I just realized something...

SaxonPig · January 1, 2017, 07:41 PM

Never really hit me before but I still have the very first center fire handgun I ever bought. Got it in February of 1973. Paid $135 for it which was a lot of money to a guy making $1.65 an hour.

In 1975 I added the adjustable sights (don't recall what the smith charged me for that) and the ivory stocks ($32.50). In 2012 I had it engraved.

We have, as they say, been around some.

curt.45 · January 1, 2017, 08:29 PM

i don't suppose you'd take $200 for it?

very nice looking .45

Minorcan · January 1, 2017, 08:30 PM

Very nice, you obviously oved the gun to do the grips and engraving. Old friends are always best when together.

lee n. field · January 1, 2017, 09:04 PM

Nice Rock Island.

(just funnin' ya.)

xcc_rider · January 1, 2017, 10:57 PM

Probably feels like a comfortable old friend when you shoot it.
I've still got my Combat Commander I bought in 74. I don't remember how much I paid for it because it was my brothers CCW and I bought it used from him.
I put adjustable sights on it too and it's still wearing the worn Pachmayr grips I put on it in the late 70's.

jughead2 · January 2, 2017, 04:15 AM

XCC i bought my commander in 1974 too. paid 169 bucks for it new out the door. still have too.

Brian48 · January 2, 2017, 10:03 AM

I wish I still have my first gun, which was a custom built on an Essex frame. Learned a lot tinkering with that old 1911. Never should have sold it.

SpareMag · January 3, 2017, 07:38 PM

Mine is a S&W Mod 28-3 Highway Patrolman .357 revolver, bought from a Baptist minister /FFL in Kentucky. It isn't going anywhere.

rodfac · January 3, 2017, 10:06 PM

Saxon, I always had a thing for those J-frame, Smith revolver sights on an auto. Elegant to say the least. Had them on a Browning Hi-Power that I carried on my first tour in Vietnam (Jimmy Clark did the work)...and couldn't figure a way to get it home when I DEROS'd...some REMF probably got it and is telling his grand-kids how he held off a battalion of VC while ensconsed in his suite at the Brink Hotel. Rod

SaxonPig · January 4, 2017, 11:43 AM

Pretty sure it's a K frame sight assembly.

My second CF handgun and first revolver was a short Ruger BH in 357.

g.willikers · January 4, 2017, 11:58 AM

While it wasn't my first handgun by a long shot (

) but I still have a revolver from about that time.
Same better half, too.
Some things are too good to trade off.

jackstrawIII · January 5, 2017, 08:43 AM

Awesome!

I too have my first two pistols I ever bought... but that was only 6 years ago

TailGator · January 6, 2017, 04:06 PM

The first handgun I bought is no longer around. It was a cheap revolver (Armenius, if I remember how to spell it), and I wore it out.

I have the first firearm I ever shot, though - a Winchester 69A that my dad bought before I was born, and which I shot on my uncle's farm when I was seven or so. He gave it to me a year or so before he died.

ShootistPRS · January 6, 2017, 05:11 PM

I have the first handgun I ever fired, the first handgun I ever bought and the first center-fire rifle I ever fired. The first hand gun I ever fired was my dad's Ruger semi auto - before the Mod I. It still shoots well, though I spend less time than I once did. The first handgun I ever bought was my Ruger Security-Six 357. It still goes everywhere with me and it still shoots 1" groups at 25 yards when I can hold it still. The first center fire rifle was my dad's 03A3 in full military trim from the CMP. He eventually bought a semi-finished stock on it and I remember the endless nights he spent rubbing boiled linseed oil into that stock. When he passed I got it and shot it until I could no longer see the sights and target at the same time. I had the bolt turned and a scope mounted and I have continued to shoot it.
There is a lot of history in those guns.

vba · January 13, 2017, 10:20 AM

Very nice gun but what I got out of your post is that you made $1.65/hr. I remember those days very well.

DMK · January 13, 2017, 10:28 AM

SaxonPig, that 1911 was/is very a nice 1st handgun! You had exceptional taste sir.

My first handgun was a comparatively utilitarian CZ75B (the top one in the picture below). It cost me $300 in 2001. Still one of my favorite shooters actually. I'll never sell it either.

BearBrimstone · January 13, 2017, 10:41 AM

Very nice. I still have the first firearm that I ever owned (Mossberg bolt 12 gauge I've had since the 90's), but I do not have the first one I ever personally purchased (Sig Pro 2340). I traded that one away a couple years ago when I was itching to try something new and didn't have the extra cash to buy something.

Robk · January 13, 2017, 11:57 AM

I do not have the first pistol I owned anymore. But I have my first 1911 still. going on 27 years and it has changed a bit from the day I bought it. A tweak here and a tweak there. But it is the only pistol I still have from my early years of collecting. Ever evolving collection, but always that same 1911.

Beautiful pistol by the way.

SIGSHR · January 13, 2017, 03:23 PM

My Browning HP purchased in 1967. $110, a lot of money for an E-3 (Army) back then, though Uncle Sam did provide me with room and boards.

Nodak1858 · January 15, 2017, 11:57 AM

I think it was a day or two after my 21st birthday I went out and bought a Ruger P90 45acp. Still have it but don;t shoot it a bunch. Solid gun, built like a tank if you run out of ammo in a fight you can use it as a club. I don't know how it worked it's way back to the back of the safe. It shoots nice and I haven't had any issues with it. I should shoot it more.

curt.45 · February 4, 2017, 08:18 PM

i hope you know i was joking, first pistol was a feg .22 first revolver was a security six in blue, i have other security sixs now but miss that first one, traded it on a Ruger P85 i still have.

jetinteriorguy · February 7, 2017, 06:09 AM

Wished I still had my first handgun, plain old Model 39. I do still have my first ever gun, bought it when I was 13 for $35.00. A Stevens 16 gauge double barrel with five boxes of shells. Took a lot of game with that sucker.

BillM · February 7, 2017, 08:29 AM

First rifle I owned: Stevens 87. Got it in 1958, still have it.
First pistol I ever shot: 1952 mfg. High Standard Sport King. Still have it.
First shotgun I ever shot: Winchester 97. Still have it.
First centerfire rifle I ever shot: Winchester 1873 in 38-40. Still have it.

The 22 was given to me by my uncle at age 7. The rest are
family guns--and will be passed on to the next generation.

larryf1952 · February 19, 2017, 05:40 PM

My first handgun was a used, junk Iver Johnson .22 revolver that I bought in a pawn shop when I was 21 years old. Horribly out of time. I had it for 10 days.

I went back to the same pawn shop and bought this new Ruger Standard Model. So, it's the 2nd handgun that I ever bought. I still have this one...

January 1, 2017, 07:41 PM	#1
SaxonPig Senior Member Join Date: April 24, 2006 Posts: 1,900	I just realized something... Never really hit me before but I still have the very first center fire handgun I ever bought. Got it in February of 1973. Paid $135 for it which was a lot of money to a guy making $1.65 an hour. In 1975 I added the adjustable sights (don't recall what the smith charged me for that) and the ivory stocks ($32.50). In 2012 I had it engraved. We have, as they say, been around some.

January 1, 2017, 09:04 PM	#4
lee n. field Senior Member Join Date: October 12, 2002 Location: The same state as Mordor. Posts: 5,568	Nice Rock Island. (just funnin' ya.) __________________ "As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. "

January 2, 2017, 04:15 AM	#6
jughead2 Senior Member Join Date: June 28, 2008 Location: tenn. Posts: 263	just realized XCC i bought my commander in 1974 too. paid 169 bucks for it new out the door. still have too. Last edited by jughead2; January 2, 2017 at 04:16 AM. Reason: spelling

January 2, 2017, 10:03 AM	#7
Brian48 Senior Member Join Date: December 21, 2001 Location: Boston, People's Republic of MA Posts: 1,616	I wish I still have my first gun, which was a custom built on an Essex frame. Learned a lot tinkering with that old 1911. Never should have sold it. __________________ Proud to have served.

January 3, 2017, 10:06 PM	#9
rodfac Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2005 Location: Kentucky Posts: 3,623	Saxon, I always had a thing for those J-frame, Smith revolver sights on an auto. Elegant to say the least. Had them on a Browning Hi-Power that I carried on my first tour in Vietnam (Jimmy Clark did the work)...and couldn't figure a way to get it home when I DEROS'd...some REMF probably got it and is telling his grand-kids how he held off a battalion of VC while ensconsed in his suite at the Brink Hotel. Rod __________________ Cherish our flag, honor it, defend it in word and deed, or get the hell out. Our Bill of Rights has been paid for by heros in uniform and shall not be diluted by misguided governmental social experiments. We owe this to our children, anything less is cowardice. USAF FAC, 5th Spl Forces, Vietnam Vet '69-'73.

January 1, 2017, 08:29 PM	#2
curt.45 Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2008 Location: Fort Wayne Ind. Posts: 866	i don't suppose you'd take $200 for it? very nice looking .45

January 1, 2017, 08:30 PM	#3
Minorcan Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2015 Posts: 379	Very nice, you obviously oved the gun to do the grips and engraving. Old friends are always best when together.

January 1, 2017, 10:57 PM	#5
xcc_rider Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 2016 Posts: 169	Probably feels like a comfortable old friend when you shoot it. I've still got my Combat Commander I bought in 74. I don't remember how much I paid for it because it was my brothers CCW and I bought it used from him. I put adjustable sights on it too and it's still wearing the worn Pachmayr grips I put on it in the late 70's.

January 3, 2017, 07:38 PM	#8
SpareMag Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2012 Posts: 514	Mine is a S&W Mod 28-3 Highway Patrolman .357 revolver, bought from a Baptist minister /FFL in Kentucky. It isn't going anywhere.

January 4, 2017, 11:43 AM	#10
SaxonPig Senior Member Join Date: April 24, 2006 Posts: 1,900	Pretty sure it's a K frame sight assembly. My second CF handgun and first revolver was a short Ruger BH in 357.

January 4, 2017, 11:58 AM	#11
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	While it wasn't my first handgun by a long shot () but I still have a revolver from about that time. Same better half, too. Some things are too good to trade off. __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

January 5, 2017, 08:43 AM	#12
jackstrawIII Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2016 Location: Upstate NY. Posts: 901	Awesome! I too have my first two pistols I ever bought... but that was only 6 years ago __________________ In God we trust.

January 6, 2017, 04:06 PM	#13
TailGator Senior Member Join Date: May 8, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,787	The first handgun I bought is no longer around. It was a cheap revolver (Armenius, if I remember how to spell it), and I wore it out. I have the first firearm I ever shot, though - a Winchester 69A that my dad bought before I was born, and which I shot on my uncle's farm when I was seven or so. He gave it to me a year or so before he died.

January 6, 2017, 05:11 PM	#14
ShootistPRS Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2017 Posts: 1,583	I have the first handgun I ever fired, the first handgun I ever bought and the first center-fire rifle I ever fired. The first hand gun I ever fired was my dad's Ruger semi auto - before the Mod I. It still shoots well, though I spend less time than I once did. The first handgun I ever bought was my Ruger Security-Six 357. It still goes everywhere with me and it still shoots 1" groups at 25 yards when I can hold it still. The first center fire rifle was my dad's 03A3 in full military trim from the CMP. He eventually bought a semi-finished stock on it and I remember the endless nights he spent rubbing boiled linseed oil into that stock. When he passed I got it and shot it until I could no longer see the sights and target at the same time. I had the bolt turned and a scope mounted and I have continued to shoot it. There is a lot of history in those guns.

January 13, 2017, 10:20 AM	#15
vba Senior Member Join Date: October 26, 2008 Posts: 357	Very nice gun but what I got out of your post is that you made $1.65/hr. I remember those days very well.

January 13, 2017, 10:28 AM	#16
DMK Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2001 Location: Over the hills and far, far away Posts: 3,206	SaxonPig, that 1911 was/is very a nice 1st handgun! You had exceptional taste sir. My first handgun was a comparatively utilitarian CZ75B (the top one in the picture below). It cost me $300 in 2001. Still one of my favorite shooters actually. I'll never sell it either. __________________ - Homeland Security begins at home: Support your Second Amendment - www.gunowners.org - www.saf.org - act.nraila.org - www.grnc.org Last edited by DMK; January 13, 2017 at 10:35 AM.

January 13, 2017, 10:41 AM	#17
BearBrimstone Member Join Date: January 5, 2017 Posts: 67	Very nice. I still have the first firearm that I ever owned (Mossberg bolt 12 gauge I've had since the 90's), but I do not have the first one I ever personally purchased (Sig Pro 2340). I traded that one away a couple years ago when I was itching to try something new and didn't have the extra cash to buy something.

January 13, 2017, 11:57 AM	#18
Robk Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2011 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 324	I do not have the first pistol I owned anymore. But I have my first 1911 still. going on 27 years and it has changed a bit from the day I bought it. A tweak here and a tweak there. But it is the only pistol I still have from my early years of collecting. Ever evolving collection, but always that same 1911. Beautiful pistol by the way.

January 13, 2017, 03:23 PM	#19
SIGSHR Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2005 Posts: 4,700	My Browning HP purchased in 1967. $110, a lot of money for an E-3 (Army) back then, though Uncle Sam did provide me with room and boards.

January 15, 2017, 11:57 AM	#20
Nodak1858 Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2009 Location: N. Dakota Posts: 435	I think it was a day or two after my 21st birthday I went out and bought a Ruger P90 45acp. Still have it but don;t shoot it a bunch. Solid gun, built like a tank if you run out of ammo in a fight you can use it as a club. I don't know how it worked it's way back to the back of the safe. It shoots nice and I haven't had any issues with it. I should shoot it more. __________________ We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

February 4, 2017, 08:18 PM	#21
curt.45 Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2008 Location: Fort Wayne Ind. Posts: 866	i hope you know i was joking, first pistol was a feg .22 first revolver was a security six in blue, i have other security sixs now but miss that first one, traded it on a Ruger P85 i still have.

February 7, 2017, 06:09 AM	#22
jetinteriorguy Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2013 Posts: 3,173	Wished I still had my first handgun, plain old Model 39. I do still have my first ever gun, bought it when I was 13 for $35.00. A Stevens 16 gauge double barrel with five boxes of shells. Took a lot of game with that sucker.

February 7, 2017, 08:29 AM	#23
BillM Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2009 Location: Amity Oregon Posts: 791	First rifle I owned: Stevens 87. Got it in 1958, still have it. First pistol I ever shot: 1952 mfg. High Standard Sport King. Still have it. First shotgun I ever shot: Winchester 97. Still have it. First centerfire rifle I ever shot: Winchester 1873 in 38-40. Still have it. The 22 was given to me by my uncle at age 7. The rest are family guns--and will be passed on to the next generation.

February 19, 2017, 05:40 PM	#24
larryf1952 Senior Member Join Date: July 17, 2004 Location: KCMO Posts: 615	My first handgun was a used, junk Iver Johnson .22 revolver that I bought in a pawn shop when I was 21 years old. Horribly out of time. I had it for 10 days. I went back to the same pawn shop and bought this new Ruger Standard Model. So, it's the 2nd handgun that I ever bought. I still have this one...