Your first firearm

[Rich Anderson]

I remember my first real gun like it was yesterday. There was a sporting goods store a short bike ride away called Beech & Heuman's in Jackson, MI. It was a place where in the mid 60's a kid could look at guns and big game mounts on the wall. I wanted one of those new plastic stocked Remington Nylon 66 .22's. A friend of my fathers who was a shooter and a hunter went with me on several occasions and he suggested a real gun with a wood stock, preferably a pump as I knew when it had a live round as I had put it in the chamber. I bought a Remington Field master 22 pump. I still have that gun. When it was time for my little brother Joe to get his first gun he got one also and now I have that as well. Today the Nylon 66 might be worth more than the pump gun but I wouldn't trade it for one.

[Greg Phillips]

Stevens 16 ga single shot, then soon after a Savage 22/410 with lyman peep sight, then Nylon 66, later Rem 1100 12 ga and Marlin 30-30. Still have all except the 22/410 wish I had that one too.

First Parker VH 16 30" poor condition bought in pawn shop, don't miss that one.

[Bill Holcombe]

Mine was a no name brand youth model break action 20 gauge. Killed more then a few dove with it. I thought it was cool because it had camo on the action--didn't realize at the tender age of 10 that it was CCH.

[George Lang]

Winchester model 67, .22, single shot. Still have it and use it regularly.

[Bill Murphy]

Model 24 Winchester 20 gauge serial number 26,497. It is 26" and bored cylinder and modified. I would like to have it back if someone knows where it is. I think the fellow who bought it back in the late fifties was from Texas, but it was sold in MD.

[scott kittredge]

.22 marlin bolt action I got in 1972 and still have it and still shoot, it I just shot my 3 rd porcupine of this year with it last week . They have been killing my acorn tree out back:cuss:

[will evans]

Field Grade LC Smith 20ga. My mom was PISSED that Xmas morning, but my dad cared not a lick. The barrels seperated on me at the muzzle before I knew about shooting low pressure, etc. That resulted in barrels being reblued, and the fellow who did that used a torch to redo the colors on the locks. I didn't know any better for over 20 years, but now it makes me sick to look at it. I have tossed around the idea of having it properly redone. If so, then it might one day become my nephew's first.

[Mark Landskov]

Mine was a Monkey Wards Model 100SB. It was a single shot 20 gauge made by Savage(Stevens?). It was the summer of 1972. I vividly recall how little fragments of primers would find their way into the skin on my trigger finger!

[Patrick Butler]

If do not count my Daisy BB gun, it was a Winchester Mod. 69A bolt action target model with a heavy barrel and a sling. I was about ten years old. It was later fitted with peep sights so I could shoot Jr. small bore, then a Weaver scope for small game.
I recently gave it to one of my nephew's sons. I shot thousands of rounds (50 cents per box via some NRA deal) and never had a malfunction.

My first shotgun was a pump Remington 870 16 G, it had a second shorter barrel that was choked Mod. I quickly moved to my grandfather's Mod. 12, nickel steel, with a 12,000 serial number. I still have that gun, but it is on it's going to my nephew when we meet up in a few months. My grandfather bought it when he lived in North Dakota and that 12 really saw some action. Sadly, no SXS in my family. We drove Fords and shot Winchesters...

[Dave Purnell]

I was a late bloomer. First was a Rem 1100 12ga in 1992. That was followed shortly with my first double gun, a Stevens 310 .410 ga.

[Greg Baehman]

This Weatherby Mark XXII was my 1st, it was under the tree when we got home from church services on Christmas Eve in 1965.

[Austin J Hawthorne Jr.]

I was given two guns by my grandfather. The first was a .22 cal. Stevens Favorite with a half round/half octagonal barrel. I believe I was around 10 at the time. The second was a Mossberg bolt action 20 ga. I was twelve then and my dad and grandfather let me hunt with them that year. Sadly, both of those guns were lost in a fire.

[Dave Noreen]

My first gun was a Winchester Model 67 .22 LR. My Father's Uncle, my Great Uncle Art, was a gunsmith in North Seattle. Art oil finished the stock, fitting it with an ebony forearm tip and a grip cap, and checkered the grip and forend. He also fitted a Mossberg scope. My Model 67, along with my Mother's early "finger groove" Model 67, my Father's Remington 16-gauge AE-Grade double (P136036) and a .44 calber H & R Model 1905 were stolen from my Father's house in 1978.

[wayne goerres]

Winchester model 70 bull barrel in 243 Winchester. First double only marked US armory steel.

[Rich Anderson]

Wayne that m70 is a hell of a first gun:bowdown: I know where there's a nice one in 220 Swift that's for sale. What to do, what to do????

[Christian Gish]

Iver Johnson Champion 410 single barrel in 1947.

[charlie cleveland]

stevens model 311 double barrel 410 given to me by my father in 1957 i was 10... charlie

[Mike Franzen]

Winchester Model 121 bolt action single shot 22 was from Santa on Christmas morning 1967. It was a tack driver then and is a tack driver now. Probably my most valuable gun.

[Eldon Goddard]

Remington 870 Supermag. I got it for Christmas when I was 15. The gun is ugly as hell and the wood looks like it was made from a 2x4 from lowes but I still love it. There is always something about your first gun.

[Patrick Butler]

Rich:

Thanks for this thread, as it is, by my measure, one of the best.

It is interesting to see how many members who now (I would guess) have nice Parker collections started off with very basic shooters.

Patrick

[Jeff Davis]

First gun was a savage single shot 410 when I was 10 or so. Only used that gun for a couple years. Then for Christmas my dad got me a Ithaca model 37 20 gauge. I still have the Ithaca my dad I believe still has the 410.

[wayne goerres]

Rich the guy I traded the winchester still has it but he passed it down to his sun. I tryed to buy it back in May of this year but no go.

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Rich, My first gun was a JC Higgins bolt action 16ga, My father bought it for me when I was 14, that was a long 58 years ago, It did the job on rabbits and river floating on drizzly days for squirrels. brings back a lot of memories, unfortunately I do not have the gun any more, Gary

[Russ Jackson]

Mine was a Model B ,Fox 12 Ga .in 1966 ,I was 11 Years old ,went with my Buddy on our bicycles to a local sport shop " Kissel Sporting Goods , that was run by Bob and his wife Bea ! Mrs Kissel told us of a man that came in and wanted to sell her a Fox 12 Ga. and gave us directions to his home about six miles from the shop ,she said he wanted too much for the gun and she didn't buy it ,she didn't mention what he had wanted for the gun ! We headed out to find him with my $75.00 I saved up from mowing two neighbors yards and weeding their gardens that summer . We arrived and eventually the man came to the door ,we ask about the gun and he said he had to get 50 bucks for it ,I jumped at the deal and home we headed ! Imagine today if someone sold an 11 year old a gun !!!!!!!!!:eek: The stock broke from dry rot a few hunting seasons later and was eventually sold at a yard sale , it's seldom ,I think about it but when I do I wish I still had it !

[Rich Anderson]

A lot of us have regretfully traded away or sold our first gun. It almost happened to me as well. I've had the gun sickness for a very long time and I happened on a Browning Sweet 16 with a 28 inch vent rib, round knob, long tang and made in Belgium. This would have been in the late 60's or early 70's and even then I knew a Belgium Browning was worth having. Well I traded that Remington 22 and some cash for it. Days later I was lamenting my deal in that I had traded my 22. Grandma stepped up and gave me the money to buy back the 22. Several years ago the Sweet 16 (which was the last of my A5 collection) was part of a multi gun trade with Steve Barnett for a Parker. I can't remember what I traded it for exactly as the sickness is ever progressive and the trades get obscured by the sands of time, BUT I still have that Remington 22!,

[Dave Tercek]

I bought my first real gun from my cousin. I was about 11 years old. It was a Nylon 66, a tube fed 22 long rifle that was loaded through a butt plate tube. I think I paid about $35.00 for it. I shot a box of shells almost every day for what seemed like years. It never missed a beat. I really wish I didn't sell it.
Dave

[Grantham Forester]

I remember my first real gun like it was yesterday. There was a sporting goods store a short bike ride away called Beech & Heuman's in Jackson, MI. It was a place where in the mid 60's a kid could look at guns and big game mounts on the wall. I wanted one of those new plastic stocked Remington Nylon 66 .22's. A friend of my fathers who was a shooter and a hunter went with me on several occasions and he suggested a real gun with a wood stock, preferably a pump as I knew when it had a live round as I had put it in the chamber. I bought a Remington Field master 22 pump. I still have that gun. When it was time for my little brother Joe to get his first gun he got one also and now I have that as well. Today the Nylon 66 might be worth more than the pump gun but I wouldn't trade it for one. I grew up in Parma, MI. I remember Beach & Heuman's, out on the Western end of Jackson "The City of Action"--Old Ralph "Woody" Woodhurst worked there, after the downtown Smith & Winchester Hardware Store & Mill Supplies down their gun and sporting goods dept. I bought a Winchester M77 .22 LR repeater from B&H, shot a lot of junkyard rats with it on Saturday afternoons too!!

[Rich Anderson]

Parma isn't far from Jackson. My parents are still there but there's no action in Jackson anymore. I only go there to see the folks. I used to do some Pheasant hunting around Parma back in the day.

[Phil Yearout]

My dad's Savage 775a 16ga autoloader. There was a .410 single shot that actually belonged to my oldest brother that I carred but it wasn't mine. Dad never actually gave the Savage to me; he just started saying it was too heavy for him and he'd rather carry the .410. When I was about 12 my dad lost an eye in a hunting accident and never hunted again. As was my dad's way there was never any formal presentation; it was just understood form then on that it was my gun. And yes, I still have it.

[Robin Lewis]

I had a Iver Johnson 410 single barrel with a hammer that put blisters on my thumb because the spring was so strong and I practiced cocking it on the rise whenever I had opportunity. I took my first rabbit with it at the age of 9, walking along side my dad.

It was handed down to me from my brother, who was 14 years older than myself. It was given to him by my Uncle Sam, a lifer U.S. Marine; I didn't know him because he died in the early days of WWII. The gun was stolen in the 70's, I wish I still had it today!

[Bill Tullis]

My grandfather bought me a new Marlin Glenfield .22 single shot. Shortly thereafter, a very nicely finished used H&R Topper in .410. This was around 1966. Both were under $20 each, and I still have them. The .22 has some stock finish loss from the OFF! insect repellant I used squirrel hunting. I used the shotgun last summer to put a water moccasin living under my barn out of business.

[Mark Ouellette]

I started out with a Mossberg bolt action .22 borrowed from my uncle who was in the Air Force. After a year or so when he returned stateside from a tour overseas he wanted it returned so that he could teach his son to shoot.

I had saved for my own .22 and bought a Remington 581 bolt action and a Weaver V-22 3-6 power scope. That combination depleted the flocks of song birds and black birds around the farm. Oh, the stupid things we did as kids! I also shot a woodchuck with it which required me to empty the 5-shot magazine into it. I sold that and other guns when I was buying my first car. Nearly 40 years later I replaced that gun with a nearly new Remington 581 which I topped with a Redfield 1-5 power scope.

I also recently filled another childhood memory with a Winchester Model 52C like the one I shot on our high school rifle team. Imagine that, a high school rifle team. That was in Coudersport Pennsylvania during the 70's. The school long ago gave up its rifle team but the experience I gained from it served me well a decade later as a member of the Marine Corps Rifle Team, the Big F-ing Team.

I grew up hunting with my dad's Ithaca M37 12 gauge. At 16 years old I bought my own shotgun, a Savage Fox Model B 12 gauge with 24" barrels and 3" magnum chambers! That was wicked on rabbits and a couple of fast rising pheasants. The Fox-B was also sold off to raise money for my first car... I have no desire to add another of those to my collection but I do caretake for three Super Foxes and a handful of Ansley's other creations. Then there are all those Parker Brothers doubles to include a few big bores..

[Dave Suponski]

Mark, Not that unusual. Bunnell High School my old high school still has a small bore and air rifle team. Even here in Connecticut. Trouble is the results are never published in any of the local papers.....:banghead:

[Andy Humphriss]

Mine was a glen field mod 25 22 or I got it for Xmas when I was 11. Still have it, I started my son and grandson on this rifle wouldn't sell it for anything.

[chris dawe]

My first was an old Hopkins and Allen single 12 ,rickety old thing I bought from lawn cuttin money ...20 bucks I think it put me back ,I was 13 or 14 at the time but legally up here you have to 16 to own a firearm ...I never put too much thought in it .

About a year later my mile a minute mind ,came up with a jackass plan ...I got the hacksaw out and cut a pistol grip tang from 1/4 plate ,cut off the original and welded the new one in place ,re set the guts and made a set of grips ...the barrel was cut to 14 inches and a new short forend made...the ammo was high brass Imperials ,cut and emptied and topped off with a 12 bore round ball cast from my great ,great granddads musket mold ...I have never shot anything more uncomfortable ...bloody thing would almost cartwheel me ,but every 14 year old kid in town thought that I was a genius ...looking back with a shaking head and a big smile ,I think ignorance is bliss,and obviously blind luck was on my side !!!

[ForrestArmstrong]

After Daisy & Benjamin air rifles, my first 22 was a Winchester 77, centerfire a Winchester 1894 25-35, shotgun an LC Smith 12 gauge. I have fond memories of time spent with those guns but all have been traded up for much nicer guns that I would rather own, something I continue to do.

[Christian Gish]

You are right about the stiff springs. It required both my thumbs to cock, especially with cold hands.

[Grantham Forester]

Parma isn't far from Jackson. My parents are still there but there's no action in Jackson anymore. I only go there to see the folks. I used to do some Pheasant hunting around Parma back in the day. We hunted the Bradley farm, and also the farms on Stepladder Road- near the Mullican meat packing operation, also the Glasgow farm- but as my father was a machinist at Aeroquip in Jackson, and his boss, Mr. Hurst- was good friend of the Deputy Warden at the Jackson Prison Farm- so we got permit passes to hunt there every Fall-

My father did a lot of "government work" for Mr. Hurst, who was a mechanical genius and was always "inventing" new fittings for the aerospace industry. His parents came over from Germany after the war, and he had a fine collection of Merkel and Krieghoff shotguns. I doubt if you could even find very many in the Jackson Co. area that remember Aeroquip, or Sparks- Wirthington, Crankshaft Machine, Lefere Forge or the big Goodyear tire plant- the old saying "The world takes what Jackson makes" is now ancient history.

[Michael Murphy]

Marlin Golden Model 39 .22. Traded it off eventually to help finance a Browning Auto-5. Traded that off for a Remington Model 1100. Regretted having to trade those two guns and have only traded a couple of others in the past 55 tears. As someone once asked, "What happens when you trade a gun?" Answer - "You don't have it any more!".

[todd allen]

My first real gun was an Eastern Arms .410 single shot, that I got from my grandfather atage 12. I still have it, btw.

[Robert Delk]

Colt 1911 with a 4 digit serial number that had been welded shut and painted red.Hit my brother on the head with it and it disappeared.

[Fred Preston]

"My" first gun was and is (see below) an H&R 20 Topper my Dad got for the family when I was 12. The first firearm that I bought with my own money was a Swedish Lahti military pistol in 9mm with Holster and two extra mags and cleaning rod. I was 14 at the time; and, saw the add in F&S from Klien's of Chicago (later, Oswald's supplier). I sent in the order form with my true age and a postal money order for about $25 as I recall and Klien's wrote back that I would have to have a parent sign for it but kept my money. So, I had to tell Dad what I had in mind. He did sign for it but took possession, keeping it with our other guns. He also bought a box of shells for it for $5, big money back then. We shot it in the basement into the coal bin, pretty loud. About 10 years later, I traded it for a Hi Standard target .22.

[Angel Cruz]

I got my first gun from my Uncle Sam back in Sept. of 75 in a place call Paris Island. The cheap bastard took it back..

[Grantham Forester]

I got my first gun from my Uncle Sam back in Sept. of 75 in a place call Paris Island. The cheap bastard took it back.. Creo que se escribe "Parris" Island, no es verdad, amigo??:bigbye:

[George Lander]

Creo que se escribe "Parris" Island, no es verdad, amigo??:bigbye:

"Ther's gators in them swamps all around PI private and they'll eat ya if'n you try to escape":nono:

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Cateye Marbles single shot. Gary my hunting buddy brother and myself cut the handle off a push lawn mower and whittled a handle out of wood. I would hold the gun upright at a angle and Gary would light a black cat fire cracker, drop it down the tube and then the cateye marble. The first time we did it we didn't see were the marble went so on the next firing I pointed it at the garage and blew a nice hole right through the side. I never did tell our dad how that got there. Thomas

[Angel Cruz]

Creo que se escribe "Parris" Island, no es verdad, amigo??:bigbye:

Asi se escribe "Parris" Island. Que bruto!!:rotf:

[Jim DiSpagno]

My first gun was a Stevens Springfield mod.84, too big so quickly followed a Marlin mod.100. The 84 was cut down for my sister who quickly lost interest. It now resides all redone with Chris Dawes' kids. The Marlin was given to a friends son who ironically is the great nephew of the man who gave the gun to my father for me. The first acquired in 1958. First shotgun was a J.C. Higgins .410 SS bolt, probably made by Marlin in 1959 and the first double was a Savage Fox mod. BSE in 1961. That gun resides with, a then boy who my father took under his wing at age 12 and is still my good friend today.
So I know where they are and am damn proud of their places in life. They represent a long history of family and friends.

[Dean Romig]

My first was a Remington .22 clip fed bolt action on Christmas in 1958 because I would be 10 in three more weeks. I and my three brothers had a lot of fun with that rifle. For whatever reason, my two younger brothers are now anti's but my older brother is still an avid shooter. That rifle was a great learning tool and my Dad always said that a BB gun was much too dangerous in the hands of a kid and as far as this "kid" is concerned, he was right.... I may not have respected a BB gun he way I respected that .22

About ten years ago I donated the .22 to the Andover Sportsmen's Club for their youth shooting program.

[Mills Morrison]

Mine was an 870 Wingmaster 20 gauge, with English stock.

[Harryreed]

My first was a Marlin 336 lever rifle in .30 .30. Bought it on closeout at J C Pennys. I think they were shutting down their gun department. Had to get my dad to go with me because I was only 16. Still have it.

[Craig Larter]

A Ithaca model 49 .22 single shot in 1962. I asked my dad for a bb gun and he gave me the .22. I couldn't believe I got a real rifle instead of a bb gun. First shotgun was 1963 a Browning A-5 16ga that belonged to my Uncle Harvey who was completely paralyzed by a stroke at a very young age. He also gave me a deer mount from a 12 pt buck he had killed in the early 30's in the Adirondacks. My parents actually trusted me with the guns in my bedroom----imagine! One day after school I thought I was home alone and a big crow had settled in a tree outside my bedroom window. I whacked him with the Browning but to my surprise my mom was home. I was in big trouble---grounded for a few weeks and the guns were locked away for a few months.

[Grantham Forester]

Asi se escribe "Parris" Island. Que bruto!!:rotf:Lo siento- Yo no soy un Marine, pero uno "Swabie"- Que lastima- estatione de Roosevelt Caminoes en Puerto Rico. Y San Juan, casadador de muchas putas, si???:whistle:

[Angel Cruz]

That's pretty good spanish "Swabie", I hope you hunting birds now.:)

The first gun I bought was a Winchester Model 70 in .270, I got it back in 94, used but in excellent condition. The first time at the range the recoil kicked my butt(shoulder) and I have not used it since. Still in the safe in excellent condition. I'll stick to my 30-06.

[John Dallas]

20 gauge Remington 11-48 with IC choke. Later replaced by a Polychoke. Killed my first duck, a drake ringneck, with it.

As with many others in this thread, it went down the road in some forgotten trade/sale.

Nothing remarkable about it, but would like to have it in the safe today

[Bob Roberts]

My first firearms came as a pair. A .22 Winchester 62A and a .410 Winchester 42 both in canvas and leather take down cases which had been prop guns in our family photography business and were given to me when we moved to the Philadelphia suburbs around 1952; I was 10 and the luckiest kid in the world. Still have the .22 now tricked out with a Lyman 103 tang sight adjustable for windage and elevation, with a Merit Disc, and a Lyman 17 globe front sight. It gets to the range to burn up a couple boxes of recently hoarded .22LR every so often. Just before I turned 16 I discovered W. Stokes Kirk Military Surplus way up the trolley line on 5th street in Philadelphia and sold off the 42 to fund the acquisition of an array of Civil War carbines and rifles. I remember one particular event with the 62A. Our next door neighbor at the time worked for Dupont in some capacity and one day he handed me a double fist full of .22 shorts in what looked like flat thin Chicklets chewing gum cellophane wrapped boxes each holding about 20 shells. They were called “Crumble Balls” or some such name, I suppose for use in carnival sideshows. Of course I shot them up as soon as I had a chance. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen or heard of packaging like that since and wonder if I they would be a collectable these days.

Bob

[Chris Travinski]

We had a number of family guns that sort of rotated households when I was a kid, but the first gun my dad gave me was a Rossi model 62. I picked it out at the Kittery Trading Post months before Christmas and it sat in the grandfather clock in mom and dad's room until the big day. I remember shooting it Christmas day when it was about 2 degrees outside. I still have it, the boys will be ready soon!

[Ben Rawls]

Mine was a Remington 341 my father had bought in the 30s. I came to me by default. We always had gun around and nobody thought anything of kids riding their bikes with a 22 across the handlebars. My oldest friend and I used to ride our bikes out to an old sand pit and shoot whatever. We may have been 12. I still have the rifle as well as a Rem model 12 given to my father by the owner of the American Chickle Company (Adams Chicklets). He was a close friend in the 1930s. My brother was the one who had "gun fever". He spent every waking moment at the house of our neighbor 2 houses down-a gunsmith. John still has a 1941 Remington 513S he bought for $30 in 1955 from Ed Cole. It has both a Lyman peep and a Weaver scope on it mounted so either can be used. My father gave him an LC Smith 20 ga (1906) for his 14th birthday. It cost $35 in 1957 and was bought from the original owner.

[George Lander]

Lo siento- Yo no soy un Marine, pero uno "Swabie"- Que lastima- estatione de Roosevelt Caminoes en Puerto Rico. Y San Juan, casadador de muchas putas, si???:whistle:

NO HABLA: But, yes, I did matriculate thru Roosevelt Roads when doing 5" 38 bombardment of Vieques & Culebra and the putas in Old San Juan were memorable to say the least. We tied up in Charagumus (sic) where we did battle with the Jarhead contingent from the EM Club back to the ship.

Best Regards, George:rotf:

[George Lander]

My first gun was a Remington Fieldmaster Model 121 .22 caliber s,l & lr (which I still heve) purchased by my Dad from S.B. McMaster Sporting Goods in Columbia, SC for my 6th birthday. With it I became a dead-eye in murdering empty beer cans. Not long after came a 16 gauge single barrel H&R which I soon traded for a Parker 10 gauge hammergun (which I also still have) along with a box of Super X shells. I later came to own his Fox Sterlingworth 12 gauge that he acquired thru McMaster (and which the research letter attests to) in the 1920's. That was the only gun, to my knowledge, that he ever owned in my lifetime. I had it completely restored before he passed & gave it back to him. My Dad was born in 1896 and served with General Pershing & Captain Patton on the Mexican Border prior to WW1 in the 11th Mounted Cavalry.

Best Regards, George

[Leighton Stallones]

Mine was a 16 ga Mossberg bolt action. In 1955 I Saw it,in the window of the local furniture store that also sold shotgun shells individually. I thought it was a wonder gun wit a clip that hels two shells and tha miraculous poly choke. None of my friends had anything so advanced. Still have it and use it for my first Dove hunt every year.

[Grantham Forester]

NO HABLA: But, yes, I did matriculate thru Roosevelt Roads when doing 5" 38 bombardment of Vieques & Culebra and the putas in Old San Juan were memorable to say the least. We tied up in Charagumus (sic) where we did battle with the Jarhead contingent from the EM Club back to the ship.

Best Regards, George:rotf: At the base "Acey-Deucey" NCO club, every Thursday night was Bacardi night at Rosie Roads-all you paid for was your set-up- I liked Bacardi white with club soda, ice and a big slice of lime-- Back then, when I was a machinist mate first class, we were rebuilding from the original installation of the WW2 era-We were working with some Sea-Bees on Vieqas Island , which was used for both gunnery and EOD practice, and it was outstanding and easy duty- we secured at 1500 each day, had 1 & 1/2 hours noon break, and the week-end started at 1200 on Fridays, and were were off duty until 0730 hrs. on Monday.

You could charter a boat all day for $25, the deep sea fishing was super, a case of Red Stripe in a iced up big cooler, plus sandwiches and apples and cold water was $10- so four of us would split that- beautiful clear diamond blue waters, clear cloudless skies, I'd go back in a heartbeat if I could--

[Tim Howsman]

Mine was a Sears single shot 20 gauge (from around 1970). Kicked like a mule!

[George Lander]

At the base "Acey-Deucey" NCO club, every Thursday night was Bacardi night at Rosie Roads-all you paid for was your set-up- I liked Bacardi white with club soda, ice and a big slice of lime-- Back then, when I was a machinist mate first class, we were rebuilding from the original installation of the WW2 era-We were working with some Sea-Bees on Vieqas Island , which was used for both gunnery and EOD practice, and it was outstanding and easy duty- we secured at 1500 each day, had 1 & 1/2 hours noon break, and the week-end started at 1200 on Fridays, and were were off duty until 0730 hrs. on Monday.

You could charter a boat all day for $25, the deep sea fishing was super, a case of Red Stripe in a iced up big cooler, plus sandwiches and apples and cold water was $10- so four of us would split that- beautiful clear diamond blue waters, clear cloudless skies, I'd go back in a heartbeat if I could--

Grantham: Another interesting aside was when our ship arrived in San Juan waiting for on the pier was none other than Louis Armstrong and his band. He did a full concert for us and our sister ship, the Gearing DD-710. Singing with Satchmo was Bessie Smith who, i understand, passed away shortly thereafter.

Best Regards, George

[Paul Plager]

One day my father brought home a Winchester model 67 22. I thought i owned the world that day. Dad didn't hunt or fish so him getting me a gun was the best thing ever.

[Ronald Moore]

A ruger 44 Magnum auto loader 79.99 , a Remington ylon 66, black, 46.50, a Remington 660, .308, ugly dog leg bolt handle, really cracked your knuckles when you shot it, replaced bolt in 1970, local gunsmith TC Kennon did job, I made friends with him and eventually learned how to work on guns with him, now collection stands at 117 guns, to many for some not enough for me. TC taught me to restock guns and checker, polish and blue. Great old man, lost him in 1988 I think.
Got my FFL in 1989, been working on guns ever since. Great hobby and bussiness.

Ron Moore
Rons Custom Guns.

[David Weber]

.410 Single shot from Western Auto. My 8 year old nephew killed his first dove with it a few days ago.

[King Brown]

.22 Mossberg 46B in 1940 before my father went overseas. BB-guns were forbidden in the family.

[Robin Lewis]

.22 Mossberg 46B

That was my second gun, I shot thousands and thousands of rounds through it. What a great gun it was! It was also stolen at the same time my first gun was lost :cuss:

[WilliamJanelle]

Mine was a Montgomery Wards 12ga S x S, still have it in my safe. It was given to me by my great uncle Pete on my 12th birthday. He was an avid hunter and my parents were a little nervious about the gift. My uncle explained "give him a gun and get him in the woods hunting an you'll never have to worry about him". He was a wise man.

[Steve Cambria]

Ahhhhhhh, a Glenfield Mod.# 10 single-shot .22 purchased at the new K-Mart in town on Dec. 23rd, 1972, a date that will live in infamy!! Brow-beat poor Mom into making it my Xmas present. Slept with it (a la Ralphy) all through the holidays! She had to call my older brother for the OK. He and my Dad constructed a range in the garage (.22 shorts only) that made for many memorable Saturday nights! ADAM-12, EMERGENCY, Clam-strip TV dinners and target practice.....what could be finer? :corn:

I was forbidden to shoot the gun without supervision but one afternoon I just couldn't resist and tried a few shots on my own. Well, you guessed it, the spring bolt somehow slipped from my sweaty fingers and the gun fired prematurely. Luckily, I had it pointed skyward and the round tore through the garage ceiling and lodged in a 2 x 10 floor joist. The hole is still there and I have since bronzed the Twinkie that I left in my shorts immediately following the report...:rotf: The best of times!!

[George Lander]

POST DELETED

[Sam Ogle]

In the early 1950's; my Grandfather took me to a neighboring cattle ranchers home, where we borrowed a single-shot 16 gauge and 4 or 5 shells: He had me shoot it at a coffee can which I hit, and he said "You're ready." He took me duck hunting to a swamp, letting me out at one end while he drove to the other end. Someone had said "You gotta lead those Widgeons a box car if the wind's behind them." So, a lone duck came by with the wind, and I shot....the fore-end came off in my hand, the barrel went up in the air, and I'll be danged: the duck dropped like a stone. I am in my 70's now, but will always remember that first shot at a bird.
Sam Ogle, Lincoln, Ne

[bob weeman]

First gun received was a single shot Reminton 22 bolt action. You loaded the round and then had to pull back on the striker on the end of the bolt to cock it. I did have use of all the old family guns though. First deer hunt was with a stevens 311 12 guage. Buckshot in the right barrel and a slug in the left. My dad made me carry it open until I saw a deer. Graduated to my great grandfathers 1873 38-40. Almost a smooth bore with a horrible barrel. First gun purchaes....Springfield 1903 re-chambered to 30-338....luckly I lived through that one as it was my first time re-loading....I was 14....could only find load data for 4350 powder....could only find 4320......first shot blew the primer completelty out of the casing.....second shot threw the scope completely off the rifle. Should have looked at the casing from the first shot before shooting the second! Thank god those old Springfields were sturdy!

[Grantham Forester]

Ahhhhhhh, a Glenfield Mod.# 10 single-shot .22 purchased at the new K-Mart in town on Dec. 23rd, 1972, a date that will live in infamy!! Brow-beat poor Mom into making it my Xmas present. Slept with it (a la Ralphy) all through the holidays! She had to call my older brother for the OK. He and my Dad constructed a range in the garage (.22 shorts only) that made for many memorable Saturday nights! ADAM-12, EMERGENCY, Clam-strip TV dinners and target practice.....what could be finer? :corn:

I was forbidden to shoot the gun without supervision but one afternoon I just couldn't resist and tried a few shots on my own. Well, you guessed it, the spring bolt somehow slipped from my sweaty fingers and the gun fired prematurely. Luckily, I had it pointed skyward and the round tore through the garage ceiling and lodged in a 2 x 10 floor joist. The hole is still there and I have since bronzed the Twinkie that I left in my shorts immediately following the report...:rotf: The best of times!! I have heard tell of deep fried twinkies- a true cholesterol gut bomb, but have a Twinkie bronzed, like baby shoes for display on your mantle perhaps? Only in America, I guess..:rolleyes::rolleyes::p:p:p

[David Ringstrom]

Other than a Daisy Eagle BB gun that I got for my 8th birthday......My first purchase was a 9 shot .22 revolver that I bought from a friend in 1961. He brought it to school in a brown paper bag and it went home with me the same way. We were in 7th grade. We still keep in touch, but he has a "bad" character flaw now.......he likes Winchester 101s. I keep telling him, "barrels do not belong on top of one and other!"

Things were different back then!

[Larry Stalnaker]

I'm glad this thread was brought back around. It was great reading about everyone's first guns.

My first was a Winchester model 370 20ga. The 370 was like the model 37 of some Winchester fame and importance but was made in Canada. That little gun killed a tremendous amount of game and was given to my grand daughter on her 16th birthday. A grand daughter that, by the way, just made me a great grand father about 8 hours ago.

PopPop

[Michael D Hankinson]

I too started with a used Winchester Model 67 Single Shot, bought from a neighbor kid, I think I paid $7.00 back in 1953. My first Shotgun was a Savage hammerless 20Ga single shot, bought brand new from Custom Gun Shop in Grand Rapids MI. Grew up on a little dairy farm NW of GR, we would milk a cow and watch a ringneck fly in by the creek, then walk down and flush him out. One neighbor kid had some little Twenty Bore side by side that all the rest of us lusted after. My first SxS was a Spanish 20Ga that somehow has multiplied. I only have one Parker at the moment, have had four over the years.

[Pete Lester]

Chistmas 1969 I found a box under the Christmas tree with a Savage-Springfield 187 semi-automatic 22. To go with it my dad had a bullet trap made from boiler plate where he worked. He set up in the basement and we spent the afternoon with me learning to shoot. I still have the gun, I wish I still had the bullet trap.

[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

[Ronald Moore]

Model 660 Remington .308 caliber, I have probably taken over 100 white tails with that gun. Then a model 66 Remington, still have it and original manual it came with.

[Bill Murphy]

Pete, I still have the Outers bullet trap that I got for Christmas when I was about ten years old. I had been using a rural mailbox packed with newspaper. After a few bullets bulged the back end of the mailbox in my bedroom, my parents thought I should have a proper bullet trap. I also still have the mailbox. My first .22, a Model 5 Savage, is long gone.

[bobutler]

Winchester Model 37 Youth. Still have it. Hopefully I'll be able to teach the grandkids to shoot some day. Need some grand kids first!

[greg conomos]

My first gun was also a Winchester 37 Youth...I think it was actually a 37A, mid-late 1970's vintage. I still have it and it's the gun I grab when something around the house needs a dose of lead therapy.

[wally vernon]

My first was a Winchester model 190 with a weaver scope that came from Santa in 1976. Wore it slap out. First shotgun was a H&R topper Junior 20 gauge that kicked like hell. My buddy whose family owned a Bank used his granddaddy's Parker. I promised myself at the ripe old age of 12 that I would own one someday....

[allan.mclane]

My first gun was a Francotte 20ga box lock, 28", M/F, given to me by my father when I turned 12. It was a much nicer version than a Knockabout, with considerable engraving and better wood, and I shot a lot of duck, dove, and quail in South Carolina with it. You had to let the quail get out a way before firing if you wanted anything left to eat.

After I moved to Vermont it wasn't much use for partridge and woodcock so I bought a Ruger 20, 26", I/M when they first came out; much more useful here and actually a great quail gun too. When my daughter was old enough I gave her the Ruger and it brought a tear to watch her bring down her first quail.

The Francotte was destroyed in a house fire during hurricane Bob (1991) in Newport but I did manage to salvage the stock medallion my father had had engraved with my initials.

[John Cinkoske]

My first was a Remington Model 33 single-shot .22 my mother found at my grandfather's after he passed away. I was about 11 or 12, and she sold it to me for a dollar. It has the plunger you cock it with that'd blister your fingers until you developed callouses. The first shotgun was a Lefever Nitro Special in 16 gauge, it was under the Christmas tree when I was twelve from my Dad. I'd love to see all of the shells I've run through those two guns in a heap, it would be quite a few. I still have both of them, and I had the Remington sleeved sometime back. It's now really a tack driver. This is a great thread, I am really enjoying it, keep 'em comin! :)

[Wayne Owens]

My first gun is a Winchester Model 06 22. We owned a hardware store 13 miles south of Yosemite. Our store sold sporting goods along with normal hardware items so I had a nearly unlimited supply of .22 ammo. Another plus was that my brothers and I had a shooting range set-up just outside the rear door of the store. This explains why the rifling of the barrel is basically non-existent today although the gun is still very accurate. The Winchester was made in 1935. We owned the store from the late 1950s through the middle of the 1960s. It was a great place and time to be a kid. California was a very different place than it is today.

[Fred Lauer]

Dad got me a Westernfield 20 gauge bolt action, that I absolutely hated, because my Grandfather convinced me that a proper bird gun should have 2 barrels. Two years later I bought my own gun (SxS spanish 20 ga.) and Dad traded the bolt action for a Stevens for my younger brother. Fifteen years later, I was fortunate enough to inherit Grand Paps 16 gauge Steringworth and find out what good doubles was all about. I like bolt action rifles but have never touched a bolt action shotgun since the Westernfield.

[Bob Kimble]

My first one was a used JC Higgins 16 gauge bolt action that my Dad gave me on my 10th birthday. He got me a hunting license that year(1957) and put down on the application that I was 12. The following year I was 13. Then I went back to 12 the next year when I was actually 12. The owner of the hardware store where we bought our licenses didn't seem to care. That's where we bought most of our firearms and ammo for years.

[Richard White]

I'm also one that my 1st gun was a Savage .22/.410 o/u that I still have. The next one was a Win. M97 of my grandfather's that he gave me and I still have it. My grandfather traded a bushel of Black Walnuts and a bicycle for the 97 around 1910. I'd like to know how many rabbits that old 97 killed; I've seen some pics.
Whenever I went back home my uncle would let me use an L.C. Smith, 20 ga. of his to hunt grouse and squirrels with.

[CraigThompson]

Winchester model 67, .22, single shot. Still have it and use it regularly.

My first was also a Winchester 67 I bought used when I was 7 years old I saved up $15 for the gun . My father refinished the stock and my grandfather cold blued the metal . I had it up until about 8 months ago when I donated it to a friends 6 year old !

My first shotgun was an H&R Topper 12 gauge 32" full choke gun I was given for my eighth Christmas . Parents bought it from a company called "Best" for the ungodly sum of $32 brand new .

My first real shotgun was my WW Greener BL 12 gauge with tang safety I paid $425 for that one when I was 14 years old and still have it to this day .

[Bill Zachow]

Mine was a Mossberg "Chuckster" in .22 mag. Bought it in 1958 with money I made working at neighboring farms for a $1 per hour. I mounted a 6X Weaver scope on it and pretty near wiped out the woodchuck population in a 4 square mile area surrounding our home farm. Sold it when I left for college in 1960. Don't really miss it cause I have a .22 mag Winchester model 61 with a "baby Redfield" and a model 9422 in the same caliber. Both superb weapons. Talk about a different time--in those days I could earn $5 in an afternoon. I would pick up my now wife Sylvia in my dad's 56 Ford F100, stop for gas ($1 got close to 6 gallons) and go to the movies in Oneonta, NY. I would buy us snacks at the movies and then afterwards, a pizza. After taking Sylvia home, i would still have money left over from the $5.