Project Appleseed

Hello Everyone,

Just for fun I'm asking the question: What was your first rifle and do you still have it?

My first rifle was a Remington 572A, pump action .22.  It'll hold 14 .22 LR or 20 .22 Shorts.

It was a present from Mom & Dad in 1975, for my birthday, when I turned 12.  I still have it.  A year ago I turned it into a Liberty Training Rifle!  I put Tech Sights on it (a Ruger 10/22 front, a Marlin 795 rear) and a GI cotton sling. Had to put an Uncle Mike's clamp on the tube magazine for as a stud for the sling.  It all works well.

It is still a very accurate and fun rifle to shoot.  I'll take a picture of it and include it later today.

Someday it'll belong to one of my boys.

Gus

Marlin model 60. It was left to me by my grandfather when I was 5 or 6 years old. It still shoots great.

A Remington 700 in .243 Win with a a 2-7 Leupold.  I bought it from my uncle in 1982.  Yes I still have it and it still shoots well.

Either a 1917 Enfield, Marlin 60, or a 7mm Mauser.  Still have the Enfield and Marlin.

1957 Winchester Model 70 in .270 Win. It was my Dad's first rifle that he bought when he was 30 years old.
It was the first centerfife rifle I shot as a young boy at 10 years old. In high school I was taught the fundamentals of handloading
and started by resizing down surplus 30-06 brass to make .270 cases.
It has harvested many animals and is still superbly accurate with proper handloads. Still has the original K4 Weaver scope on it.
I zeroed it at 300 yards at the Whittington Center a few years back.
My son and grandson will continue the heritage it offers.

Ruger 10/22 for Christmas in 1986. I do still have it, but unfortunately modified the stock and stripped the receiver and trigger housing. 25 years ago I was not as sentimental about things. I very rarely shoot it anymore because now it's not right anymore.

AK-47 from sometimes in the 80s. Sold it long ago when needed the money.

A G98/41 in 8mm all matching numbers, but a cut down Military stock.
Yes I still have it.

 First rimfire, 10-22. First CF, HK-91. Both have gone down the road.

Which was first I can't recall, too long ago.

Ruger 10/22 purchased in 1988 on layaway from Carter's Country in Houston.

I still have the rifle and the original box.

So many parts have been swapped on it over the years that I don't know which barrel or stock is the original.

Before Appleseed I had a scope on it.

Installed Tech Sights in 2007 for RBC 11/07 in Davilla. Shot my first Rifleman score with it.

It served a number of years as a loaner - 9 Rifleman forged using it.

Then a shooter handed me the rear sight - the receiver holes are stripped.

Communicated with Tech Sights as recently as this year - no oversize Tech Sight specific screws available.

I want her restored back to LTR status with Tech Sights.

She sits in the corner until I learn to TIG weld the holes closed and re-tap. I don't want any half measures to restore the threads.

M1A SOCOM16 and showed up at an Appleseed a month or so after purchasing it to learn how to shoot it in 2009.  That put me on a trajectory to learn how to care and shoot the M1A. After 5000 flawless rounds shot, I built my first AR15 in 2015.  I took the AR15  to the range and immediatley put the M1A up for sale.  Got full value for it and haven't looked back!

WesternField .22 cal pump, octagon barrel with prep sights and enclosed hammer  S,L,LR. It was my mother's. My son has it now. Made by Savage for Wards

Single shot .22 short, external hammer. No manufacturer markings, no serial number. My grandpa had it when he homesteaded. 

1903 Springfield purchased in 1960 for $30, still had most of the cosmoline (sp?) on it.  I shot it for a year or so, then my folks bought a scope for me, as a Christmas present.  I bought a Bishop sporter stock for it and had a gunsmith drill and tap it, and modify the bolt.  It still has the Weaver K4 scope on it, and the last time I had her out, it still shoots well.

Remington 760 gamemaster, probably made in the 1960s sometime from my research. Bought it from a friend in 2008. It's a pump action 30-06 built on what is functionally an 870 20-gauge chassis.

It's currently in pieces in the safe awaiting refit and finish, but it'll live again someday. =)

A Marlin Model 56 Levermatic.  My dad bought it used in a hardware store for $40 when he was in high school in the early 60s.  He gave it to me when I was in my early 20s.  I still have it, it has been to Appleseeds and I have successfully used it on AQTs.  For the proverbial question of "you can only keep one", its this one and by a lot

Ruger 10/22 Carbine, purchased for $61.99 in Sept '75. I still own it, though the stock & barrel have been replaced with aftermarket parts.

Remington 552 Speedmaster.  Tube fed semi-auto.  One of the few (only?) semi-autos that can shoot .22 short, long, and long rifle.  Bought it from my dad when I was 12 for $22.

Winchester Model 02. Built in 1902, single shot .22. My Great Great Grandfather bought it right after arriving in this country, for my Great Grandfather, it has been passed down from father to son ever since. It's in decent shape considering the life it's had. Barrel has almost no rifling left. Still shoots. It was my first rifle. Still have it.

As a 16 year old boy in Billings, Montana, I was able to put $150 on the counter of a gun store and walk out with a used 1965 Winchester model 94 30/30.  Still have it and have tried shooting a few AQTs with it.  The buckhorn sights will not slide down low enough for a 25 meter zero, but it was still fun to try.

Marlin 15Y, a classic single shot bolt action 22.  Yes, I still have it.

My father was essentially the armorer for the local police department, and also ran a Wisconsin Hunter Education class out of the station's basement indoor range with the help of a couple of police reservists.  To ensure students would get time with actual shooting, he bought out Target's stock of these rifles when they were getting out of the gun sales business.  (Yes, once upon a time, you could buy guns and targets at Target    )

I received mine for my first communion, so I was about 10 at the time.  It was from the same bulk purchase.  It's in the gun cabinet and still gets to come out and play sometimes. 

Having the same rifle as we had at Hunter Safety helped me get the trophy for best student.  It was my first accomplishment in marksmanship. 

By happy chance, yes I do. It was a Stevens .22/.410, ie the Savage 24 before they bought out Stevens. It's so old, it doesn't have a serial number. My dad bought it from an estate sale for an old bush pilot in Kodiak (if you don't know, the saying in Alaska goes "there are old pilots, and there are bold pilots; but there are no old bold pilots." The aforementioned guy most definitely went to his maker under favorable circumstances.). He used it as a "ditch gun", apparently there were two of the same model on offer, and my dad bought the more beat up looking one because it "had more character". My brother took the first blood with it, on a spruce grouse somewhere in the state, I forget if it was along the Richardson or Sterling highways. In ‘96 we moved to Virginia, and I sent my first rounds though it. Soon after that the barrel selector broke, and it sat in the closet for about fifteen years until I asked my dad if I could have it since he wasn't gonna fix it. At this point I was more into Bushcraft and "combination guns" were a topic of conversation on various forums. My dad thought it might not even be worth fixing, but I got him to bring it up here and one purchase on Numrich plus a little blood from a busted knuckle trying to put a spring back where it belonged got her back in working order. Since then I've added four more spruce grouse, two ruffed grouse and two snowshoe hare to her tally. One day, another generation of Arbaugh will fire her shots through this piece of wood and iron.

As far as centerfire rifle, I'm pretty sure my first was the M16A4 I was issued in Ft Benning, GA in 2004. I scored expert with it, and found out at Appleseed how worthless that era of "expert" actually was. Thank God for Appleseed and Ash Hess, the Army seems to be back on the path.

My first rifle was a Remington Model 512 Sportmaster tube fed bolt gun. My dad gave it to me when I was about 10 in 1959. It would shoot anything you could get into the tube. Long, LR, shorts, rat shot, etc. Shot like a dream. I spent a lot of time in the woods with that rifle. I don't have it any longer. My oldest grandson does. 
Wreck

The first rifle I owned was a Winchester Model 1890.  It belonged to my grandfather.  I'm told he used to hunt with it.  It's a fun rifle to shoot, though not adequate for an Appleseed. 

The first rifle I bought, in about 2002, was an Enfield No4 Mk1/3 rifle which had been FTR'd in 1954.  I think the rifle is somewhat of a collector's item as it has all matching S/N with a rare "A" prefix.  I paid $150 for it.  I met the seller through a co-worker while I was working in CA.  It is a thoroughly capable rifle - I've achieved 1st or 2nd round hits on the white buffalo (1123 yds) at the Whittington Center near Raton, NM.

I inherited a Remington 552 Speedmaster .22 ( a strange tube fed semi-automatic that cycles .22 Shorts, .22 Longs and .22Long Rifles).  Still have it 47 years later.  The first rifle I bought? Ruger Model 77 in .300 Winchester Magnum, new in the box, circa 1977.  As the barrel is stamped "Made in the 200th Year of American Liberty", you bet I still have it too.

Marlin Glenfield Model 20.  It is a bolt gun with a 7 round mag.  My dad bought it for me when I was a little kid.  Still have it although it has been a few years since I shot it.  Lots of memories though.  I remember some good times with my dad when we went shooting.  Got me thinking about it now so it is coming out of the safe next time I go to the range.

M16A1 issued at Ft. Dix in June, 1989.  Don't recall the SN, I'm afraid.  No, I don't still have it.  Graduated in August. 

I think the first rifle I ever owned was a Marlin 336W that unfortunately I have since sold.  I bought it perhaps in 2010 or so.  Took me a long time to become an actual gun owner.

M1, 1943 vintage.  Go big or go home.
When you start shooting in your 30's, it's not always a .22
And of COURSE I still have it.

This has been a fun thread.  I've enjoyed reading about everyone's first rifle. 

Weather isn't too bad up here this week.  I believe I'll run out to the range this week and run My 572 through an AQT.

Gus

Sears .22 lever action - 1968 . . . Parents bought it for me for Christmas . . . 'course I still have it - why not? the only gun I ever sold I bought back 5 months later