What firearm have you owned the longest?

I bought a Model 94 in 30-30, 1976, I was 11. Paper route money. Still got it. Next one was a Blackhawk in .357 Mag, also '76 and I've got that, too.

The first guns I owned I was given but I no longer own:

An Ithaca 66 in .410 I was given in 1980 but I gave it to a friend later for his son, and a Savage 99F in .308 I was given in 1983 but had to sell due to hard times.

The gun I’ve possessed the longest is a Ruger 10-22 I bought new in 1985... longest possessed handgun is an Iver Johnson TP-22 I bought new in 1988.

Stay safe.

Eugen said:

What firearm have you owned the longest? When did you get it? Do you still own it?

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Norinco SKS bought unissued in 1992 when I was 27. It was the first firearm I bought and I still have it.

Eugen said:

What is your oldest one?

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The oldest gun I've ever owned was a Swedish 1896 Mauser made in 1900 that I bought myself for my 30th birthday. I gave it to my brother some time ago, so my oldest currently owned gun is my Swiss K31 made in 1951 (which was given to me by my brother).

In the early 1980s, I bought a Ruger New Model Single Six convertible from a hardware store in Georgia for $85. Still got it.

A 1858 Remington clone that I bought on lay-away during the summer of 1974.
I was doing night security watch at a logging road construction camp in the mountains of Southern Oregon and all that I had was an R/G 14 at the time.
Shortly thereafter, I found an AR-7 in a backpack that was floating in rhe Rogue River.
Dad made the R/G and the AR-7 disappear, so I kept the '58 Remington hidden.
That's why I still have it.

Edit: wrong R/G - I got the R/G 22 later.

Savage model 22-410
Around 1950 I took a streetcar 9 miles with a typed letter allowing me to purchase a weapon.
The gun was lost when my brother took it hunting with a bottle of Old Grandad---i got so mad he gave me his bran new Marlin 39A--a rifle that I still have today

1970 Ruger 10/22

Rossi 62a octagon blued 22, got it 98-99

The bolt action single shot Remington my Dad gave me as a child, followed by a single shot Savage/Stevens 94b with a plastic stock that I earned the money to restock with wood.

Don't know about the shotgun, but I know for sure that things were pretty tight when I was young, and for my Dad to have given me that little .22 meant that the family did without something somewhere else in order to make it happen.

12 gauge Wingmaster my Dad got for me in the 1970s. I've used it for rabbits, squirrels, pheasant, grouse, turkey and countless Deer.
I still have it. It's not going anywhere.

My father gave me an H&R single shot 20ga shotgun in 1966 so I could go hunting. I was 12 years old which was the law in Pennsylvania at the time. Killed a lot of pheasants, squirrels and rabbits with that shotgun over the next couple of years.
Still have it... haven't fired it in decades.

NEF R92 .22lr revolver. Don't have it now but I'm sure that my granddaughter will let me play with it if I want.

Snake Charmer .410. Still does pest control duty.

Both bought in 1994 and started my downward spiral into an expensive hobby.

I was born in 1966.

I acquired my first firearm in 1985 from my stepfather, a Winchester Model 190 .22 caliber rifle. Shortly after that, I bought a single-shot 20g FIE shotgun.

My stepfather died the following year, and I let his son have the Winchester. I replaced immediately it with a Ruger 10/22.

The year after that (1987), I turned 21, and bought a Taurus Model 66 revolver for my birthday.

I still own the FIE, the Ruger, and the Taurus. I also bought three other handguns before that year was out, one of which was on the day I was sworn in on "the job." I still own those, too.

A Winchester Model 190 .22 was the first I bought. Bought it used at a flea market with my dad around 1979 or 80. I think I paid $40 or so and that same day bought a used Weaver scope from my uncle for $10, and I still have them both. The scope has seen its better days but I can't bring myself to replace it.

-Jeff

Bartojc writes:

A Winchester Model 190 .22 was the first I bought. Bought it used at a flea market with my dad around 1979 or 80. I think I paid $40 or so..

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Same gun you saw me mention in my post above. It took me until 2020 to actually stumble into another one in the flesh, which I bought for nostalgia's sake. Haven tried it out yet.

Had the longest...that would be my Ruger 10/22, purchased new in the late '70s. Wanted a pump action but couldn't find any. Went with the 10/22 because I liked it's semi-auto action, it's styling, and for it's 10 round rotary magazine. Right out of the box the gun was amazingly accurate, so much so that one of the next things I did was get a Weaver K2.5 scope for it! Later I added a Butler Creek folding stock and sling swivels to the factory stock. After I was done hunting with it I would train new shooters with it as some did better starting off with a .22 rifle rather than a .22 handgun. Still got it and will go to one of my grandsons when the time comes.

Circa 1990 I bought my first, a Winchester 1894AE in .30-30. Second was a Winchester 9422 in .22LR. I bought and later sold a Ruger 1022. Then I went stock raving crayyyyyzeeeee.

Marlin 60 squirrel stock long magazine. It was given to me by my grandfather when I was about 4. It still has the stickers on it from the factory, but they do show some age now. He gave each grandson a similar rifle. I believe my cousin likely traded his away a couple decades ago. We don’t talk with that side of the family much anymore.

"Santa" brought me a Sears Roebuck Model 25 22lr semiauto rifle in 1964 when I was 12. Still have it, maintain it and shoot it periodically.

Santa bringing a Christmas firearm to a pre-teen ... a different time.

Savage .22 (produced in 40s or early 50s ). Acquired about age 26, This was the only gun until age 52.

My first handgun: WW2 Sauer 38H (.32 Auto), owned since 2013.

A used High Standard Sentinel Deluxe 9-shot revolver (with a holster) for $35 on my eighteenth birthday in 1969. I shot a lot of rats with it at the township dump.

Still have it.

Eugen said:

What firearm have you owned the longest? When did you get it? Do you still own it?

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I still have the Model 55 Winchester .22 my mom and dad gave me for my 10th birthday in 1958. It still shoots well, although the loading gate has a crack in it - as the loading gates in Model 55s were prone to.
I've been thinking about building a new loading gate out of an aluminum bar for my old .22, but I hardly ever shoot it, so I'm not sure it would be worth the effort. Besides, sentimental value, you know?

MifflinKid said:

A used High Standard Sentinel Deluxe 9-shot revolver (with a holster) for $35 on my eighteenth birthday in 1969. I shot a lot of rats with it at the township dump.

Still have it.

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Ah, man! I bought one of those through my folk's country store/gas station in about 1965 or 1966 - when I was 17 or 18. I foolishly sold it about 10 years later. It's one of the few guns I've ever regretted selling.
I too shot rats at the town dump with mine. It accounted for a lot of jackrabbits, ground squirrels and fool hens (mountain grouse) too.

The Gus I've had the longest are a pietta 1858 new army Remington acquired 1988, the Second one I bought, the first I gave to my dad after he retired and decided to travel the lower 48, and my 62 pattern enfield musketoon 58 cal, bought in 95 at a cw reenactment in Gettysburg PA. Still have both and the enfield goes out hunting with me during muzzle loader season.