Was it a 22, smaller or did you get a 30-06 start off. I just managed to get hold of the culprit in my case. My Dad's Daisy Long Rifle BB gun. From there it kept on with 250-3000 Savage, 303 British, Jap 7.7, 30-06, 7mm Remington Mag on upto the 470 Mbogo and the 500 A-Square.
This is the original.

Which led to these
470 Mbogo

500 A-Square

Take care,
Dave

First for me was a daisy red ryder.

My first gun was an Iver Johnson .38 top break Revolver ( 12 years old at the time. I traded a friend for it). I learned to reload .38 specials for it by reading the lyman catalog and talking to my dad. My first rifle was a .22 Marlin and then graduated to a 7.7 Jap my dad brought home from Saipan. My first gunsmithing effort was converting a 6.5 Japo to a 30-06 ( worked beautifully with the original barrel ( 1965)). First real Varmint gun was a M-16 which I used sporatically but influentially from 1970 to 1971 in Vietnam( damn good varmint gun). My first real big Bore was grand dad's 45-70 Springfield with original black powder ammo!. First real DGR was a .458 Ruger #1 in .458 win that my wife bought me in 1975 for my first trip to RSA.-Rob

[ 10-22-2003, 08:47: Message edited by: Robgunbuilder ]

470,

I started with Toy guns when I was about 2 1/2 years old

This lead to an air rifle at around 12 years old, then a series of broken 22's before buying a BRNO model 2 .22 lr, then a rem 870 12 gauge (gov took that )also took a marine magnum 870 pump

My first centerfire was a sako fiberclass 7mm rem mag mistake probably for various reasons but I wish I had it back.

Then I had a .270 ADL and a Ruger .222 MK11 ss bought a win 30/30 94. These three are now gone and I moved into my current lot of rifles;

First off a Ruger MK11 ss 30/06
then a rem vssf 22/250
bought my first big bore a Marlin 45/70 I love this rifle, this made me get into reloading. Then I began purchasing cz's starting with a .416 Rigby, bought a .22 Hornet cz and then built a custom .585 Nyatti on a BRNO 602 those on AR are resonsible for that , have also now got a .375, .458 Lott & a 9.3x62.

Have horse-traded a couple along the way.

[ 10-22-2003, 08:37: Message edited by: PC ]

twin tap.

[ 10-22-2003, 08:38: Message edited by: PC ]

First firearm?: Model 1911 Savage in .22 Short. (No, smart-arse, I didn't buy it new!!! ) ...but I was about 12 years old when it was passed down to me. This is a dinky little bolt-action, looks like a toy, with the double-stacker magazine-tube in the buttstock. Finally blew it up after a couple of decades of firing modern long-rifle ammo: the chamber was already badly 'swolen' when I got it!

During my childhood in south-east 'country' Queensland (Australia), the standard battery was a bolt-action .22, an ex-military .303, and a SxS 12-bore shotgun. Anyone who turned up with something 'weird' like a .243 or a .270 was regarded as some kind of 'poofter'.

I got the big-bore bug when I moved to the Northern Territory and became aquainted with wild feral buffalo. An 'appreciation' of double-rifles (British of course) followed on fairly quickly from that!

Her name was Yolanda, the fourteen year old baby sitter of our neighbor .... OH!, Guns .. er .. hem, yes, well it was Daisy Pump BB gun, for starters, quickly trading up to a cheap .177 caliber import and then on to a Springfield single shot .22, the good one, with the pull back cocking device. First real gun was a custom .30-06 built on a '17 Enfield action, with a Bishop stock which I finished myself and it sure did look it ... The first big game rifles I remember using heavily, were both autoloaders, a 742 Remington and the Ruger .44 Magnum, as they were ideal for the Eastern woodlands.

Dave,
Thanks for the amusing topic.

Like PC, my earliest "gun" was a toy, when I was 5 years old. The plastic and potmetal replica of Steve McQueen's sawed off Winchester 92 "Mare's Leg." Had a rapid fire big loop lever for popping caps, and a plastic holster rig for strapping around my waist and a rawhide leg tie-down, complete with plastic 44-40 bullets (Sigh). I was bad. And I slept with it.

At my age 8 years old, Dad let me fire his 12 guage Ted Williams pump. It sent me reeling and the shotgun flying, but Dad caught us both.

Daisy and Crossman air rifles from the local hardware store, and the .22 rimfire rifles and handguns of various family and friends coaching intervened. .177 and .22 caliber were used to sharpen the shooting skills in the formative years.

At my age 13 years old, in 1967, Dad returned from 13 months away in Viet Nam. He brought, to my younger brother and me, two 20 guage single shot Sears and Roebuck shotguns. Lil' bro and I slept with our shotguns, but not the ammo. I was in the bottom bunk and he got the top bunk. Times were simpler then.

Squirrel, rabbit and bird hunting ensued.

I was the only plebe in Company B2 to make Expert with the M-16 in 1972, age 17. The last silhouette target at 300 meters was the only one that didn't fall. I think I shot the center out of it.

At age 18 I struck out on my own hunting deer with a Marlin 30-30.

The 20 guage single was traded in on a Marlin Model 120 pump shotgun with three barrels. No screw in chokes back then. It was a slightly bulkier imitation of the Winchester Model 12. Hell for stout. I killed my first deer with a slug from that, using the 20" rifle sighted, Imp.Cyl. barrel. And I filled my chest waders with Missouri lake water carrying that gun with the 30" full choke barrel, but it bagged some ducks and geese.

A few years later I finally arrived, trading in the Marlin 30-30 lever action on a 30-06 Ruger M77 Roundtop, tang safety, pushfeed, with open sights, weaver rings and bases, and a Bushnell 3X-9X Sportview scope.

I still have the Marlin 12 guage pump and the Ruger 30-06 Roundtop.

The real madness started in 1985 with a Ruger No.1 in .458 WinMag ...

[ 10-22-2003, 19:41: Message edited by: RIP ]

470 Mbogo,

This is a question that brings many grand old memories to life.

The first gun I shot was a 12 bore outside hammer Belgian shotgun that is still owned by a friend of my father's, an old time Indian big game hunter called Pius Rodrigo.

The first (toy) gun I owned was a .177 break open Diana air rifle that was my 9th birthday gift.

The first real gun that I owned was a Walther KK rifle in .22. I used it for some time and then sold it and bought another .22, a Brno. sold in India as the Model 3. It was heavier, longer and shot the socks off the Walther.

After my country came out with the age increase for owning guns (from 16 to 21) and tthen brought out a 3 guns per head limit, I have owned at various times, a Stevens 12 bore break open shotgun, a Bernardelli .32 pistol and a Webley Mark III (I think) .32 Long break open revolver. I also had a friend's Mannlicher rifle in .30-06 for a while though he won't sell it to me because he doesn't think I'm refined enough to own it after Stevens, Brnos etc.

I have been toying with the idea of buying an IOF .315 rifle just to see what they are like (they are cheap in India) andf I could always sell it if I didn't want it, but that would have to wait for two things - my forthcoming long trip to the US and my gathering enough courage to shoot an indian Ordnance Factory rifle.

Good hunting everyone!

Like most of you it all started with a Red Ryder BB gun, then about 10 or so, dad gave me a marlin model 39 lever action .22, which I still have and cherish. From there I made the leap pretty fast to a model 94 in 30-30, then a then a Custom FN in .300 win mag in quilted maple. The big bores started whn I was about 17 with a Ruger #1 in .375 then a matching one in .416 Rigby. But thats just the rifles. I have been shooting big pistols since about 14 or so. Seems like alot of the first big bores are the #1's. It is about the Ideal starter rifle isn't it?

Let's see,

Red Ryder; 20 ga. Winchester single shot "Boys" gun; Stevens Auto .22; Model 70 30-'06; Model 50 Winchester 12 ga; B.C. Miroku O/U, 12 ga; Marlin Model 336C .35 Rem; Rem. Model 600, .243; Thompson Center .50-cal Hawken...... -- 20 or 30 other guns -- Ruger RSM customized to 404 Jeffery.

Next gun to be a Browning FN Safari Grade in .375 H&H.

I was a bit more primative and began my hunting career with a sling shot. After a few zillion rocks I got deadly good with it. When I finally got the obligatory Daisy lever action BB gun, it was a big disappointment to me. My slingshot was more accurate and more powerful. In fact, I started loading about 20 BB's in the pouch instead of one pebble. That was a quantum leap in death dealing devices.

My first firearm was a Mil Surp 30/06. Wow! That was like arming me with a nuclear bomb and thanks to my brother I began reloading at the same time. I grew up scarcely knowing what a factory round of ammunition was and whenever anyone give me a box of factory ammo, I still tend to think of it strictly as FREE CASES. Not ammunition I can actually shoot anything with.

I wrote a nice long reply, then lost my internet connection and all I had written!

Oh well, the short version is that it really started with a .22 LR for me. Lakefield Mossberg Mk II for my 8th b-day.

Line of progression: 22 to 30/30 to 308 Win to 300 Win Mag to 6.5 Gibbs to 220 Swift to 45/70 to 375 H&H to 416 Taylor to 470 Mbogo. Throw in a scattergun or two, a smokepole and a revolver along the way...and thats pretty well sums up the highlights.

Canuck

ps: Hope your Pa is doin' OK, Dave.

[ 10-23-2003, 03:57: Message edited by: Canuck ]

The Daisy BB gun was a present. The J.C. Higgins .22 and 12 ga. pump gun that followed I paid for mowing lawns and weeding the garden. That was kind of it for a long time but while stationed in Germany I acquired a 20 ga. O/U. Finally I got myself a Ruger M77 tang safety in 7x57 and started the deadly game of trading "up". It wasn't until I decided that I wanted a "world gun" that I finally had one built. That all-weather .375 by Paul Jaeger on a Whitworth action and barrel I still have and intend to buried with. Who knows? I might have use for it. After my first safari and much drooling about big bores, my partner and I got hold of 2 of the last Brno 602's in the U.S. before the importer and the model designation changed. Those became the first .450 Rigby's built on the West Coast. After that . . . oh dear, oh dearee me.

A slazenger single shot .22 I found in my then (now wife)girlfriends house. I shot my first rabbit with that. I then bought a stirling .22mag (Shot my first fox and goat with that one) then a brno .270 which I swaped for my 6.5x55. The dealer thought he was getting the better deal but the .270 shot shit house even after floating the barrel and bedding and trigger work. Next was single barrel winchester 12g ($20) and a winchester model 600 .22 ($40). Then came a Mauser-Verguiero in 8x57 ($180) a military Mauser 96 in 6.5x55 and a brazillian mauser 7x57 both with matching numbers ($150 each)A 1859 tower muzzel loader (found in father-in-laws cupboard)One custom 22-250AI and a custom .416 rigby on the way. All in all a cheap collection that suits me down to the ground.

Bakes

First fired a 22 at around 5 or 6, then came a 30-30, then 12 ga, then probably some air rifles, skk's and another 22. None were mine though.

First I actually owned myself was a spas-12 shotgun.

Karl.

Mine was a pop gun and I fired a 30-06 round in it about a hundred times then it went off and a piece of it went through the wall, another in the bed between my legs barely missing me, it was downhill from that day on....A 22, a 38-40 a 25-35, 30-30, 250 Savage and on and on...I still have all those rifles and I still use them from time to time to hunt with. Got a BB gun when I was about 15 but I had shot a truck load of deer and an elk or two by then. Never was a BB gun fan.

My first "real" firearm was a Savage Model 24 22lr over 20 ga. I still have it and still love to take it for birds and such. Sean

Ray always has the best stories.

My first gun was my dad's 42B Mossberg target rifle. The high school he went to (mid 1930's)in N. Illinois had a shooting team that he belonged to. During the winter they practiced in the school basement. Can you imagine what would happen if anyone tried to get a program like that started in one of today's schools?

Started shooting a brno no.2 at 12, paid for a win cooley 20ga at 15, a rem 742 in 308 at 16. My father had to buy the guns due to laws in Aus.
At 16 he also let me use his firearms, let see.
222 rem Shilen DGA
22-250 sako
270 win built by PO Ackley on Mk X
270 win on Weatherby Mk V
12ga rem 1100 which he gave me eventually traded for 870 which traded in on 1187 SP which Government then took off me, when they banned semis and pumps
The largest cal/cartridge I had fired until 4 years ago was a 308 norma mag that was until I met a friend who has a 416weatherby improved then I discovered that the 416 was quite pleasant to shoot, so I had the 416sw built.

[ 10-31-2003, 04:14: Message edited by: 416SW ]

My Dad started me off with a M1 carbine. Years and years later, I started shooting again with my now ex-husband. He even got me hunting. We might still be married if those two things weren't the only good things he ever did! He also gave me an awesome arms collection! In the end, he was really just a car guy.

[ 10-31-2003, 15:54: Message edited by: Judy ]

When I was 8 my father bought me a Model 37 Winchester 20 ga. I never had a 22 until I was an adult. My father let me use his Model 61 Winchester. When I was 14 I spent almost a years ranch pay on my fathers ranch for a Keith Stegall, Gunnison, Colorado custom FN Mauser 30/06. It was the only rifle I used until it was stolen my senior year at college.

Santala

A Daisy BB gun at the age of 10, a Marlin 39-A at the age of 15, a Remington 760 in .270 at the age of 15.......and 106 guns later (including a 7/8 scale replica of a Napoleanic cannon 2 7/8" bore)I'm now seriously considering builing my own double rifle in .375 flanged.

A Daisy Red Ryder when I was 5 and a Marlin .22 and a worn out Remington Model 10, 12 gauge when I was 12.

daisy RR at 4 or 5,
22 marlin at 6
8x57 "super sporter" as my dad used to humorously call the mauser he cut down for me (wish I still had that one) 7 and a half

jeffe

Marlin 60, killed many gophers, rabbits, skunks and a couple of porcupines.

My first big game rifle was a Marlin 30-30, I shot about everything you could shoot in Northeastern Montana with that rifle. I used my grandpa's Winchester Model 12 for birds.

My primary hunting rifle is a A-bolt in 30-06. I also have a pretty good supporting cast.

My first big bore was a 1895 Marlin 45/70. I used it in the timber for elk and shot a mule buck with 350 Hornady's. Way too much gun for deer. I traded it for a Colt Officers ACP. I love the colt, carried off-duty for eight years, but regret getting rid of the 1895.