The first gun I bought was a Mossberg 500 18" in 1986. We were having burglar problems at my shop so I needed to spend a few nights inside in the dark. It was (thankfully) uneventful but word got around that we were coming and going at odd times with guns, things stopped...
It was bought a Hermans Sporting goods in NY. I could not buy it because I didnt have a NY drivers license, my friend bought it and later I bought it from him
I think it was $235 out the door. I still have it it went unfired for along time as I was doing other things for many years.
Now the first guns I owned, were given to me when I was 11, a Stevens youth single shot 22, it was a dead on aim gun, also Stevens pump 22 "Gallery Gun", kinda heavy and needed a swift pump to work. A friend of the family was moving to Florida after retiring we were helping him pack up and get rid of stuff. He asked my dad if he could give these to me and my dad said yes. We were active in shooting at that time, what a gift to get! I spent hours cleaning, polishing them I knew them inside and out. I still have them, the man that gave them to me passed a few years later but I will never forget him.
Now one I dont have, when I was 12 dad gave me a Savage 20 gauge single shot shot gun. I shot it a few times but things had changed just before I received it (parents separated later divorced) Shooting fell to the side shortly after receiving it. Anyhow it had a proud place on my rifle rack on the wall of my room with the above 22s. Fast forward ten years and my same friend in the Mossberg story asks to borrow it to go on a camping trip. I let him take it and a Remington bolt action 22 we had. I never got them back, despite dropping a few hints over the years. Later my friend passed away and I still kinda wanted the guns back. However after the funeral we were telling stories and one came up about "his shot gun and rifle". I realized that they were now embedded in to his families history and folklore. They were no longer mine, they found a new home and family.
