First

[RunaTuna]

5 hours ago, gregintenn said:

That is a fine rifle! We’d love to see pics!

Ask and ye shall receive. I have since moved the scope more forward, it's an old pic and I had put it on weird as an inexperienced teen haha. Though it still did just fine when shooting so it's no biggie. 

[runco]

Mine was a Winchester 37a 410 single shot purchased from the local Co-op in Sevierville back in the mid 70s.  Still have it, and my oldest son killed his first squirrel with it as well.  As a side note, after my dad passed several years ago, digging through old papers, found the owners manual to the same shotgun....lots of memories even a tear writing this post response.  

[Snaveba]

I suppose my second firearm was a H&R single shot 410. Killed my first dove with that one. I kept the Marlin, but sold the 410 to a TGO member. 

[Bnashville]

Lots of neat first rifles here. Received a Marlin 39D lever from my father around age 14 as my first. Still have it in the safe. Love that gun. 

[gregintenn]

14 hours ago, RunaTuna said:

Ask and ye shall receive. I have since moved the scope more forward, it's an old pic and I had put it on weird as an inexperienced teen haha. Though it still did just fine when shooting so it's no biggie. 

That’s a dandy! You rarely see them around here. German guns have a totally different look. I like it.

[kwe45919]

First was an old single shot Remington, cant remember the model...beat up wood, rusted in many places...I musta shot 1000rnds outa that sucker the first summer I had it...

[jhc77]

My first was a Remington 870 in the mid 90’s. My stepbrother and I both got one for Christmas. The first semiauto I shot was a Browning SA-22. Jamomatic for some reason. When dad passed I received 3 22lr’s he had including a 22lr/22short single shot bolt action youth model he and my aunt learned to shoot on.  It’ll still click but I’ve never gotten it out. 

[-boatman-]

My first was a Stevens 530a 16ga double barrel that my dad bought new in the 1950s. Still have it and it will be passed down to one of my boys. It has some wear but still tight as a new one. It's killed many squirrels, quite a few rabbits, and doves, 

[Darrell]

A Remington Nylon 66 purchased in 1969 when I was 13 at the local hardware store. I think I paid about $60, which was quite a stretch for me. I remember paying the man and walking out with the unserialised rifle and a couple boxes of ammo. (My dad was with me, I'm sure old man Demopolis wouldn't have sold it to me had I been alone.)  And in those days a kid could walk down the street with a 22 and a couple of dead rabbits without causing any stir at all.

I still have the rifle and still shoot it fairly often. It's been trouble-free all these years. Heck, I might pull it out and shoot it today!

[bduncan1231]

My dad bought me a Marlin Glenfield 30a 30-30 when I was 12.  I still have it and will be 55 next month.

[Ronald_55]

Papaw gave me a beautifully sporterized Enfield .303

I was either 10 or 12 and it is still in Dad's safe 35+ years later. 

[Bravo87]

AR, lost it in a boating mishap. 

[Grunt67]

Stevens Crack Shot, 22/Short, Long, LR. Lot of squirrels, rabbits met their fate with that little rifle. Sadly, it met it's fate in a house fire.

[Choatecav]

4 hours ago, Grunt67 said:

Stevens Crack Shot, 22/Short, Long, LR. Lot of squirrels, rabbits met their fate with that little rifle. Sadly, it met it's fate in a house fire.

I gotta say this has been a fun little thread as every reply has been a trip down memory lane. 

Btw, speaking of this Stevens Crack Shot rifle, I was told the other day that Mr. Stevens, who founded this company back around the turn of the century was the man who created the .22 rimfire cartridge.  Not sure if true, but I know it was an old company who I think sold out to Savage.  May be wrong there, too.

[Grunt67]

38 minutes ago, Choatecav said:

I gotta say this has been a fun little thread as every reply has been a trip down memory lane. 

Btw, speaking of this Stevens Crack Shot rifle, I was told the other day that Mr. Stevens, who founded this company back around the turn of the century was the man who created the .22 rimfire cartridge.  Not sure if true, but I know it was an old company who I think sold out to Savage.  May be wrong there, too.

Not sure either on the 22 origin, but think Savage bought out Steven's at some point.

Lot of name changes back then, not to mention all the hardware store, etc that had their own name on them.

Google says Steven's introduced the 22 as we know it today. 22 short. Others were involved in the long & long rifle.

Edited November 22, 2022 by Grunt67

[Garufa]

1 hour ago, Choatecav said:

I was told the other day that Mr. Stevens, who founded this company back around the turn of the century was the man who created the .22 rimfire cartridge.  Not sure if true, but I know it was an old company who I think sold out to Savage.  May be wrong there, too.

It’s not true.  Perhaps Stevens developed the .22 long rifle, but its origins go back to…France.

Edited November 23, 2022 by Garufa

[Erik88]

Ruger 10/22. The weird thing is that I looked up the serial # and it says it was made in a year that doesn't jive with my memory. I still have the gun though and I'll never sell it. 

[Choatecav]

12 hours ago, Garufa said:

It’s not true.  Perhaps Stevens developed the .22 long rifle, but its origins go back to…France.

Thanks for the correction, Garufa.  I checked with my rimfire guru and he said you were correct.  Stevens created the .22 LR.  Or maybe "designed" would be the better term.

Edited November 23, 2022 by Choatecav

[Moped]

On 11/17/2022 at 3:10 PM, Moped said:

Mine was a Winchester Model 67 single shot .22LR rifle. 

Just wanted to add a bit to this.  My grandfather started me shooting with the 67 when I was four.  He and my grandmother lived off Delrose Drive, in East Knoxville, right up against the city limits. Amazingly enough, the police were never called by their neighbors.  Those were different times, but firing a gun in the city limits was still illegal back then.

He would set up beer cans at the base of a tall, thick pine tree and then I would shoot at them with the Winchester 67.  I wasn't big enough or strong enough to hold the rifle up, so I would rest it on a tall stool. At the beginning he would also have to chamber and pull the plunger back on the bolt for me.  But as I got bigger, I was able to do it myself. We spent many weekends, shooting that rifle, in the back yard!  It started my love of firearms! 

[Handsome Rob]

Emilio Rizzini O/U 12ga when i was 16. I couldn't tell you what model it was & it was completely illegal for me to own (I kept it in a friend's safe along with his shotgun, since he had a license & very friendly parents) but I do remember giving the princely sum of £150 for it. I shoot an awful lot of rabbits, pheasant & wood pigeons with that thing. 

[Garufa]

19 hours ago, Erik88 said:

The weird thing is that I looked up the serial # and it says it was made in a year that doesn't jive with my memory.

You’ll find that happening more as the years go on.  Soon everything will be “a few years ago” even if it was last year or 10, lol.

[gregintenn]

I always thought the 22bb and 22cb were of French origin, while the 22 short came along with early Smith and Wesson pocket revolvers.

[swiley383]

Single shot 410 I believe it’s a Brazil made it’s an off brand can’t remember who made it. Still have need to shoot it by good luck getting 410 shells right now. 

[Gnarlytoes]

1 hour ago, swiley383 said:

Single shot 410 I believe it’s a Brazil made it’s an off brand can’t remember who made it. Still have need to shoot it by good luck getting 410 shells right now. 

My dad got me a cheap Brazilian made 20ga single shot when I was 9 or 10 years old. The recoil on that thing was just plain brutal, even with light loads. I would come home from hunting and my shoulder and cheek bone would be black and blue for days. Didn't discourage me from using it, but I borrowed his Browning Auto 5 Light 12 every chance I got.  I have shot 3.5" mag turkey loads that didn't kick as bad as that thing.

[MidTNhunter]

My first I bought was in 1983, a new remington 700 in 30-06, 40 years later I still hunt with this action and barrel and its still a great deer rifle.  I've recently did a thorough copper defouling of the barrel and replaced the stock with a long action Magpul stock with 5 round magazine, the Magpul stock truly floats the barrel and it is more accurate than ever with the 165 grain Remington core-lokt tipped cartridge (after trying multiple different brands and types of cartridges).  Over the years I've taken deer also with the 150 & 180 core lokt with pointed soft point cartridges but the newer tipped core lokt cartridges are much more accurate and repeatable at all yardages especially noticeable at 100-250 yards.