If you started your gun journey over...

[redneck2]

First gun was a 20 gauge SxS. Beautiful to look at, awful to use. The stock had almost no drop and I shot high over everything.

First decent gun was a Remington 700 BDL Varmint Special.22-250. Killed a bazillion groundhogs.

What would I do differently? I’ve almost always bought good to very good guns. I bought a cheap scope that literally cost me the deer of a lifetime. Actually probably the deer of twenty lifetimes when it fogged. How many 28” spread 14 point deer do you get a chance at?

Should have spent less on guns and more on using them. I envy the guys that post about shooting PRS and other competition.

Starting over, I’d have two very accurate big game rifles with high quality scopes. I’d have two varmint rifles, a .204 and and AR Varminter, again with great glass. A 12 gauge shotgun that would work for about anything that I would hunt plus SD. A couple pistols and a really accurate, high quality .22 bolt action with great glass. That’s it. I would NOT piss away tens of thousands of dollars on guns that take up room in the safe and rarely if ever get used. BTDT.

I see guys here that have half a dozen basically identical rifles. Unless you have a very high disposable income and unlimited time, having that many that duplicated each other makes zero sense. Own less, shoot more.

 

[Old Dog]

If I could go back and warn my younger self, I would tell him to buy quality over quantity.

This is it in a nutshell.

I was obsessed with acquiring guns, so as soon as I had the cash money to buy a gun, any gun, I did so. If I had $200, I didn't wait to scrape up another $200 to get the S&W or Colt I really wanted, I just picked up a cheaper substitute. For the record, I did not ever buy a Davis, Jennings, Lorcin, Jimenez or Hi-Point. I ended up getting rid of all the "budget" guns I owned (although my 1991 Taurus PT-92 and 1992 stainless M-85 are still worthy and compare favorably with any handguns out there), and went for the ones I really wanted, rather than just immediate gratification in the form of buying something just to buy something. As we all know, that behavior just means we move on exponentially faster to the next thing, never really enjoying the latest acquisition.

 

[.38 Special]

My first rifle and my first handgun were both in .22LR, and I count those purchases as among the few really good decisions I have ever made. Even then, I followed up the .22 handgun with a .357 Magnum revolver and promptly started undoing all the good I'd done with the .22!

 

[bannockburn]

First gun was probably a Webley Mk.IV revolver and was bought at a flea market a couple of counties over from where we lived.
Not in the greatest shape with it's so named "War Time" finish, it was to me an awesome find!

My first new gun was a Charter Arms Undercover, which I could afford, versus getting a S&W Model 36 which I couldn't afford. Should of waited and saved up for the S&W; likewise I should have held on to more of my S&W, Ruger, and Colt revolvers when I choose to focus mainly on semi-autos. All in all though, I had a lot of fun with the guns I had and while I do miss the "Good old days" of Wheelin' and Dealin', I'm quite satisfied and content with the ones I still have!

 

[Skribs]

Knowing what I know now, Id still probably have gone with the Colt/GI 1911's, as there really wasn't any other choice at the time.

Then, Id put every spare cent into machine guns of every type.

Did you get one from the first batch?

 

[LimaCharlie]

I purchased my first gun from the Sears catalog in 1962 when I was sixteen. It was a select-grade Lee-Enfiled British 303 rifle. I filed out the order form, bought a postal money order, and mailed them. The rifle, a few boxes of ammo, and a cleaning kit came to $39 and some change. The mailman left it on our front porch. I sold it when I went in the Navy in 1964.

I bought my first handgun when I got back from Viet Nam in 1966. My brother-in-law had a Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 magnum that he let me shoot. He was short of chash and sold it to me for $80. I sold it for $100 about a year later and thought I had made a great deal.

 

[trackskippy]

Did you get one from the first batch?

Which?

I was carrying a 1911 before Cooper and the games ruined them.

And my MAC only cost me $225, the MP40 $600, and HK MP5 conversion was only $800. And I started "late". Just 10 years earlier, and things were a lot cheaper, but of course, I didnt have the money or the age. Missed out on the $70 surplus M1 Thomsons J Curtis Earl was selling.

 

[JTHunter]

Over the last 40+ years, I have been fortunate to get most of the firearms I have wanted. The two mistakes I made were to use my first purchase, one of Ruger's 10-shot SA pistols with the 7.5" barrel, as a trade-in for the .380 that I still own. The other was a Marlin Golden 39A .22 rifle with the half-cock safety and no "transfer bar". I trusted a cop and did what he said, only to find out he couldn't be trusted.
Every other firearm I have were either inherited (.25 ACP, .32 ACP, .32-20, .38 Sp.) or bought by me (2-.22LR rifles, Single Six LR/Mag revolver, .22 Mag rifle, .22 Mag SA pistol, Rem. 700 in .243, GP-100 and Marlin 1894 in .357 Mag, an AK, and 2-12 gauges).
There is only one rifle that still interests me but for three things. Firearm prices in general are too high, the cost of .22 Mag ammo is too high, and the availability of this gun is lacking - a Keltec CMR-30 to go with my PMR-30. Unfortunately, these two, like my 10/22, are good "ammo wasters".

 

[Skribs]

Which?

Of 1911s.

 

[Coyote3855]

First gun and why. Winchester Boys Rifle, M67A for Christmas when I was 8.

Lots of guns in and out over 70 years. I'd keep some that I sold or traded.

If there were overs, I'd buy a truck load of those surplus firearms that were $12-$30 on the back pages of the American Rifleman.

 

[Ignition Override]

Would/ Should have bought about six cases of Port. And S.A. 7,62 NATO ammo in 2007, and plunged directly into Battle Rifles…

….versus Mosins, Mini 14, SKS, Enfields etc.
Bought my first Battle Rifles at age 66. Almost fifteen years to gradually transition from a Mini in .223 to an HK- or FAL in .308! Ridiculous.

—-Back then, Bulk prices for 7,62x39 ammo were always (as they are now) more attractive than .308 ammo.—-

To be crystal clear, these are only for the private gun club, not for the "Amazon Prime / my house could be an “Alamo”/ forbidden topic".

 

[Anchorite]

First I bought, a 6” stainless Python (really wanted a 4”). Second was a Glock 17. Still have the Python. Glock is long gone. If you’re going to lose your virginity, choose wisely.

 

[Crosshair]

Buy a 223 Remington Savage for my first centerfire rifle instead of the 22-250 I did buy.

 

[KY DAN]

My first guns was a hermitage arms rough rider 22 lr revolver. I bought it with money I earned cutting my grandfather's grass at the age of 10 in 2001. My dad did the paper work obviously but it was my CLOSELY MONITORED tool.

The obvious choice would have been a Smith and wesson model 17 or 617 22 revolver or a ruger mk 2.

I would have told myself in this time machine scenario to buy quality not quantity, not be a know it all pain in the ass, that's it.

Took forever to learn about quality tools and the advantage of actually listening to someone else.

 

[jrmiddleton425]

If I could go back to my 16-year-old self with my current knowledge:
1.) Spend the extra $40 and get an 11-87 instead of an 1100 20 LT. The 20 LT is a great little shotgun, but it can't use 3-inch shells.

2.) Buy a couple of each M1 Garand, 1903/03A3, and M1917 rifles back when they were $300-$400. The '03s are getting scarce now at any price.

3.) My first handgun would have been a Glock 30. Second would be a CZ-75B with a .22 Kadet upper to shoot .22 LR when I want to. My third handgun would be a 4-inch 686. I might not own any other handguns today. If there was a "number four" it would be a S&W Registered Magnum .357.

4.) Buy a Shiloh Sharps...because I can.

 

[SterlingBullet]

I would have acquired my first firearm at twenty-two years old instead of forty-two years old.
Purchased high-quality guns only; although my first was a Colt Pony Pocketlite.
Invested in Bitcoin when it was below $100.
Purchased condos in Miami Beach in the mid 1980s when they were under $15,000 (studios were $7k).
There is a lot more “shoulda, woulda, coulda” after sixty-five years.

 

[hemiram]

If I could start over, I would have ignored "Ray" a family friend and ex-NYPD officer and not bought the truly awful Taurus Model 83. Looked nice, had a lot of problems. The Dan Wesson 15-2 I bought to use while it went to FL twice ended up being the first of about a dozen 15-2's I've had over the last 45 years. I also would have avoided some other trash guns I bought, like the Colt Combat Commander, the AMT Hardballer Longslide, TWO AMT Back-ups, and a few others. Just thinking about the trigger on one of those Back-Ups makes my hand hurt. And the zero issues but just weird HK VP-70Z would get a pass. That trigger, wow.

 

[sevt_chevelle]

If I could go back and warn my younger self, I would tell him to buy quality over quantity.

I've always had this mindset.
There's alot of gun owners that buy guns just to buy a gun or think hey that's a good deal.

Sorry, but am not gonna go out and buy a bunch hi points and a stupid arse revolver that doesn't work, when for the same money I can buy say a CZ shadow 2.

I'll take my 2100 dollar Dan Wesson DWX over 6 glocks any day of the week.

Much rather spend my time and ammo money shooting my M1 garand than some Walmart closeout special I bought cause it was cheap.

 

[chicharrones]

Looking back at my 1992 self, the first gun that I bought was an unissued Norinco SKS. It was chosen almost exclusively due to cost to purchase and cost to fire. I knew zip about the SKS back then, but a local sporting goods store was selling them.

A couple years later I bought my first handgun which was a Ruger GP100 w/ 6" barrel. It was purchased as a "multi-role" handgun. Hunt, home defense, target shoot. The appeal of shooting .38 special and .357 magnum in the same gun was strong, but in reality I probably only fired one box of .38 special through that gun.

If I were the same age and had the same relative income in 2023, my first rifle would probably be an AR15 "dissipator" from Palmetto State Armory with sights. My first handgun would probably be a S&W CSX. Both chosen to somewhat buck current trends, but still be obtainable with a young man's income.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...nato-1-7-nitride-a2-ept-dissipator-rifle.html deal of the day pricing

https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/s-w-csx-9mm

(Leaving out my dad's and grand dad's guns that I shot as a kid.)

 

[BWS]

First long gun I bought;

Was a month or two short of 18 y.o. Went to a gunstore showed them my DL for the age requirement and handed them a wad of cash for a Remington 1100 410. Went and picked it up on my birthday. Still have it.

1st handgun;

Same thing,ordered a #41 S&W before turning 21... picked up on my birthday. Super nice pistol but just didn't shoot it all that much.... and about that time Ruger 22's were really gaining traction at a fraction of the $. So I sold/traded the 41,at a decent profit... even at a gunstore... for a new R700V 6mm. Still have it,and is one of my pet cast rigs.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

...What was your first gun? Why was it your first gun? Looking back on what you got then, and what you could have gotten instead, would you have made the same choice? Why, or why not?

My first gun was a Marlin Model 60 22LR. My dad got it for me used at a pawn shop for my 12th birthday. I still have it. It was a fantastic first gun. It's still a fantastic gun. I wouldn't change my first gun experience. Since then, I've owned a Ruger 10/22 (POS) and a Remington Nylon 10C (super duper POS); neither of them were as reliable as the Marlin.

One thing I might have changed, with 20/20 hindsight, is I would have gone right to a 30-06 bolt gun instead of the 243 I have. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the 243 Winchester. But the hunting I'm doing now would be easier with a 30-06; my 243 is a little more limiting than I prefer, but it's still getting the job done, so I don't spend the money to replace it.

 

[WestKentucky]

Starting over would be a lot more fruitful in other aspects of life, but I suppose that specifically related to guns I would start on S&W a lot earlier and also would have a bunch of the truly nice Taurus guns too, and at least one of each barrel length on Rossi Cyclops. Also, start earlier with TC single shots.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Something I was thinking recently, is that I might have picked a different gun for my first gun, if I had to start over again. I might, and I might not. My first gun was a full-size .40 S&W handgun. Since then, I've preferred 9 over .40, but I also have smaller (.380) and bigger (.45). If I could, I might start over with a 9. Or I might get a .40 again. Or I might start over with a 9, but also eventually get another .40...

My first centerfire handgun was a Taurus PT99 in 9mm. I bought it as a cheaper trainer for the M9 I had in the Air Force. Great gun. I regret selling it. Now I run a Beretta M9. I have no idea why anyone would ever buy a 40 S&W. That cartridge makes no sense to me. I feel the same way about 10mm, too. 9mm won the caliber wars a long time ago; just look at market share and how fast the ammo flies off the shelves-especially during a panic. In 2020, all the stores in my area had thousands of boxes (i.e. tens of thousands of rounds) of 40 S&W and 10mm. 9mm was unavailable at any price. Shelves were bare, and people who had some weren't selling it. 9mm was the last ammo to have regular availability, and that has only been in the last 6 months.

 

[teerex.otw]

My first handgun burned up in a house fire. Was a Ruger P95 9mm. If I could go back in time I would have not left it at my dad's house. I would also have not sold a lot of things and would not buy that stupid hi point carbine or jamomatic Remington 742

I concur, the Rem. 742/7400 rifles have horrible gas systems, I’ve had a couple and been around several more and have never seen one go more than 200-300 rounds before wear starts to cause a “short stroke” situation, it will kick out the empty and cock the gun, but the bolt doesn’t go far enough back to pick up another round. This is a real shame, because these rifles otherwise are really comfortable, user-friendly, and quite accurate.
My current is an old 760 pump in ‘06 with a 2x7 Burris…The only way I could be any happier is if deer started grazing in my front yard !

 

[dweis]

I’d start with a 22 and work my up. Gee, that’s why I did, learned to shoot a 22 rifle at age 7. At age 18 I was shooting an M1. At age 20 was shooting a M1911. Then an M14. As a civilian I first shot a Colt Government model. Then it was Beretta 92, from there on it was 9mm pistols until 2 months age who. It became a 380. My guns grew and aged with me.