First gun ever bought

[iwant22lr]

[SomeGuy75]

S&W 586 in 1988.

[BrassCase]

First one bought was a Beretta PX4 in 40. That started my Beretta collection and the rest. I've never sold a gun.

[george223]

I miss the days of 20 round boxes for under $5.

$5 a box? How about 1100 rounds for for $99. 550 rounds in tuna cans. I bought 2 cans and still have about 400 rounds left. Steel cases with copper jacketed steel cores. Not being able to shoot them in CA, a few years ago, I removed the bullets and replaced them with flat nose, 123 gr lead, copper jacketed bullets. For the most part, they worked in my AK pretty well but every once in awhile, I would get a mis-feed due to the flat nose.

[Devilock04]

I don't know when you bought your Mini-30, but when it 1st came out, surplus 7.62x39 was plentiful and cheap. The same is true when Makarovs were being imported. 9x18 was everywhere. Not so much anymore.

I miss the days of 20 round boxes for under $5

It wasn’t a matter of not being able to find cheap ammo at the time. It is that that the gun won’t consistently strike berdan primers hard enough to set off the round. I would have to reload the round and it would usually go off the second time.

Mini-30’s are known to not like berdan primers unless you change the springs. But if you do that, there’s been cases of people breaking their firing pins. Ruger won’t sell the parts, so it has to go back to them for repair unless you use an aftermarket one. The aftermarket ones are hit and miss from what I’ve read.

If the gun is sent back to Ruger, they will remove any modifications you’ve made and return it back to factory, even if the mods do not affect what is wrong with the gun.

The cheapest ammo I found that worked reliably was Fiocci. I have an AK and an SKS now, too, so I can shoot all the Wolf and Tula ammo I bought and it didn’t go to waste.

[george223]

I don't know when you bought your Mini-30, but when it 1st came out, surplus 7.62x39 was plentiful and cheap. The same is true when Makarovs were being imported. 9x18 was everywhere. Not so much anymore.

[Devilock04]

[Rakso]

Did you keep or sell you first pistol you ever bought?

I'm trying selling it. No luck yet.

[559BearDown]

Used 6" blued Ruger GP100 half lug in 2000 for $279. Traded years later for Walther ppk/s

[choprzrul]

Remington 788 in .222 that I bought in the late 70s with my paper route money. Harassed the local prairie dog town endlessly for years.

Wish I had it now....

.

[Calif Hunter]

My first handgun was a high school graduation gift in 1971 - a Ruger Blackhawk .41 mag with 4 5/8" barrel as I was going to go hiking in Glacier National Park and there had been several bear maulings that years. My draft number was drawn that summer and I was Numero Uno, so plans changed. I just passed it along to my daughter and son-in-law, and hopefully to one of my grandsons.

I think the first handgun I bought myself was a Colt 1911 MKIV Series 70. I regretfully sold that one when I needed some cash.

[dmcag69]

Mosin Nagant M44, 89bucks
For my 21st birthday, several weeks later I bought my second on Black Friday for 79bucks than for Christmas several weeks after that I bought a Terni Carcano 6.5 for 64 bucks at Buckhorn guns.

33 now, I miss all the cheap c&r
You guys starting out in buying guns missed a big opportunity especially with the spam can ammo in the crates, I'm down to my last 35 rounds now of surplus after all these years. Crazy how these rifles are being offered for 500 now, tempting now to sell since I used my 12 year supply of ammo down to 35 rounds, my freedom ammo day order wasn't shipped out and was refunded, these babies would have been fed for another 20 years with what I ordered.

[GeeBee49]

Still have it, what is this sell that you speak of?

I don't know, maybe they're talking in code. It doesn't make sense to me.

[TransplantTexan]

Purchased

Beretta 92 f in 1996 Came across the original receipt the other day. Traded it for a INOX a few years ago but the other side hasn't picked it up yet so I have both the INOX and still have this on. She married a Liberal guy and moved to TX although she recently reached out about it and I'm happy to complete the deal when she is ready.

M1 Garand from CMP Love the ping still have

Benelli Nova acquired in a multi gun/ammo deal still have

[RTE]

Still have it, what is this sell that you speak of?