[muzzleblast]

The first firearm given to me was a 20 gauge Winchester M-24 double barrel shotgun from my father's father. My first centerfire rifle was a Winchester M-94 Canadian Centennial octagon barrel 30-30 given to me by my mother's father. My first .22LR was a Marlin-Glenfield M-60, given to me as a Christmas present. My savings from yard work, hauling hay, and other farm labor afforded me the opportunity to buy and mount a Weaver V-22 3X6 scope. The old Winchester Dynapoint ammo proved to be exceptionally accurate in the Marlin's Micro-groove barrel. Of course, the M-60's trigger was at best "mushy", and the stock was little more than compressed wood chips... The thousands of trigger pulls with the M-60 cemented my eye-trigger finger coordination. I literally wore-out the M-60. I "replaced" it with a really pretty (and expensive) Remington 541-S bolt action... which proved to be disappointing... regarding accuracy...


As far as rifles go, nowadays I am pretty much a fan of the vintage Winchester M-52s... including the the Miroku repros.

As far as "one-handed" arms are concerned... My top two are Colt Match Target and Browning Medalist.

YMMV, and my S&W M-17s seem a bit upset with me ATM...

:blink:

 

[M1911A1]

My first?
A Mossberg 151Ma, tubular-magazine-in-buttstock, .22 semi-auto rifle.
I was given it new, for Christmas, in 1949.

 

[Old Man]

The first firearm given to me was a 20 gauge Winchester M-24 double barrel shotgun from my father's father. My first centerfire rifle was a Winchester M-94 Canadian Centennial octagon barrel 30-30 given to me by my mother's father. My first .22LR was a Marlin-Glenfield M-60, given to me as a Christmas present. My savings from yard work, hauling hay, and other farm labor afforded me the opportunity to buy and mount a Weaver V-22 3X6 scope. The old Winchester Dynapoint ammo proved to be exceptionally accurate in the Marlin's Micro-groove barrel. Of course, the M-60's trigger was at best "mushy", and the stock was little more than compressed wood chips... The thousands of trigger pulls with the M-60 cemented my eye-trigger finger coordination. I literally wore-out the M-60. I "replaced" it with a really pretty (and expensive) Remington 541-S bolt action... which proved to be disappointing... regarding accuracy...


As far as rifles go, nowadays I am pretty much a fan of the vintage Winchester M-52s... including the the Miroku repros.

As far as "one-handed" arms are concerned... My top two are Colt Match Target and Browning Medalist.

YMMV, and my S&W M-17s seem a bit upset with me ATM...

:blink:

It takes a lot of shooting to wear out a Marlin-Glenfield M60! I'm impressed! I had one of these that came with a squirrel impression on the stock that I shot the fire out of and finally passed it along to someone in the family without it ever showing any signs of slowing down as long as I kept it clean.

My first .22 that I was allowed to use was a Winchester M74 semi-auto that my grandfather had. It loaded through a slot in the butt stock and had a safety bar on top of the rear of the receiver. It had a full one piece walnut stock and 24" barrel with open sights, not ever drilled and tapped for scope mounts. Some I have seen had side scope mounts. The first .22 I had of my own was a Winchester M290 semi-auto rifle that I purchased in the '60's. I had trouble with the barrel shooting loose from the receiver after a while, which as you know, results in an inaccurate rifle. If I am shooting .22 rifles today it will likely be a Ruger 10/22 or a CZ bolt gun, with the CZ 452 American I have probably my favorite. I do have a Winchester M74, not my grandfathers, but one identical to it. He gave his to his brother and I have no idea what happened to it. Mine was made in the early '50s, with production ceasing in 1955 with a run of about 400,000 rifles from 1939 - 1955.

For side arms in .22 caliber, my first was an H&R M949 revolver that I have passed along to a son. Over the years my favorite .22 handgun was a High Standard Victor, but I have had a lot of others that I enjoyed shooting, too. My wife purchased me a S&W M18 Combat Masterpiece .22 for one of our wedding anniversaries many years ago. It is and was a rimfire version of the K frame revolver lines, with four inch barrel and Baughman ramped front sight, unlike the later ones that when reintroduced in the Classic line had the partridge front sights. It has a big brother with a six inch barrel in a Model 17. My two sons can pick who will get which one someday.

 

[OldVet]

My first gun was a Winchester Model 72 my dad bought at a hardware store in Charlotte, NC. A bolt action with target peep sights that were very accurate. I later had the receiver tapped and installed a 4X scope, but honestly, I still enjoy the peep sights more. I still have it and will not get rid of it. It has always had a feeding problem but never felt it was worth having a gunsmith fix it. I just break it down and clear it and keep on shooting. It has dropped literally hundreds of ground squirrels in my time in WA, often using .22 Shorts at 100+ yards to make it interesting. One learns Kentucky windage well in those windy conditions.

 

[entertainment72]

My first rimfire was a Ruger MKIII Target model. Bought it when I figured out that my first pistol, a Ruger KP90DC was expensive to shoot (45ACP).

 

[dangerranger]

My first 22 was a Ithica 49. My Mom saved Green stamps to get it! Imagine that today! Buying a gun with stamps earned at the Grocery store!
Here's a pic of one I stole from the net.
https://www.gunvaluesboard.com/ithaca-model-49-187.html

A couple years back I bought another that will be our grand daughters! Its a single shot that is ramp fed so little fingers can easily load them themselves. DR

 

[TimGunn]

My first rim fire I bought several months ago. It is a Ruger Precision 17 HMR. I never owned a rim fire in all my years. My first rifle was a 98 Mauser 8mm. I bought it for $15.00! I cast bullets and handloaded for it. Back in those days primers were .75 a hundred and powder was 5.00 a pound. I could reload cheaper than buy 22 cal. I got my lead from the local gas station and tire store. So my cost was less than .02 a round. 22 was .02 a round.

 

[G-man*]

Ithica M49 saddle gun for my 6th birthday from my grandfather. Still have it, and still shoot it. My most prized firearm.

 

[ShooterGranny]

My first rimfire was an LCR .22 - nasty, nasty trigger pull. After almost 2,000 dry fires and as much range time as I could stand, having to use both trigger fingers to pull that 14 pound trigger, it got gone. It even went back to Ruger, who informed me that the trigger pull was within their standards.

The first one I kept was the S&W M&P .22 compact. It is my favorite fun gun with which to plink! I am also enjoying my Browning 1911-22 now that it went back to the factory and they fixed the crooked or misshapen barrel. Their words: "Recalibrated the barrel."

The Ruger Mark IV Lite is my least favorite and because of all the problems (after two trips back to Ruger and untold hours working on the crappy Ruger magazines) it doesn't get much range time. When I do shoot it, I have learned that it only likes CCI mini mags and absolutely nothing else.

I don't shoot long guns. Never did.

 

[LimaCharlie]

My first rimfire was a Ruger Standard .22 LR purchased in 1969. The babysitter's boyfriend stole it while I was in Viet Nam and robbed a couple of convenience stores with it. When I got back, we were transferred across country. The police caught him and recovered the gun. They paid for my wife to go back and testify against him. He got several years in prison.

Our children told us later the babysitter's boyfriend had played with the gun many times at our home and pointed it at them. He told them he would kill them if they ever told. The police notified us a few years later that the gun would be released only to my wife in person. The cost of round trip airfare was enough to buy two or three replacements so we told them to keep it.

 

[OldVet]

Ithica M49 saddle gun for my 6th birthday from my grandfather. Still have it, and still shoot it. My most prized firearm.

My first shotgun was an Ithaca single-shot 20 Ga, the one that had a lever to open it. Great single shot. I still have it, although it is not a long as it used to be.

My first .22 handgun was a POS foreign-made six gun that the barrel would work loose after 5-10 shots. I mean it was a bad, bad gun. Coke cans at 10 feet could be a challenge. I unloaded that clunker at the first opportunity, and no, didn't regret it.

 

[spclopr8tr]

My first rimfire was originally purchased for my grandfather for his birthday by my great grandfather (as told to me by my dad). When my dad was 12 his father gave it to him. And when I turned 12 my dad passed it to me. My grandfather carved his initials and year he got it into the stock, as did my dad and I. It is a Ranger 301-8 with no serial number. From my research it appears Rangers were made by several different manufacturers, and some were sold mail order by Sears. It is somewhat of a beater, but it still shoots straight and would be considered a family heirloom. As I have no sons to pass it down to, it is something I'll have consider as I get ready to enter God's waiting room.

View attachment 302618

 

[OldVet]

My first rimfire was originally purchased for my grandfather for his birthday by my great grandfather (as told to me by my dad). When my dad was 12 his father gave it to him. And when I turned 12 my dad passed it to me. My grandfather carved his initials and year he got it into the stock, as did my dad and I. It is a Ranger 301-8 with no serial number. From my research it appears Rangers were made by several different manufacturers, and some were sold mail order by Sears. It is somewhat of a beater, but it still shoots straight and would be considered a family heirloom. As I have no sons to pass it down to, it is something I'll have consider as I get ready to enter God's waiting room.

View attachment 302618

Any worthy cousins or nephews? Nieces? I doubt my son would be interested in my .22, and I also doubt passing it on to his son. So it's starting to look like my daughter's newborn son is next in line.

 

[5lima30ret]

Savage Springfield Model 120 single shot .22. I passed it on to my nephew who trained his son and daughter with it and in a couple of years he will train his grand daughter. So it is still in the family. I used to regularly hit empty 20 ga shells with it off-hand snap shooting in the orange groves.

 

[Texas Red]

My first was a Mossberg semiauto I got for Xmas in 1965, when I was a young teen. I got a 4x scope and thought I was Daniel Boone with that thing.

 

[spclopr8tr]

Any worthy cousins or nephews? Nieces? I doubt my son would be interested in my .22, and I also doubt passing it on to his son. So it's starting to look like my daughter's newborn son is next in line.

I have one nephew in the bloodline, but I have no idea of his attitude towards guns. And I don't have much opportunity to do an attitude adjustment if needed. But I have one daughter who'd love it, as would my granddaughter.

 

[RedSafety]

The first one I shot? It was a rifle at a Christian summer camp. I might have shot one in Boy Scouts, but don't remember that.

The first one I owned? An H&R 9 shot revolver. Wish I still had it.

 

[gasmitty]

My first rimfire was a Ruger Mk II 5-1/2" bull barrel target model I bought for myself in 1990. It handled pest control and recreational duties for over a dozen years before I moved to AZ, and sadly it's laid dormant in a friend's safe back there since 2003. But it holds a place in my heart as both my first handgun and my first rimfire that was my very own. On the bright side there are over a dozen more rimfires that have joined the armory since that one.

 

[Struckat]

Grampa gave me a Remington model 34 bolt action 22. My son has it now.

 

[Bad Bob]

My first was a Nylon 66. My fist pistol was a Single Six that I saved all summer for. My Dad got it for me when I was 15, $75 NIB. I put 500 rounds a week thru that old Ruger.