch L-frame...... and one or maybe two .22s!!

So; IIRC about 2002 and then Oct 2005.................from my office

 

[TXSWFAN]

Finding out that full auto could be owned legally. I wish I had known decades earlier and bought 100 Fleming sears.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

A while back now I bought a Second Model, Third Model and a Fourth Model HE.
All Target Models, all 6 1/2, all 44s, all one buy from one guy.
I have actually had larger size money buys, but those were always with resell in mind. Like the time I bought a case of RedHawks.
But this was by far my most memorable buy.

 

[rufgr]

My watershed moment in "gun collecting" was when I received my first gun a Savage 220A single shot 410.

The reason for this is there was a single shot 410 that belonged to my grandpa that was being passed down through the male cousins to use until they got a better gun. This process somehow skipped me and to say I was disappointed would be a gross understatement. I never said anything to my father about this but he knew it and told me that if I saved half of the money for a new gun he would put in the other half.

In 1957 these guns cost about $35 which was a lot of money to a 8 year old boy. I was determined to do this and shoveled snow and mowed lawns to earn the money. I of course kept my father informed of my progress, probably on a daily basis, so he would not forget his offer.

I am not sure how much money I had saved but one day when my father got home from work he had a box that contained my new Savage and two boxes of shells.

Sixty years later I still remember opening that box. Strangely the thing I remember most is the smell.

I, of course, still have this gun and would like to give it to my grandson but his mother won't allow it, maybe someday.

 

[ace22]

havin a fear of them rusting I keep my guns away from watersheds or any water for that matter

my first gun was a Remington nylon66 in my early teens.
i'm not positive but I think my first handgun was a s&w model 459 that I bought new in the early 80s.
collectible is subjective and I can't really say which gun would qualify as my first collectible as I've had a few over the years and still own 1 or 2.

 

[retiredbadge8091]

Yes, I feel like two watershed moments in my meager shooting collection were when I added a four screw K22 and a five screw Highway Patrolman to the mix. Of course, adding a P&R 2 1/2" Model 66 was kind of cool too.

 

[Tom S.]

My very first gun was a Brand new S&W Model 28. Everything since has been icing on the cake.

 

[Glashaus]

The great Divorce collection split and sell off was a large one for me. I had less then a week to decide what to sell, what I would keep and what the ex would keep. I sold a little over 100, they all went out of the house at once, after they were catalogued by my ex, my dealer and me. The proceeds were split 50-50 by me and my ex, that is what I lived off of for 6 months while the divorce finialized. I am have been rebuilding but the collection now is different, more shooters, less safe queens, one lesson from this, life is too short for safe queens!

 

[bigolddave]

Had three watershed moments:

Realized I liked Smith & Wessons much more than Colts or Rugers.

Realized buying really nice Savage 99's made more sense than crummy Winchesters.

Retired and no longer had to save for retirement, and that a C&R license was a darned handy thing when my wife dragged me on vacation.

 

[walkinghorse]

Being left handed and a dominant left eye, when I was starting out and actually for a good portion of my shooting career learning to deal with non-tang safeties was a major issue. Getting my first over under, Winchester 101, with a tang safety sure made quail hunting, dove hunting, etc. a lot more enjoyable. Then getting a tang safety rifle, Ruger M77, made rifle shooting more enjoyable also. The same applies to revolvers vs. single action pistols!

 

[30-30remchester]

Like most in here I collected guns in fine condition only. With quite a few elderly Winchesters, Savages, and Remingtons all built before I was born. Then I traded for a WELL used pre war Colt Woodsman and my life changed. I no longer needed to baby it. It was tied to snowmobiles and motorcycles, laid in the bottom of a leaky duck boat and was tossed onto the dash of many hunting cars. With this I had many grand adventures as I spent more time on the adventure rather than hovering over my gun hoping to keep it from being scratched. Now my adventure guns, fishing poles, axes, shovels and atv look no better. Every scratch, dent and ding means while others were cleaning their guns, I was having adventures with mine. Quite a watershed gun for me and fortunately it arrived on the scene early in my life.

 

[Ranger17]

only been in this hobby for 4 years now, started in my 50's when my in-laws handed me their late father's old Colt Challenger for my first gun (a '51, first was their grandpa's). I actually put 900+ rounds thru it my first couple years until I picked up a Buckmark to be my daily driver at the range (then added a compact .22). But as i've been a part of that family for 30 yrs now, that old Colt means more to me than the $ it could get so even if i dont play much with it, the only place it may go is to my grandson someday.
These SW's are addictive, as I tell the wife its the same as her Lularoo clothing can be for her lol.

 

[Ranger17]

Then I traded for a WELL used pre war Colt Woodsman and my life changed. I no longer needed to baby it. It was tied to snowmobiles and motorcycles, laid in the bottom of a leaky duck boat and was tossed onto the dash of many hunting cars. With this I had many grand adventures as I spent more time on the adventure rather than hovering over my gun hoping to keep it from being scratched.

I'd say my old Challenger given to me was similar; used on traplines, squirrel hunting, and just plinking on family land.... It isnt a pretty gun anymore but dang if it doesnt still shoot well

 

[robvious]

some things are more important than money...

My watersheds are all about the men and women that owned them before it was my turn to be the caretaker and guides me in who I select to pass them on to...
the value is based on the heart and not the head... I have my late father's very first pistol... a 4 digit serial number red eagle Ruger 22... that was actually purchased by my grandmother because my father was too young by a few months when the Ruger first came out... on my mother's side I have my grandfather's only gun, a 410 O/U shotgun that came thru my aunt... I own guns worth much more money to others... but those two are priceless to me... and hopefully to my heirs as well...