Your personal firearm firsts

[pirateguy191]

Wow, Evan, GREAT STORY. Thanks for sharing.

[Sevens]

Great stuff!

[Sevens]

My first handloads: .38 Special, in non-nickel Federal brass, using Speer swaged semi-wadcutters and pushed by a charge of Hercules Green Dot, metered out with a Lee dipper and lit off with a CCI-500 small pistol primer. YES, I held the revolver out at arms length, took careful aim at the dirt backstop with no specific target in mind, then I turned my head and discharged it!

Yes, it all went off without a hitch... from that same S&W 686 that I mentioned in a post above. I believe that .38 Special is the single best cartridge a new handloader could choose to start with, for so many reasons. Not that you have to start with it... just that if you have an array of choices, I think it's the best for so many reasons.

Oops... I maybe should have said my first metallic handloads. My actual firsts were Remington Premier 20 ga hulls, with Winchester AA wads, Winchester 473AA powder, CCI 209 shotshell primers and loaded on a Mec-650.

[willbird]

My first rifle was a Savage Anschutz match 64, I was involved in junior NRA smallbore and used Adams Conservation club rifles for the first year or two...and dad gave me that rifle for a birthday present. Dad was a part time gunsmith and a small bore shooter had traded it in because it wouldnt shoot, well dad faced .03" off the action screws (which were bottomed out) and it started shooting again, with the old WW 22 target ammo it would shoot an amazing sub 1" group at 200 yards..more like 3/4"...wish I had saved that group dad gave to me with the rifle ("you have no excuses now" he said).

My first handgun was a Ruger Old army....I had looked at the cap and ball guns in Dixie catalogs for years, I was at least 16 and noticed Clelands had a used one in the case, I mentioned it to either dad or mom....well it showed up under the Christmas tree that year . When I started working I had the cash to get a Ruger mark II (wish I had it back now)...I was not 21 yet but dad bought it for me at a gunshow. The first new gun I ever bought was at Kmart, and it was an H&R topper 20 gauge.

Bill

[evan price]

My first handloads were those old 8mm Mauser rounds. They were pulldown cases so no resizing was needed. I used pulldown bullets and powder too. The powder I got in bulk in brown paper bags was IMR 7383, a TRIPLE base powder that is kind of scarce. It was very dirty and smelled bad. I was having ignition problems and an assistant scoutmaster told me about using a faster, modern powder in the bottom of the case to boost ignition. He told me 3031 was the one to use so I did. 10 grains 3031 and then fill the case to the bottleneck with 7383, then push the bullet in with a RUBBER MALLET. Yes, I was like that bugs bunny cartoon of the gremlin having Bugs hammer on mortar shells to see if they would go off. Anyway, it wasn;t great ammo and being duplex loads and not measured well I am lucky the Mauser was a strong action.

My first pistol rounds were 9mm Luger. I figured small, cheap, easy to load. I fired my first ones in a S&W held at arms' length in the woods. I was surprised, pleasantly, they worked fine.

[wickedgreyzx3]

First shotgun - Benelli Nova Pump 20ga age: 18
First handgun - Taurus CIA 650, age 23
First Rifle - K Kale '42 8mm Mauser

First firearm I sold was the CIA after the frame bent and taurus said I shot too hot 357's throogh it,... uhg.

First firearm mishap was when I was incorrectly holding my sr9c and it bump fired about 6 rounds in a row. nearly.. pooped my pants.

[gabe]

Gotta tell one more but it isn't mine...

I dug out my old Daisy BB gun that I got when I was 5 (no bbs till I was 6 though). I told my 5 year old son that it was his if he would help me refinish it, it also needs a diaphram kit, so it gives me and him a project. Due to some health issues I hadn't been able to get to working on it. Well last night I pulled it out and pulled the stock off and gave him some sandpaper. He worked almost nonstop till the stock was glass smooth (well mostly), even said he wanted to skip dinner to work on it. Am I a proud papa? you betcha

gabe

[carmen fovozzo]

.....BB gun boughten brand new at a store on 55 Braodway, Cleveland. I was proud...

1. M1
2.BAR
3.Carbine 30 cal.
4.Flame thrower
5.3.5 rocket launcher
6.30 cal MG
7.M14 7.62
8.M79 40 mm Grenade launcher.
9.50 cal mounted on a M113 PC carrier.
Some where between 5 and 6 there was a 1911
10.Whoops, for got the M60 MG

.....I don't own any guns now though...
Of all the above guns the M 14 was my favorite....

[Redfestiva]

My first handgun purchase was about 20 + years ago. I went in halves with my then roomate on a 22 LR F.I.E. single action revolver (cowboy style). It was brand new for $59.00 at a hardware store near Indian Lake. At that time there was no background check, just cash & carry. I have never sold a gun . I still have my childhood Daisy BB rifle. BB guns don't kill tin cans. Kids kill tin cans.

[Colt45]

First time I ever shot a gun I was a junior or senior in high school. S&W Model 29 .44 magnum. Also shot a pump 12 gauge that day, a Remington I think. First rifle was a few years later, some sort of .22 carbine with a small plastic magazine.

My first purchase was a SA 1911 Mil-Spec. First rifle purchase was an old 8mm Mauser I bought from my dad's buddy who brought it back in WWII. Also my first firearm sale.

[stavinski]

I had never shot anything except a bb gun Until I was 30. A great friend took me to the range for fun. 2 years later I carry every day. First gun was a Remington 870. I have the M&P Pro 9mm and the compact with crimson trace, though I enjoy training with the laser off of course. I've never sold one and don't intend to, especially with my limited collection.

Next project is to make a leather holster, inspired by a thread in the equipment and gear section on this forum.

[Sevens]

My first carry gun... wasn't even mine! When I got my CHL, I had a nice handful of handguns in the safe and not a single one of them was "appropriate" for concealed carry. A 6-inch L-frame? A full size 3rd Gen? My Grandfather's 87-year old nickeled 6-inch .38? So for the first couple of days, I pocket carried (with pocket holster) a Jennings J-22. Yes, that one. Also inappropriate for concealed carry... because it's junk. The closest thing I had to a handgun for this role was my Taurus PT-99AF but it is large, wide and cumbersome. Duty carry perhaps. Concealed carry -- not so great.

I received my CHL from Delaware County on a Wednesday and my bro-in-law and shooting buddy came down for a planned late season motorcycle ride. As always, he traveled with at least a few guns on the off chance that we'd throw together an impromptu range day. So three days after getting my license, we were looking over the route and planning the riding day when he offered his Springfield XD-9 sub-compact for me to carry while he carried his .380. I took him up on the offer and my first "real" day of carry with a proper handgun was that subcompact XD-9 that didn't even belong to me. We left at 8 am for the riding day, didn't come home until about 7 pm and covered about 300 miles.

Yes, I was quite familiar with that pistol and I have shot it many, many times. I will admit that I had never shot any defense ammo from it, but the ammo I was carrying was Hydra-Shock ammo that he had function tested through the pistol. It felt quite good to carry.

I bought my EDC just less than one month later. An no, we never did get to the range that weekend. The weather was just too nice and the roads were calling.

[tep0583]

First handgun and rifle shot were both dad's .22s

First shotgun shot was a Montgomery Ward 12ga.

First handgun bought was a Auto Ordnance 1911.
First Shotgun bought was the MW 12ga I first shot.
First rifle bought was a Chinese SKS (traded for the 12ga)

[farblue]

First rifle ever shot was a 22 bolt action something or other at my cousin's farm, and if my mother had found out about it, she would have had a cow. After I was properly beaten.

Yeah, I grew up in a no-gun household. To drift just a little, I like sharing this story because it hurts every time I tell it:

Dad came back from WWII with a Walther P38 that Mom made him get rid of because she didn't want any guns in the house. Aside from toy guns, a BB gun, and a little starter pistol that Mom let Dad buy to purportedly scare off bad guys (that was kept in a locked box in the closet to enhance its effectiveness as a deterrent to crime) there was nothing.

First shotgun fired was a 12ga Western Field Model 550ABD that I bought shortly after turning 18. I still have that shotgun, although it currently wears a synthetic stock and fore-end, as well as a Mossberg 18.5" "security" barrel.

First handgun fired was a Colt 1911 with a 22 conversion when I was in boot camp.

First rifle purchased was a Chinese SKS. First handgun purchased was a Beretta 92FS. Both were purchased around 1990.

[tecpatl4]

First rifle was a Marlin bolt-action single shot that my dad still has. I think I was 5 or 6.
1st Pistol was a cheapo .25. I was maybe 7. My dad was a small town cop. I don't know where he got it but I suspect it was his throwdown piece.

First Machine-gun was at Ft. Benning in 1983.
First shotgun was sometime around age 28 or so when I went to work for a gun store down in Texas. Also first submachine gun and silencer as he was a class III dealer.