Your first handgun? For fun :)

I'm not sure which one I bought first but when I was in the army and stationed in Germany, I had a Mauser C96 with a shoulder stock, a Luger and a Browning Hi-Power. The Hi-Power was wartime production and was the newest of the lot--but it was only about two years older than I was. I barely remember the Luger. I sold all three before I got out of the army, I think.

The first new gun I bought was another Browning Hi-Power when they were just over $100. It sounds amazing that they were $450 only ten years later. At some point before I bought the Hi-Power, I bought a mail-order Webley .38. Those two pistols were all the handguns I owned for the next ten or fifteen years, which now seems rather surprising, considering.
 
Back in'88 I was 24 years old and a Cpl in the USMC. A SSgt I knew needed the money and offered to sell me this gun that he had, but rarely ever shot. That gun turned out to be a 1911 built on an Essex frame and slide. It came with a mish-mash of GI parts, a Bar-Sto barrel, and a high mount Bo-Mar sight. It shot like a dream and drove tacks. Definitely worth every penny of the $250 I gave him.

The story was, when he was stationed in Quantico, he was buddies with the armorers for the Marine Corps shooting team. When he got reassigned, they pieced together this gun for him as a going away present.

Eventually I fitted a few new parts such as an extended thumb safety, a Commander style hammer and sear, a new grip safety, and an extended ejector. I also lowered and flared the ejection port and milled the slide to replace the high-mount Bo-Mars with a low-mount version. I really learned a lot tinkering with this gun.

Made the bone head mistake of selling it off back in '94 when I got my Gold Cup. I didn't realize how much I would miss this gun and all memories and history it came with.
 
1973...Iver Johnson .22 revolver. I have no idea of the model #, or if it even had one. Horribly out of time, I had it for only 10 days.

Went back to the same shop and bought a brand new Ruger Standard Model .22, which I still own. Paid $49.95 for it. Much, much better gun...
 
Hasn't been but a couple years ago I bought a Taurus Model 66 .357mag. Loved the gun but from day 1 the cylinder would jam after every shot no matter what ammo I was shooting so rather than sending it in and getting it fixed I traded it in on an XDM .40 4.5" and have loved it ever since. I'm still a revolver guy at heart, just buy a little more expensive guns now.
 
My Ruger P89 was bought new in 1991 I think and though I have replaced it with a Glock 17 for general duty there is no way I could ever sell it. Reliable as they get.

 
first handgun

Back in 1985 2 months after my 21st birthday I bought a S&W model 39-2 from the husband of a woman I worked with. I quickly became a regular at the local range, I missed a day one time and they called the house to see if I was sick :D
When I moved in with my girlfriend and her son (soon to become my wife and son) the gun got put aside as my disposable income evaporated. Now my son is an adult and has expressed an interest in learning to shoot as a way of spending time with me. The old 39 has some issues with the hammer not locking back when the slide is racked and the DA trigger pull is too light for comfort so it will be making a trip back to S&W for a little TLC, now we shoot a Beretta Neeos and a 92, but the 39 will always be my favorite
 
My first handgun purchase was a S&W 39-2 from J&G Rifle Ranch in Montana (presently J&G Sales in Arizona). Followed closely by a private purchase of a S&W 28 Highway Patrolman. I didn't follow in my Dad's footsteps... his first handgun purchase was a Colt Python.
 
The first handgun I ever bought for myself was an Armenius .22 revolver. Don't laugh - I was still in my teens and it was all I could afford to buy and shoot. It was actually remarkably accurate, but it didn't wear well. The alignment between barrel and cylinder was poor and it showed. Had a lot of fun with the little bugger, though, and I am probably a better shooter for it.
 
Ya, we've played this before. Always fun and always hear some new stories. Love those stories and the pics. More pics!

First purchase (not first owned, that's another story) was a High Standard Citation. I was 16 and it cost me about two weeks salary ($ 79.00, if I recall correctly). (The one below is a lot like it except mine had a gold trigger and a gold mag release slide and was taken by a burglar about 30 years ago):

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Will
 
I had a few inherited--a S&W .38 Sp M&P/Victory model and .32 Beretta--but the first on my own was a .32 H&R Mag Single Six as a B-day present to myself in 1984, one of the first out of the chute from Ruger. Regrettably I sold it for needed cash years later, but it--and its antecedents, a trio of .32 Vaquerito Single Sixes I currently have--still represents the most enjoyable firearms/shooting I've ever experienced. Stellar gun and round.
 
My first well thought out handgun purchase.

I stated earlier that my first handgun ever was that ROHM .22 Short revolver.

My first handgun I purchased as a thinking adult was different.

I've bought several handguns in the past,,,
But due to not having any decent disposable money,,,
They were all guns whose choice was dictated by the price or availability.

The first handgun I ever purchased that was exactly what I wanted was Stella, my S&W Model 15 Combat Masterpiece.

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This is the model I carried in the USAF back in the 70's,,,
It was the first gun I ever trained with enough to gain proficiency.

No matter what else I may take to the range with me,,,
Stella and 50 rounds of ammo always gets put into the range bag.

Aarond

.
 
Browning "Challenger" .22 auto with 6 1/2 inch barrel. Actually purchased by my father for me as I was a couple years short of legal age to buy handguns at the time. Later added a 4 1/2 inch barrel and the "Nomad" plastic grips to make a more compact "carry" piece.

IIRC next "greymarket" private purchase was a 1918 DWM Luger.

First formal legal purchase on my own was a S&W Model 19 with 6 inch barrel.

Still have them all after 40+ years.
 
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