I know, it's probably been discussed before, but..

[USA1]

....We have a lot of newer members and some long time members who may enjoy telling us...
........What's the very first gun you've ever had and where is it today.

Some of ya'll might have to think wayyyy back.

Here's mine.

It was the mid to late 80's....I was 19 or 20ish
Hairstyles were big, the music was weird (although I enjoy some of it now), and we won't even get into the fashion.

My first gun was a tiny little .25 auto. It was stainless steel with pearl grips. I paid $60 for it.
It was a good looking gun and actually shot well but not very accurate past 3 feet.

I don't know what kind it was and didn't care because I had a GUN !

I ended up selling it to a Pawn Shop.
I wish I still had it for the sentimental value.

How bout you?

[karl]

First gun was a S&W 1911PD that I bought almost a year ago. Right now it's on my hip.

[srothstein]

I don't think I ever mentioned my first owned guns before. I know I have talked about shooting my father's pistols growing up.

The first gun I ever bought was a used Marlin lever action .22. It had an unusual configuration in that it had a removable box magazine instead a tubular one like most levers. I don't know the model or age, but I was amazed that it had no serial number on it (bought it in Kansas in 1974, so the law requiring serial numbers was not too old then).

The first pistol I ever bought was a Harrington and Richardson model 999 22LR revolver. It was also fairly unusual in that it was a top break ejector. 6 inch, ventilated rib barrel and very accurate for what I had thought was just a plinker. It was another of those guns that I have cycled through a few times (bought one, sold or traded it, bought another, sold or traded it, etc.). With what I know now, I would have said it was a cheap gun with a very rough action, but I sure had fun with it plinking at tin cans in the woods.

[Kevinf2349]

My first gun was (or rather still is) a Mossberg 500. It is still around, loaded, and ready to repel boarders.

My first (or maybe that should be OUR) first handgun was (and still is) a Glock 19. It is my wive's primary carry weapon.

Now these guns are all less than a year old too :) They have several others for company now too. :)

[threoh8]

My first firearm (the first one I could call my own) was an Ithaca M49 Saddlegun - a single shot .22 rifle that looked like a lever action.

My first handgun: A brass-frame replica 1851 Navy .36 caliber cap-and-ball revolver.

Both are fully functional, and wait in a safe. I can't wait until my grandson gets a little bit bigger. We're going to have some fun!

[boomerang]

Crosman Pumpmaster. I think I lost it in a move.

[USA1]

Both are fully functional, and wait in a safe. I can't wait until my grandson gets a little bit bigger. We're going to have some fun!

I like to hear that.
I was never so fortunate to have a father or grandfather who passed along the tradition.
I'm changing that with my son.

[A-R]

Winchester Model 74 .22 short - was given to me by my maternal grandfather. Used to be a crack shot with it as a pre-teen and teen-ager. Knock a soda can off a fence every time at 100 yards with open sights - standing, no rest. Now my eyes are so bad I can barely see a can at 100 yards much less hit it without optics. Used to walk all over my paternal grandfather's ranch with that rifle. Shootin' at whatever. Exploring. Being a kid. Designed and built my own "tactical reloading tubes" before I'd ever even heard the word "tactical" ... took some thin PVC tubes, capped one end, made a curved "feeder" cut in other end, filled with fifteen .22 short cartridges all facing the right way, sealed it off with duct tape. Carried 5 or 6 of these with me. Could reload the buttstock magazine feed tube in a few seconds.

About the time I got out of college that rifle started giving me problems. Would no longer reliably fire the underpowered subsonic CB rounds. Only the more expensive high velocity .22 shorts. Took it to a gunsmith in Bryan/College Station when I lived there for a while. They charged me about $75 to fix the firing pin. Still didn't fire right. Few years later, took it to a gunsmith in south Houston/Texas City area. Another $75 or so; no joy. Most recently took it to McBride's in Austin about a year ago. Fired 50 rounds without a hitch. Put it in the safe, confident I'd be able to pass it down to my son who is 15 months old. A few months later, took it out again. Firing pin snapped after about 25 rounds. McBride's refused to work on it again saying I needed to make it a "wall hanger" (THIS WAS MY GRAND DADDY'S GUN!!! ) but after much arguing they at least gave me a store credit for the $125 they had charged me to fix the darn thing.

So now it sits collecting dust. Would love to find a quality smith who would take the time to make this ol' rifle run again.

Love that rifle. Nothing like the lightweight, cheap feeling .22s of today. It's a solid piece of all-American steel and solid wood. Weighs about as much as a lightweight deer rifle. Same length of pull too. And to this day the best trigger I've ever used. I never timed myself, but I'm guessing I could unload a full 15-round tube in 2-3 seconds with that light crisp trigger.

***
My first handgun was a Colt Mustang Plus II .380 auto (baby 1911). Bought it while I lived and worked for a while in Pasadena. Used to shoot it at the Pasadena indoor gun range up near the ship channel. Moved to College Station. Decided to get my CHL so I could carry it legally in my truck (didn't even intend to carry it on my person). Shot a 248/250 on my first qualifying test with that little gun. Bought a Galco IWB holster for it and actually carried it - even at work.

Hanging around "gun people" convinced me the .380 cartridge was wimpy and wouldn't stop a mad squirrel, much less an actual human attacker. So I traded in that Mustang on a Glock 23 - which I still own. And the Glock is likely still worth almost the $500 or so I paid for it 12 years later. But that Colt - which I bought for about $500 and traded in for about $350 is probably worth about $800 today I like to think that Champion Firearms in College Station was able to expand to their big new store/indoor range because of the profit they made off my trade in

[SQLGeek]

My first was a Euroarms Replica 1861 Springfield, which I still have. I bought it when I was 16. My first actual firearm is my M1 Rifle that I bought from a friend when I was 21. My first handgun is an S&W M59 that I inherited from my grandfather when he passed a few years ago, it was his service weapon when he was an investigator with the State of California. He decided to leave it to me after he found out I wanted to be a LEO. I'll never get rid of this one.

[joe817]

Wow! Good question!

My earliest rememberence of a gun that was "mine", was a single shot, octagonal barreled Winchester rolling block .22(I think it was Winchester, I'm just gussing). It must have been an antique when it was given to me, because of the barrel. I don't remember much about it because it was so long ago. It had buckhorn sights, that I do remember. But that's about it. I think I was 5 years old when our foreman gave it to me.

About a year later, when I was all grown up ( ) Mom & Dad gave me a Winchester Model 42 pump for Christmas. It was a .410 and I remember I could load it with 6 shots. That was before the 'plug' law came into effect, limiting the number of rounds you could have in a shotgun. It was a takedown model. I loved that gun. I DO remember Mom & Dad forbade me to even touch those guns not in their presence. I learned to bird hunt with that shotgun.

When I was about 7 or 8, Mom gave me a Belgium Bulldog. An obsolete antique cartridge pocket revolver. She didn't mind me playing with it because she knew that cartridges for it were not available, and it couldn't be fired. I played lots of cops & robbers & cowboys & indians with that gun. About that same time they gave me a Benjamin pump pellet gun. I could take that out anytime I wanted to and practice with it.

Ahhh, thanks USA1, for the memories.

[cougartex]

My grandfather's S&W .357 Magnum, I still have it.

[The Annoyed Man]

My first gun was my dad's Ithaca 1911A1 which was his sidearm in WW2. I inherited it when he died in 1990. I currently own more guns than the number of intervening years.

[MadMonkey]

I no longer own my first gun... a single-shot .410 that my dad bought me when I was about 8-9. I had it until I was probably 17.

I do, however, have my first handguns. The first ever was an RG .22 short revolver a friend gave me (probably to get rid of it). It's not worth selling, so I'll probably have it until I have a kid old enough to appreciate it!

I also have the first handgun I ever purchased; a Beretta 948 in .22LR. It still shoots like a brand new gun and is superbly accurate. Not bad for a 1956 model! I'll probably never sell it and it'll be handed down upon my death. I love it too much to give it away.

I also have a Browning takedown .22 rifle that belonged to my grandfather, then my father and now me. Probably the first gun I ever shot! If all goes well it'll be handed down to my kids also. It's in near-pristine condition too even after using it for hunting and target shooting all it's life.

[seniorshooteress]

My first gun was a tiny little .25 auto. It was stainless steel with pearl grips.

You must have bought one just like mine. I still have it. It's an AG brand but I don't have any of the paperwork that came with it and don't remember if they even had instructions for guns back in those days. It came in a little cardboard box like you get when you buy a necklace or something like that. I still have the box of ammo I bought for it. Has a price on it of $2.97 per 50. I only shot it once and that was inside a closet cause it was laying on the floor and the safety wasn't marked well so I was gently pulling on the trigger to see if the safety was on. It wasn't. I couldn't hear for a while after. This was way way back before I actually got serious about shooting and guns and learning safety of gun handling. This may be more info than you wanted. Sorry bout that.

[mr surveyor]

my first gun was (and still IS) my Grandfather's old J.C. Higgins .410, in 1963. They day he gave it to me, he had me shoot into a tree full of blackbirds. After the shot, and regaining my balance, we then walked over to the tree and picked up a half dozen dead birds. That was my first "lesson" about what a "real gun" could do. I could fill the back of a full sized pick-up with all the rabbits, coons and squirrels I shot with that old gun when I was younger. Just for kicks, I took the old gun to the range a couple of years ago and popped a few clays. I sure wish .410 shells were as easy to buy as 12 ga.


surv