My first gun

Somewhere to share your tales, anecdotes and memories from past days.

Moderator: dromia

Forum rules
Please remember to respect the copyright of the author. Please do not post content from this section elsewhere without the specific permission of the author.
Post Reply
Message
Author
Tallguy
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat May 14, 2022 8:51 pm
Contact:

My first gun

#1 Post by Tallguy »

Having returned to shooting recently, I remember my first gun. I was about 10 or 11 and it was a .177 air pistol called ‘The Gat’. You cocked it by pushing in the barrel and took a screwed in pin out of the back to load in a single pellet. Squeeze the trigger and off it popped with the barrel shooting out. Was heavy and made of steel, it was also possible to shoot corks out of the end of the barrel.

Used to have hours of fun in my youth plinking at tin cans etc. I seem to remember the gun broke after 3 or 4 years, I’d discovered computers and girls by then so didn’t replace it.
1066
Site Supporter Since 2015
Posts: 2158
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:05 pm
Contact:

Re: My first gun

#2 Post by 1066 »

I think many of us will remember the old Gat type pop-out pistols. - My first airgun too, bought secondhand for 9 shillings in 1958, my pistol was a Diana No 2, same type but with a wooden grip. All my pocket money went of Cat slugs. I still have to pistol now and still works well.
TARGETMASTER
an altogether better trickler
www.targetmasteruk.com
User avatar
Blackstuff
Site Supporter Since 2015
Posts: 7709
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 1:01 pm
Contact:

Re: My first gun

#3 Post by Blackstuff »

I've still got mine, and my brothers, 33 years later still perfectly functional (and still couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with one lol )
DVC
Tallguy
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat May 14, 2022 8:51 pm
Contact:

Re: My first gun

#4 Post by Tallguy »

When I moved to Oxfordshire at the age of 16, my next door neighbour (who I am still good friends with all these years down the line) had a basic break barrel .177 air rifle. We spent ages firing at everything from a tin can to trees with targets stuck on them. Great fun….
nic
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2022 3:39 pm
Contact:

Re: My first gun

#5 Post by nic »

was down at an indoor range yesterday and a guy i know pulls out an old BSA 22 rimfire with a falling block martini action.... same as the first gun i fired 'properly' rather than plinking with airguns at cans - lovely condition, diopter sights.... still bloody accurate
User avatar
bradaz11
Sporadic Site Supporter
Posts: 4714
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2014 1:23 am
Home club or Range: The tunnel at Charmouth, BWSS
Location: Bristol
Contact:

Re: My first gun

#6 Post by bradaz11 »

nic wrote: Tue Jul 26, 2022 3:05 pm was down at an indoor range yesterday and a guy i know pulls out an old BSA 22 rimfire with a falling block martini action.... same as the first gun i fired 'properly' rather than plinking with airguns at cans - lovely condition, diopter sights.... still bloody accurate
first rifle I ever touched for me too. I bought it from the club.
When guns are outlawed, only Outlaws will have guns
User avatar
Graham M
Posts: 943
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 1:14 pm
Location: Brum
Contact:

Re: My first gun

#7 Post by Graham M »

Like many before me my first rifle was a Mk1 BSA Meteor.
I thought it was the bees knees until my mate came up with a Relum. It seemed more powerful than the Meteor and of course it was, at around (or more) 12ftlbs whereas the Meteor was only around 9-10ftlbs.
Still have it.
Never argue with an idiot, he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
lincolnjeffries
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2021 4:43 pm
Home club or Range: none
Contact:

Re: My first gun

#8 Post by lincolnjeffries »

The first rifle I ever shot was a Crosman, it came from the Sussex Armoury Catalogue. We used to sit on top of my mates shed in the middle of a city, he was 9 and owned the rifle, I was 8 and we would happily plink away all day. We weren't too descerning about targets, but we never caused any damage, nor did anyone ever call the police. I remember once he shot an aerosol can from quite short range. A split second later he and the rifle were bright yellow. We tried paint stripper but it just removed the finish, so we painted the whole rifle in black paint and were shooting it again before the paint properly dried. Seem to remember us cutting off big chunks of his hair matted with dried yellow paint, with scissors. Carefree times in the 70's.
The first airgun I owned was a Diana SP50, I traded somehow for, it shot about a foot high and half a foot to the left. But was great fun. We moved to the country and after that a Meteor appeared from my parents and I was off and away hunting with a real rifle.Which pretty well took up my teenage years.
User avatar
AL8
Posts: 680
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 8:27 am
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: My first gun

#9 Post by AL8 »

My first gun was a Slavia 618 air rifle in .177, which I had when I was 7 years old.
Which I still have.
Used to use it in the garden with darts, but was not allowed to use pellets.
Only when I walked around the field with my Dad.
So began over 50 years of shooting
User avatar
Chuck
Posts: 23666
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 11:23 am
Location: Planet Earth - Mainly
Contact:

Re: My first gun

#10 Post by Chuck »

First airgun - Webley junior .177 with hair trigger given to me by a fun uncle...much to mu mother's annoyance.

Actually my first airgun experience was my old boy's air gun from when he was 14..so it dated back to around 1940. .a .177 smooth bore barrel

For my 15th birthday I got a BSA Metor Super (should have chosen the Airpsporter or a Webley / Diana instead).

Had loads of fun with it and the old boys gun till some utter bampot in Scortland decided it was like a REAL AK 47 and needed an FAC! My old BSA is now 53!!!!!!!!!!

Both are now languishing with my friendly RFD mate... a sickener!
Political Correctness is the language of lies, written by the corrupt , spoken by the inept!
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests