What was the caliber of the first gun you owned?

[NoVA Shooter]

There is a current thread (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=744268) that is discussing the best advice to give someone who wants to buy their first gun. As expected, most people advocated the .22 route. The first gun I owned was a 9mm and I’d like to think it’s work out well for me (yes, I did start out shooting .22 but I never felt the need to own one as my first gun).

This got me thinking; while most people believe a .22 should be a first gun, how many of us actually went this way. Don’t get me wrong, I do agree that shooting a .22 is the best way to start, but that does not translate to owning.

This poll is not about what you learned to shoot with or what you shot first, but what you OWNED first.

Thanks

 

[mnhntr]

A tube fed Savage 22lr select fire rifle. It had a cross bolt that made it single shot or semi auto.

 

[Monkeybear]

A CZ75BD I purchased new at Gander Mt for $349.. Still the best gun I've ever owned.

 

[Dr. Sandman]

Remember when K-mart used to sell guns? (and bowling balls!) I vividly remember a young Mr. Sandman finishing classes at Purdue and then going to K-mart on 52 West in West Lafayette and buying my first gun, a Marlin model 60. It came with a scope and I had the idea that I was going to be a can't miss sniper with that gun! I messed around for hours trying to get that scope to work and it was never as good as the iron sights for me. I ended up ditching the scope and, to this day, I still use that gun with the iron sight and I still shoot it quite frequently. The K-mart is gone now. I also remember buying some ammo for my rifle at the time I bought the rifle, a tradition that continues to this day. Great idea for a thread. I think everyone should own a .22 and it is an excellent choice for a first gun purchase, especially for those of us who had to buy their own guns and don't get to use their family guns.

 

[jr_watkins]

16 ga

In 1979, for my 14th birthday, a used (manufactured in 1954) Remington 870 Wingmaster in 16 ga. It has the variable twist choke. I still have it today and use it every dove season.


The first gun I bought myself, a Ruger P89 in 9mm. I still have that one as well, but it only gets shot once every few years.

 

[Hanshi]

A Remington M 514 single shot .22LR. It was the first gun I ever bought with my own money, $20 & change. Technically, however, it's a gray area. I did have use of, and defacto ownership, of an old, decrepit but good shooting Mossberg bolt action 20ga.

 

[km101]

First gun I ever owned was a Ruger Bearcat .22lr pistol. I bought it in 1964. I still have it today. I bought the pistol and a brick of .22 ammo for less than $40 dollars. I have taken that pistol and a box of ammo and spent many hours in the woods hunting, plinking or just enjoying being outdoors. My second gun was a Winchester .22lr semi auto rifle. I don't remember what happened to it. It didn't stay around as long as the pistol.

I plan to give the pistol to my grandson. It shoots very accurately considering the basic style of the sights.

 

[PJSprog]

Well, "Other." The first gun I actually owned was a 6" S&W 686 Distinguished Combat Magnum in .357 Magnum. Still have it, and still my favorite gun to this day.

 

[Defc0n]

FN Five-Seven (chambered in 5.7x28 of course) was the first gun that I owned personally. Spent many years firing them (obviously not my own) before I decided to start my own collection though. Have had it for a few years now, still one of my favorites to take to the range.

 

[rbernie]

357 Magnum.

 

[GBExpat]

.22LR semi-auto rifle ... got it for Christmas when I was 12.

 

[BigBL87]

My first is going to be a 12 gauge shotgun, on its way to my LGS as we speak.

 

[C0untZer0]

My dad bought me a Winchester tube-fed .22 rifle when I was a kid but he kind of kept possession of it until I got out of the service, and while I was in the Army I bought an HK P7M8.

So I consider the P7M8 as the first gun I really owned.

 

[bmnloader]

The 1st one I bought was a Ruger 22/22WMR pistol. Ex stole it and pawned it just before we got divorced. Great pistol, I wish I still had it.

 

[chicharrones]

First gun I bought for myself was chambered in 7.62x39, but the first caliber I ever fired was .22LR in my dad's plinker.

 

[Onward Allusion]

.25 ACP. Yes. I said 25 ACP, as in a Tanfoglio Titan II.

This was way back in the day in Chicago where many did "undocumented carry". Saved the bacon of many in those days, including myself.

 

[StrutStopper]

When I turned 18 (parents wouldn't even let me have a BB gun before then) I went out and bought a .35 Rem Marlin 336CS to go hunting with. That was about 35 years ago. Still have the rifle, it pretty much stays in the safe though.

 

[Red Wind]

A Tanarmi 9mm. 15 round magazine. Extremely accurate. Wish I still had it. Sold it in 1985. Big mistake.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Well, my first was a family hand me down Winchester single shot 16-gauge. I was 6 when my uncle brought it to me. I was 10 or 11 before dad let me shoot it.

My 2nd gun was when I was 7, my dad gave me a H&R .410 single shot that I shot quiet a bit. He just didn't want me to get stomped by the bigger one and turned off to shooting. It worked out good.

 

[Ranger Roberts]

My first was a 22/410 savage. It was a great first gun!

 

[Inebriated]

First gun I ever owned was a 12 gauge 870. First gun I ever shot was a Marlin Model 60.

 

[Macchina]

There is no option for .177...

 

[Skribs]

First gun I shot was a 9mm. First gun I owned was a .40 S&W.

 

[funklord12]

CZ75B 9mm

 

[morcey2]

First gun I owned was a Winchester Ranger 120 12ga. Basically a 1300 in more basic form.

I don't have any idea what the first firearm I shot was, but the first one I distinctly remember shooting was a pump action 22LR. It was one of the older ones where you could just hold the trigger down and pump until it was empty. That was at around 8 or 9. My dad says that I shot some earlier than that, but he doesn't remember what it was either. It could have been a single shot 22 when I was 5 or 6. I don't remember that one though.

I distinctly remember the first handgun I shot. It was a 44 Mag that one of my uncles kept in his motorhome for protection. I was 11. I only shot it once. It about ripped my arms off. My brothers had shot it with some very light 44 special rounds. Mine was a beyond-full-power handload that my uncle had. My dad wasn't happy about that one in the least. I still think I tore something in my wrist when that happened. I later found out that my Uncle didn't like me because I didn't put up with his crap and he did it on purpose We still don't get along.

Matt