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First Gun, Favorite Gun, Next Gun?
The Ricochet community includes many responsible gun owners, from hunters to law enforcement, military personnel to weekend target shooters, Second Amendment enthusiasts to those just wanting personal protection. Borrowing from Jon Gabriel, what was your first gun, your favorite gun, and your next gun?
By “favorite,” I mean in terms of sentimental value, i.e., the gun that shows up the most in the lies stories that you tell.
Me:
The first gun that I owned, the first one that I bought with my own money, was a 9mm pre-B CZ75. I’d shot a lot of guns before that, but they were always somebody else’s. I bought the CZ as a home defense gun, but then found out they were excellent race guns and converted it for use in USPSA Production. I’ve since bought three more CZ’s, including a P-07 Duty as my CCW gun, another pre-B to back up the first one and a Czech army surplus CZ-82 to replace the first pre-B as a dedicated home defense.
My favorite gun is the .22lr Smith&Wesson K22 in the picture up there which used to belong to my father-in-law. I love this gun. I love its history. I love its wear. I love how it shoots. There is nothing about it I don’t like.
My next gun will probably be a pistol-caliber AR pistol. I’ve been a big proponent of pistol-caliber carbines for fun and self-defense for quite some time now, and I’m glad to see that’s there more and more options available now that cost less than an AR-15 in .223.
Ok, your first gun, your favorite gun, your next gun?
Published in Culture, Guns, Sports
First gun: Remmington 870 .12 Gauge Left-Handed.
Favorite Gun: See above
Next Gun: Either an M1 Garand or a 9MM concealed carry weapon.
My first gun (ignoring the .22 rifle I had as a kid) was a S&W .22 revolver, similar to the one above, but a Lady Airlight. I have accurately peppered many a target with this gun and all my friends and family members who have shot it love it.
My favorite is tough….perhaps because I have too many to choose from. For carry….my Walther PPQ .22, for pure shooting pleasure (besides the .22 above) my Ruger .38/357 single action revolver (cowboy gun), for kick and grin, my AK.
My next gun….Remington shotgun…because every home should have one. I have been meaning to find my way over to the gun store to pick one up for two months.
First: M-16 (technically a rifle not a gun)
Favorite: M109 155mm Howitzer
Next: AR -15
My first gun was my father’s .12 gauge shotgun, a Remington Wingmaster. My favorite is a 1946 Marlin 336 lever action rifle chambered in .30-.30 Winchester, which I inherited from my father-in-law. He used the gun as a young man to hunt in New Jersey’s Meadowlands, within sight of Manhattan and where the East Rutherford Sports Complex now stands. A lot of history in that firearm, and it shoots remarkably well.
A fun question for us gun nuts, er enthusiasts. First: a single-shot Harrington & Richardson .410 shotgun. Toted it through the south Georgia woods as a lad. Favorite: Sig M11-A1 9mm–since “real” Sig P-228s are hard to find. Next: S&W Model 65, with a 3-inch barrel. Something appealing about old-school revolvers…and it might help assuage my grief from stupidly selling my S&W Model 13 years ago.
1911, 1911, and 1911.
The first gun I ever handled was the (unloaded) one I found in my Dad’s dresser, a Luger.
“I took it off a Kraut during the war” my Dad explained. His audience was much amused by his frankness, as by his (only ever) use of an ethnic pejorative.
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The sentimental favorite? A 9mm. semi-automatic, handled by a bunch of us jurors in a murder trial. It was used by the defendant, a model citizen with no criminal record, in self-defense. Whenever I hear some politician railing against guns I think of that one, and the innocent black man we set free after a brief deliberation.
First: Marlin Model 60, 22LR, 17 shot
Favorite: SKS 7.62×39 (Chinese model)
Next: AR-15
Favorite/Best is Springfield TRP. Favorite rifle Patriot Ordnance Factory P308.
First Gun: single-shot, break-action 12-gauge shotgun I inherited from my Great Uncle.
Favorite Gun: Ruger Mk III pistol in .22 LR. It’s a dream to shoot and ammo is still relatively inexpensive. (Had to replace the extractor to get it to eject reliably.)
Next Gun: 1911 of some kind (leaning towards Kimber).
First gun? An old Crescent Arms .410 shotgun that was passed down from an uncle of mine who happened to be a Civil War vet to my grandfather, to dad, and then to me. Crescent Arms was not in business until the 1880s and went out of business in the 1930, so it’s old I just don’t know how old.
Favorite gun? Don’t have one.
Next gun? No plans for one right now, but it’ll probably be something to buy and set aside as a spare to lend to neighbors with some spare ammo should civil society continue to break down. I figure every gun owner should have a handful of these since they have the sense to think ahead.
First shot: My dad’s Stevens(?) single-shot 22
First owned & still favorite: Ruger 10/22 target model that I’ve tweaked over the years. Somehow seems to end up in my wife’s hands more than mine.
Next – 4 days: Smith SW22 Victory pistol bought for my wife for Val’s Day. A fun gun for when she shoots with her Well Armed Woman club. (Don’t worry, she’s already got a serious carry piece.)
Next: Home defense shotgun or AR-15 for target shooting.
Oh, this might be a good thread to ask this.
I’m moving back home in a few months, so I’ll be able to actually own a gun. Do any of you guys recommend a good beginner’s gun for target practice? I’ve never owned one before, but I figure as a red-blooded, God-fearing, Coke-drinking American I really need to invest.
1st gun M-1 carbine.
Favorite M-1 carbine.
Next Springfield XD .45cal
Why yes, I do have something that I can suggest. ;)
Absolutely love that gun. Just a joy to shoot, and one of the few guns from WWII that’s sorta friendly to lefties.
Dude, you’re great. Thanks!
First gun: Glock 19
Favorite Gun: AK-74
Next Gun: M&P Shield. Probably.
First – Weathereby .22 rifle, my dad bought it for me.
Favorite – toss up between the Browning Hi-Power 9mm and the Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum
Next – I don’t know, but I really want this.
First: H&K USP .40
Favorite: M-14 when I was in the Navy. Perfect to shoot; horrible to carry. (Luckily Trident submarines are only 560 ft long…)
Next: Probably an AR if not a Mini-14.
Just picked one up a few weeks ago. It’s very nice, especially for the price.
First: M16 issued by the army
Favorite: M119 Howitzer or Kimber 1911A2… Not sure which… I get to take the Kimber to the range whenever I feel like it.
Next: I’d like an AR-15… Maybe from LaRue Tactical
A .45 Colt New Service Revolver then a 1911A Colt Commander. Settled for a Walther PPK, yet remain fond of the Commander.
First: HK USP .45 C (I know, I know – I was young and foolish, what can I say?)
Favorite: Uberti-clone Single Action Army in .45LC
Next: Remington 870
My first was a “two fer”: Model 1911 Colt 45 with the factory 22 caliber conversion kit, a matched set.
Rifles: two actually, a 30.06 with a pre-WWI machined, not stamped Mauser action and a Winchester 30.30 lever action rifle for hunting the heavily timbered Oregon Coast Range.
My first duty weapon as a police officer was the S&W 686 revolver, the second was the Glock 17.
My favorite is the 45 although the Glock runs a close second.
First gun I bought myself was a Winchester, Model 70 Feather-weight, 30-06 for hunting. I used it on backpacking hunting trips where every pound counts. Those pounds (or lack thereof) also make a difference in recoil. I have never shot a gun that kicks harder.
Favorite gun? Which ever one I am shooting.
Next gun? I am thinking about a long range (1000 yard) rifle.
My strongest possible recommendation that you buy local.
What a relief to think about something other than politics!
First gun: ancient Savage .22 single-shot rifle – more than 50 years ago.
Favorite gun: very difficult – toss up among three, really – 1) a mint, blued Smith & Wesson Model 19, .357 Magnum I bought new when Smith was at its best; 2) a 1911 .45 ACP I built out of World War spare parts given to me by a friend (I had to buy a frame), and; a genuine Winchester Model 1886 in .33 Winchester – not in mint condition but over a century of history and still a wonderfully efficient and accurate big game rifle.
Next gun: probably a Sig P223 stainless Elite – beautiful pistol. This purchase will require a careful estimation of marital strain.
First: Glock 27.
Fave: M1911, since I was a boy and my dad bought my brothers and me a full-scale, very well-made, plastic-bullet-shooting model of the original version.
Next: AK-47 or Springfield M1A (standard) or Winchester .44-40 lever action
My first gun was a Marine Corps issued M-16 A2 service rifle. I had shot 22s in the Boy Scouts, but that was about 5 shots during summer camp. I spent a lot of time with that rifle in boot camp and can still remember almost 30 years later LMGAS and other interesting trivia about the M-16.
My favorite gun was a S&W 357 revolver. It was nickel-plated so it looked really cool and I fancied myself looking like Dirty Harry on the pistol range. Funny story, I learned you could shoot 38 rounds through the 357 at the range one day. My first wife and I were shooting and she wanted to try the 357, but using the 38 shells. I loaded the revolver with 5 38 rounds and 1 357 round. She fired a couple of 38 rounds and when the 357 round went off the pistol shot out of her hand. She was not amused, but I was. Maybe that is why she is my first wife.
My next gun will likely be a tactical/home defense shotgun. I like the idea of not having to worry about aim at 3 am when someone breaks into the house (I know what my aim is like for the 3 am bathroom breaks). The short barrel makes it easier to handle when moving through the house. Plus, unlike my 357, I won’t have to worry about the round going through the intruder, through, the wall, through the neighbors wall, etc.
My first rifle was a Winchester Model 94 .30-30. I used it to hunt in the Everglades for feral pig. Wandering around in the sawgrass from hummock to hummock and then hunting the hummocks for pigs was great fun. I was rarely able to get the rifle to my shoulder to fire due to the sudden charge of a disturbed boar. This actually was an advantage. Of all the guns I have owned, including a single shot .45-70 High Wall, few have had as nasty a recoil as that Winchester which frequently left me with a badly bruised shoulder after an afternoon of target shooting.
My two favorite rifles are my BCM Jack and my Steyr Scout.