What were YOUR first guns?

[PALADIN85020]

As I get older, I sometimes reminisce about my youth, and my introduction to guns and shooting. I took the opportunity to write about my first gun in my book 101 Classic Firearms. That piece was previously published in The Blue Press as my first article. Jeff Cooper reviewed it and encouraged me to continue writing. I remember my very first shot with my Winchester Model 69A in detail like it was yesterday. It was a pivotal point in my life.

I was 11. The Model 69A was an accurate rifle - I could shoot the center out of pennies pasted on a target at 25 yards with that rifle's open sights.

Here I am at age 14, shooting that rifle:

Over the years, the rifle was modified by me - refinishing and re-shaping the stock were the main projects. Here is that rifle as it appears today - the product of youthful experimentation:

My first handgun was a Ruger Standard .22 pistol, with the 6" barrel. I bought it at a Phoenix Fed-Mart for $37.50 when I turned 21. I first shot it at the Arizona State University rifle range, located underneath the old stadium on campus. Not knowing that handguns were LOUD, I didn't use muffs or earplugs, and the report from that gun in the concrete-lined range nearly blew me away. At any rate, I learned to shoot a handgun with that gun. Sadly, I traded it away when I bought my first centerfire handgun, a WWII surplus M1911A1 Ithaca, which I carried during my active duty stint in the Army. The Ruger pistol was instrumental in avoiding a serious fracas when my girlfriend and I were accosted in my car at night on the desert by a truckload of yahoos. They departed quickly when I jacked a round into that pistol quite visibly. "He's got a gun!" sent them back into the night.

Here is a picture of an exact duplicate of that Ruger .22, which I bought in recent years as a nostalgia thing:

How about you? Do you still have your first gun? What was it, and at what age did you start shooting?

John

 

[Abbynormal]

My first was a M28-6", quickly followed by a K-22-6" per Skeeter! I later ventured into a 6" 686, then a 6" M29-2, which was traded for a new Belgian Browning HP , and then a 7-1/2" Ruger Redhawk, and then back to a 6" 29-3 pistol.

I wished I had the High Power and the 7-1/2" Ruger Red Hawk!

But, I'm stuck with what I've got and I'm happy!

 

[Targets Guy]

That is some good shooting.

The first revolver I ever shot was my dad's 1947 K-22 (it is now mine).

The first rifle I ever shot was my dad's 1902 Krag 30-40 (now mine)

The first shotgun I ever shot was my brother's Stephens Savage SxS .410 (now his son's)

The first pistol I ever shot (and purchased myself) was a Ruger SR1911 .45 ACP

 

[Golddollar]

My first gun was a Stevens Favorite .22 rifle. Pop gave it to me when I was about 6. I still have it. I think I started shooting my BB rifle when I was 5.

 

[JayCeeNC]

For my eighth birthday my dad presented me with a 1915 Stevens Favorite single shot .22, rolling block action.
He had the local gunsmith cut the barrel to 16.5" and cut down the stock, and put a name plate on the right stock with my name and the year (1960).
Fit me perfectly! I still have it.

 

[arjay]

My first was a cap and ball revolver at 18 which I quickly wore out
My second was a Remington 582 22 rifle which I still have along with my third-My fathers FN commercial 30-06.The 22 accounted for a lot of rabbits when I was a young guy and oddly enough I never took anything with the 30-06!

 

[Rustyt1953]

The first gun I owned, which I no longer have, was a Ruger Standard 6".

The second gun, which I still own, is a '73 Glenfield Model 60.

 

[meaneyedcatz]

Learned to shoot with a Stevens 22 single shot bolt action.

My first gun was a Glenfield 22 semi auto. Still have it.

My first gun I purchased was a Ruger single six with the magnum cyl. Still have it.

 

[Chukar60]

First gun I shot was an old Mossberg military trainer 22.
First shotgun was Remington 11-48 16 gauge. I loved that gun, clunky as it was.
First center fire rifle was a old Winchester 94 30-30. Think all 6 of us boys started deer hunting with that gun
My dad was not overly fond of handguns. Didn't hate them, just saw little use for them.We had one in the house. Hi Standard Sentinel 9 shot 22 with a 3" barrel. Still think about getting another one just for old times sake.

 

[Alpo]

First gun I owned is this Remington 572 22 pump.


First pistol was a Charter Arms Target Bulldog 357, which I put up with about a year before using it for a trade-in on a Steyr Model L 308.

 

[Model 19 6"]

I learned to shoot at 10 yrs old. Shooting dads Winchester mod 63 22 lr. Still have it. Same age shotgun with single shot 410, then a Rem mod 11 sportsman 12ga. Again still have it. First handgun S&W mod 19 6" and yes I still have it.

 

[Sevens]

When my Dad passed away, I became the owner of his first gun - a Stevens Model 86C, a tube-fed bolt action .22 rifle.

My first ever handgun was a present from my Mom, our first Christmas without my Dad and that was a S&W Model 17-6, mine has the standard target (not full lug) barrel. The first handgun I ever bought with my own money was my 6-inch S&W Model 686-3.

Of course I still have these!

 

[mikey52]

I had shot my brother and dads guns while out with them. My first gun to own was a Crosman bb gun, that I still own. First rifle was a Model 63 .22 Winchester. First shotgun was a 20 guage single shot. First handgun was a 6 shot .22 revolver F.I.E brand out of Florida. None were fancy, but all were fun. I just sold the Winchester model 63, a couple of months back, because I can't take them with me. I did go shoot a few rounds from it, just to say goodbye to an old friend of 50 years. Now someone else can be the keeper for awhile. Mikey

 

[Old_Cop]

My first rifle was a Winchester model 67A .22lr. My Mom took me to the S&H redemption center on N. Main St. in Providence, RI. It was 6 and one quarter books. I was about ten years old. I still have it, although somewhat modified.

A Mossberg bolt 16Ga. was a Christmas present a few years later. It had an adjustable choke and a magazine. Gone, lost in the mists of time.


The first pistol was a Colt 1911 reblued in a heavy handed manner, but it was shiny and had skip check Herretts grips . The store owner tried to steer me to another 1911 with Micro sights and a GI finish for $15 more, but I wasn't swayed. Gone a long time ago.


I went with my dad when he bought a High Standard Sport King from a coworker at about age 12. I still have that .22.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Savage model 24 22LR/410. Passed to me by my father. First rabbit hunt when I was 8 years old.

 

[JohnRippert]

My first firearm was a Winchester 190 .22 semi auto I paid for with my own money saved up from my allowance. I was probably 13 or 14 at the time. It turned out to be a lemon that likely suffered from a loose barrel nut. Unfortunately, there was no internet or Youtube to enable one to diagnose this issue. I sold it and bought the first firearm I truly enjoyed, a clip fed Stevens 84C.

 

[31FordA]

My first gun was a Model 28-2 6" that my Dad gave me when I was 14. It was also the first gun I ever shot. I still have it. There's no way I'd ever sell it.

My first rifle was a surplus .30 M-1 Carbine (Inland) that my Dad bought me after my all expenses paid summer vacation on sunny Parris Island. The first pistol was a Colt 1991A-1 that my parents gave me for my 21st birthday. Still have them, they're not going anywhere either.

The first gun I bought with my own money was a battered #4Mk1 Lee Enfield I bought for $40. Don't have that one anymore, sold it for $600 a couple of years ago in order to buy a mint #4Mk2 Lee Enfield. The first handgun I bought with my own money was a 625-6 .45 Colt Mountain Gun. Ordered it when they were first announced, paid around $460 for it. Still have to that one too.

 

[Old TexMex]

Winchester 1906, still have it. (That will be me in the stripey t shirt) Still have the Sheridan single shot .22 pistola, too

 

[Marshwheeling]

CZ 52 and CZ 50. I have been riding Jawa and CZ motorcycles since 1975, when I bought my new bride a 350 Californian as a wedding present. She was unable to learn to ride it even with an MSF course. That led me to pick up a few more CZs and Jawas over the years, including my first dirt bike, a 250cc CZ enduro.

In my circle of motorcyclists, I was the only one who ever rode Czech motos. A buddy decided that a guy who rode CZ motorbikes ought to have some CZ pistols. He was not the first to suggest them, but he was the first who actually had a couple that he sold me at a pretty reasonable price.

 

[galena]

My first gun was a Wards Westernfield single shot .22RF left over from my Granddad. I was allowed access and free use when I was 12. When I was 14 I bought a Rohm .22Short revolver. I hid it in my locker at school to keep my Mother from finding it. I later traded it and $5.00 for a Remington 512 .22RF. Shortly I acquired a Spanish copy of a S&W M&P for $5.00. The hammer was broken in two pieces so I took it over the the local garage and the owner welded it back together and I installed it in the pistol. I found some cartridges that fit and shot it until I used them all. About that time my Mother finally realized I was going to be a gun nut and took me to a gun store where I traded that old Spanish pistol and some cash for a nice little Colt Scout with both cylinders, I have never been without a handgun since. There was the beginning of a life long passion and more responsible gun ownership.

 

[bigwheelzip]

I'd been wanting to try firearms for years, but it wasn't worth the trouble to me where we lived in NY. When we retired to SC, I started telling my husband I was ready to learn shooting. During a cross-country trip, we stopped to see my friend, and her husband asked if we wanted to shoot, so I jumped at the chance.

On August 26th, 2010, I first pulled the trigger on a loaded firearm. It was a Beretta over/under, borrowed from my friend's husband (who also taught me to shoot), to shoot skeet in Omaha, NE. I broke 5 of 25 clays on that first outing, and was hooked.

As soon as I returned home from that visit, I bought my first firearm, a Mossberg 500.

Hubby caught my first ever shot.

After breaking some clays with my new Mossberg, I signed up for an Intro to Handguns class and Concealed Carry course, then some private firearms instruction that included shooting any firearms in the range rental cases. After shooting many types of range rental handguns, the first one I purchased was a new 4" 686-6+.
First semi was SIG P238, because it was the only one I found that I could rack.
First rifle was a .22LR Ruger American Rimfire.

 

[Execpro]

It as a Marlin 39A lever action 22 with a 3x9 power scope.
An AWSOME rifle with hand oil rubbed walnut stock. Bought it in 1966.

Be SAFE and Shoot often!

 

[Black Sunshine]

My first was a JC Higgins 22 semi-auto...next up was a Marlin 336 30-30 and an Ithaca 37 20ga Featherweight. They were my dad's, but I sort of took them over.

When I was 14, one summer I pestered the owner of a local gun shop to do odd jobs...at the end of the summer I was paid with an Ithaca 51 12 ga and a great deal on a custom Springfield M1903 in 6mm Remington. Much later, I researched and learned that the 6mm was built by Harry Lawson using a 24" Shilen barrel, Timney trigger, and custom stock. Still have all of them!

 

[italiansport]

My first rifle which I got when I was around 12 was a Winchester Model 74 which, unfortunately, was stolen while I was in college. It's long ago been replaced by another one. My first pistol which I still have is a High Standard Sport King with 2 barrels. My daughter and grandkids were introduced to pistol shooting with it and it will be passed down in the family. My 1st shotgun was a Hunter Arms 16 ga double which I traded later for a 12 gauge.
Jim

 

[Sistema1927]

First firearm that I shot, at age 8, was a Winchester '06. It had been given to my Dad when he was 8.

It resides in my gun safe now, and gets taken out for old times sake from time to time.

 

[Richard M]

First of each type, in order I got them:
Shotgun: Winchester model 37 .410.
Rifle: Marlin 336 .35 Rem.
Handgun: Colt 1911 LW Officer .45acp.

 

[A10]

First firearm was a 30-30 Wnchester 94. Second a .22 Single Six.

 

[swsig]

My first gun was a cool looking all-metal chrome-plated Daisy No. 118 Targeteer. I think I was eight or nine at the time. Unfortunately, I no longer have it, so I've attached a stock photo below. It came with a plastic "BB Trap" target box with three spinning plastic targets inside. It didn't take me too long to blow those apart. You charged it by racking the slide, and amazingly, the rear sight was adjustable for windage and elevation.

My first powder-fired gun was a Ruger Standard I bought in 1974. I still have it (photo below). It has the best trigger of any pistol I have ever fired.

 

[Jimmyjones]

Thanks John, going down memory lane...

I had shot Springfield's chambered in .22 at summer camp, but mostly shot bb guns. I got a Czechoslovakian .177 target pistol when I was 12, shot the heck out of it.

Next firearm was an M-16, but it belong to my uncle Sam.

While I was in the Army I picked up a Universal M1 Carbine, Lyman 1851 Navy and an AR-7. Still have the Navy & AR-7.

Next was a Llama .22, mini 1911. Still have it but it needs a firing pin, what parts.

Then I got a Beretta 950 Jetfire, I like mouse guns, don't have that one, but I have 1 or 2.

Then I got a S&W 659, it was flat cool ! and big and heavy and clunky....

Sold it and got a Beretta Model 70 .22 and a 6" Ruger Security Six, my first revolver and the last I'd ever sell.

My first shotgun was a Mossberg 590

 

[Old 44 Guy]

I was born in the '30's so not much money then. I was given a Rem. Model 33 22 SS. when I was 13. That was in 1944. Later when the war was over I got a Stevens 16 Ga. SS for my BD. Later shot my first Pheasant & duck with it. Sure wish I had it back.