Your First Love

[ThomasT]

OK I’ll play. My first handgun was a model 19 with 6” barrel and the three Ts. I learned to reload with that gun. I shot it at least twice a week and sometimes more. I used it in the falling plate matches and won a few trophies with it. But other guns called and since I wasn’t rich it got traded off for something else. I wish I still owned it.

 

[bannockburn]

Old Dog

Perfect!

I see that and I think of that expression where sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words!

 

[ECVMatt]

My first love was/is my Ruger Redhawk that I have written about here in the past. I must have read every Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times, etc magazine 100 times when picking this revolver. It was this or a 29. I was going back and forth but leaning towards the Ruger. A gentleman who was teaching me how to hunt just returned from an elk hunt in Montana and told me that most of the guides prefered the Redhawk. That was it for me and I headed off to the gun store with my dad. I still have it and it still shoots great after many 1000's of rounds.

EDIT: It was Bob Milek that played a big part in my choosing the Redhawk and I actually found one of the articles that I use to read and reread:

https://davestestsandarticles.weebly.com/uploads/4/8/4/5/4845046/gamay84rugred.pdf

I love the internet for this kind of stuff!

 

[Buckeye63]

I still have it .. my Dad bought a S&W 36 3 inch barrel back in 1974 .. When my Dad died the 36 went to me ....

 

[WheelGunMan]

"Love"? Revolver?

No.

Wife, yes. Dog, yes. Snow, yes.

The choice of words could prove unfortunate.

Actually yes..it's a different kind of love. Love of well made machines, well made tools, and well made guns. It's a different kind of love or might I say admiration of things that are made well. I love my wife in a different way as I do my dogs...and yes...I can love a revolver.

 

[ThomasT]

Maybe it’s more of a deep appreciation than love and who doesn’t like to handle and admire their guns? Even beater guns are special to us.

And I have to agree with the OPs first post about a model 10. It’s a gun I have encouraged him to get in our many emails back and forth and I hope someday he gets one. A model 10, a Ruger single six and a mid sized 357 are the basis for a starter handgun collection. And it just grows from there.

 

[Nacho Man]

The first revolver I shot was a Single Six 32 H&R Mag that my dad bought for my older brother around the late 80s. Older bro also had a police trade in S&W M10 pencil barrel that was quite fun to shoot.
I didn't start collecting guns till I was around 30 or so. My first revolver is a blued Ruger Redhawk 44 mag with a manufacturer date of Aug 1985. I remember getting home, holding this massive gun in my hand, and shaking my head saying why did I buy this damn thing.
That changed after I put the first round through it at the range, I could see why everyone liked that round so much.

 

[Tallball]

I had a Single Six in 22lr as a teenager. It shot many a can, rabbit, squirrel, etc.

My first "real" handgun was a Taurus Model 66 that I got in my early 20's for HD. It happened to be a nice one.

It seems like I've always preferred revolvers to semiautos.

 

[Buckeye63]

I still have it .. my Dad bought a S&W 36 3 inch barrel back in 1974 .. When my Dad died the 36 went to me ....
View attachment 965521

Im quoting myself.... My Uncle carried a S&W Model 38 from when I was a Kid till he passed in 2006
That was the first centerfire revolver I ever fired ... My Dad got the 36 in 1974 ( best I can remember)
It has a round butt with those thin small grips .. That was what Dad left on it ....
My Dad before he passed developed Dementia... It was a task to sneak away his firearms, especially the 36 ... my Mom eventually did .. she hid the gun and forgot where she hid it ... It was not found till after my Dads passing... It needed a good clean up .. when I got it ...

 

[MacAR]

In the words of a song, "my very first pistol was a cap and ball Colt". Except it was actually a Uberti 1861 Navy, with a squareback trigger gaurd. Shot a lot of critters with it, and now my brother has it, bulged barrel and all. Later on I got a 44 Triple Lock as boot in a horse trade. I sure did like that old gun, but foolish me sold it to finance another gun deal. Ah well. I bought a Single Six this year thanks to the enablers here on this forum. And yes, I do love it.

Mac

 

[Barry the Bear]

It wasn't my first love but it was definitely the one that gave me my commitment. The model 29 smith... now I, like many of you here, have had MANY revolvers and none of them ever take me away for long from a model 29 long or short barrel, I settled on 5 inches, more than enough power for hunting and soft special loads for defense and yes I can conceal it

 

[wgp]

.22 6" Colt Diamondback. Saw it in a gun shop and drooled. I was brought up being told that handguns were bad, I was 20 or so and it occurred to me that I did not need my parents' permission to buy it. Still have it, although it is no longer my favorite handgun.

 

[LOLBELL]

Not my first revolver but the first one I really connected with is a 327 Blackhawk

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

When I was 13 my parents gifted me a Ruger Blackhawk 4-5/8” in.357. It became my hunting handgun, replaced the Remington.22 bolt action rifle I had been using. I kept it until I graduated high school then passed it on to a friend when I left for basic. He passed it down to his son who still hunts with it in the same woods as we did as kids. I never asked for it back because it had a good home. I have a few Rugers now, including a BH in .357 but with the 6-1/2” barrel.

 

[alfsauve]

Gals, guys, mine was the first LOVE, not the first shot or first purchased. I dated 3 other revolvers before my 686.

 

[__steve__]

Model 500 S&W 3.5” PC. It was love at first shoot.

 

[AustinTX]

S&W Model 57 for me. Second wheelgun and third handgun overall that I had ever fired.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Colt King Cobra. I bought it new 30 years ago. I paid the extra money for the "Ultimate Polish" model. The gun set me back $335.00.

 

[wiscoaster]

My first revolver was a S&W 66-1 that was in the used guns case at Scheels. It telepathically commanded me to take it out and look at it, then it magically attached itself to my consciousness and wouldn't let go, and to save my sanity it was necessary for me to pay for it and take it home, where it knew it would enjoy all the love and attention it thought it rightly deserved.

View media item 3250

 

[dbluefish]

First revolver and it is sure sweet.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

View media item 94

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Mine was a Colt Model 1917. I gave it to a lady, and later acquired a Colt New Service in .45 Colt.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

My first handgun was a S&W Model 13, 357 Magnum I saved up for when I turned 21 in 1983. It was pinned & recessed, NOS I suppose as I had no idea those features were being eliminated by S&W around that time. I'd briefly considered a Model 10 but the incremental cost for the Model 13 wasn't exorbitant and I could fire 38 Special ammunition as well as 357 Magnum ammunition.

I liked pretty much everything about it except that square K frame grip, so I saved a little more and purchased a set of Pachmyar grips and a 38 special Lee Loader whack-a-mole set for primary practice fodder, but I'd always shoot a cylinder or two of factory 357 Magnum jacketed soft point ammo as well during practice sessions even though those hurt my wallet more because it was my carry ammo. My admittedly foggy memory was my factory carry ammo and reloading components were all Winchester brand at that time, but I certainly can't give you specifics on powder or bullet weights I used back then. That was my first foray into reloading, my father wasn't a reloader, and none of my uncles were reloaders.

"Love" isn't a descriptor I'd personally use for any material object, to each his own.

 

[CaptHank]

I wanted a Dan Wesson 41 Mag real bad, back in the late 90's. Finally found what I was looking for. This is my All Time Favorite.

 

[Hoppes Love Potion]

4" K-frame, then
3" J-frame