Where did your addiction begin and with what firearms (handguns)?!!

I’m 80 years old. I’ve been enamored with guns af far back as I can remember, I’ve always liked guns. Santa brought my first one in 1949 I was 9 YO at the time. My problem has always been holding on to what I have, money gets tight - sell a gun. I wish I had back some I’ve let go. Finally my income exceeded my out go, I’m nearly satisfied with my collection. I gloat when I hear and see reports of ppl standing in line to pay exorbitant prices for slim pickings at gun stores.

First I don't have an addiction. I can stop anytime I want. I just don't want to.

Cowboys on T.V.
Fann'r .50.
1959.

For me, my love of shooting started when I was 12; my father saw an advertisement for the Marlin Model 60 at the local big box sporting goods store; he bought one for me and for my brother. They were $69 each and came with a scope. Ah, the good ole days!

Now, the first time we went to the range, my grandfather came with us. He brought his Ruger MkI (made in 1976 because it has the Bicentennial stamp) and he let me shoot it. He taught me how to hold it, align the sights, breathing technique, etc. That's when I found out my grandfather was an excellent pistol marksman; he shot competitively in the Finnish Army before and during World War 2 (he was in the Winter and Continuation Wars). I became hooked; to me it was always the challenge of shooting better, hitting the paper, tightening your groups, and having fun. He and my father taught my brother and I the responsibility of gun ownership, how to care for your firearms, and respect them like the tools they are.

My grandfather passed on and the Ruger is now in my father's possession. I've already started my son in shooting (Crickett rifle and Ruger Wrangler); when he is a little bit older and has better hand strength he'll shoot the MkI as well.

wanderinwalker

I'm not sure I've mentioned this before, but I really like (and am slightly jealous of) your Lightweight Government. There's just something right about how the full-size slide combined with the lightweight frame balances in the hand.

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You know that's exactly how I felt when I picked up the Lightweight Government for the first time. I had tried a number of other 1911s in the display case but as soon as I held the full length slide on that aluminum alloy frame, I knew this was the one with just the right balance and handling qualities that I wanted in a .45.

For handguns, when I was living in San Marcos, Texas and turned 21 years old. I purchased a S&W Model 13 .357 Magnum brand new, ordered it through a FFL holder and picked it up at the Greyhound freight station. I'd been saving up for when I turned 21. The one I received was NOS P&R, I'd had no idea that was something that was being phased out on newer production items. I added a pair of Pachmyer grips that made a world of difference for how it fit my hand.

bdickens said:

I can quit any time I want....

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Yeah, but who wants to??

Drail said:

The military did it for me. I never realized that targets over a hundred yards away were SO easy to hit with a rifle - even one you had never seen before and needed to be sighted in.

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I guess the military whetted an appetite I'd had for quite a while and never pursued. And that's ironic in a way, because my position in the military was in a non-combatant role (Flight Nurse, USAF). Quick version is, we still had to qualify in training, and I scored expert in both rifle and handgun. During Desert Storm I was assigned as liaison to the base armory, responsible for checking self-defense revolvers in and out for medevac crew members. Got to know the base combat arms group pretty well, and went through several familiarization classes (M-16, M-9, M-2, M-60 and Mark 19) and even attended a Schutzensnur qualification course (missed by one point). Anyway, it opened my eyes to what I'd been missing over the years. My first purchase of a new handgun since I'd worked for DOC in the late '70s-early '80s was a G20 in 1992, the month they first went on sale and just a few months after I had returned from deployment. In the years since, I've had several dry spells and even a spell where I sold off a few guns, including a 4" M66-1 I had bought in 1979 (what the heck was I thinking????) After I recovered from that short spell of insanityaround 2005, I swore I'd never, ever, sell another firearm. Well, maybe one. I traded my G20, along with a little cash and bought a nice shotgun earlier this year. That trade required replacing a caliber I had come to love (10mm), but I had never really warmed to the Glock, so I found a 1911 in 10mm to go along with my .45 1911. My stepdad passed on to me his WWII issue gun, a Colt 1903 .32 hammerless in the late '90s, just before he died. Sometime around 2010, I bought a couple of Ruger pistols; a LC9 9mm and a RS40C compact .40S&W. It became my standard EDC after getting my concealed carry permit in 2010 and remains one of my favorite handguns to shoot. I had added a .45 1911 soon after, and then the 10mm came late last year; I enjoyed and came to love the 1911's so I decided to find a more compact model; Springfield had too soon pulled their .40S&W version of the EMP off the shelves, so I got one in 9mm. Then, somehow, I got in the grips of S&W revolvers (pardon the pun), I had a very nice M19-3 I bought in 2015 and decided it needed company. Well, since first of this year, I've bought four more S&W revolvers to keep it company. All this pistol and revolver expansion hasn't even addressed my shotgun and rifle madness, although it's been on a much milder scale. In the 10 years since 2010, I've collected four side by side shotguns to go along with a Mossberg pump I bought in the late '80s and a single barrel break-open my Dad had. I also purchased a Springfield M1A Loaded around 2012, as I'd always thought they were the coolest looking military rifle. I have built two AR15's since 2010; one as a M4 in 300BLK to use as a CQB rifle, and one as a long range rifle in 6.5 Grendel. And somewhere in all this confusion, I picked up a nice 91/30 Mosin-Nagant. And i almost forgot the two .22 rimfire rifles and one .22 rimfire pistol I have, as well as the Rossi .38 Spl revolver that was Dad's, and the little Taurus .38 Spl. snubbie that is really my wife's.

My safe runneth over.

bannockburn said:

My "interest" in handguns began with the various toy guns my brothers and me had to play with. Cap guns made by Mattel (always loved my Fanner 50s), Ideal Toys (The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Napoleon Solo Gun)....

As you can probably tell my interest in handguns is wide and varied as my present collection nowadays consists of many more guns from different manufacturers while still encompassing a number of handguns of the old gunmakers I use to enjoy back in the good old days.

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Remember the attache case with the hidden pistol? I had a neighbor friend when I was about 9 or 10, we'd play MFU and take turns who got to be Ilya Kuryakin (we both liked him better than Napoleon Solo)

Our interests in what we collect has a similar basis, if not exact items. Over the years I have retreated from having "latest and greatest" and have gone back to "old reliables". I only have two polymer framed pistols now, all the rest are either 1911's or revolvers.

bangswitch

Remember the attache case with the hidden pistol?

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I remember that but I thought it was a take-off on the James Bond attache case, complete with a cap pistol that fired by remote control along with a hidden plastic knife that popped out from the case! I think Mattel also made a THRUSH carbine, styled after the M3 Carbine; the one with the infrared scope on it.

Those were great times to be a kid, especially in the summer when we went swimming at a nearby city pool, played baseball at the playground, rode our bikes everywhere, and played "Army" till the street lights came on and it was time to come in!

Those were some days!

This is the style Man from U.N.C.L.E. toy gun I had and thoroughly enjoyed playing "War" with other kids in my neighborhood.

https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/324399979388207807/#

I'd been shooting for 40+ years but had never been too much of a handgun guy, more rifles and shotguns. The only centerfire semi-automatics I had as of about 10 years ago were a Beretta 92SB and a Kimber 1911. Revolver wise, I had a Smith 686 no-dash and a Colt Trooper Mk III. I had had a few different Ruger MK's and ended up with an AMT Lightning that I've had for 35 years. I also picked up a Browning Buck Mark somewhere in there. I shot them all some, but my favorite was the Smith 686 and Colt Mk III .357 revolvers. But the vast majority of my shooting was still rifles and shotguns at this point.

Then a few years ago I bought a CZ 85 Combat and really connected with that gun. I no longer have the Beretta or Kimber, but I have 6 CZs and I shoot them a lot more than the revolvers, but still like a high quality revolver. I have also sold the Colt revolver and added a Smith 586 no dash and a 67-1 and a 1951 model K-22. Then I bought a Browning Medalist that opened my eyes to a MUCH greater interest in shooting 22 LR semi-automatics.

Then I bought 2 more Medalists and some Challenger barrels that I sometimes interchange. The Medalist is an awesome gun, IMO, and if I could only keep one handgun, and I weren't going to use it for SD, it'd be a Medalist.

Mr. Zorg

I had the Man From U.N.C.L.E. set pictured in the link you listed, just to the lower right. It had a detachable shoulder stock, an extended barrel with a suppressor, and a scope. Way cool for an 8 year old kid at the time!

bannockburn said:

My "interest" in handguns began with the various toy guns my brothers and me had to play with. ... Johnny Seven (M14 and M1911 set)......

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I had a Johnny Seven OMA. There's no telling how many enemy strongholds I took out with that thing. In my mind, I was this guy:

I was five. I didn't shoot a "real" gun until I was 16. That was an Italian Carbine I still have. I did get a Walther PPK in 7.65 MM and a Colt Trooper in .357 Magnum when I was 17. My Parent's never knew.

I6turbo

I had a Johnny Seven OMA. There's no telling how many enemy strongholds I took out with that thing.

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I remember that thing! My brothers and I preferred the more conventional weaponry of the day like M14s and M16s. Something like Johnny Seven One-Man-Army was just too futuristic for us! We were still using Parris Kadet bolt action toy rifles when we were playing "WAR" with the neighborhood kids. Our garage was like the Arsenal of Democracy in that we loaned out a lot of our guns to kids who didn't have any of their own.

When I was 22 I moved from the Chicago suburbs to south east TN. My parents are (were) hippies and while my dad did have a revolver when I was young I had only fired bb guns and a 22 rifle at scout camp one time.
I met some gun nuts in TN and one in particular that made an impression . a big guy about 6'6" and looked like a hells angel but was just the nicest guy i had met down there introduced me to what a real gun nut was. The first time I went to his cabin I saw dozens of guns laying around. He pulled a 44 mag blackhawk from his waist and told me to come outside, he fired a couple rounds at a tree stump and handed it to me. I shot it and knew right then that I had found a good thing.
A couple months after that I had saved up some hard earned money and put it down on a Taurus gaucho in 45 colt. Then a pair of uberti cattlemen. Then a marlin 60. I was hooked.
I moved back to Illinois a year later and had to leave my guns in TN until I got my foid card mess handled. I retrieved my guns from TN and started buying. The next couple years I bought everything I could afford and some I couldn't. It was all downhill from there. Now my interests are mostly with revolvers and lever actions but I have enough of every type to tinker with.
Years later I found the most prolific enablers on planet earth, the members of THR. Now I buy one gun per year (wife rule) and sell nothing. My collection has grown and so has my interest . I've got way more than I need and nowhere near what I want , life is good.

cundiff5535 said:

I know I appreciate reading about other peoples journeys!]

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My first gun was an old Glenfield shotgun. My first pistol was a Taurus PT92. That was a long time and a lot of guns ago.

A long--------long time in the past during my Marine days weapons were simply tools. Nothing more or less. To this day weapons or simply tools. Tools have a purpose.

cundiff5535 said:

What was the gun that got you addicted to the hobby/sport? Anything you all wish to share or add would be great! I know I appreciate reading about other peoples journeys!

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Counting only firearms, my first handgun experience in the late 1980s was with my Grandpa's Webley top-break revolver chambered in .45 ACP.

A few years after that, I bought my first handgun which is my Ruger GP100.

I really didn't jump into handguns on a broader scale until 2008 when I got a concealed carry license. Prior to that license, I only owned 3 handguns. Currently, I have 5 times that number.

460Shooter said:

I don’t have an addiction. I have an interest.
It started with revolvers.

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I keep telling myself that..but with me it's a hopeless addiction. It must be contagious because my wife is showing signs of it o

Never had an addiction to guns (handguns or rifles). Just cause I own a few of each does not mean it is an addiction. It just means I own a few weapons. I'm not addicted to vehicles either but I own a few, not addicted to dogs but I have a few (not sure who owns who in that situation).

To me a gun is a tool to do a job.

When I was a high school student and realized I could buy a legitimate, actual, real, surplus Mosin Nagant, that had been used in WW2. And I could own it for only $69. Which wasn’t a lot of money even for me as a high school student with no job. Suddenly military surplus guns were fascinating. And then all the others gradually became interesting, too.

When I was about 7 I begged for and received a cap-lock like pair of toy guns for Christmas (one "rifle" one pistol) that shot round cork balls via those paper caps that came in those red rolls. Knocking over little green army men with the smell of burnt powder is what got me addicted.

It all started when I was 8.
My dad and his friend took me out to a gravel pit, and we spent some time chasing bottle caps with a stainless speed-six.

I was having trouble getting it, and my dads friend said “don’t aim, just point at the damn thing” bam! Got it! Again and again...
At 10 I was given a Marlin 780 and put many rounds through it.

Shortly thereafter, I was given access to a C series BHP and a Bushmaster Arm Pistol.
Those two pretty much sealed the deal... firearms are fun!

My mom bought me and my little brother Glenfield Model 60's when we were 11-12ish to hit the hills with. I bought a S&W 645 at Walmart on my 21st birthday, but I was still primarily a rifle shooter as we had endless open spaces in NM and CO.

It wasnt until I moved to Gulf Coast TX in the 90's that I switched from rifles to mainly handguns. Always, having a preference towards 1911's. Much like the OP the first time a dealer placed an upper tier handgun in my hand everything changed. That gun was an Ed Brown Special Forces, I bought it and down the rabbit hole I went.

It was in my blood. When my mother was little she knew one of her great-grandmothers who spent some time out west and was reputed to be a good shot. I recall poring over the Sears catalogues in the 1960s, I practically memorized large parts of my 1966 edition of Small Arms of the World. First time I fired an actual firearm was at Boy Scout camp in the Summer of 1963.
My first handgun-which I still have-a Browning HP-was inspired by my reading. When I was a kid I even had a Mare's Leg-and I never watched that program. One of my favorite cap guns was a Hubley Trooper, when I bought my first revolver it was a Colt-Trooper.