Microgunner
New member
Winchester mod 12 12ga. that my Dad won in a turkey shoot. I was 10. Second shotgun, a Browning Citori 20 years later.
your first shotgun
- Thread starter seansean1444
- Start date
Sand Creek Kennels
New member
hell of a wait there mcrogunner!
Achilles11B
New member
Mossberg 500 with pistol grip and collapsible stock...purchased it about four months ago. Nothing too fancy, runs like clockwork. I recently got out of the Army and want to do law enforcement, so I figured a little extracurricular training wouldn't hurt.
For me, there was a difference between the first shotgun I got to use, and the first shotgun that was "mine". A few years difference, in fact.
The first shot gun I got to use was a bolt action, tube magazine .410. The only markings on the gun at all were "2 1/2 & 3 in shells" on the barrel. My Grandfather kept it (ot was his cousin's gun), but he let me use it. After a couple times, and shooting a whole box of shells (a major expense for me at the time), without hitting a single bird, I was disgusted with the .410.
So, in my youthful wisdom, I moved on, to my Grandfather's shotgun, an Ithaca double barrel that he bought new (and made to order for him) in 1909. Now that was (and still is) a fine shotgun! However, it has its ..quirks. the stock was made to his order, and has a bit more drop than is common today, so the gun comes "up" a bit more than you expect when fired.
The first shot I took at a patridge with that gun, I laid my thumb over the wrist of the stock after pushing off the safety. And I was promptly rewarded with a split lip!
I never made that mistake again! 
That gun and I spent many hours together, and it never let me down, once I learned to respect it. Grandpa let me borrow the gun, whenever I liked, but I was not allowed to keep it. It became understood that someday, that gun would be mine. But Grandpa, smart old buzzard that he was, made the rule, and while I would have that gun someday, it would only be after I turned 25 years old.
His concern was that, if I got ownership of the gun too young, that I might wind up having to sell it, as young men often do when they run short of money. And his wisdom proved correct, I did wind up having to sell some of the guns I had owned for just that reason. He felt that by the time I was 25, I would be responsible enough (and well off enough) to neither have a need, nor desire to sell that gun. And he was entirely correct.
The old man passed before I was 25 (and I miss him still) the Ithaca stayed at the house for a couple years, until I was of age to keep it myself. Mom & Dad saw to it that his wishes were carried out, and today I clearly see the wisdom of it. I've had that Ithaca for nearly 30 years myself, the only real thing I have of my Grandfather's, and it will never be sold, while I live, no matter what. In time, it will go to my granddaughter (at this point, no grandson, yet), probably, when she is old enough and responsible enough.
Next shotgun I got to use was a store brand 16ga that Dad loaned me. Broken stock with a couple of wood screws through the wrist. Beater gun for a kid to carry hunting rabbits & squirrels during deer season.
The next season, the same, except the gun was a Marshwood double 12ga. 30in tubes. I remember that gun was heavy!
The first shotgun I ever owned myself was my 16th birthday present, a Winchester Model 12. 30in, full choke. Made about 1922. Bought at an auction, for $90 (an other bidder ran the price up, not even knowing what the gun was, beyond 12 ga pump). Still a lot of money for us in those days.
After I paid for the gun and was returning to my seat, the guy asked me what I was. I told him, Winchester model of 1912. He offered me $125! I turned him down!
That gun and I spent many good years afield, and I still have it, 40 years later. That gun and I just "fit". Once shouldered, it just seems to point and track by itself, and misses are few and far between, or were, back when I used it often. I haven't taken it out in some time, but as I write this, I'm getting the urge to spend some more time with my old friend.
The first shot gun I got to use was a bolt action, tube magazine .410. The only markings on the gun at all were "2 1/2 & 3 in shells" on the barrel. My Grandfather kept it (ot was his cousin's gun), but he let me use it. After a couple times, and shooting a whole box of shells (a major expense for me at the time), without hitting a single bird, I was disgusted with the .410.
So, in my youthful wisdom, I moved on, to my Grandfather's shotgun, an Ithaca double barrel that he bought new (and made to order for him) in 1909. Now that was (and still is) a fine shotgun! However, it has its ..quirks. the stock was made to his order, and has a bit more drop than is common today, so the gun comes "up" a bit more than you expect when fired.
The first shot I took at a patridge with that gun, I laid my thumb over the wrist of the stock after pushing off the safety. And I was promptly rewarded with a split lip!
I never made that mistake again! That gun and I spent many hours together, and it never let me down, once I learned to respect it. Grandpa let me borrow the gun, whenever I liked, but I was not allowed to keep it. It became understood that someday, that gun would be mine. But Grandpa, smart old buzzard that he was, made the rule, and while I would have that gun someday, it would only be after I turned 25 years old.
His concern was that, if I got ownership of the gun too young, that I might wind up having to sell it, as young men often do when they run short of money. And his wisdom proved correct, I did wind up having to sell some of the guns I had owned for just that reason. He felt that by the time I was 25, I would be responsible enough (and well off enough) to neither have a need, nor desire to sell that gun. And he was entirely correct.
The old man passed before I was 25 (and I miss him still) the Ithaca stayed at the house for a couple years, until I was of age to keep it myself. Mom & Dad saw to it that his wishes were carried out, and today I clearly see the wisdom of it. I've had that Ithaca for nearly 30 years myself, the only real thing I have of my Grandfather's, and it will never be sold, while I live, no matter what. In time, it will go to my granddaughter (at this point, no grandson, yet), probably, when she is old enough and responsible enough.
Next shotgun I got to use was a store brand 16ga that Dad loaned me. Broken stock with a couple of wood screws through the wrist. Beater gun for a kid to carry hunting rabbits & squirrels during deer season.
The next season, the same, except the gun was a Marshwood double 12ga. 30in tubes. I remember that gun was heavy!The first shotgun I ever owned myself was my 16th birthday present, a Winchester Model 12. 30in, full choke. Made about 1922. Bought at an auction, for $90 (an other bidder ran the price up, not even knowing what the gun was, beyond 12 ga pump). Still a lot of money for us in those days.
After I paid for the gun and was returning to my seat, the guy asked me what I was. I told him, Winchester model of 1912. He offered me $125! I turned him down!
That gun and I spent many good years afield, and I still have it, 40 years later. That gun and I just "fit". Once shouldered, it just seems to point and track by itself, and misses are few and far between, or were, back when I used it often. I haven't taken it out in some time, but as I write this, I'm getting the urge to spend some more time with my old friend.
Ha! Funny that I was just thinking about my first shotgun right before I saw this thread. Mine was a youth model Marlin 20 single shot when I turned 12. I wish I still had it, but my parents sold it when they had to move while I was out of the country (not their fault - I left it as their responsibility and my dad was selling off much of his collection at the same time).
My son is now 10 and wants to go trap shooting with me, so I'm contemplating his first shotgun - which is why I was thinking about this before I saw the thread.
My son is now 10 and wants to go trap shooting with me, so I'm contemplating his first shotgun - which is why I was thinking about this before I saw the thread.
30-30remchester
New member
Mine was an Ithica model 66 12 quage single shot I bought at a Gibsons department store in Hobbs New Mexico for $24 new. I was 12 years old and nobody said a word about it. I came walking out to our car with it under my arm. My dads only words were "what you going to kill with that cannon"? Ah those were the days.
First shotgun I got to use (and take care of) was a Shinkosha copy of a WIN mod 37 in .410 ...... dad bought it used for $12 in 1975...... when I graduated to a 16 guage SxS it seemd like I could not miss ..... the pattern on that full choked little pop-gun was so small ..... once I learned to hit with it, the absolutely gigantic pattern of the 16 guge with a mod. barrel was .....really easy to hit with......
I left to join the service and my younger brothers got those guns ..... and did not take care of them....... I got the .410 at mom's estate sale...... in pieces. The 16 guage disappeared.
On getting out of the service, the first gun I got was Mossberg 500a .... money was tight, but it worked......
I left to join the service and my younger brothers got those guns ..... and did not take care of them....... I got the .410 at mom's estate sale...... in pieces. The 16 guage disappeared.
On getting out of the service, the first gun I got was Mossberg 500a .... money was tight, but it worked......