Did you start out on a .22lr?

Did you start out on a .22lr?

  • yes

    Votes: 122 59.2%

  • no

    Votes: 75 36.4%

  • other (explain)

    Votes: 9 4.4%
  • Total voters
    206
  • Poll closed .
The first handgun I ever shot was a 1911A1 that I was issued at Fort Knox. I recall that it was a Remington-Rand and after a few rounds for familiarization, we moved to the qualification course where I qualified with it.

The first rifle I ever shot was an M16A1, just a few weeks earlier than I fired the sidearm. I had been shooting shotguns since I was old enough to squirrel hunt with my father and I remember thinking "This rifle doesn't kick as hard as Dad's shotgun."
 
I learned how to shoot on a G30 and yet I can somehow shoot very well :D. I think a 22 is good for learning the basics but it's not a necessity like some here say. I had two things going against me according to the Gun Forum Gods: Learning on that 'horrible' Glock trigger and with a compact .45 :eek:

But, the fundamentals are the fundamentals no matter the trigger or the round.
 
Since this is the hand gun forum...I'd assume you meant when I started shooting the short guns. In that vein, I started with a friends .22 lr Ruger Single-Six while in college, tromping around the Colorado's Front Range. I used the same gun to finish a gut shot mule deer left to die by some slob that was less than proficient in shooting a deer rifle, tracking, and for that matter, basic humanity.

Later, I bought one to teach my wife the basics, and have toted it and taught with it for almost 40 years. My spouse has informed me that were we to split up, she'd get the old Ruger...(not much chance of that...we've been helping each other over life's hurdles for 41 years now!)

The gun's a convertible, tho I doubt that more than a boxful or two of the expensive .22 Magnums has ever been fired through it. With most brands of .22 lr, it's superbly accurate...in the same class as my S&W M-41 in fact. Here's a pic of the old girl with a typical 5 shot group on a 2" masking tape target, shot at 25 yds from a sitting postion, gun extended between the knees!

Best Regards, Rodfac

Single-Six.jpg
 
As a boy I learned with a .22, and I have owned a .22 of some description for most of my life. You can't beat 'em for learning and practice.

That said, I still think it is legitimate for an adult to buy a center fire handgun for their first handgun, because a first gun for an adult is, at least for a while, likely to be an only gun, and therefore it is reasonable to buy a gun that can do double duty for practice and home defense. For that reason, I think 9 mm is often a good choice for a first gun for an adult.
 
Handgun forum.......

.......I see a lot of replies mentioning rifles/shotguns, but this is the Handgun forum and the question clearly is regarding handguns. My first firearm was a .22LR rifle (Marlin 60), but my first handgun was a 9mm (Ruger P89). It was awhile before I bought my first .22LR handgun. Before that point I owned a .40 caliber, a .32NAA and even a .454Casull :eek:. I shot well enough, but I didn't really shoot well until I started shooting .22's. It's easy to get the fundamentals right when the ammo is cheap and the recoil is mild. The skillset translates to the larger calibers. Buying a .22 really helped me clean up my grip and trigger press.
 
Actually started with a CO2 air pistol.

Then moved to a Sheridan Blue Steak air rifle.

Then .22

Then .223 (M16A1)

Then it was mix of pistols and calibers, .45 M1911A1, assorted competion .22s, 38spl, .357 magnum, and a beautiful HK P7M8.
 
I started out shooting handguns with a S&W model 10 in .38 special that belonged to my dad. Soon after, I started shooting as early Ruger semi-auto .22 LR that belonged to him.

When I was 14 or 15, I bought a used Blackhawk in .357 mag. Didn't get a .22 pistol of my own 'till I inherited one from my grandparents a few years later.

Daryl
 
First two pistols

Not counting the .22 Ruger Bearcat that I only fired a few hundred rounds through before being drafted ...
...The first handgun(s) I shot enought to begin to learn the basic of shooting were paired Smith and Wesson 4-inch K-Frames.

.22 Combat Masterpiece
and
.38 special Combat Masterpiece.
Both K-Frame, 4-inch barrels, adjustable sights.
Great guns -- shot about five times a much through the .22 as I did the .38 because, you know, money.

The next gun was another S+W 38 special -- a K-38 (K frame, six-inch barrel, adjustable sights).

After that it was on to .357s and then autos.

I'm thinking of swinging back to revolvers if I run across one of those underbarrel ,357 RINOs in a 6-inch model.

Ain't this a great hobby !
.

.
 
Yes .... sort of.

My first rifle was a bolt action .22 Magnum. My second was a .22LR so that if a group of us went to the range it wouldn't cost so much (I figured the rifle was free with the savings in ammo). That Marlin .22 mag is still my favorite rifle of all.

My first 2 pistols were .22's too.
 
First gun was a 10/22..

The first gun I fired was a .22 handgun which I could not hit the broad side of barn with and inspired me to buy a rifle.
 
Sort of...

I know this is the general handgun forum, but you left that one sort of open. The first gun that I ever used (and ever knew by model) was my mom's Ruger 10/22 when I was about 5 years old. Graduated to my uncle Paul's .410 a year or two later, but used both to hunt birds in those early years.
The first handgun I ever used was my mom's Bernadelli .380 starting somewhere around age 10.
In my early teens I got to spend a fair amount of time with my uncle Joe's collection, and he seemed to have just about one of everything. It was then that I fired a .22lr pistol for the first time.
When uncle Joe passed away a few years ago I inherited the remnants of his collection, and now some of the earliest guns that were a part of my life are the joys of my collection.
Let's hear it for gun toting relatives, and my Woodsman!
 
The first firearm I owned was a Ruger 10/22. To give you an idea of how long ago it was, it cost $55 from Woolworths and had a walnut stock at that price, brand new.

As this is a handgun subforum, I assume you really wanted to know about those. My first (on my 21st birthday!) was a Ruger New Model Blackhawk, 7-1/2", in .45 Colt. The store owner was probably still wiping my drool off the counter as I left the store! I couldn't wait to try fast-drawing and firing the long barreled revolver, and I even made my own holster for it.

35 years later I still like wheelguns, and no, I never blew off any parts or pieces doing my quick-draw!
 
Lucille was my first experience,,,

Colt Frontier Scout,,,
20-lucille.JPG

Lucille was what my Mom called her Colt.

It was the first handgun with which I had any extensive experience,,,
Still have it, still shoot it quite a bit, still an exceptional gun.

Aarond
 
Started shooting a .22 short Winchester pump rifle at age 5.
First handgun shooting was with a .22 lr Colt Woodsman at about age 10 or 11.

My parents gave me a Marlin lever action .22 rifle at about age 12. A summer day with a couple hundred .22s in my pocket and hundreds of acres of my grandfather's land to look for plinking targets was GREAT.
 
I believe I got a lot of my early skill from a LOT of air rifle and air pistol shooting in the basement. (.177 cal!)

First handgun I ever shot was a .22 (Single Six) and the first I ever owned was a .22 (S&W Model 17) so I'd have to say that yeah, I did start out on a .22.
 
I think the poll need to take into account the age of when a person started shooting. If they started young in all likelyhood they will be heavy towards 22.

I started shooting in my mid 40's with a 6" SW something running 357 mag, then a month later my own 4" Ruger GP 100 firing 38 and 357 in all sorts of power ranges ( started reloading too ) a month after that a Ruger 1 7/8 " LCR 38. The LCR got most of the use and I soon settled on a +P load at the rate of 1000 rounds a month over then next 6 - 7 months. ( Hey, I needed to get up to speed, many other guys had been shooting for 30 + years )

Lately I haven't been shooting much at all, been busy.
 
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