What do you wish your first rifle was?

[Swampghost]

I got a Win. Mod 75 for Christmas when I was 11, a 9# .22LR and a tack driver. I still have it and my son loves to shoot it, so do I. It's taken game from quail to deer in the last 47 yrs.

Most importantly it allowed me to learn the finer points of how to shoot accurately without recoil being a distracting factor. Later, with larger rifles, I knew that any problems were related to the rifle or recoil.

[Willie Lowman]

I would not change a thing. I got a Browning .22 lever action for my Christmas present when I was 13. I couldn't have asked for more!

[Warchild]

I was always raised with the mindset of practice with what you are going to use, get good with it first. You're going to have to practice proper breathing, trigger control, sight picture, and the like if you move up dramatically in caliber anyways so why spend the extra money? I never said this practice was correct, just what I was raised on. Whether my dad was too cheap to splurge on an .22 or just thought "I'll make a man of him one way or another..." it worked, some positive reinforcement and some practice and I never knew the difference.

[fisherman66]

I wish it were a Low Wall in 22lr. It was instead the fine performing but ubiquitous vanilla 10/22. Hopefully I will be bringing home a Winchester 63 next weekend. That one get's second runner up status to the Low Wall.

[Brenten]

I agree that a first childhood rifle should be a 22lr. Mine was and I think it made a huge difference. Even if I had started shooting guns as an adult, I think a 22 allows a first time shooter to concentrate on trigger pull, breathing, sights without the distraction of recoil, muzzle blast and noise. I would not change a thing on how I learned.

[22-rimfire]

Wouldn't change a thing if circumstances were the same; 22 rifle was a christmas gift and I bought my first centerfire 243 for varmint and deer hunting.

[Ozzieman]

My first gun (12 years old) was a semi 22 LR. It was clip fed and the front 4 inches of the stock was black plastic and would fold down to use as a forward grip.
Great gun but for a starter gun the semi auto got me into wasting rounds. Instead of shooting 1 it was always pop, pop ,pop,,,,,,,pop, pop, pop.
When I was 28 a wise old man told me to get a good quality 22 bolt action gun with peep sights. Start at 25 yards and shoot 50 rounds every other day. When you eat only the center inch circle of the target then move back to 50 yards and on and on.
I found a wonderful Winchester 52 heavy barrel. That was the gun that got me to the place where I could call out within a half inch where the round would land to my spotter.
I just wish I had done that back when I was 12.

[johnwilliamson062]

http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...66#post4140766

Updating with link to my review of my specific recommendation.

[DiscoRacing]

My first was a .22lr,,second was a bigbore 94,,third was model six remington 30-06 pump.

[RimfireChris]

I voted for semi because pump wasn't an option. If it had been, I woulda picked a Remington Fieldmaster. As it was, my first rifle purchase was an Action Arms Timberwolf .44 mag carbine, and several times a year I curse the day I sold it.

[Dougw47]

I got my first .22 when I was twelve...1959...we were poor, I helped feed the family for 2 years buy shooting rabbits and squirrels off nearby neighbor's farms.

Just gave that Springfield Model 15 to my oldest grandson today, three of my grandsons and I went shooting today...I bought each of them a single-shot bolt action .22. They did pretty good.

[azyogi]

My first rifle was a Ruger 10/22 so I don't need to go back and change that.

[James R. Burke]

I guess I am lucky they are the first ones I had. A 22 nylon 66, and then a 8mm Mauser my Dad built up for me for deer hunting. I still have the 8mm and it looks and shoots like it was brand new. He made the stock to fit me with my hunting coat on, I believe he had a few hundred hours into the stock. He was not much of a deer hunter, but got me into it when he seen I liked it, and took me out all the time. Wish I still had the nylon. Needed the money or something, that was probalby the most stupid thing I done. Not only was it from him, it was a great 22.

[Kreyzhorse]

I wouldn't do it over. My first rifle was a 1954 Russian Tula SKS. I paid either $89 or $99 for it. Great plinking gun and certainly worth a hell of a lot more than I paid for it although I wouldn't sell it.

[The Great Mahoo]

My first rifle was a .22 bolt-action given to me by my father. I still have it today and don't see any reason to have done things differently if I could. Well, as much as I like leverguns, a .22 levergun would be right up there if I were shopping for myself.

[pythagorean]

It was the ADL Remington 700 in 6mm Remington. Before centerfire I wanted a Remington 513 Matchmaster (I bought this Matchmaster four years ago still NIB to recover that dream):







I always wanted a Remington Matchmaster and I found one at the ripe old age of over 50 years after wanting one NIB. I got it.

No other bolt action rimfire means this much to me. We trained on these in ROTC. And they ain't Winchester 52s. Those Winchesters have no charisma compared to the Remington 513 Matchmaster. They are over rated old fogey guns.

[Old Grump]

First rifle was a single shot bolt action Savage 22 LR. Still have it, still love it but if I was to do it over again I would have to go with my new found baby. I finally got hold of Great grandpa's rolling block 25-20. Now I wish I had started with a rolling block in 22 LR and worked my way up the chain. I'm happy with one shot at a time as long as they go where I want them too and this old 1890 Stevens single shot gun is still putting them in a 1 1/2" group at 30 yards with a handmade front sight to replace the missing one. Never knew how much fun a rolling block could be.

[aarondhgraham]

I was raised on Roy Rogers and the likes,,,
I had my Momma's Colt Frontier Scout in .22 LR,,,
If I would have owned a lever action .22 rifle I woulda been king.

More than likely I would also have shot myself,,,
Trying to do the Rifleman spinning cock.

I almost shot myself in the foot,,,
Practicing my quick-draw.

Probably a good thing it never happened,,,
~sigh~

.

[rr2241tx]

My first rifle was a bolt action single shot .22. Shorts were cheaper back in the Dark Ages than LR, so I got a box of shorts and this old .22 that had been my Dad's first rifle as well. My grandfather regarded misses as wasting ammo, so I learned a lot about marksmanship under his instruction. We ate a lot of novel things until I figured out that red eared sliders and mud hens weren't especially good eating. Dad repossessed the rifle when I joined the service, so it will be a while before it is really "mine".

[sc928porsche]

My first rifle purchace was a 30-40 Krag. I already had a 22 and a 16ga. that my father gave me. It was my first deer rifle and set me back $20. That was a lot considering that I was a youngster and made money mowing lawns.

[csmsss]

.460 Wby Magnum - they were a whole lot cheaper then!