lsudave
Member
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2007
- Messages
- 1,042
I don't mean your first gun, I mean the one that started you down the road to owning "quite a few", and pushed you to become active at the range, etc.
My first gun was a Norinco T-54, in 9mm. I still have it, and still like it. But it directly didn't lead to my collection tendencies; although in reflection it may have indirectly.
Like many of us, I like to research "my stuff" and find things to learn and like about them. I do it with cars, with cameras, etc. I wanted to like this Chinese gun (it shoots okay, but I wanted to find things that made it interesting). So in doing that, I became knowledgeable about surplus, especially Combloc guns. Makarovs and the like. No-nonsense, reliable weapons priced right. This eventually led me to get one; a gun that 'succeeded' my Tokarev design. That way I would have a pair that related to each other.
This was the fateful desire that started it all: a FEG PA-63.
I got the Tok at a gun show. It was in 9x19, so I would buy a box of 9mm at a time, at Walmart or similar.
The FEG- in casually looking at stores, I never saw them at the time, so I began to learn about online purchases. This brought me to Auction Arms, which is now Gunauction. I don't even know if Gunbroker was around then. But I looked at the auctions, and started to see the prices- that FEG was the "right lineage", it LOOKED cool (to my amateur eyes it looked like a James Bond Walther!!), and it was cheap- under $150, which was less than my brother's Bersa 380, itself considered a cheap gun. So I bought it, in an exciting and fun transaction without any problems. Little did I know, it was my gateway!
What's yours?
My first gun was a Norinco T-54, in 9mm. I still have it, and still like it. But it directly didn't lead to my collection tendencies; although in reflection it may have indirectly.
Like many of us, I like to research "my stuff" and find things to learn and like about them. I do it with cars, with cameras, etc. I wanted to like this Chinese gun (it shoots okay, but I wanted to find things that made it interesting). So in doing that, I became knowledgeable about surplus, especially Combloc guns. Makarovs and the like. No-nonsense, reliable weapons priced right. This eventually led me to get one; a gun that 'succeeded' my Tokarev design. That way I would have a pair that related to each other.
This was the fateful desire that started it all: a FEG PA-63.
I got the Tok at a gun show. It was in 9x19, so I would buy a box of 9mm at a time, at Walmart or similar.
The FEG- in casually looking at stores, I never saw them at the time, so I began to learn about online purchases. This brought me to Auction Arms, which is now Gunauction. I don't even know if Gunbroker was around then. But I looked at the auctions, and started to see the prices- that FEG was the "right lineage", it LOOKED cool (to my amateur eyes it looked like a James Bond Walther!!), and it was cheap- under $150, which was less than my brother's Bersa 380, itself considered a cheap gun. So I bought it, in an exciting and fun transaction without any problems. Little did I know, it was my gateway!
- Buying it online, it introduced me to that market, and the potential of it compared to the local shops. To this day I see people asking if buying online is 'safe', having never done it.
- Being an obscure caliber, I didn't have much luck finding it on the shelf. So again, this led to buying online- ammo. But hey, they charge shipping, so I can't just buy a box. Get a case, so that extra cost is spread thin, ... and suddenly I have "a lot of ammo"
- Hey, I have a lot of ammo at hand, I may as well go to the range more. Before, I just randomly did it to make sure I could shoot somewhat effectively, but now I've got 1k rds staring at me. I should make it worthwhile, instead of just putting it away to eventually get lost.
- Hey, shooting is getting fun, and I have a lot of ammo at the house. And I see OTHER guns in this caliber, for CHEAP (real Makarovs, P64, etc). For under $200, I could add 1...
- these SURPLUS guns are neat. They shoot great, they have a history to them interesting to learn about. What other surplus guns are there...?
- Combloc guns are neat, but I'm an American
... let's start looking at US and NATO guns too. - Hmmm; online browsing of auctions... used CZ 75 pre B; combloc heritage, 9mm NATO rd, and the more I research the more praise I find of this pistol. Like, legendary status, from guys (Col Cooper) that appear to be big names. I see I can get one for $300, a little more than I could a Mak, and it's the more common caliber. Let's get one...
- Online purchase from Cole's Distributing. For those that ever bought from them, you know they had the cheapest prices on imported stuff. I made several more purchases from them, just due to price...
- On of these was a FEG HP clone. This checked a ton of boxes- the Hi Power was a legendary pistol in it's own right, the clone got me 'into the platform'. Bought it from Cole's again, price was just over $200... can't beat that with a stick. And it being a FEG was actually interesting, since I already owned one. For a company that I'd never heard about in a country that I thought was obscure (Hungary), they sure did make some respectable guns.
- Ok, now I have 9mm NATO, let's explore- duty guns. Beretta 92, Sig P226, ... Star 30M? Daewoo DP 51? Zastava CZ99? All of these were floating around online, at the pricepoint of $300 or less (except the Sig, it took a LONG time but I finally got one there); all were/are in holsters of military folks, all shared the same ammo. No more trips to Walmart for a box or 2, I needed cheap cases to stay stocked. I needed more range time to be proficient, and see which ones I can shoot the best.
- S&W 3rd Gen- not military, but was police, and definitely in line with the designs of those above. And again, cheap to get online.
What's yours?
