What Was Your First Handgun Purchase?

[Shovel-ready project]

Check out Wikiarms.com Just got 1500 rounds.

Thanks. I checked them out. Looks like you have to be quick when they post a new offer. Just about all the low-cost deals are gone quickly.

[bujeezus]

off topic but does yer user name refer to a motorcycle or ex-wife?

[sopsax]

Sorry - no photos of my two first-handguns can be posted. I re-took them, one-gun-per-photo and even that was too big for this site. I also tried to reduce the photos before posting but with iPhoto, that apparently cannot be done. sopsax

[Dinadan]

Sopsax - too bad about the photos, but I still appreciate the story!

[grayelky]

Sorry to get back on topic. My first handgun was a Ruger Single Six, 6 1/2" barrel and a Mag cylinder. My Mother had to do the paper work, as I was only 20 years old. I still have the Ruger, but, Mom is no longer with us.

[MR_22]

Sorry to get back on topic. My first handgun was a Ruger Single Six, 6 1/2" barrel and a Mag cylinder. My Mother had to do the paper work, as I was only 20 years old. I still have the Ruger, but, Mom is no longer with us.

Wait--what year was that? For some reason, I thought you were old than that.

[cfsharry]

Bought my second handgun, a Ruger Single Six, (.22LR only), in 1966.  Mounted a 1.5x scope on it.  Great gun with an excellent trigger; a very accurate gun indeed. Wish I still had it.

[I]

Sorry to get back on topic. My first handgun was a Ruger Single Six, 6 1/2" barrel and a Mag cylinder. My Mother had to do the paper work, as I was only 20 years old. I still have the Ruger, but, Mom is no longer with us.

Wait--what year was that? For some reason, I thought you were old than that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruger_Single_Six

The Ruger Single Six is a single action rimfire revolver produced by Sturm, Ruger. The Single Six was first released in June 1953.[5]

[MR_22]

Sorry to get back on topic. My first handgun was a Ruger Single Six, 6 1/2" barrel and a Mag cylinder. My Mother had to do the paper work, as I was only 20 years old. I still have the Ruger, but, Mom is no longer with us.

Wait--what year was that? For some reason, I thought you were old than that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruger_Single_Six

The Ruger Single Six is a single action rimfire revolver produced by Sturm, Ruger. The Single Six was first released in June 1953.[5]

OK, allow me to clarify: before the Brady Act, no paperwork was required. When I bought my first handgun in around 1986, there was no background checks to perform. You paid your money and you took it home.

So, I'm curious what paperwork grayelky is referring to, if it was not the Brady background check.

Perhaps the pawnshop where I purchased my first handgun did not follow the laws of the time? Perhaps the next pawnshop where I bought my second revolver did not either? I don't know, I didn't follow the gun laws of the mid 80's--nor did anyone else, it seems.

[cfsharry]

Its' pretty obvious that in Gray's state you had to be 21 to buy a handgun. He needed a parent to sign off.

[MR_22]

Its' pretty obvious that in Gray's state you had to be 21 to buy a handgun. He needed a parent to sign off.

Yeah, he said that. That's not a state law, but a federal one. That's been the case since 1968.

[Dinadan]

When I bought my first handgun in 1975 I recall that there was a three day waiting period before I could take it home. Heck if I remember what paperwork was required. I think I had to say I was not insane, or maybe that came later.

[MR_22]

When I bought my first handgun in 1975 I recall that there was a three day waiting period before I could take it home. Heck if I remember what paperwork was required. I think I had to say I was not insane, or maybe that came later.

Hmm. I don't remember ANY paperwork at all when I bought my first handgun, a .22 short revolver, at a local pawnshop for $20 in about 1985. I gave 'em my $20 cash and he handed me the gun and a cash register receipt and I walked out.

In 1985 or 1986, I bought another revolver from a different pawnshop in a different town for $35, which included both a .22LR and a .22Magnum cylinder. I also don't recall any paperwork then, either. I paid cash and left with the gun. No background check and I don't think any paperwork.

Shooting this revolver with the .22 Magnum cylinder caused permanent hearing loss in my right ear. I think the cylinder was misaligned, or possibly just too loose. I was deaf in that ear for 5 days and then the hearing slowly came back over the next day. I put the magnum cylinder aside and never used it again. To this day, I cannot hear crickets or higher pitches in that ear. I make sure everybody who shoots my guns now is wearing eye and ear protection, even .22 handguns. I wish I had been that day.

I don't know why that ONE shot was louder than the rest. I had been shooting .22 magnums in the revolver up to that point on that day and other shots made my ears ring, but wasn't too bad. I'm guessing the cylinder somehow didn't line up with the barrel very well for that one round, but I'm not sure.

[OV-1D]

When I bought my first handgun in 1975 I recall that there was a three day waiting period before I could take it home. Heck if I remember what paperwork was required. I think I had to say I was not insane, or maybe that came later.

Hmm. I don't remember ANY paperwork at all when I bought my first handgun, a .22 short revolver, at a local pawnshop for $20 in about 1985. I gave 'em my $20 cash and he handed me the gun and a cash register receipt and I walked out.

In 1985 or 1986, I bought another revolver from a different pawnshop in a different town for $35, which included both a .22LR and a .22Magnum cylinder. I also don't recall any paperwork then, either. I paid cash and left with the gun. No background check and I don't think any paperwork.

Shooting this revolver with the .22 Magnum cylinder caused permanent hearing loss in my right ear. I think the cylinder was misaligned, or possibly just too loose. I was deaf in that ear for 5 days and then the hearing slowly came back over the next day. I put the magnum cylinder aside and never used it again. To this day, I cannot hear crickets or higher pitches in that ear. I make sure everybody who shoots my guns now is wearing eye and ear protection, even .22 handguns. I wish I had been that day.

I don't know why that ONE shot was louder than the rest. I had been shooting .22 magnums in the revolver up to that point on that day and other shots made my ears ring, but wasn't too bad. I'm guessing the cylinder somehow didn't line up with the barrel very well for that one round, but I'm not sure.

  After reading your posts MR_22 all this time I believe the winners are the crickets because those cow paddies are catching some grief  .

[Dinadan]

I am also missing out on the high pitched sounds. I think that just happens to men to a degree as we age, but I also did a lot of unprotected shooting when I was young. What I miss most is hearing the flying squirrels squeak at night. That is something that I was always hearing when I went out under the pecan trees at night. I do not hear the high pitched bird calls either. I remember when I was a kid and my father would take me float fishing on the river, I would often ask him about various bird calls and he often replied that he did not hear them. I remember wondering if he really did not hear or was just in a bad mood about the fish not biting and did not want to talk about birds. How innocent I was!

[TwoGunJayne]

When I bought my first handgun in 1975 I recall that there was a three day waiting period before I could take it home. Heck if I remember what paperwork was required. I think I had to say I was not insane, or maybe that came later.

Hmm. I don't remember ANY paperwork at all when I bought my first handgun, a .22 short revolver, at a local pawnshop for $20 in about 1985. I gave 'em my $20 cash and he handed me the gun and a cash register receipt and I walked out.

In 1985 or 1986, I bought another revolver from a different pawnshop in a different town for $35, which included both a .22LR and a .22Magnum cylinder. I also don't recall any paperwork then, either. I paid cash and left with the gun. No background check and I don't think any paperwork.

Shooting this revolver with the .22 Magnum cylinder caused permanent hearing loss in my right ear. I think the cylinder was misaligned, or possibly just too loose. I was deaf in that ear for 5 days and then the hearing slowly came back over the next day. I put the magnum cylinder aside and never used it again. To this day, I cannot hear crickets or higher pitches in that ear. I make sure everybody who shoots my guns now is wearing eye and ear protection, even .22 handguns. I wish I had been that day.

I don't know why that ONE shot was louder than the rest. I had been shooting .22 magnums in the revolver up to that point on that day and other shots made my ears ring, but wasn't too bad. I'm guessing the cylinder somehow didn't line up with the barrel very well for that one round, but I'm not sure.

  After reading your posts MR_22 all this time I believe the winners are the crickets because those cow paddies are catching some grief  .

Unfortunately, this sounds like a case of the "-itis." Could be anything.

Jiminy!

[Kentucky Kevin]

Ruger Blackhawk 357 from a gun show when I was 18, expired car reg, and a little weed and I lost it during a traffic stop

[Uncle_Lee]

I am also missing out on the high pitched sounds. I think that just happens to men to a degree as we age, but I also did a lot of unprotected shooting when I was young. What I miss most is hearing the flying squirrels squeak at night. That is something that I was always hearing when I went out under the pecan trees at night. I do not hear the high pitched bird calls either. I remember when I was a kid and my father would take me float fishing on the river, I would often ask him about various bird calls and he often replied that he did not hear them. I remember wondering if he really did not hear or was just in a bad mood about the fish not biting and did not want to talk about birds. How innocent I was!

I know what you mean.
That is why I can't use the phone. Can't hear good enough.
My hearing aids whistle when I try to use them with the phone.

[TwoGunJayne]

An actual uncle of mine was told 3 times that he could step down in his last court appearance. He has blasted speakers in a rock band since the 60s. Hearing protection? What's that? Chainsaws, shotguns, lawn mowers, power tools of every stripe...

Someone had to walk in front of him and wave at him.

"You may step down."

[MR_22]

"You may step down."

I wonder if anybody has ever told Obama that. Maybe he just doesn't know....

[TwoGunJayne]

News Flash:

AP (Washington) --

A stunning revelation today throws light upon the abuses of the Obama administration. When President Obama said that he didn't hear of scandal after scandal it was, in fact, due to 100% deafness in both ears. Though accused of lying, it turns out that he can't actually hear anything said by anyone else. The White House has made no comment on the question of why he has also ignored written documents, such as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

[MR_22]

[Jim1392]

My first handgun I actually paid for was a model S & W Model 60 38 cal snub nose in stainless. I bought it around the end of 1979 or early 1980. I had a few other that my father gave me but that was the first one I paid for. I still own it.

[NOTL21]

1984...Colt Python, 6 inch barrel in electroless nickel finish.  I thought I was a bad ass. 

[RogueTS1]

1984...Colt Python, 6 inch barrel in electroless nickel finish.  I thought I was a bad ass. 

You are if you still have the gun. If not then you may just be a dumb ass................... just kidding LOL.................

[G50AE]

I am also missing out on the high pitched sounds. I think that just happens to men to a degree as we age, but I also did a lot of unprotected shooting when I was young. What I miss most is hearing the flying squirrels squeak at night. That is something that I was always hearing when I went out under the pecan trees at night. I do not hear the high pitched bird calls either. I remember when I was a kid and my father would take me float fishing on the river, I would often ask him about various bird calls and he often replied that he did not hear them. I remember wondering if he really did not hear or was just in a bad mood about the fish not biting and did not want to talk about birds. How innocent I was!

I know what you mean.
That is why I can't use the phone. Can't hear good enough.
My hearing aids whistle when I try to use them with the phone.

http://www.clarityproducts.com/

Try this company.

[NOTL21]

Still have it...would rather shoot a 1911 as I have mellowed (read aged).

[I]

Thost Colt Pythons defined sexy in a full-size underlug magnum. That is, if you didn't prefer the tug of the Anaconda.

I guess other manufacturers just don't understand.

[MR_22]

OK, here's my first ever handgun. It's an Imperial Metal Prod. Model 7 in .22 short, made in Kingtson, NC. It's a read piece of junk, but it's what got me into handguns--and more particularly, into small handguns.

I bought it probably in 1985 from a Pawnshop for $20. It had no grips, but just two sides of a split piece of antler that were rubber-banded to the frame. I think maybe somebody was going to form them to the gun as grips, but then gave up and pawned it.

I promptly removed the antler pieces when I got it home and fashioned a pair of grips from a pine 2x4 which I found lying around my dad's farm. I shaped the grips using an electric grinder, then sanded them smooth. I never did stain them. They are exactly as you see them now, some 30 years later. I think I actually did a pretty good job with the grips, being my first job!

It's a double-action, single-action revolver in which you have to remove the cylinder pin to load--like you do with NAA mini-revolvers. After a few years, it would no longer fire in double-action mode, so I strengthened then hammer spring under the grips by adding a spent .22 short casing with the cap side ground off, so it would compress the spring more. That worked for awhile, but now it no longer shoots in DA mode again.

Around 1998, the painted frame was flaking so badly that I used some solvent and completely removed the paint. Yes, it was painted, not blued. Once I got all of the paint off, I cold blued it with a blueing kit I got at Walmart. The blueing job was SO MUCH BETTER than the original paint job.

About five years ago, I happened upon a new gun of the same make and model on GunBroker for $69, which was about $65 too much, in my opinion, but for old time sake, I bought it anyway. So now I have a new-in-box version of my first handgun. The original plastic grips are about the same quality as a cap gun you used to could buy for $6. It's just soft plastic mold injection with a hallow center. Really cheap. I bet the gun was probably not sold for more than $10 brand new. And, yes, this one was painted, too, so the paint I removed was probably original.

A few months after I got the gun, I bought a small wooden box for $2 at a local thrift soft and added some foam molding to hold the gun, plus I added a square pocket on the side to hold extra rounds. I have the box somewhere, I think in my garage. I'll check for it and add some photos of that, too.

I can still shoot this gun--and have occasionally. The cylinder is too lose, such that I probably shouldn't shoot it, and I have to cock it first, because DA doesn't work anymore, but it's still surprisingly accurate.

So, there ya go--my famous, or maybe infamous--junk .22 short revolver with two-by-four pine grips.

[zorba]

First handgun?

Father gave me an inoperative "U.S. Revolver" in 38 S&W. It is a hammerless, 5 shot top break revolver made in the 19-teens sometime and was a bad copy of a S&W of the period. In fact, it actually has S&W grips on it. Dad paid $5 for it at a flea market in the early 50s. I know it was operative in about 1959 when he pulled it on a peeping tom - but it was inoperative for most of my childhood, it sat around on the breakfast table, dad would grab it by the barrel and use it to crack walnuts!

So he gives me this thing, and I take it to a gunshop to get it repaired. Was (correctly) told to "not bother", so I didn't.

Fast forward 30 years, my dad passed on - but I found exactly 18 rounds of ancient ammo for this thing, scattered all around his house. So I talk a local 'smith into fixing the darn thing so it would fire. Take it and the 18 rds to the range, first time fired in at least 50 years, maybe more (I suspect the 18rds were left from a 20rd box my dad bought for it, I'm guessing he fired it exactly twice). 2 rds didn't fire at all, 2 soft fired with just enough force to push the bullet out of the barrel, the other 14 rds fired normally.

Worse experience I'd ever had with a firearm - it wouldn't fire all 5 without the cylinder binding up, got a ton of blowback onto my left cheek, and the rounds were key-holing at 7 yards! The last several rounds were fired just to get rid of them. I told my wife "There, I fired it." - its now on display in a shadowbox directly above the family heirloom civil war rifle. Still, it was worth the $20 I paid the 'smith just to be able to say I had indeed fired the thing.

What makes this entire story a scream is that I recently found out that my father in law has almost the same gun - but in 32 S&W (The grips on this one actually say "U.S. Revolver" as they should.)! My nephew stands to inherit this "Family heirloom", I hope it shoots better than mine did! It at least looks better...

Now as for my first handgun PURCHASE, it was a 1940 Mauser-built Luger, which I prize highly! Forgive the fugly grips...

[Uncle_Lee]

Well Zorba, I must get old and cranky on you !!!

I love those "fugly" grips on your Luger. They give it even more class than it had without them and that was a lot.

That is one handgun that I have always wanted but never owned. Don't know why I never bought one. I did have an Erma .380 baby Luger. Fun little gun but the firing pin wouldn't last over 300 rounds. I bought them two at a time.

[OV-1D]

Of all the parts I have around collecting dust I have one of those firing pins for that Erma 380 Unc . Came from a gun I thru out long ago , want it send a p.m. That was the first gun I purchased come to think about it , a jambing s.o.b. it was , if it didn't work on all brands of ammo it was junk I figured . 

[Dinadan]

MR_22 - love those grips! Glad to see I am not the only one who started out with a cheap revolver! 

[I]

Based on the "man month" estimated and adjusted for inflation back in the 80's, I'd say a Luger pattern of any stripe in reliable and maintained service would be a good thing, given a large spare pile of spare parts.

It's amazing how the big dollar things break down with a roll pin that's a fraction of a penny in large bulk and it decides to get cranky.

The Luger pattern pistol looks like it might shoot... maybe.

More like an instrument...

[MR_22]

MR_22 - love those grips! Glad to see I am not the only one who started out with a cheap revolver!

LOL, thanks, Dinadan. I sure didn't have much money back then and could only afford one 500-round brick of .22's per month. My part-time job when I was in high school paid about $!00 per month, but I was glad to have it. Much of it went into shooting sports, including the one brick of Blazer .22's, which I bought at the local Western Auto for either $9 per box, when it was on sale, or $10 when it wasn't.

Ah, the good ol' days.