What gun started it for you?

[CaptainMal]

Bolt action 16 gauge JC Higgins. Remember well my dad and an uncle taking me to a Sears store. They bought it for me with my saved money.

Guessing that was around 1954 -1955. Remember the first rabbit I killed with it also. Blew the thing apart after playing with that Polychoke while walking in a field. My first rabbit kill was a mess.

Before that was a Daisy lever BB gun. Made some kills with that, believe it or not. Even shot a flying pheasant up the butt, paralyzing it so I could run it down. Bet I was maybe 5 years old then. Probably 1949 or so. Mom cleaned and cooked it too.

 

[Tesoro]

A p.o.s marlin glenfield 22 auto. But it was officially mine and not one of my dad's deer guns. Not counting pellet guns.

 

[m1jeff]

Wow, hard to say. Dad had shotguns, we shot .22s at summer camp, and buddies had all kinds of guns in high school.

I didn’t touch a gun for about 20 years after that. Then I bought an Officer’s Model 1991A1, quickly followed by a Kimber 1911 shortly after they were introduced.

It’s been a journey since then. Pistol shooting into clay sports into Highpower rifle competition.

I’ve scratched every itch for weapons I desired as a kid (and as an adult).

It truly is time to let most of the accumulation go, but I don’t want to!

I believe it truly started with that Officer’s Model. It was the first one I bought with my own hard earned money, and I then went shooting with my first mentor in the sport.

 

[357Mag]

Not that I don't enjoy a long, heated, political debate or the finer points of a Ford vs Chevy type discussion, but it seems like a lot of people on this site are long-term and committed shooters regardless of the discipline we have chosen or that maybe chose us. Be it rifle, pistol, shotgun competition or just recreation. So just wondering how others got started?

I came from a family that did not own firearms, but for some reason I really, really wanted and needed one. Maybe too much exposure to the ample gunplay on The Rifleman, Bonanza, Have Gun - Will Travel, Combat! and others in the 1950s and 60s.Who knows? But, anyway around my 12th birthday I convinced my widowed grandmother and she reluctantly agreed. This was 1967 and she lived in downtown Birmingham, AL. So believe it or not we walked down to the S&H Green Stamp showroom (although not 100% certain, it might have been a Top Value or some other stamp place) and she redeemed enough books of stamps to get me a .22 rifle.

It was a Marlin Model 99 M1 Carbine. I would buy ammo from the nearby Sears & Roebuck store and then ride a bus with rifle in hand out to Ketona Lake near Tarrant City. It's hard to imagine anything like that happening now without numerous law enforcement agencies, SWAT Teams, and Child Protective Services getting involved.

All -

Howdy !

While I had use of my older brothers pump Daisy, that BB gun did not particularly influence me to get into shooting.

I too watched a lot of Westerns and WWII type shows. I was a HS junior when I saw the movie
" The Deserter ", which prominently featured the 1860 Colt. After watching Miss Kitty threaten Forest Tucker w/ what he called a " Horse Pistol ", I had to have an 1860.

I bought a replica, and quickly turned my interests towards what rifle to buy ? I went off to Basic one week after my HS commencement. My first exposure to shooting a CF rifle was the M-16 I shot during Air Force Basic training. I did not care much for the gun ( still don't ), and decided to buy a lever rifle next, when I got back home.

I at the time did not know that their were a variety of Winchester lever rifles that were made. I had not paid any special attention to differences in lever rifles, while I was watching Westerns on TV. I simply thought all Winchesters were 1894s ( not paying any attention to what year the TV shows were trying to depict ).

An aquaintance had a .30-30 1894, so I first shot it to see if I liked it. I was fairly alarmed to see the gun's
action practically disassemble itself during cycling..... as the lever was lowered...parts of the action protruded out the top..... and I could look through gaps in the action top-to-bottom to see the ground below.

Still set on buying a lever gun, I bemoaned the .30-30 / M-94 set-up to the counter rep. He said that they had a M-336C .35 Remington. My Dad had a very nice M-39A, so I knew Marlin quality. Upon inspecting the gun, I found that it had a solid top receiver, not moving action parts protruding during operation; and it had a pistol grip buttstock.... which I much prefered to the straight grip stock that I had tried out on the 1894.

I was happy to $$$ the M-336C. .35 Remington was the first CF rifle or handgun cartridge that I started my re-loading with. The M-336 in its own way then, had a pretty big impact on my earliest shooting/reloading.

I had also managed to kill my first 2 groundhogs w/ Dad's M-39A, right before I had headed off to Basic.
I very quickly realized the benefit of keeping the groundhogs off the soybeans that were were planting in NE Indiana ( not just for our fields, but also for other farmers as well ).

Rather ignorantly, I first tried shooting a semi-auto Marlin .22 . Soon realized that it did not have the range capability I really needed ( let alone lacked the necessary energy delivery ability ). Went back to the same gunstore, where the salesman ( a good one ) talked me into buying my first CF bolt action " varmint rifle ".
I had a friend that was already active on shooting groundhog, that had a M-70 Varminter .225 WInchester.

The salesman assured me that a .22-250 was what I needed, and sold me a custom heavy-barrelled Interarms Mk X .22-250 that came ( new ) out of P.O. Ackley's shop in UT. The metal was super-blued, and the glossy finish stock was a rather lovely hunk of American walnut, nearly blonde w/ multi-hued streaks seen within the grain. Of course, the salesman was quick to point out that I needed a scope.
The rifle cost me 2weeks pay, and I had a Civil Service job @ the time. The Leupold 2.5-8X scope cost mean another weeks pay. It was a press financially, but..... I felt well equipped.

To answer the OP's question:
I guess more than any other..... that first Ackley-built heavy barrel varmint rifle set the tone for all other bolt rifles that I would buy or more importantly.... have built ..... for all the years that have followed.
Still today, the preponderance of my rifle shooting interests gravitate towards full-custom heavy-barrelled
varmint calibre ( single shot these days ) bolt rifles. And also these days.....chambered in wildcats of my own design. This type of dual-role' varmint/target rifle has been my major go to type of rifle for the past 47yr.


With regards,
357Mag

 

[muleman69]

Daisy for me then 94 win. 30-30

 

[RegionRat]

First I made several crude slingshots, that improved along with my aim with each iteration. Then my folks decided I should have a store bought Wrist Rocket and I got really serious with it. That type of hunting required you to learn how to stalk and close in on rabbits and squirrels.

Mom taught me how to clean, skin, and prep. Dad wanted his garden protected. I shot every day and even set up where I could practice indoors shooting through from across the den down into the basement. I got proficient with static shots and then got good with movers to where I was jumping ducks on the creeks And had a pretty good average on moving rabbits and squirrels.

One day I got called into the kitchen where my mom and older brother were hiding something and grinning ear to ear. Mom stepped aside and there was a box with a brand new Daisy 880 Pump on the table.

I took more rabbits and squirrels with that 880 than I did with all my rifles and shotguns as a grew up. The slingshot and 880 taught me how rabbits, squirrels, and birds worked. I lived to hunt and fish as a kid. I jumped at every chance to shoot over dogs and still do.

I have to credit my mom for bringing home that 880. I never asked for it, but the neighborhood parents all told my folks I was addicted to the airguns at their houses and that I was safe and very careful with a gun. It was in my blood and they already knew I was good enough with a slingshot, so the rest was history.

And, I still have it and the Wrist Rocket too.

 

[Fuj]

I bet ya', most of us started out with a slingshot. I know I had
several (cough) confiscated from me. The ol' back pocket
concealed carry and a pocket full marbles......

 

[1K6BRA]

Bolt action 16 gauge JC Higgins. Remember well my dad and an uncle taking me to a Sears store. They bought it for me with my saved money.

Guessing that was around 1954 -1955. Remember the first rabbit I killed with it also. Blew the thing apart after playing with that Polychoke while walking in a field. My first rabbit kill was a mess.

Before that was a Daisy lever BB gun. Made some kills with that, believe it or not. Even shot a flying pheasant up the butt, paralyzing it so I could run it down. Bet I was maybe 5 years old then. Probably 1949 or so. Mom cleaned and cooked it too.

Oh my gosh love the story about the rabbit! The exact same thing happened to me guessing 1974 in a field in Fryburg,Pennsylvania. My dad, his buddy and I were walking through the field and I came upon a rabbit sitting there. I said dad there’s a rabbit over here can I shoot it? He was really not a hunter and said go ahead son shoot it so I aim for the middle of its back at point-blank range. Yeah my rabbit was a mess also, but I’ll always have that memory with my dad his friend and that rabbit. I believe it was with an Ithaca model 37 16 gauge with a poly choke also.

 

[R.Morehouse]

Daisy pump action. My sling shot was what was called a Wrist Rocket. It took me a day to figure out how to sharpen Jacks to run through it at critters. My 1st comp gun was a Goodling built 6ppc.

Regards
Rick

 

[PopCharlie]

My first BB gun was a Crossman pump, a 760, I believe. I was 12. Then a Benjamin .22 pellet gun.
My first firearm was a Ruger Single Six. I worked all summer mowing lawns to save up the $92 it cost in 1971. I still have and shoot the Ruger. Then it was a Savage 24v, .22/20 Guage. I still have it too.

PopCharlie

 

[FNSafari]

Ithaca Model 37 Featherweight, bought used with paper route money after I had completed an NRA hunter safety course in high school.

 

[SmokinJoe]

Not that I don't enjoy a long, heated, political debate or the finer points of a Ford vs Chevy type discussion, but it seems like a lot of people on this site are long-term and committed shooters regardless of the discipline we have chosen or that maybe chose us. Be it rifle, pistol, shotgun competition or just recreation. So just wondering how others got started?

I came from a family that did not own firearms, but for some reason I really, really wanted and needed one. Maybe too much exposure to the ample gunplay on The Rifleman, Bonanza, Have Gun - Will Travel, Combat! and others in the 1950s and 60s.Who knows? But, anyway around my 12th birthday I convinced my widowed grandmother and she reluctantly agreed. This was 1967 and she lived in downtown Birmingham, AL. So believe it or not we walked down to the S&H Green Stamp showroom (although not 100% certain, it might have been a Top Value or some other stamp place) and she redeemed enough books of stamps to get me a .22 rifle.

It was a Marlin Model 99 M1 Carbine. I would buy ammo from the nearby Sears & Roebuck store and then ride a bus with rifle in hand out to Ketona Lake near Tarrant City. It's hard to imagine anything like that happening now without numerous law enforcement agencies, SWAT Teams, and Child Protective Services getting involved.

What started it for me? When I first started shooting CF rifles and pistols I became friends with a high school chemistry teacher who had a Winchester model 43 in 218Bee that I thought was a very nice little rifle. We subsequently moved across the state, and when I was 16 and working part time at a grocery store to make money for pretty much everything except the essentials of life I came across a really nice Winchester 43 in 218Bee just like my teacher friend had and bought it. Did my first handloading for that rifle. But what really did it for me was to go out with a friend my age driving around in the country looking for crows and hawks. We found a few and I managed to shoot a sparrow hawk through the head at 175 paces from the car. I was hooked for life after that, always looking for better accuracy and learning to put it to use.

 

[ttfreestyle]

Nylon 66 from service merchandise, I drooled over those pages for a long time before I had enough to buy it. My mom , grandma and grandpa took me to Chattanooga to buy it. I had enough to buy it without the tax so grandpa paid the tax( I knew nothing about tax back then). Great memories, still have it and will pass it down when the time comes.

 

[jwink]

Winchester model 29 .22

 

[Hercammer]

Winchester 62A pump .22 wish i still had her , many thousands of rounds through it with no grief
even though the old aguila ammo w bees wax lube from Canadian tire had to be scraped off the face from time to time.....true love ....smell that ? burnt rimfire powder awesome Thanks

 

[wbm]

Daisy Red Ryder BB gun in 1949 followed by an old 22 I found in a barn in 51. I was 6 and so small I had to put the BB gun stock on the ground and pull the lever with both hands. The old 22 was a single shot and you had to pull a plunger back to cock it. Don't remember the name but it may have been a J.C Higgins

 

[praveen]

A single shot break-action .22 handgun is the first I ever shot. My friend Ron taught me my first shots with it. I remember being really nervous before the first shot. I was 32
Few months later, I bought my first rifle... Remington 597. Really accurate but the build quality sucked. One week later, I had researched enough that I went and bought a Savage FTR in 308 and since then my wallet has always felt kinda light.

 

[M-61]

Think it was my 11th birthday. My father bought me a new Winchester model 69A.
No clue how he could afford it and he had a Weaver B4 mounted on it. That requires drilling and tapping the side of the receiver.
The whole thing was a mystery to this day. I still have it and when I look thru that scope it amazes me any one would buy it. Along with it's non-self-centering cross hairs which isn't a big deal as the scopes light gathering ability is zero. In fact it may gather darkness.
Doesn't matter as it was some gift from my father who wasn't with me much past that 11th birthday.

 

[Lone Hunter]

Revelation Single Shot .410. Shot my first squirrel and rabbits with it Plus a lot of other unlucky critters. Shot my first groundhog with the Marlin 99 M1. Traded it and when my Grandfather passed recieved one ( Marlin 99 M1 ) from him that had not and still hasn’t been shot. Great shooting little rifle. First rifle was a JC Higgins single shot.22 lr.

 

[SweaterDood]

I guess I was about 8 years old. I had been shooting with my dad and some family friends once or twice. We had a Gamo .177 pellet rifle for squirrels and rabbits around the yard, A couple 12ga shotguns, and a Marlin M60. I don’t think my dad even had a handgun at the time.

Well one day he asked which I would rather have, a motorcycle or a rifle. That was easy, a motorcycle. He nodded and smiled and that was the end of it.

Either for my birthday or for Christmas that year, I was surprised by a brand-spankin-new Daisy Red Rider, which no longer had the compass in the stock, nor the “thing which tells time”... All of a sudden I remembered the day he asked me that question, and realized he must have had a pretty good hiding spot for it.

I still have it. It’s just a rusty piece of junk at this point, from sitting in my bedroom closet for many years in the humid southeast.

From there it was pistol shooting, specifically busting clays on the 100yd berm with a Prelock Smith 686. This is really the “one” for me. It is also the reason I fell into the rabbit hole of reloading.

Picture is from working to zero at 50yds. Notice the # of clicks referenced to move from group to group.