View Full Version : Your first gun or guns--what was it/they?
Christmas time (or Hanukkah) is a time people when people may have received their first firearm if they were lucky as a teenager.
I would be interested in hearing about your first guns, what they were, and why you chose them if you were the one to indeed choose them.
Your choice and reasoning certainly doesn't have to be correct by the standards of what you know now, or the standards of this messageboard, since you were a beginner at the time and didn't have the knowledge, experience, or likely the financial resources that you have now. You may not have even had the choice, since the gun was chosen for you.
My first guns were bought for me for my birthday and christmas when I was 14 or 15. I won't say how long ago that was, but at that time Guns & Ammo magazine was the height of all firearms knowledge for me and many other people.
The family had a good financial year, so I got to reap the benefits benifit. I got a Marlin 336C levergun in .35 Remington for my Birthday and a Marlin bolt action .22 rifle with a 7 roundt magazine for Christmas.
A .22 rifle is an obvious choice--a gun that you can practice with inexpensively and maybe hunt small game. For whatever reason, I wanted a bolt action .22, so I got the Marlin that came with a scope. I think the whole package cost about $40 or $50.
The lveraction Marlin 336C was an interesting choice. It was a much bigger deal to me than the .22. I wanted some type of big game gun by NY state standards, and a family friend who was a cop told me how a .35 Remington would shoot straight through a tree that stood in its way, while a 30-06 would veer left or right. And the .35 Remington would do a much better job busting through brush (which I later learned to be a dubious proposition at best--I'm not sure that the 200 grain .35 Remington round wound penetrate cover better than the heavier 30-06 rounds; and besides, you should not be shooting at anything behind cover that you can't positively identify).
The .35 Remington had less recoil than the 30-06, and the gun was less money--I think it cost about $120 on sale at Morsan's sporting goods store in Oceanside, NY where we bought it. Plus, my thinking was that it was a lever action which could be fired quicker than a bolt, and it would make a good home defense gun. It would certainly fall short by today's standards with AR's with electronic red dot sights or even a decent pump action shotgun, but at the time I thought I was ready for Night of The Living Dead, or any burglars that might threaten the peace of my home.
At the time my exposure was to a total of one gunstore and the sporting goods store where my family bought the gun. Everything you saw at Morsans was sport oriented. No shotguns had extended magazines, and I was too small to handle a 12 gauge anyway. Morsans did have a single commercial clone of an M1 carbine, but for whatever reason that didn't interest me.
The other place where I saw guns, an honest to God gunstore, was pretty much the same, but it did have a Colt AR-15 with a 20" barrel and a triangular handguard just like I had seen in the movies and newsreals of the Army. But it was out of my gift price range at around $300 and I'm not sure my family would have bought it even if I wanted it, and I wanted the .35 Remington since it was more powerful and you could hunt deer with it. At the time I actually thought a lever action .35 Remington that held 6 shots in the magazine and fired a bigger, more powerful round was a better defense choice than the AR. Not that I seriously considered the AR--it was an interesting gun that was out of my price range that my family probably would not buy if they were willing to
spend the money.
But whatever new gun I might buy these days it's impossible to recapture the excitement of those first two guns, especially the Marlin 35 Remington, which made me feel like I was ready to face any threat or hunt any animal I might face in NY State.
Later on I ran into another boy with a yellow visor named Rob something or other who explained to me that the Mossberg did not meet the correct technical data something or other. At the time I was upset at him, but I later appreciated the info he provided me.
1917 Erfurt P08 Luger given to me for Christmas when I was in the 4th grade. It was my first firearm of any kind, didn't even have a BB gun yet.
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/8009/p10032762hq.jpg
Found the "story" on another thread...
I was in the 4th grade and attended the birthday party of a friend. The friend in question had a German background and during the war his grandfather fought on the "other side." And among the possessions in this 4th graders bedroom was his Grandfathers Luger pistol and a few military decorations. And that Luger was the coolest thing any of us 4th graders had ever seen in real life (being one of two firearms that any kid can correctly identify, the other being a Thompson).
Well suffice to say it made a specific impression upon me. And for the next several months every third word out of my mouth was "luger." Dinner conversations went something like this... "Dad, you should have seen the Luger....it was the coolest Luger I had ever seen.....it was a real Luger.....Luger...Luger...Luger." So that Christmas, apparantly in an effort to shut me the hell up, my Dad got me my very own Luger. It was a pretty cool Christmas...and you should have seen the Luger I got.
Anyway that, and a general fascination with WWII (which was fueled by my Grandfathers war stories), got me started collecting all things WWII, including firearms which were usually birthday or Christmas gifts. Over the next several years I amassed a modest collection of about a dozen firearms which included Mauser and Springfield rifles as well as a P-38s and vintage 1911s. I would also get the occassion regular firearm such as .357s and shotguns.
1917 Erfurt P08 Luger given to me for Christmas when I was in the 4th grade. It was my first firearm of any kind, didn't even have a BB gun yet...
That explains so much. Awesome.
My first firearm (after my second BB gun. No, I don't wish to discuss my first BB gun- that's a painful and embarrassing memory) was a Marlin single shot 22, youth model that I got at the age of eight, just over forty- I mean a few years ago. You had to pull the striker back to cock it and it was s struggle. Sometimes I had to put the butt to the ground so I could yank on it. It was a bit awkward at first because I knew if the muzzle were to ever stray in an unsafe direction, my short life would be over when Dad saw that- and Dad had a way of seeing those things. I never complained, though. I had a feeling if I did, Dad would simply put the rifle away.
My next was a hard kicking single barrel shotgun. Dad made me sign a secret pact that I'd never sell it, that it had to stay in the family. The recoil was ferocious, especially for a young boy, but it was mine and I wasn't gonna complain. I do have a vague memory of an uncle rolling his shoulder in pain after shooting it once and taking Dad aside to chat with him. I don't know what about, but Dad sat me down and somehow we worked it out that it was ok to sell that 12 gauge and replace it with a 20. The 20 gauge has been my favorite ever since.
When was 12, Dad got me my first centerfire rifle. Already a voracious reader of everything ever written about firearms, Dad asked me what I wanted (after talking me out of a Marlin lever action 30-30). I really like the 6mm Remington Dad had and had fallen in love with custom rifles built on the Mauser 98 action. I gave Dad a hand-written list of features I wanted on my rifle-
Mauser 98 Action
Drilled & tapped for scope mounts
Detachable floor plate magazine
Sling swivels & sling
Walnut stock with recoil pad, no white line spacer (white line spacers were all the rage, but I hated them. Still do) and contrasting fore-end, cheek piece, no Monte Carlo.
For my birthday, I got a Mauser 1909 Argentine rebarrelled to 6mm Remington. It had the detachable floor plate, sling swivels & sling and was drilled and tapped and it mounted a Weaver 4x scope. the stock had no Monte Carlo and no white line spacers, but neither did it have a recoil pad, contrasting fore end or cheek piece as it was simply the original military stock cut down. I loved that rifle from the very first and it's still my favorite although it's now my son's. I spent hours stripping, sanding and hand rubbing that birch stock until it had a soft satin glow.
There have been others, but those were my firsts and I'll never forget them. I have since bought rifles, shotguns and pistols for myself, but these first three stand out in my mind and have done much in shaping who I am
My dad gave me and my little brother a pair of Ruger 10/22s for Christmas, I was 12 and my brother was 9. The year after that he gave me a Mossberg 500 12ga. I still own both and I think they would be the last 2 I own if, heaven forbid, I had to liquidate my handguns, AR, and other shotguns and rifles. I am sentimentally attached like that.
Christmas of 2001, I was nine years old. My Dad got me a stainless steel Ruger 10/22 with a wood stock. To this day, it is still one of the best looking stocks I have seen on any rifle, and certainly the best I've seen on a .22lr. It's shiny and tiger-striped. I think it's birch.
Eventually, I got into WWII stuff thanks to the video games popular in my middle school years. I thought it would be a great idea to weld a knife to the muzzle, creating a bayonet, and a look-alike (in my mind) M1 Carbine. I eventually decided this was not a good idea.
First rifle I bought on my own was an M1 Carbine. It was a screaming deal, and I still love WW2 stuff. Nov. '43 Inland with a period bayonet. Korean war refurb. I adore it.
Raven Armament
12-19-11, 00:55
1993 my grandfather bought me a New England Firearms 20ga single shot shotgun choked Modified from Kmart when I was 12yo. I hunt the hell out of that gun every year.
Ruger 10/22 also :)
Xmas forgot how old I was ? Early teens
My first gun I bought after getting my license at 27 was Walther P22. I bought it because of the advice we got from the NRA Pistol class instructor - "Your first gun should be a .22". I chose P22 because I wanted a "modern" styled gun, and read that the Sig Mosquito was a POS. Luckily for me, the P22 still soldiers on, although I rarely use it now. Of course, I remedied my "mistake" by purchasing a Glock 23 a month after P22. After shooting Glock 23 for the first time, I almost tried to return it as I felt that it was recoiling too much ( this was my first time shooting a pistol in a caliber other than .22).I learned my lesson and now that Glock 23 has been converted to a 19.
Christmas, 1954--my uncles got me a Marlin 80C .22 rifle. Still have it...
Sometime in 1959 my boys' boarding school put on a play that for some reason featured an AP as a character. A kid in the class ahead of me managed to put together the entire correct uniform for the part, right down to the white hat and a GI 1911 with all the leather gear. Needless to say, he and that pistol were the center of attention for every red-blooded American boy including me. It was the first 1911 I had ever held, and my immediate reaction was pure lust: "I gotta get me one of those!" So when I went home for Easter I asked my WWII vet Dad if he knew where I could borrow one of those to try out. One day we came home to find a loaned 1911 and a box of ammo between the screen door and the front door, and on Easter Sunday we went out and shot it.
I was a hopeless case after that. That pistol was under the tree for Christmas 1960. I have now had it for 51 years--half of the 1911's history.
Thanks, Dad.
Thannks, folks. Interesting responses.
1917 Erfurt P08 Luger given to me for Christmas when I was in the 4th grade. It was my first firearm of any kind, didn't even have a BB gun yet.
If you said a Ruger 10/22 I would have called you a liar :p
First rifle I bought on my own was an M1 Carbine. It was a screaming deal, and I still love WW2 stuff. Nov. '43 Inland with a period bayonet. Korean war refurb. I adore it.
Whatever you do don't sell that carbine. You'll thank me for this advice when you're 10 or 20 years older.
Daisy BB gun
First firearm: Browning lever action. 22
First one I purchased: Walther P99
If you said a Ruger 10/22 I would have called you a liar :p
My first Ruger was a .357 Security Six the following Christmas, followed by a Single Six .22 for my birthday that year. That would be my first .22 firearm. I wouldn't own a 10/22 until a few years ago when I bought a Gemtech Oasis rifle.
I kind of did things backwards.
Thannks, folks. Interesting responses.
Whatever you do don't sell that carbine. You'll thank me for this advice when you're 10 or 20 years older.
No worries, I'll be the caretaker of that rifle for many years to come, as is the case with most firearms I purchase.
You can say a lot of things about me- but you can't say I don't appreciate history.
Unlike apparently everybody here, I wasn't blessed with gun-friendly parents. Hell, we couldn't even have a cap gun.
So when I turned 18 it was basically na-na-na you can't stop me now!:laugh: I took a basic familiarization class put on by the local PD at my college, and was even more hooked than I already was. A couple months later I was off the the nearest gun shop.
First rifle- Stag AR
First handgun- Sprngfield XDm .40 (hated that thing)
jklaughrey
12-20-11, 09:51
Star 9mm age 7
Ithaca 37 at 9
Dads matched set .41 and .44 magnums at 12
Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk
My first firearm was a Marlin Model 60, my uncle purchased it for me when I was 12 at a pawn shop in New Diana, Texas while I was there for Thanksgiving, must have been 1990 or so. I cannot imagine the amount of .22 that has been through it.
Shortly thereafter when shooting became all consuming, my grandfather game me a Colt Frontier Scout that I could shoot under supervision. It has a leather holster complete with thigh tie-downs and .22 cal bullet loops all the way around. Very cool and sentimental piece.
I collected pennies in a glass Ozarka water bottle and hand rolled the contents once it was full and bought my first gun with my "own" money, which was a Marlin Golden 39a; it made a nice companion to my Colt, although it was heavy for a lanky 13 year old.
My father bought me my first centerfire when I was 15, a Norinco SKS, still caked in cosmoline.
Voodoo_Man
12-20-11, 10:04
Bought a gen2 G17 when I turned 21, traded it in for an off-duty carry when I graduated the academy.
CarlosDJackal
12-20-11, 10:13
I bought my first gun, a Charter Arms AR-7 pistol, while I was still living in Canada back in early 1982. It was a pin in the ass to obtain because of the process I had to go through back then. The steps I had to take were:
1) Pay for the gun.
2) Obtain a Firearms Acquisition Certificate which included a background investigation by INTERPOL.
3) Take the approved paperwork (it took about 4 months IIRC) and purchase documents to the RCMP.
4) Go back to the Gun Shop with the paperwork from the RCMP authorizing them to release the gun to me.
5) Take the gun back to the RCMP station with the paperwork from the Gun Shop.
6) Take the gun to my home (after the RCMP has thoroughly inspected and investigated the gun).
7) Join a Gun Club (which took a couple more months).
8) Submit the proof of membership to an approved Gun Club back to the RCMP. Once I received the proper paperwork that allowed me to transport the firearm to and from the Gun Club only.
This basically took about 6-months from the time I bought the gun to the time I got to shoot it legally.
Suwannee Tim
12-20-11, 16:27
I guess I was a late bloomer. I got my own first gun at 14, a M1903A3. My buddy and I used to saddle up on our bicycles with rifles slung and head for one of our informal shooting spots, the only time I was ever questioned about this was when a police officer wanted to buy it. Prior to purchasing the '06 I shot my father's guns and buddy's father's guns.
as most kids i got a daisy BB gun for christmas,
But after I got my first job at the age of 15 I bought myself a Mossberg 12ga Pump
the second was a Ruger 357 mag wheel gun I was 18
When I was 15-16, I saved my money from working for my dad, and bought a Ruger super single six..came with adj rear sights, and a 22.mag cylinder..I paid $75 for it..(NIB) that was in 1971. I still have it, and the orginial box, instructions, Later, I saved a few more coins and bought a holster for it from George Lawrence Co...I still have that,too I'm not sure what that cost..maybe $30-35..
My dads belgian made Browning SA-22. Still have it, and the hand written reciept from 68'. I shoot it everytime i go to the range.
1917 Erfurt P08 Luger given to me for Christmas when I was in the 4th grade. It was my first firearm of any kind, didn't even have a BB gun yet.
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/8009/p10032762hq.jpg
Found the "story" on another thread...
I was in the 4th grade and attended the birthday party of a friend. The friend in question had a German background and during the war his grandfather fought on the "other side." And among the possessions in this 4th graders bedroom was his Grandfathers Luger pistol and a few military decorations. And that Luger was the coolest thing any of us 4th graders had ever seen in real life (being one of two firearms that any kid can correctly identify, the other being a Thompson).
Well suffice to say it made a specific impression upon me. And for the next several months every third word out of my mouth was "luger." Dinner conversations went something like this... "Dad, you should have seen the Luger....it was the coolest Luger I had ever seen.....it was a real Luger.....Luger...Luger...Luger." So that Christmas, apparantly in an effort to shut me the hell up, my Dad got me my very own Luger. It was a pretty cool Christmas...and you should have seen the Luger I got.
Anyway that, and a general fascination with WWII (which was fueled by my Grandfathers war stories), got me started collecting all things WWII, including firearms which were usually birthday or Christmas gifts. Over the next several years I amassed a modest collection of about a dozen firearms which included Mauser and Springfield rifles as well as a P-38s and vintage 1911s. I would also get the occassion regular firearm such as .357s and shotguns.
great story.....I hope that pic is the luger in the story and that you still have it!
My very first gun that I purchase was a Ruger Redhawk .44 cal with scope. We lived in Alaska on Fort Richardson, I was 16yrs old and did a lot of camping, hiking, and fishing......I worked as a bagger at the commisary and at the Vetinary clinic. I saved my money, I think the pistol at the PX was 349.00 at the time. My parents (Mom) actually bought it for me to give to myself for Christmas. This wasn't my first firearm, but it was the first firearm I bought for myself. My Dad was a little angry, because he had his FFL and could have bought it for me for less, but what the heck!! I wish I could say I still had it, but when I moved to TX I traded it and a couple hundred bucks at a gunshow for a SIG P228. I do still have the SIG though.
great story.....I hope that pic is the luger in the story and that you still have it!
Of course it is, and I still have it. Here is the second Luger my dad gave me for my birthday a few years later. American Mauser P08.
http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/9840/p10032954aq.jpg
It was 1993..the pistol was a gen 2 Glock Model 22.
Springfield XD9...which was sold for a Glock19 three months later.
H&R single shot shotgun. Given to me on Christmas by my dad when I was 8 or 9 years old. :-)
citizensoldier16
12-21-11, 20:46
As I'm sure a lot of members, my first gun was a Daisy BB gun. After that, the first real firearm I received was a 20-gauge Remington 870 Youth Model for my 10th birthday. It was all downhill from that. :)
ShortytheFirefighter
12-22-11, 15:19
I grew up in a household were guns just weren't allowed so I was a late starter. My first pistol was a Kimber TLE II, and then things just blossomed from there. I'm pretty sure they're breeding when I'm not looking, because I don't remember buying all of these. I'm perfectly willing to provide them with shelter and food though ;)
I will not count any BB or air rifles as they are not "firearms"
My dad first taught me to shoot around the age of 4 or 5. I saved up and bought my first gun at the age of 10. It was a Winchester 67 single shot .22. I used it for targets, plinking and small game. It helped teach me accuracy.
My second was a Christmas gift, it was a Marlin 995, .22 semi-auto.
My third I also purchased myself, at the age of 13, was an Iver Johnson M1 carbine. I was also a big WW II history freak.
My fourth I purchased at the age of 16 was an Auto Ordnance 1911 .45acp.
After this I can no longer keep track.
My first gun was a Norinco .22LR clone of a Czech vz33/40 mountain carbine. I don't remember how old I was at the time, maybe 11 or so. I still have that gun, and I plan to teach my son to shoot with it.
My first shotgun was a pawn shop 20ga 870 express. I was 13. I killed untold numbers of squirrels with that scattergun. When I came home from college one summer, I found it missing. Dad was cagey about its whereabouts, and I was halfway convinced he'd sold it. Turns out he'd sent it off to Wilson Combat, where it became the prototype 20ga shotgun. I've never seen another Wilson 20ga. Now it sports a 20" barrel, 3-rd extension, ghost ring sights, short stock and OD armor tuff finish. And you know what? It still kills squirrels just fine.
The first gun I bought was a Romanian SAR-2. Unlike so many of the Romy guns, this one runs like a top. I put in a G2 fcg and an East German fixed stock and pistol grip. One of these days I'll put a red dot on it.
Don Robison
12-24-11, 23:02
My first not counting bb guns was a single shot Stevens .410 when I was eight.
marlin 880ss with a simmons 4 power scope.
got it for christmas when i was 14 i believe.
had a pellet gun and a beat up auto 22 that technically belonged to my cousin. this was the first gun that was really mine. still have it too.
Guns were frowned upon in my house. I kept asking g and asking. My Mom git a FID card and bought me a Grossman BB gun the coo who helped her with the paperwork suggested, several times, she get me a .22, bless him!
I went through a course and got my FID at 17 and. Ought a Marlin model 60. I've shots more rounds through that gun than anything else I've ever shot. That was 1989. I bought it from Kmart. I don't think it was even $100. Still have it. I don't shoot it much but love it. My best friend bought the same gun we would walk out to a local sand pit in the woods and split a brick of .22 most weekends. We were damn good shots with those crude little sights.
Savage Mk2 bolt-action. Some moron put a .357 round through 4 dorm rooms while I was at college before a brick wall stopped it. After that, I needed to have a gun so I went to wal-mart and found the most expensive bolt action that I could afford on my $5.15/hr, 8 hours per week, college job. Turns out I can live very well on eating ramen for a month while I saved for that $89 bolt action. How times have changed. I cringe at the thought of eating ramen, and I buy $2500 AR-15's without a second thought, but get pissed when I have to buy a $5 bottle of break fluid. As my guns come and go, I keep holding onto that cheap plinker, mainly because it has zero resale value.
Upon graduating from OSUT in 1986 I took my new found wealth (I was 17) and purchased an HK93 from my recruiter for 350.00. A couple of days later I bought a slightly used Mossberg 500 pump shotgun for around 150.00 (IIRC).
Then about 10 days later like I dumb ass I was at the local gun show (when California was still free) and traded the HK for a brand new loaded Hungarian SA-85M underfolder AK, he even threw in some ammo.
Sadly I wasn't so smart in my younger years and I don't have those weapons any longer.
ForTehNguyen
12-25-11, 15:23
first gun I got was when my dad bought me a 10/22. I still have it. The first gun I bought myself was an AR.
Reagans Rascals
12-25-11, 15:34
WASR-10 Hi-Cap... bought it the summer I turned 19. Came with 2 mags, bayonet and a collapsible stock. Paid $450 for it out the door at Dunham's Sporting Goods in PA.
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