first gun purchased

[wrenchman]

I have noticed that there is a rather large group of shooter here and was just thinking to my self while cleaning the first gun I ever purchased that js a marlin model 25 in 22 I was 18 and was 42 years and many guns ago how you guys started down the road.

[bigrich]

my first when i was 17 was a 1942 6.5x55 husky in immaculate condition for $69 from amart all sports at underwood qld . i put the bolt and ammo in a plastic bag and walked home with it . no one batted a eyelid back then . with swede military ammo it out shot a mates brand new stirling 22mag at 100 . the stirling had a scope , my husky was open sights. i had real sharp eyes when i was young

i got out of it in 1996 due to howards laws , got back into shooting about 11 years ago . first gun i put money on was a winchester supergrade with a madco barrel in 6.5x55 at rebel gun works. it was silly accurate , .4's with 140sst's and 46.5gn re22 , i think, but it didn't feed well though, so i moved it on . in hindsight i should've got it rebarreled to 30-06 which probably would've fixed the feed issue with the longer 30-06 case . oh well

[Damo300]

I bought a, I'm sure it was a Slazenger air rifle, from sports fair opening at Capalaba Park in about 1987.
Either that or "AP" All Pro, or Pro Am?

My dad got a 12g at the same time.
I saved my pocket money for a long time and decided I wanted to buy it. $25 from memory, because the lever action bb gun was $19, or there abouts.

Dad had to buy it of course, but I could carry the box to the car through the shopping center because I was a responsible gun owner now, although carrying a gun in public back then wasn't a surprise to anyone.
Funny how little events like that make you grow up a touch more as you come to being a younger adult, then you turf it all out the window as you hit 17ish, and you start again.... haha.

I was like rich.
Gave up in 96, although knowing what I know now.... Hmmmmm. We lost some good rifles in that.....owell.

Returned about 5yrs ago.
Found these tikka branded bang sticks had improved considerably, and had rumours similar to the old rem 700s. So I got one in 300wm.
Straight to the top of the "class" that we can have in this country, because anything bigger is a massive please explain.
I love that rifle. It's fed my family very well indeed.

I have others now but that 300 is my first Center fire that I can call mine, all the ones when I was younger were "dads". I could store them, use them, clean them etc, but if questions arose, they were his.

[Wapiti]

My Mum and dad used to take us for an air rifle shoot in the bush out Compton road way, when we were kids. She's pack an esky of drinks and fruit and maybe some of her baking in a tupperware box, and we'd shoot cans and targets made from boxes. But that was dads' gun, bought from Struddy's Sports store in Sunnybank. I really was drooling at the Bentley 8-shot pumps, the Stirling Mod 20 semi-autos, or the Winchester 70 222,s and 243's.
Then, when I was about 12?, a neighbour asked that I'd feed their dog over Easter when they were away, and gave me that Stirling Mod 20 semi-auto for payment. Was completely normal then. Mum and Dad, even though they'd watched GI's executing German teenage paratroopers in the streets at the end of WW2, had no issues with it.
Brightways hardware at Sunnybank sold me the ammo, even though how young I was. He'd take my money from working in the fish 'n chip shop next door with a wink, never a caution.
They just said, behave yourself with that.
So in theory, that was my first gun.
The first one I bought was a 1951 Garand 30-06, with help from Dad. Didn't even have a drivers license yet.
Dad had no dramas with that choice, because he'd carried one in the Dutch East Indies against the Indonesians, and again in South America. He showed me how to disassemble it with virtually a blindfold on, all those many years later in what was FREE Australia. When the country was run by politicians intent on building it, instead of activists.
I'd bet that Garand was crushed in '96, but I actually hope it's stashed in someone's shed, as the piece of engineering excellence and prize that it was.

[alexjones]

I don’t remember my first but it was an SLR or a lithgow 303 when I was 8 or 9 years old. A bit to much gun for a kid but thats what dad had in the shed.

[bigrich]

My Mum and dad used to take us for an air rifle shoot in the bush out Compton road way, when we were kids. She's pack an esky of drinks and fruit and maybe some of her baking in a tupperware box, and we'd shoot cans and targets made from boxes. But that was dads' gun, bought from Struddy's Sports store in Sunnybank. I really was drooling at the Bentley 8-shot pumps, the Stirling Mod 20 semi-autos, or the Winchester 70 222,s and 243's.
Then, when I was about 12?, a neighbour asked that I'd feed their dog over Easter when they were away, and gave me that Stirling Mod 20 semi-auto for payment. Was completely normal then. Mum and Dad, even though they'd watched GI's executing German teenage paratroopers in the streets at the end of WW2, had no issues with it.
Brightways hardware at Sunnybank sold me the ammo, even though how young I was. He'd take my money from working in the fish 'n chip shop next door with a wink, never a caution.
They just said, behave yourself with that.
So in theory, that was my first gun.
The first one I bought was a 1951 Garand 30-06, with help from Dad. Didn't even have a drivers license yet.
Dad had no dramas with that choice, because he'd carried one in the Dutch East Indies against the Indonesians, and again in South America. He showed me how to disassemble it with virtually a blindfold on, all those many years later in what was FREE Australia. When the country was run by politicians intent on building it, instead of activists.
I'd bet that Garand was crushed in '96, but I actually hope it's stashed in someone's shed, as the piece of engineering excellence and prize that it was.

i've read your post and it's made me very sentimental for how great and free this country used to be . the garrand is indeed a fine rifle , general rommel was really impressed when he sampled one captured of the yanks in north africa they're bloody heavy though, not a bad thing if your a skinny kid trying to shoot a semi auto 30-06 . i think if our laws were different i'd love to own a civilian sporting version of the browning BAR in 30-06 . they're still being made and are easily converted to 35 whelen . just saying . mind you though there's a company in the USA that converts AR10's to 358win . if only ....

[Wapiti]

My question would be, why?
But some people see a new power pole and have to see if they can climb it I spose.
I am a lucky bloke to be able to have had as my first centrefire, a semi-auto 30-06.
But why have things changed? And you blokes can't?

[GQshayne]

I was given an air rifle in the late 1970's, when I was about 8yrs old, and I still have it. Then came a .22, and a 94 Winchester in 30/30.

When I was almost 16 I bought a Tikka .243 with my own money, my first rifle I purchased myself. I still have it.

[deye243]

A ruger 1022 in 1980 it costs $128 new out of Franz news agents .

[No1Mk3]

A Hawkin Arms (NZ) Hawken 45 cal Muzzle Loader, bought from the maker in 1972. Already had a No1 MkII 303 and a Sprinfield by Stevens Model 84 22 but they were gifts from a couple of years earlier.

[NedKelly79]

Bought a near new Brno model 2 22lr when i was 12years old, from my maths teacher at the small bush school i attended, somewhere in the early nineties.

Paid cash for it that i earnt from tractor driving, stick picking, stock work ect, with permission from my parents of course, and i took it home to the property on the school bus, it was a day ill never forget, and later on i refinished the stock on an old Bentley pump action shotgun in woodwork class, gave it a tidy up for my pop.
Nearly everyone was into shooting at that school, very rural, even the teachers. it all seemed so normal, my how things have changed. Still got that Brno and use it a lot.

[bladeracer]

My very first was a Norica 73 air-rifle when I was thirteen.
First .22 was the Ruger 10/22 when I was seventeen.
First gun was the Bentley Model 20 12ga 20" pump-action riot gun when I was seventeen.
First centrefire was the Remington 788 .222Rem when I was seventeen.
First handgun was the Tanfoglio P19 9mm when I was 23.

My last (for now) was the Norinco 1911A1 .45ACP I bought last week

[bigrich]

My very first was a Norica 73 air-rifle when I was thirteen.
First .22 was the Ruger 10/22 when I was seventeen.
First gun was the Bentley Model 20 12ga 20" pump-action riot gun when I was seventeen.
First centrefire was the Remington 788 .222Rem when I was seventeen.
First handgun was the Tanfoglio P19 9mm when I was 23.

My last (for now) was the Norinco 1911A1 .45ACP I bought last week

788 222 can be silly accurate rifles . i knew a fella who had one . for a unmodified rifle it shot outstanding one hole groups consistently. was this the case with yours ?

[Wapiti]

Not just guns, there was all this unreal ex-mil ammo out there, bulk-cheap.
6.5 Swede, 30-06, 308, 303. Everywhere. You'd need a trolley at the gunshows, some even thought ahead and wheeled them in.

I used to grind the tips of the 30-06 military ammo to expose the point of lead, that was all I did. I have read that others didn't find this worked, but for me it did.

I don't reckon the Garand was heavy at all, 9-1/2 pounds empty, and 8 rounds of 30-06 added to that?

With your average Tikka T3 Hunter at 7.5 plus the giant coke bottle scope so may new shooters get told they need by the marketing, and the mounts too, that may be just imaginary.
And there's no lightweight plastic recycled ice-cream bucket parts on a Garand anywhere, just steel and walnut.
Isn't that way things were made back then now again so desirable when people seek quality?

Dunno about you guys, but to me it was a sign of when Australians were free.

[bladeracer]

My very first was a Norica 73 air-rifle when I was thirteen.
First .22 was the Ruger 10/22 when I was seventeen.
First gun was the Bentley Model 20 12ga 20" pump-action riot gun when I was seventeen.
First centrefire was the Remington 788 .222Rem when I was seventeen.
First handgun was the Tanfoglio P19 9mm when I was 23.

My last (for now) was the Norinco 1911A1 .45ACP I bought last week

788 222 can be silly accurate rifles . i knew a fella who had one . for a unmodified rifle it shot outstanding one hole groups consistently. was this the case with yours ?

Yep, wish I still had it. It spoiled me into believing all rifles had laser-like accuracy.
Even had great iron sights. Never fired factory ammo in it, only my handloads.
Minor downside to the design was the rear-locking bolt, hot loads would stretch the brass so you couldn't chamber fired brass without FLSing. I rarely got close to hot loads, lighter loads only needed neck-sizing. Really wanted the 788 in 7mm-08 as well but went back to Perth to study before I got it.

Just occurred to me that all of those first firearms were bought new, I didn't buy secondhand firearms until after I'd had new ones. Got the air rifle to shoot competition with PCYC in Perth, but was also shooting CZ452's with the Army Cadet smallbore team. Then we moved to country South Australia days after I turned seventeen and I immediately bought a bunch of firearms.

[bladeracer]

I don’t remember my first but it was an SLR or a lithgow 303 when I was 8 or 9 years old. A bit to much gun for a kid but thats what dad had in the shed.

I've never fired the L1A1, but in Army Cadets we drilled with welded-up Vietnam-ara L1A1 rifles. Rats tail was removed and a length of 10mm rod welded to the rear of the bolt, and the chamber was welded up. I did shoot the M16 in Cadets though, one magazine each of 20rds semi-auto onto a paper target at Northam Army camp.

[alexjones]

Not just guns. Always had fireworks and firecrackers too.

[Wapiti]

Still boxes of mixed fireworks available in a certain Vietnamese-heavy suburb halfway between Ipswich and Brisbane. For SFA $$. Depends who you know, and how much respect you have earned with the locals.

[Die Judicii]

My very 1st rifle was an A7 model Gevarm semi auto that my dear old Mum bought for me when I was 12yo.

And, for some obscure reason that I cannot recall why I bought it, my 2nd rifle was a Lithgow single shot .22, that I bought out of my saved pocket money from the local sports store in 1965.
I saw it after school,and decided I wanted to buy it. (I musta been bitten by the firearms bug)
But old mate who owned the store told me to come back the next day if I wanted to buy it.
Unbeknown by myself,, he rang my Mother the next morning and asked her if it was ok if he sold the rifle to me.

Yep,,,,,,,,,,, bring back the good old days.