What was your first gun?

[Darrell]

Hmmm, it depends on terms, I guess--the first gun I shot was the family's, an old single shot Springfield .22. I wish it was still around. My first adult firearm was a Ruger M77 .30-06, bought it for hunting but never used it for its intended purpose, and sold it a year or two later. I didn't own any firearm for many years after that; KDT got me back on track. My first real firearm, shall we say, was a Winchester 1300 Defender 12 gauge, and I still own it. My first rifle acquisition was an Armalite AR 180B, I got rid of it earlier this year. The guy who did the FFL transfer on the Armalite offered me a deal on a pistol he had, so I wound up getting it at the same time as the 180. It's a S&W 745, and I still have it.

[mekender]

easy for me too, i just got started recently


Pistol: Ruger SR9

Rifle: J.C. Higgins Model 31 .22lr (Sears catalog circa 1950's made by high standard)

Shotgun: Westernfield 550A (Mossberg 500A sold in Montgomery Ward's circa 1950's)

[The Quiet Man]

Rifle - Ruger M77 in .243. Purchased in 1977 with money I had been saving up. Yeah, I still got it.

Shotgun - H&R Topper model. 20ga. Single shot. Got it for Christmas in 1976. Still got it too.

Handgun - Ruger KP94 in 9mm. Bought it in about 1995 or so. I had it for quite a while but finally traded it for something else (that I ended up not liking as much ). I actually wouldn't mind getting another one...it wasn't much to look at but it devoured everything I fed it and asked for more. Not one single malfunction in over 5000 rounds.

[chrisb]

I had several 10/22s and such when I was younger. They either got stolen or swapped for stupid things. As a real adult my firsts were:

Rifle: Stainless 10/22 with synthetic stock. Still have it
Pistol: POS CAI 1911 from the Phillipines. It is broken, but I still have it.
Shotgun: Grandpa's Winchester 1200. I will always have this gun.

[1991A1]

My first gun was a Crescent Arms .410 break-action single shot given to me on my 9th birthday in 1969.

My first rifle was a 1903A3 Springfield that I bought with the money I made picking strawberries. I was 11 and it cost $29.95.

I don't have either one of them anymore and I regret it.

[SeekHer]

1st ever Rifle – Daisy lever action BB gun—not the Red Ryder--that I got for my 5th birthday…

1st Rifle – Cooey single shot .22 LR for my 7th (?) birthday…

First Shotgun – Cooey single shot break action 20 bore mod choke for my 8th birthday…

1962 (11 yrs old) is when I started inheriting a lot of my collection of bespoke firearms, European rook, doubles and drillings and antique military guns and accoutrements…

First Centerfire Rifle – Winchester Model 94, 32-40 Win for my 11th birthday…shared with my brother

1st Target Rifle – Walther All position .22 LR for my 12th birthday…

First Handgun – Ruger Bearcat .22 LR when I turned 18…

1st gun I ever bought, with my own money – Parker Hale sporterized conversion of a Lee Enfield Nbr. 4 Mk 2 Select (like National Match but not sniper) in .303 British with a Weaver 4x Alaskan scope that I bought with my Bar Mitzvah money – 13th birthday present to myself…Still have it as my behind the farm’s truck seat shoot anything that moves gun but I changed the scope to a Bausch & Lomb/Bushnell 4x and it now wears an old Redfield 2-7x variable…

Birthday could also mean Chanukah/Xmas presents as well as I really don’t remember when I got some of them…

Cooey = Canadian local brand copied lots of Winchester pre 64 stuff, well made but didn’t carry the prestigious Winchester name…

[Mud_Dog]

My first shotgun was a Stevens Model 94 in 20 gauge. It was my father's first firearm as well as mine. I reblued and refinished it when I went to my gunsmithing school. Handed it back to my father to hold onto.

My first rifle was a "Ted Williams" Sears special(aka Winchester 190) that was given to me by my great-uncle. I killed a LOT of rats with it at the old hog farm, and I still have it. First centerfire rifle was a Savage 114(.270 Win) and the only animal I've ever shot with it was a doe running full speed across a field. Dropped her stone dead first round. Still have that one too.

My first handgun was a Taurus Millenium PT145(.45acp). Keep in mind I was new to handguns and it was named the "Handgun of the Year" by some shooting magazine the previous year. Nothing special, so I sold it for some needed money while I was attending school.

[sam]

First gun, evah: Ruger 10/22. Bought at JC Penny, in Shreveport, LA in 1982. Still have it.

First handgun: S&W Model 59, used, I think. Jammomatic, even with ball ammo. Got rid of it and bought my first new handgun, a first generation S&W Model 586. Still have that beautiful gun. The finish on those early guns rivaled the Python.

First shotgun: Mossberg 590A1, used. Still have it.

[ZeroGravitas]

Winchester M94, 1973.

[Evyl Robot]

Handgun - January 1, 2008...

My brother and I had been talking about our parents' effects, and what we will want when we have to divvy up the estate. We quickly realized that the only thing we would fight over was Grandpa's 6.5-in S&W .44 Spl. There was an easy solution to this. On New Year's day, we went to the gun range and rented a 629. I was hooked. I bought a brand-new, factory-engraved 29-10 and passed the will of Grandpa's gun to ny brother. It's been a few thousand rounds and love since. (Not to mention subsequent purchases)

Shotgun - jen already mentioned our recent purchase of a Win-1300 20-gauge.

Rifle - as my lovely wife also mentioned, we haven't gotten there yet.

--Michael