What was the first gun you ever fired?

[Wayne Smith]

Marlin 336 in 30-30 - Dad had bought it from his hired man, took it to a gunsmith in Bangor and had a scope mounted (the gunsmith heated and bent the hammer so it could be cocked) and set up a target atout 80yds away across the road (old metal sign painted). He would practice with it and I would watch, he shot groundhogs and deer. I must have been five or six when he let me shoot it. I still have it. A few years later we (my brother and I) got a Sears (Marlin) Safety Single Shot .22 rifle for Christmas and we used that.

[eric123]

A Mossberg 353 if I recall correctly...Not counting BB guns's...

[Scorpion8]

First gun I shot was a ...

Remington smooth-bore 22LR with the brass crimped-end shot shells at Goshen Scout Camp in western Virginia to earn my merit badge circa 1970. Moved on to get the rifle merit badge too.

[robg]

BSA martini 22 rf target rifle my dad shot at bisley

[Catch]

I was 10 and shot a rock on the ice on Grandma's pond with a Hopkins and Allen 25 Caliber rimfire falling block single shot. I hit it and I wish I had that gun now.............Catch

[Oily]

Springfield SS my dad got me for Christmas when I was 10. Second was when I was 11 and got caught stealing my Dads cigarettes and was digging our septic lateral lines for punishment. My uncle showed up and (let) me shoot his 1903A3 with metal buttplate. He got a good laugh after 2 shots and I had enough. Shoulder bruised for 2 weeks LOL

[cwlongshot]

IIRC it was my pops, mid 1950's Ruger Single Six 22 LR.

Shot on the power lines behind our trailer about 1968/9.

CW

[Hickok]

A single shot .22, I believe it was a Stevens, that broke open like a Contender handgun, and had a hammer that you cocked.

It was my grand dad's, and was used for putting hogs down when it came time to butcher. Appropriately called the "hog rifle."

Got my first squirrel with that little rifle.

[tdoor4570]

Age 6 mod 92 25-20 Winchester , different 22's up till age 11 when I went to an 1898 Springfield 30 U.S. army (30-40 Krag) which I still have.

[mozeppa]

i was about 4 when my uncle let me pull the trigger on a 22 (don't know what kind.) and magically one of my lego bricks disappeared!...but i never got to shoulder the rifle.

then when i was 8...my family thought it would at least be funny if on my own i shot a 12 gauge (again don't know what kind, except it was a single shot.)

they didn't realize that i was a very quick study, and at 20 feet i was to shoot a 1 gallon empty paint can.
they were going to have a good laugh at my expense.

well i hit it dead center and blew it 40 feet away from where it was....and yes it knocked me on my donkey!
but nobody was laughing.

been hooked ever since.

[leebuilder]

M1919 loaded with blanks, rock and roll belt fed.
Been hooked ever since.

[357Mag]

Howdy !


Dad's Marlin M-39. First fired it 55yr ago.


Still have it.


With regards,
357Mag

[UKShootist]

When I was about 6 years old (1955 ish) my father, then the Instructor for the Royal Navy shooting team took me to what must have been Century Range at the National Shooting Centre in Bisley (That's the UK BTW) where he handed me what was almost certainly a Webley .38 revolver for me to blast off in the general direction of the backstop. A lifetime memory. He'd likely get prosecuted for child cruelty nowadays!

[Conditor22]

Actually, it was an old cap fired muzzleloader. I helped my friend mix the powder in a mortar and pestle then cut and roll the lead balls on an anvil. a piece of foil from a pack cigarettes held the large cap in place and a toothpaste tube cap with a rubberband through it fot the safety (the rubberband pulled the toothpaste cap out of the way when you cocked the hammer.
You determined the load by haw far the ramrod stuck out the barrel, you kept adding powder until you got what you wanted.

[photomicftn]

When I was 5 years old, my dad single loaded his Stevens .22 autoloader with a BB or CB cap. I fired it from a rest into a target 10 feet away.

Having enjoyed that, I then accompanied him to matches at the Blue Trail range in CT several times a year until we moved out of NY a few years later. I clearly recall working the pits when it was our turn, and enjoying the crack of multiple shots passing over us past the reservoir into the hill beyond. It seemed to me like being in a John Wayne movie.

One of our guys would always drop a round or two low, which of course he did when was looking up the first time I was there. What seemed like a shovel full of dirt came down on my head. Taught me to keep my head down. We didn't tell mom about *that*

[Kevinakaq]

Stevens 15A .22LR single shot falling block (I think it's commonly called a Crackshot or Favorite) when I was about 4 years old shooting at cans sitting on fenceposts at my Grandparents farm. Still remember it well sixty years later. The birth of a gun nut thanks to my Dad.

Mine as well. Use to knock my fathers cans *cough* off a post shooting off a reversed kitchen chair with great regularity at 100 yards...must have been seven or so.

[CastingFool]

I think I was about 12 or 13 when I first shot a gun. The 16 yr old I was paired with had his own. 22 and a 20 ga single shot. Shot both of them. Wasn't til I was 16 when I bought my own. 22, which I still have. Bought my 1st shotgun when I was 17, and had gotten a summer job where my dad worked. Did some research and bougth a Rem 1100 in 12 ga. With the gad operated system, there was little recoil, and I was able to shoot field loads one handed. Did that a number of times, just showing off. Eventually traded it off for a Rem 700 30-06, which I still have.

[Schreck5]

Red Rider bb gun. Accounted for way too many sparrows to count. You could see the bb fly through the air. Hours of fun. Wnen I finally wore it out, I graduated to a .22 Browning takee down.

[MajorDude]

Mine was a Winchester model 37 single shot 12 gauge. My Dad let me shoot it in the wood lot at the back of our farm. I was 7 years old. I was a big 7 year old but I remember it being quite unpleasant- didn’t know about keeping it tight to the shoulder! Dad’s long gone but that shotgun is in great shape in my gun room right now. You can still faintly see where it had the slip on rubber but pad that rotted away many years ago. Model 37s had no serial no.s!

[stinjie]

At age 11 or 12 in the mid 1970's,I got tired of bb/pellet guns and got interested in black powder gun kits.After pestering my folks for months,got a New Orleans Ace pistol kit.44 caliber smooth bore,percussion cap.Got it assembled,polished and looking good.Aquired everything needed to fire it and we went to our camp in nw Pa. Poured in measured amount of powder,put a greased patch around a .441 dia. ball,rammed it down the barrel,put a cap in place and nervously aimed it into the woods.Huge "boom" and a big cloud of dense white smoke,hands shaking.Next thing I heard was my dad loudly holler"THAT'S IT,PUT THAT THING AWAY" I didn't argue at all.A .22 Glenfield rifle soon replaced the"Ace"