Your first firearm

[John Yancey]

First gun for me was also a Savage 22/410 and the local squirrel population was none too pleased. I got that gun on my 8th birthday and my father took me out showed me how to shoot it and drilled me on the safety rules of a firearm. I killed many a squirrel and rabbit with that gun and even folded up a few dove. My Dad told me to only kill what I was going to eat and I would start a little campfire in the woods and cook up my kills. The first squirrel I ever ate was skinned and dressed in a way only an 8 year old can manage but to me it was the most delicious meal in the world despite all the hair, dirt and ash from the fire. My second gun was a Miroku 20ga over/under and that is the gun I used at age 10 for all my bird hunting trips. Both those guns were stolen when I was 13 after someone broke into our home. All of the other family guns, including the Parker gun I now have were in our safe but because I always cleaned and polished the other two they were in my bedroom and thus available for the thieves. It still saddens me today to think about that but they were my first and most loved guns. This is a great thread and all of your stories are great to read.
Thanks for sharing your memories,
John