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Who still owns their first gun?

Slab74

Bullets, BBQ, and Bourbon Connoisseur
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 23, 2019
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697
Everyone is talking about what is new and cool, but what about old and awesome? And what is better than your first gun? Here is my Springfield Savage Arms model 120a. I probably shot 20k rounds of .22lr thru it as a kid. It was also my dad’s first gun.
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When I was 12 my dad bought me a Winchester Model 94 for whitetail deer hunting. Almost 40 years later I still have it along with the Remington 22 I received from him the following year.
 
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Everyone is talking about what is new and cool, but what about old and awesome? And what is better than your first gun? Here is my Springfield Savage Arms model 120a. I probably shot 20k rounds of .22lr thru it as a kid. It was also my dad’s first gun. View attachment 7231785
Funny thing is is that’s my first rifle too. And I still own it aswell I’ll post pics in a bit
 
My first gun was a sears and roebuck .22 lr. its tube fed semi auto. The thing is a laser always was. It could not even guess how many rounds it has through it. Yes I still have it.
 
Mine is a GAP Crusader.

The only thing left is the barreled action, which is one it's 3rd or 4th barrel and was rebarreled by another gunsmith. So it no longer exists as a GAP Crusader.

The barreled action is currently collecting dust in a closet, but I would like to do something with it.
 

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I still have the Ruger 10/22 I got for Christmas when I was 12!
 
I’ve still got my first, mid 70’s 10/22 with the 3/4” scope that my dad bought new in college.
 
I refinished, reblued my 788 Rem and gave to a young buddy of my Fathers, who gave it to me in 1973.
First gun I ever paid for, straw purchase, lol, was a 4" Colt Diamondback(blue), long gone.
 
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Still have my first BB gun,Red Ryder, my first shotgun, a single shot 4-10, and my first 22, p54 Sako.
 
My first is dead and gone. A marlin 60 22lr. Got in a tight spot 10-15 years ago and sold it to my dad....who promptly broke it. Like action in half broke it. I would guess it had 30 to 40 bricks of ammo through it. Brick is 500 round so 40 bricks..20k and dad said it still shot great right up to when he broke it.
 
Had a Remington Nylon 66. Loved that gun. My uncle had it on the tractor when I was about 15 and it fell off and he ran over it with the back tire and then the disc he was pulling.
 
I still have the Mossberg 500 I bought when I was 12. I would sell it, but its not worth anything. I can't say i have any sentimental attachment to any of my guns. Mine are just simple machines. There are millions of others just like them, only in many cases less worn out.
 
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My first gun is a pre-64 Winchester model 94 in 30-30. It was shared by my grandmother and my father when he was young, and you bet your ass I still have it; I'll never get rid of it.
 
Ruger M77 mkII in 270. Bought it when I was 12 with my entire summers wages from detasseling. Still has the original 6x red field scope on it. I tried to put different glass on her, but it just felt......dirty. Still took her out deer hunting this fall.
 
J. C. Higgins Model 41, made by Marlin for Sears Roebuck. Christmas 1962. A few months shy of my 10th birthday. I remember a couple of things...
  • It cost, as I remember it, $16 in the Sears catalog, from which it could be mail-ordered (handguns too - pre-GCA' 68).
  • My father made a little rack on the family room wall and the rifle was always on it - sans bolt. I could fondle the rifle all I wanted, but obviously it was harmless without the bolt. Almost every day, I took it down and rubbed 3-In-1 oil into that stock. My wife would say that, figuratively, I still do the same thing....(Note... it took me a couple hours' search time to find where Dad hid the bolt, but I never told... and there would have been "consequences" had I messed with it.)
  • I still remember him bringing home that first box of .22 Long Rifle ammo. Fifty whole rounds! I weighed each one on my junior chemist set balance scale... who could have predicted that nearly six decades later I'd be doing the same thing with .223 and 6.5CM brass...
I just pulled it out of the very back of the safe. I need to clean it. But that trigger... a $16 rifle, almost 60 years old, with a trigger that breaks crisp&clean at 2 pounds 1 ounce. No liability-special 12-pound ultra-creep triggers then.

gtptEJGMSHi05NI6WJB2Cg_thumb_2c6.jpg
 
My dad bought a Winchester 62-A during the Korean War. It was bought at the Naval PX in Guantanamo, Cuba, while he served on the battleship Iowa. He gave it to me when I was 12. I still shoot a few skwirls and kill beef steers with it every year....

 
I still have my first gun a Crack Shot single shot rolling block 22LR. It’s too rusty to shoot anymore. My x left it in an open barn for 30 years!
 
I kind of do, i have rebarreled it and built a nice wood stock for it myself
 

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My first gun was a Savage Model 24B. It’s a .410 / .22LR over-under complete w/ selector switch & hammer. I killed a lot of rabbits & a few birds w/ it over the years. It’s in good shape overall.

I received it as a Christmas gift in ‘81 at 8 years old. I gave it to my son as a Christmas gift in 2015. FWIW, I’ve been told this gun has been passed down in my family since the mid 50s.
 
My first was a youth model rem 870 20 gauge. Currently sports a pistol grip for home defense but when my son comes of age it’ll get the butt stock put back on it for him to use.
 
The first gun I bought myself was an HK USP compact when I turned 22 (22 years ago). I just sold it a year ago. I rarely shot it because the ergonomics were terrible for me, compared to the other pistols I have. It was painful to get rid of my first gun but I didn't like shooting it anymore so I found it a new home. If it was something other than a polymer pistol I would have hung onto it.
 
I wasn't raised in a household with firearms. It wasn't until I left home and had a friend that hunted. In 1974 I picked up a beat up Winchester 94 in 30-30, (pre '64). That worked fine.. I then had the metal refinished and I redid the wood. That was my first firearm and i still have it.
 
J.C. Higgins model 103.229 (Marlin 81) .22 which I ordered by mail from the Sears Roebuck catalogue in 1955 when I was 10 It and I got a little worn and a few scars over the years, but I still have it and it still works, although mostly it just sits resting in the rack.
 
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J. C. Higgins Model 41, made by Marlin for Sears Roebuck. Christmas 1962. A few months shy of my 10th birthday. I remember a couple of things...
  • It cost, as I remember it, $16 in the Sears catalog, from which it could be mail-ordered (handguns too - pre-GCA' 68).
  • My father made a little rack on the family room wall and the rifle was always on it - sans bolt. I could fondle the rifle all I wanted, but obviously it was harmless without the bolt. Almost every day, I took it down and rubbed 3-In-1 oil into that stock. My wife would say that, figuratively, I still do the same thing....(Note... it took me a couple hours' search time to find where Dad hid the bolt, but I never told... and there would have been "consequences" had I messed with it.)
  • I still remember him bringing home that first box of .22 Long Rifle ammo. Fifty whole rounds! I weighed each one on my junior chemist set balance scale... who could have predicted that nearly six decades later I'd be doing the same thing with .223 and 6.5CM brass...
I just pulled it out of the very back of the safe. I need to clean it. But that trigger... a $16 rifle, almost 60 years old, with a trigger that breaks crisp&clean at 2 pounds 1 ounce. No liability-special 12-pound ultra-creep triggers then.

View attachment 7231827

I had one of those.
I actually wore it out.
22 short and long rifle ammo was cheap in the 70’s.
 
Everyone is talking about what is new and cool, but what about old and awesome? And what is better than your first gun? Here is my Springfield Savage Arms model 120a. I probably shot 20k rounds of .22lr thru it as a kid. It was also my dad’s first gun. View attachment 7231785
Looks very much like the .22 my father gave me for Christmas when I was 12.

Sold as a Cooey in Canada I believe.

I too bought ammunition by the brick. That gun could shoot even with the iron sights. I only figured out 65 years later the front sight can be drifted for windage adjustment.

I also have my father's rifle, Savage Model 99 lever action in 300 Savage, and my grandfather's rifle Winchester Model 84, I believe it is, in 45-70. My second rifle was a Savage Model 99 in .308 also from my father when I was 15.

Still have all three.

I gave my son a Blaser R-93 in .308 when he was 15. Thought about a lever action to continue the tradition, but the world moves on.
 
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Bought it in 1974, still have the OEM parts and box, have never replaced any bolt/action parts though I have back ups for everything. Paid $59.98 not on sale, best value per round of any gun I've owned.
 
I bought my first firearm at 14 and walked into the store and bought it myself. No picture, it's in the back of one of my safes.

Springfield Model 67 Model D. I believe I paid either $29 or $49 for it. Killed my share of squirrel and rabbit. Never was able to drop a deer with it. That one, is the cheapest firearm I own but it will never be sold and will be given to my grandson. Along with anything else he wants.
 
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Ruger 77/22 All weather with wood laminate. Received it for Christmas as my first gun, and is still in perfect condition. I have had it for decades and will never sell it.
 
A Walther GSP .22 LR, when i was 16, still have it, stored in the box, in the local gunclub.
My second was a Valmet 412S shotgun
 
I still have the Mossberg model 46(b) that was handed down from my father. Tube fed bolt 22 so it can consume shorts through lr. It is currently buried in the back of my safe but this thread has me wanting to dig it out. So many great memories.

I recall walking down the semi rural street with it at about 12 years old and having a sheriff drive by and wave. Oh the times have changed, pretty sure you would get a very different response today!

Can’t say I have let any firearm go that I have acquired to date. That may change as I have a few that I never use and might sell for the ‘I gotta have that’ item soon, but this old Mossberg will remain in the family. Thank you Op for bringing back the memories.
 
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Rohm RG-14 .22 pistol. Must have been about 12 when I spied it in grandpas utility room closet. I asked him how much for it (even though I didnt have two nickles) and after a couple days of yard work he let me take it home. Shot it so much the hammer broke off.
 
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I grew up in a house without firearms. When I was 21, I had someone try to break into my home. I believe it was my next door neighbor, who several weeks later was arrested and convicted of murder... I bought a 9mm pistol after that, which turned out to be a jam-o-matic... I then bought a worn out 1911 (wouldn't feed or extract reliably, slide was peening pretty bad, and the serrations were terrible). So both those guns are long gone. After that I bought a Beretta 92fs, loved it, still have it.
 
First rifle given is a Remington 572, a Christmas gift at age 12 from Dad and Grand Dad. I guess they got tired of me wearing out their Winchesters. Ran many a brick of Gambles and Coast to Coast hardware store ammo through it. Still have it

First purchased is a Savage 112V single shot 22-250, bought it in the 70's. Still have it, 4th barrel, it now sits in a early H&S fiberglass stock. It's been ignored for a few years, time to get it out and scoped up again.