What was the first semi auto handgun you ever shot, and what was the first one you purchased?

[Iggy]

1911 in both cases.

Still carry a Colt Defender 45.

 

[Mike J]

The first pistol I shot was the first pistol I bought. It was a Star pistol chambered for 9mm Largo.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

The first semi auto handgun I shot was my cousin's Savage Model 1907 in .32 ACP in the late 1960s.
The first semi auto handgun I bought was a .22 Ruger Mark II in Feb 1987.
Still have it, put Pachmyer grips on it first year, replaced the recoil spring after thousands of rounds. It is barely broken in. Six inch tapered barrel, fixed sights. I filed the overly tall front sight til the gun grouped center of 3" bullseye at 25 yards, apple on fence post sight picture.

 

[bnolsen]

Dumb question and slightly off track....
Have you tried something along the lines of a Para Ordnance P14? I have the same problem with 1911's.
My hands aren't huge, but, Maybe it's just the shape, I dunno, cuz I'm happy with smaller pistols, too. But, I love my P14!

Its been 10+ years since I shot my 1911 colt so I wouldn't be surprised if I could pick it up today and be fine with it. I used to shoot my block 20 left but that somehow fixed itself...

 

[Prijador]

First handgun I ever saw and held was a 1911 - an original made in 1919.

First I ever shot was a Ruger P85.

First I bought was a S&W M&P 40.
Favorite... oh now that IS tough... BHP 40? Sig 220 in 10mm?

 

[Tallball]

I might be misremembering...

I was always a revolver guy. The first semiautomatic I shot was probably also the first one I bought. It may have been an FEG (Hungarian) BHP clone that I bought at a gun show in the late 1980's or early 90's for $200. I still have it. It still shoots great.

 

[gsbuickman]

damn. that was a long time ago. i think the first thing i shot were airguns. i think the first real gun i shot was a 22LR & the first gun i bought was a S&W 22A-1

 

[JohnBiltz]

By the way, good thread. You don't see something original very often here.

 

[Old Dog]

When I grew up in the MidWest, the only auto-pistol we all knew about was the M1911-A1 ... (shot a lot of single-shot, side-by-side or over-under shotguns, lever-guns in .30-30 or bolt-action rifles in .30-06) but the ONLY handguns in my world growing up were Colt Gov't Models or S&W revolvers (Model 10s and Model 19s mostly). I fired a few shots from a Colt when I was a kid (having read "Sergeant Rock" comic books and watched the TV show "Combat" and "Rat Patrol") and was in heaven ...

First pistol I bought new was a Colt Combat Commander. First pistol I bought used was a Star PD. Then I bought a 1991 Taurus PT-92 AFS-D that I still own (was cheaper than the M-9 and I like the frame-mounted safety better anyway).

 

[4570Tom]

First semi-auto shot was a Beretta 92. Buddy of mine bought one after seeing the first Lethal Weapon movie.

First bought was a Ruger Mark II. Still have it

 

[bannockburn]

First semi-auto I shot was my brother's Mauser HSc. It was a post war Interarms import in .380. I remember how much it kicked (at least to me), for such a relatively heavy gun firing that small cartridge!

First semi-auto I bought was an Astra Model 600 from a friend of mine for $100. Sure don't miss that gun; kicked worse than my brother's HSc!

 

[Peter Gun]

First handgun I shot was a Taurus clone of the Beretta 92.
First auto I bought was a glock 22 gen 2.
I didn’t like the gen 2 grip so I sold it.

 

[Chevelle SS]

First one I shot was also the first one I bought, a Hi-Standard Duramatic.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Hi-Standard Duramatic

Sounds like a blender or some other household appliance.

 

[doubleh]

First shot: My dad's Hi-Standard HDM.

First bought: Colt Series 70 Cold Cup National Match.

 

[John G C 1]

Ruger Mark II was the first I shot and the first I bought. Sold it.
Beretta 92fs was second I bought and shot. Sold it.

Bought a revolver next. Kept it.
Then a 1911. Kept it.

 

[FN in MT]

In 1961 or 1962 my buddy has snuck his Dad's Walther PPK out of the house as I had found some .32 acp ammo.
We were both 12 yrs old or so. His Dad had brought it home from Germany at the end of WW2. THAT was the first PPK and auto I ever shot.

Years later at 18 yrs old, my first handgun purchase was a Colt Woodsman Target. Which I unfortunately sold at some point...one of the hundred or two sold and traded off over the past 50 years.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

Old Ruger Mk I .22 LR when I was about five or six. First centerfire semi-auto would have been a Beretta 9mm that belonged to a great uncle when I was maybe eleven or twelve.

First handgun I bought was an HK USP Tactical 45. But it has been all Glocks and SAOs since then.

 

[jr_watkins]

First shot a gov't issue 1911, rattled like rocks in a tin can and barely had any finish left on it. USMC adopted the M9 a few years later. I've never owned a 1911, maybe for that reason?

First bought a Ruger P89DC after the P85 lost out to the Beretta. I still own it and will never sell it.

 

[Mn Fats]

1911 with a colt .22 lr conversion...I think that was my first. Its been awhile.
I bought a Taurus PT92 from my grandpa when I was about 12 years old. He regretted the sale and became very nervous. He bought it back with 2 long guns of my choice.
Glock 17 was my first autoloader when I became legal age.

 

[rskent]

The first auto I ever shot was a friends Ruger MK II. ( The Ruger MK has to be the number one answer)

The first one I bought was a Sig P228. Still have it. My son can have it when I pass on.

 

[1stmarine]

A) 9mm Beretta 92FS ... was also my service side arm.
B) 9mm Glock 17, and the 19, 22, 23 and so on... for personal defense.

 

[CajunBass]

Colt 1911, series 70, in satin nickle, with Pachmayr grips.

It was the first one I purchased and shot....at least as far as I remember.

 

[aarondhgraham]

The first semi-auto handgun I ever fired was an Ithaca 1911 that was carried in WWII and the Korean War.

If memory serves me,,,
The first semi-auto handgun I ever purchased for myself was a Ruger 22/45 Mk-III.

Aarond

.

 

[ms6852]

1911 in the Army and bought a Taurus 92F 35 years ago as my first. Still have it.