What Was Your First Handgun Purchase?

[cfsharry]

Mine was a Colt 4th model single shot derringer in caliber .22 short. Bought it in either my Freshman or Sophomore year in high school; 1960 or 1961. Didn't know better so I carried it at half cock in my front pocket.  Fun little gun to shoot but was confiscated by the Juvenile Inspector for the County Sheriff's Department when he learned that I had it.  Never saw that gun again.  The JI was my dad and I never did find out how he discovered I owned the danged thing.

[Goatpacker]

Ruger Single Six. And it is still my favorite.

[Shovel-ready project]

Ruger Mk II, back in the 1980s. As above, still my favorite. Wish I could find some LR. The mini is much better than the Mk II at conserving ammo. The Ruger could easily eat a brick in one sitting.

[OLD and GRUMPY]

Check out Wikiarms.com Just got 1500 rounds.  With shipping and no sales tax it came to about  .09--.10 cents a round.Some was Remington Viper some Aquila high velocity.

[ikoiko]

Colt New frontier scout. Single action .22lr/ mag

[theysayimnotme]

My first handgun was a Spanish .22 revolver I bought in a PX in Germany but my second was in 1961 & was also a .22 short. The infamous RG10. As best I recall the the brand new price was $6 & overpriced at that.
I still have one of those .22 short single shot derringers. It is the same gun but the cheaper priced version with the name of Butler.

[coopercdrkey]

NAA 3" Earl.  Traded it for a .32 Guardian, which I still have.

[Uncle_Lee]

A Galesi .25 I picked up in Naples, Italy.

I also had the RG-10 for my first stateside handgun.
First time I shot it the front sight fell off.

[Jim1392]

Model 60 S & W snub nose 38 5 shot stainless revolver. I bought it around 1980.

[OV-1D]

 My first modern pistol was a Jennings stainless steel 22 auto then also the same day Clint Eastwoods S&W 44 mag. in stainless steel . After that it was off to the races and haven't looked back .   

[G50AE]

Glock! 

[Dinadan]

I made my first handgun purchase in 1975 when I got out of the Navy. It was an RG single action .22. I selected it because it was the cheapest Old West looking revolver in the store. I was doing a lot of canoeing and camping at that time, and that RG went with me on many adventures. While I was in college a couple of my girl friends fired their first shots with that gun when I taught them to shoot. Then after maybe ten years with never a round through it, I taught my daughter to shoot with that RG. Even though it was a cheap gun with an aluminum frame, it has given good service.I still have it, though these days my Rugers and NAAs get the shooting time. Here is a photo along with a Western knife that I bought about the same time.

[sopsax]

I joined LAPD in 1961 and was issued a 6" S&W K-38. Upon graduation from the Academy, my first handgun purchase was a Colt Cobra 2" in .38SPL caliber. One trip to the range, where I put three rounds out of 50 in the black at 25 yards (and I was an expert marksman), and I quickly sold the Colt and bought a S&W Model 36 Chief's Special with a 3" barrel. That one put all 50 in the black at 25 yards. I carried that 3" as a back-up, plain-clothes, and off-duty handgun my whole career. I still have it (and the city-issued K-38 which I was able to buy at retirement). sopsax

[Dinadan]

Sopsax - WE NEED PHOTOS!! Your story is a bit of a tribute to S&W if you were able to use the same two revolvers throughout your career as an LEO. Do you ever feel a little nostalgia for the days when a six shot .38 revolver was considered adequate firepower for an LEO? I bet you never had to learn to operate a tank back then.

[sopsax]

I don't have any photos, but I suppose I could take them IF I knew how to post them!!

Anyway, the K-38 6" served me well but when the department required every officer to carry his primary weapon (in my case, the 6"), I had the barrel cut down to four inches so it would carry more easily in plain clothes (my assignments varied from day to day working Metro Division, the city-wide Crime task Force). After I retired, I was able to buy the revolver. Then, I found a pristine K-38 6" barrel at a gun show in Montana and had it installed in place of the cut-down original barrel. I also had the revolver re-blued (I know, I know - that's what I wanted and I'd still do it that way today). After the 6" barrel was installed, I did test-fire it and the revolver STILL was a tack-driver - VERY smooth double-action AND VERY accurate. And, it is beautiful - just like new. No reduction of any of the markings, etc.

The 3" J-frame rusted in my pocket during the Watts Riot of 1965 - very hot during that time and then there weren't many suitable pocket-holsters, at least that I knew of. I was able to remove the spots of rust and carried that revolver as a back-up and plain-clothes weapon (detectives, and later command officers, which I was, were allowed to carry J frames rather than the primary weapon) until I retired (25 years). I only fired one round in the field during my career - a 110-pound German Shepherd that wanted a piece of me. One shot from the 3" J-frame did it.

There was a general feeling of disadvantage throughout LAPD in those years because of the .38SPL requirements. Of course, we all had Ithica 12-ga. pump-guns at hand, so that sort of made up for any distrust of our revolvers. But I must say, many a bad-guy fell to those .38's.

Just when I retired, they were introducing hi-cap 9MM's, and later went to a variety of semi-auto pistols. But in my day, it was a .38SPL with factory 150-grain or 200-grain round-nosed lead bullets, and later, 125-grain jacketed soft-point ammo. No HP of any kind were allowed.

I went on to be a police chief in a small northwestern town for 3.5 years, then went into private law enforcement for another 12 years before finally retiring. After I left LAPD, I always carried semi-autos (first a 9MM, then a .45ACP dbl-action S&W 645). Now? I carry either a J-frame .38SPL or a Ruger LC9. The rest of them are in my safe.

We did have an armored vehicle or two operated by SWAT, but while I was in the same division as SWAT (Metro) for over five years, I was a supervisor and never had the need to drive a tank (APC, if you will).

We had some neat weaponry in the SWAT locker. Two American 180 fully-auto submachine guns (in .22LR caliber) comes to mind (that's a story in itself). And of course, SWAT had M-16's and long-rifles, and there was one gorgeous Thompson submachine gun - polished, deep royal blue with gold-plated parts (charging knob, trigger, etc.). I don't know the story behind it, but I suspect it was a confiscated gun that, in those days, could be converted to city-use. Now, they don't do that.

I realize there is debate going on now about the so-called "militarization" of local officers. I have opinions on both sides of that issue. Society HAS changed, and not for the better. I suspect there is a common ground, a middle ground - between heavy weapons and adequate firepower at hand at any given time. But that is best discussed at another time, I think. sopsax

[Moderndayedison]

For information explaining how to post photos
see the test area where people try things out.

The first "legal" purchase I made of a handgun
was my NAA Black Widow Conversion pistol.
I've been pleased with it's performance and
accuracy and it works out great for personal
protection while metal detecting, dowsing,
and treasure hunting.  It's not a first choice
for a fire fight due to only a five round capacity
but for protection from snakes and wild life it
is more than sufficient for that purpose.

-MDE

[bud]

My first hand gun was a High Standard Sentinel .22 cal. 9 shot revolver. I don't remember what I did with it, probably traded it, but do remember having a lot of good times with it.
My first rifle was a .22 cal. mossberg with a pull down hand lever on the stock. I traded it for a .22 cal. Marlin 39A, which I traded that for a Mexican Chiwawa Pup to give to my wife when I was drafted in the Army in 1961. That pup lived for 16 years and was the smartest dog we ever had. Years later I was at a gun show and saw this old man walking around with a Marlin 39A that was made around the same time as the one I traded for the pup in 1961. It was in like new condition, and he wanted $350.00 for it. I bought it and still have it. I put an  old K4 weaver scope on it to bring back memories if nothing else.

[sopsax]

Bud: Those guns of yours brought back some of my memories. As a kid I had a Marlin 39A (both the one with the pistol grip and the one with a straight stock, as I recall, at separate times), and a Sentinel .22 revolver. I also recall the Mossberg .22 with the front-piece that dropped down. Those guns were bought for me by my folks, so they weren''t technically the first guns I bought. I don't recall what happened to them. I suspect that when I joined the Army (1958), my folks moved them on.

I got into guns early on, long before saxophones, thanks to supportive parents. sopsax

[theysayimnotme]

I traded it for a .22 cal. Marlin 39A, which I traded that for a Mexican Chiwawa Pup to give to my wife when I was drafted in the Army in 1961.

1961 sucked for sure. I got out of the army then  & about  six months later I was RECALLED  . I wasn't even in a reserve unit, I got called up from what they called a control group. They never did figure out why they called us up or what to do with us  & we were discharged about nine months later. Then shortly afterward the SHTF with the Cuban missile crisis.

[sopsax]

I have a photo of my two originally purchased S&W revolvers. Now, I need to know exactly how to post them. When I click-and-drag (using my iMac) all I get is computer-speak, no actual photos. I went to the TEST area but didn't find any step-by-step explanations, nor did I find anything doing a search. Details, please - then I'll post this PRECIOUS photo! sopsax

[cfsharry]

Not to difficult. 
Below the 'reply' box is an attachment button.  Click on attachments button then click choose file, (you should then go to your photo file), then click photo you want to include.  I am on an iPad and it works for me.
Good luck and if nothing works find a five year old to walk you through it.  I believe they come out the shoot nowadays being computer savvy.

[bud]

soapsax,

I actually got into horns before I was introduce to guns. AS A SIDE NOTE, MY father never fired a gun in his life, but he got me into music.
He bought me a Pan American cornet when I was in the 4th grade. In the 9th grade my parents bought me an Olds trumpet which I played as a music student at Indiana  University. Used that trumpet in the marching 100. I dropped out of school, got married and Uncle Sam drafted me in the Army Band for 2 years. After I got out of the Army, I bought a Bach Strad trumpet, and a Couesnon Flugelhorn made in Paris France. I gave that one to my son and I now have a Kunstal Fluglehorn. Don't play much anymore, but still play with firearms  sometimes!

[sopsax]

cf: I did exactly that but nothing would transfer to the comment-box where I would expect the photo to be. On one attempt, it came back with a message that the photo was too big. But it is just a snap-shot I took with my iPhone and is not any bigger or more detailed than other photos I see posted on this site. I'll try it one more time.

Bud: It is SOPsax (for soprano saxophone), not soap, but I can see how you'd make that mistake. Anyway, I know the brand-names you mentioned - I play in jazz bands that use cornet players. My favorite soprano sax is a 1926 Martin Handcraft, but I also have a Selmer MKVI and a curved Yanagisawa at the moment (have owned many over the years). Also altos, but that's another story. Music kept my mind fresh from street-brawls and human failures. sopsax

[bud]

Sorry for the mistake, not sure how I did that. I'm sure that will be my only mistake this week! 

I'd love to have an old Martin trumpet from that same time period.

[NOTL21]

I wonder if there is a connection with instruments and hand guns.  I played an alto (Selmer Mark VI Paris Edition) for years.  Stupidly sold it for some car I no longer have.  Years later I bought a killer grand piano and store the threw in a demo Mark VII tenor which I still have.

[sopsax]

I realize this is taking the thread in a different direction . . . I have a Mark VI (Selmer-Paris) alto - and soprano. They are allegedly the holy grail of saxophones but I have others I like better. The Selmer Mark VI's in tenor and alto are commanding HUGE prices these days; the sopranos slightly lower, but still up there. They are no longer made.

The Selmer MkVII's don't enjoy the same sterling reputation as do the VI's, especially the tenors. Still they are decent instruments - my oldest daughter still plays her VII alto I bought new for her when she was in high school (she is now over 50!) and it is a wonderful saxophone. The Taiwanese and Chinese have pretty much taken over the affordable saxophone market now, with the Selmer-Paris, Yanagisawa, and Yamaha high-end models marketed to pro's.

I don't see a connection between handguns and music, but I know it exists in some cases. The guy who leads our jazz band (on piano) was a champion Army pistol-shooter in his day. The drummer in my Montana-based jazz band won the Camp Perry matches one year with his tweaked M1-Garand . . . back to guns for this thread.

I still haven't been able to post that photo - says the photo is too big. Now I'm working on cropping it . . . sopsax

[OV-1D]

Under editing in your picture file I've found you have to change , lower your pixel size to be able to transfer onto site .

[sopsax]

I appreciate the comments about how to do this photo-posting, but so far, nothing works. It appears the file-size is the issue. I'm using an iPhone and iPhoto on an iMac - no fancy programs. When I try to edit the photo the only effective changes I can make are rotating it AND cropping. But when I try to crop the photo, it only allows limited movement of the borders. I can't find anything that will reduce the pixles or the overall file-size. I can't even find a way to show exactly what the file size IS!

I know you all are anxiously awaiting the photo!!! (Yeah, sure . . .). I guess I'll have to dig these revolvers out of the safe once again and re-photograph them one at a time. We'll see if that works. May throw in a saxophone-photo for the musicians, too. sopsax

[TwoGunJayne]

I think that's usually called "resize" or "scale." I'm not a mac person.

Try the help function of your software and try looking for resize or scale.

[bujeezus]

i've always liked guns but never owned one aside from a 20 gauge shotgun i got for christmas when i was a kid. i let it go in my early 20's to a guy that was actually gonna put it to use instead of sittin in a closet the rest of it life. i purchased my first gun, a S&W sd40ve on an impulse a couple of years ago. went in to the lgs looking for a .357 until i realized the significant price difference. i figured the complexity of semi autos would make them more expensive. anyhoo, a year later i finally picked up the gun i originally wanted, a 6" stainless steel Taurus model 66, followed soon after by a S&W 22a-1. this year i picked up 3 more guns. my first NAA 1 1/4" mini, another Taurus, pt111 g2 in 9mm which i liked infinitely better than the sd40ve which subsequently, i sold to fund my most recent purchase (and favorite gun), a Cimarron, Man With No Name 51 navy colt that fires .38 special. an here i thot i would be fine with just 2...

[TwoGunJayne]

Just 2? Didn't think it worked that way! 

[bujeezus]

my poor wallet sure wishes it had worked out that way. ha!

[heyjoe]

Smith and Wesson Model 10-8 in 1993.

[RogueTS1]

The more the merrier.................... One can never have too many guns.

[bujeezus]

yup!