i voted not first gen, but first serious owner.
way back in the day before i was born my dad bought and sold guns together with a business partner who had some sort of dealers license and a better knowledge base.
my dad was into it more for the money than the guns.
he and his partner almost bought a collection of old yellow boy lever guns which wouldve been worth hundreds of thousands
today, but at the time then the bank wouldnt give them the loan. :banghead:
when i was born my mom made my dad get rid of all his left-over guns
from his business dealings and all his ammo, and she only let him keep his
old marlin .22 which had been a gift to him from his uncle (a marine) for his 14th b-day.
i never knew he had it until i was 14, and i never actually saw it until i was 18.
my mom still doesnt want any ammo for it or other guns under her roof,
but ive been a bad boy and started my own collection without my parents knowledge/approval.
my mom reads too many articles about "accidental" shootings,
and never fails to remind me about a navy seal she read about
who shot himself while cleaning his pistol :banghead:...
her logic: you can hardly be more qualified to handle weapons than a navy
seal, and even the experts can still make mistakes, so what makes me think
i will never shoot myself?