Tell us about your first one

[MtnMike2]

My first real gun (not a BB gun) was a Ranger .22 lr pump - just like the ones in the old shooting galleries. I think it was sold by Sears or Monkey Wards. It's a copy of or made by Winchester (I need to research this). I got this rifle from my dad when I was about 12 or 13 years old. It had been his rifle. I practiced with it a lot and was quite the shooter. I hunted squirrels and rabbits with it many times. It's now collecting dust in my gun safe as it became worn and loose - would fire with the chamber partially open. Then the firing pin became worn and it wouldn't fire reliably. I was told by gunsmiths that it wasn't worth fixing but I'm thinking now maybe it would be a good future project...

Mike

[VaRedneck]

My first?

A Marlin 336C in .30-30.

I'm very comfortable with it.

[multibeard]

After wearing out a couple BB guns I finally came of age to actually hunt with a firearm. The first couple of years I used my brothers old Wards Hercules single 16 ga with the split stock taped up with white athletic tape.

For my 14th Christmas my mother bought me a Fox BST 16 ga double. It accounted for plenty of game from rabbits to squirrels, ducks, pats and even my first goose. Sits in the gun cabinet most of the time now as I do little small game hunting anymore.

A couple of years ago I did have it out hunting pats with a rescue chocolate lab that I had picked up and wanted to see if it would do anything in the woods. When I got back to the car there were a couple of guys sitting in a truck in the parking lot. I sat down on a boulder to shoot the breeze. The driver said "You don't see many of those old guns around anymore"

That statement kinda caught me by surprise as I didn't realy think of the old double as being old. After thinking a minute I realized that maybe a 50 year old gun might be considered old. I wonder what that makes me?