Do you remember your first handgun? What was it, when was it & where is it today?

[Charlie Martinez]

The first handgun I ever owned was a Taurus revolver that was at least from its outward appearance a carbon copy of the Smith & Wesson Model 10. It was blued, had a four inch barrel & had a DA pull that felt like 25 pounds. I bought it along with a box of 38 Special LRN bullets at a pawnshop in Jacksonville, Florida for $60 in 1972.

I shot it a while & a few months later sold it to the uncle of a buddy for the same $60.

It wasn't a bad looking gun & OK to shoot SA but the DA was incredible. I sometimes I wonder if I had kept it how much the DA could have been improved by a good gunsmith but at the time I could not afford that.

 

[aarondhgraham]

Yep, and I still have it.

I bought it at a garage sale around 1963-64,,,
I would have been 12 years old then.



It had the original box and a box of .22 short with 6 missing,,,
I paid $5.00 cash for it.

The front sight fell off before that box of shorts was shot up,,,
The cylinder stopped turning in DA before a 2nd box was shot up.

I had forgotten all about the gun but found it about 10 years ago,,,
When I went to basic training in 1970 I wrapped it in a sock and tucked it into a boot.

That box of stuff sat in my sister's barn for dang near 30 years before she told me it was still there,,,
Imagine my surprise when I found this relic in one of my Dingo (anyone remember Dingo's?) boots.

Aarond

.

 

[Heir Kommt Die Sonne]

Taurus used to literally be the sister company to Smith & Wesson, and their guns were if not better than Smith & Wesson.
Definitely makes you rethink the current reputation of Taurus when you look at their original classic lineup. But everything made back then was better.
But you say the DA pull was 25 pounds, then say it was incredible? what do you mean by that?

 

[Iggy]

H&R 9 shot .22 revolver of some kind. 1954. Sold it to a sheep herder for $15.00 and bought a Ruger Single Six convertible in 1961.. Still got that one.

 

[Dunross]

Ruger MkII, 5.5" bull barrel. Bought it I think about 1990 or 91 and still have it. Shot it a couple of weeks ago.

 

[unclenunzie]

I'll admit the very first handgun I bought was a post recall gen 1 LCP in 2009. I was new

edited to add: Oh yes, it is in my safe.

 

[Olon]

A brand new Glock 23 in 2016 as a high school graduation present from my uncle. Sort of a "You're a man now" kind of gesture I suppose. I lived on campus at college for the next 2 years so if I wanted to shoot it I had to get it from home which was quite an obstacle.

Today it's my primary CCW and I've become a pretty good shot (maybe not as much by THR standards) with it. I'm thankful for the gift and honored by the symbolism of it too. My uncle was and is one of the most influential men in my life, second only to my dad. Some would scoff at the notion of a glock heirloom but I'd like to keep it as a coming of age gift if I have a son.

Yes, I like revolvers and blued steel too but this nitrided steel and tupperware has a unique value to me.

 

[dickydalton]

Ruger Blackhawk .357. I was 15 and bought a Herters "C" press to load for it and shot it so much I wore the trigger and hammer out. Got a S&W Model 29 and didn't shoot it much for years. Sold it to get money for wife's cancer bills and 25 years later the guy called, needed money, and sold it back to me. I take it out and shoot it once in a while!

Old Ruger2

• dickydalton
• May 25, 2019

 

[bob97]

Colt 1991, bought summer of 99 after I graduated college. For $399.99. Sitting in my safe. I think it has only had a single FTF in the last 20 years.

 

[badkarmamib]

Beretta 92FS. Bought at the first local gun show after I turned 21. Sold a couple of years later to cover closing costs on my house, and because it wouldn't fit in the glove box of the car I drove at the time. Still miss it.

 

[ATLDave]

Browning BDM, purchased when my wife and I were living in an "urban pioneer" neighborhood - our street was nice, but 2 blocks away in the wrong direction and things were rough. The bad actors and problem people sometimes spilled over. My wife had an encounter with a deranged individual and managed to escape unharmed... but I decided we needed a way to force someone to leave out ground-floor condo who didn't otherwise want to leave. And I had doubts about the .22lr Fieldmaster pump-action I got when I was 15 being sufficient for the task.

I still have that gun. It's kind of a cool gun (thinnest double-stack 9mm you'll even find, interesting trigger system), but it has objectively bad ergonomics for a good, modern/post-modern pistol techniques. I shoot it for fun every couple of years, then put it back away.

It was not, of course, the first pistol I ever shot. That was my uncle's Colt Woodsman .22.

 

[JTQ]

S&W 6" 686 bought in Merced, CA, in 1983. I still have the gun, the box, and the receipt. Unfortunately, the factory Gancalo Alves grips got lost in some move over the years. I still have a set of Pachmayr Presentation Grips and a set of Hogue rubber Monogrips for it though.

 

[URIT]

My first handgun was a Smith and Wesson Model 15-3 (.38 Sp 4" blued DA) bought in 1968 when I joined the police department. We needed to provide our own duty weapon. I carried that fine gun for 9 years and traded it in on an S&W Model 19-4 (.357 4" Nickel DA/SA) which I carried until I retired in 2001.

 

[The Bushmaster]

First rifle was a Winchester 94 .30-30. Purchased it in 1958. still have it. First handgun was a Colt Woodsman second generation target. Purchased in 1969. Still have it.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Going on 4 decades.

Started as an Ithaca surplus GI 1911-A1

Been tweaked by a MEUSOC Armorer a bit but it's still mine.

Carried a LOT over the years.

Todd.


As to *When was it?*

 

[Fyrstyk]

My first handgun was a Ruger Mark I with 5.5" bull barrel and wood target sights. Picked it up from a friend whose wife didn't want any guns in the house. Paid $30.00 for it in 1968. Still have it, and it is one of only 3 semi-auto handguns I own. I prefer wheel guns.

 

[RovinOn]

My first handgun I purchased at 18 and was used primarily for hunting and target shooting.
It was a SS Ruger New Model Blackhawk 357 convertible, never got the 9mm cylinder for it though.
Still have it and it resides in my safe.
My second handgun was a Smith Model 37 Chiefs Special, purchased that as my first CCW and still have that one as well.
Both handguns were purchased in the early 70’s so they’ve been around for awhile and I’ll never sell them!

 

[.308 Norma]

Sure. The first handgun I bought myself was a High Standard "Sentinel." It was a 9-shot, double action, .22 with a 6" barrel, and I bought it through my folk's country store/gas station.
Regretfully, 10 or 12 years later, I sold that decent little .22 revolver to a buddy at work. He passed away 4 or 5 years back. I have no idea where the gun is now.

 

[Charlie Martinez]

But you say the DA pull was 25 pounds, then say it was incredible? what do you mean by that?[/QUOTE]

I was exaggerating because I never actually measured it but since then I have shot quite a few DA revolvers and pistols & none were heavier than this particular Taurus.

 

[weisse52]

High Standard Sentinel .22 revolver.

I bought it back in 1967 or 68. It along with most of my "stuff" disappeared when I went into the Navy.

My mother gave it all away to the grandkids cause I was an adult and didn't need it anymore.

 

[Styx]

I was born and raised in New York, and my family, of course, is antigun. I was late to the firearm party. I really didn't get into firearms until the Obama years. I'm not 100% sure what year it was, but I believe it was around 2010-2011. That's when I purchased my first firearm which was a Springfield XD 4".

I originally purchased a G26 (which was the first gun I was ever and fired during a concealed carry class), but I was delayed by nics. After some research online, I ended up having my LGS swap the G26 for the XD instead before it was transferred to me... I still have the XD, it has never had even a hint of a problem or malfunction, and the finish is still holding up strong.

 

[IdaD]

Sure. The first handgun I bought myself was a High Standard "Sentinel." It was a 9-shot, double action, .22 with a 6" barrel, and I bought it through my folk's country store/gas station.
Regretfully, 10 or 12 years later, I sold that decent little .22 revolver to a buddy at work. He passed away 4 or 5 years back. I have no idea where the gun is now.

Same, or at least very similar. Mine had a 4" barrel and was called a Sentinel Deluxe. I don't know what "Deluxe" meant, it's not a high end revolver by any means. Regardless, my dad bought it for me for Christmas when I was about 15 and I was very excited and have put a ton of rounds through it. I still have it and take it out from time to time. From a sentimental value standpoint I'll never part with it.

 

[Pat Riot]

I bought my first handgun in 1983 just after I got out of the Navy. I bought a Colt Combat Govt series 70 .45 ACP for $317.00. I bought it at B&B Sales in North Hollywood, CA.

I hit some really hard times in 1988 and sold it.

 

[Koroner]

S&W model 19 chrome finish with a 4" barrel in the '70s

Got stolen out of my Bronco but a witness had a description and the perps were caught in minutes. Cops asked me to describe my gun and I did them one better. I had already memorized the serial number.
In court one claimed to have "bought it from a (second) hitchhiker" (the first was my witness) all in the 20 minutes I was gone.

Right!

Had it tuned up by S&W in the '80s.
Still in my safe. Runs like a top.

 

[bdickens]

Ruger P89 bought brand-new in 1991. Locked up in the other room right now.