About Me: A certified yet non-professional gunsmith learning the trade through trail and inspiration

Wednesday, July 15, 2026

The First Gun



Every gun has a story, this one is about that first gun, the very first firearm that you purchased. To write this, I polled several of my friends & family to get their stories.


Here is my story. It was the fall of 1989, I was in college and working part time at a rental car facility near the SeaTac Airport. My major in college was law enforcement (Administration of Justice). Between classes my fellow law enforcement students would discuss things and firearms often came up. At the time the Glock pistol was still fairly new, but everyone agreed that they were great pistols. 

One night at work, a co-worker told me that he had found a gun in a car. I told him I would be interested in buying it (not even thinking about the fact that no one had reported it missing). He told me that he had traded it for a car, but he gave me the two magazines that were with the gun. What he handed me was two Glock 19 mags, loaded with Federal Hydra-Shoks, in an nylon double mag pouch.

So I talked to a gun dealer I went to school with and had him order me a new Glock 19. I paid $389 + tax (it came to $405), it came in the old school "Tupperware" box. I still have the gun, I carry and shoot it often.


Bobby Thurman bought his first gun when he was 18, he had joined the Navy a few weeks before and after finishing basic training he decided to buy a rifle at the PX (San Diego). 

The year was 1979. He put the rifle in storage before he shipped off to the Western Pacific. The gun is a Remington 700 in God's caliber (30-'06 for you newbs). He still has the rifle, although he hasn't fired it in years.





After becoming of age and having money in his pocket, Uncle Mike went to a gun store with the intent of buying a handgun. The dealer attempted to talk Mike into buying a Glock, giving him the speech about leaving the gun in the rain, dropping it on the ground or using it in sandy/dusty environments, to which Mike replied, "I don't plan on doing any of those things with my gun". 
He ended up picking a Belgian made Browning Hi-Power. He sold it to his grandfather years later, then inherited it back, then sold it to his uncle. The whereabouts of the gun are unknown today.





Randy's first gun was a Baikal 12-gauge single shot shotgun, he bought it because it was cheap. He still owns the gun, although he hasn't fired it in years.

It was the first in a very long line of Russian made weaponry that Randy would buy.






My Brother's first gun was a Taurus model 85 in .38 Special. He came late to the gun owning game, but after people started getting robbed and killed in his neighborhood, he decided he needed a gun.

My Father knew someone selling a gun, not knowing much about it my brother bought it, he didn't like it and sold it a short time later, replacing it with a S&W 380 Bodyguard.











So, What was your first gun?