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I was talking to another WACA member today about our first Winchesters. His was a good story about how he was told he’d have to earn it and three brush wolves and some timber wolves later he had one. I got my first gun, a lowly Savage-Stevens 77H 12 gauge, by carrying around the measuring stick and bunching hardwood pulp. I thought I’d ask some of you if you still have your first or maybe don’t but remember it.
Here’s a picture of my first Winchester (that I bought). 1890 .22 Short. Sewer pipe, stocked cracked behind the lower tang but there was still some blue under the brown here and there. I think I lost $25 on it. Gained much more in the entire learning experience however.
I thought some of you collectors would have some interesting first guns you might want to share a sentence or two about, even if you don’t have a picture.
Thanks,
Brad
My first rifle was a Remington Mohawk 600 in 243 my dad gave me when I was 7, and used to shoot my first deer. My first Winchester didnt come till many years later. At the urging of my father to lay down the money for it, he talked me into buying my first Winchester at a local gun show. It was a Model 64 carbine, I think in 30-30, cant remember any more. Aside from being a fairly neat firearm it wasnt in all that great of condition, the receiver was flaked and had a lot of the blue worn from its barrel, but the wood was in really good shape. At that time I was just getting started in collecting and after a few years decided to sell it and put my money towards something else. Its a small collecting community, maybe one of these days we will cross paths again. Over the years its funny how you come across guns you sold in years prior, and sometimes you buy them back and think “why did I sell it in the first place”.
1892takedown @sbcglobal.net ......NRA Endowment Life Member.....WACA Member
"God is great.....beer is good.....and people are crazy"... Billy Currington
First gun: Remington Rolling Block rifle in .32 Rim Fire. Believe it was a Model 4 or some such. I was perhaps twelve years old and bought it with some ammo for $14 from a junk store. As my dad found out about the acquisition, he wasn’t happy and let the store know! But I got to keep the rifle. Now Dad and rifle both gone some decades. More than the gun, another “great Dad” memory!
First Winchester: Brand new Model 94 purchased by post. Returned it with the complaint that with the lever open it was loose and rattly. (I only much later learned such tolerances were normal!) The firm promptly granted a refund. Wish I had kept the rifle!
Adding… my most interesting coincidental purchases: Two pre-WWI (C. summer 1914) Oberndorf Model “M” carbines, 8x57J, acquired almost two decades apart. The first from an Oregon collector at a Northern California gun show, the latter from a gunshop in SoCal. It was actually some time before I accidentally noted a strange truth. They bore CONSECUTIVE SERIAL NUMBERS!!! Something approaching lottery odds and these two rifles I happily still possess!
Thanks for allowing me to share a memory lane moment!
And now, exiting stage left with the parting comment…
THE VERY HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAYS YET TO ALL!
My first shotgun was a 28 gauge Winchester/Cooey Model 84 single shot .
My first rifle was a Winchester Model 1886 .45-70.
My first rifle was a NEW Win 94 in 30-30 bought (1974) by my girlfriend for Christmas As a teenager I had been hinting that I really liked Winchesters,( interest sparked when I was about 8 ,by a Neighbors kid taking out his Dad s guns for show and tell when his parents were out. A 92 SRC in 44 that Dad had bought for $10 at auction. ) Later my wife was genuinely pissed off when I traded it for a Comanche Commemmerative for only $10 more. It was one of the crappier Commemmeratives with flaking gold. It got stolen , and I replaced it with a John Wayne 32-40.
But my first old Winchester was a 1902 32-40 RBR that I saw at LGS when I was 20 . I had found a 32-40 case left by a deer hunter when I was about 9 and was infatuated by it. This rifle had been nicely refinished and was $200 , twice what the new 94 had cost my girlfriend. I ve shot it a lot and still have it. That led me to hanging around gunstores and the search for the Boyhood fantasy of the 92 in 44 , I found a RBR at the Traders Den Toronto , still have it too Then hanging around the Traders Den ……………….
Phil
Online
Brad:
Good thread. My first Winchester was acquired in 1954 when I was 12 year old. It is a grey 1894 SRC in .30 W.C.F. caliber, serial no. 635362 with Marble’s “Sheard” front sight blade & #44A ladder rear sight. Old cowboy gun, grey metal w/gum wood stock. Initials “L.S.” stamped in left side receiver and butt stock. It was a gift from an immigrant German butcher turned cowboy when he became unable to run his cattle ranch in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Georgetown, CA. He and my grandfather were fast friends. I used to sit in front of the old b&w TV and take it apart and put it back together until I could literally do it with my eyes closed. I still have it and always will. I claim it as most most “expensive” Winchester because it has caused me to spend a fortune on Winchester ever since?
My second Winchester was also a gift but from my Scout Master when I was in about the 8th grade. It was a brown Model 1892 octagon barreled rifle in .38-40 caliber. He had three of the most beautiful blond daughters but no sons. He knew I like old Winchesters and said I could have it if I helped him clean out his garage. I since have sold it so I could buy something else after learning that it had 1/2″ cut off the barrel.
WACA Life Benefactor Member
NRA Life Member
I knew you guys would have some stories. That’s really great that you’ve kept that old 1894 Rick.
Brad
January 26, 2011
Offline
I envy all of you that have those great stories and memories of having a Winchester as a kid. I feel like I am an avid, gung ho Winchester collector now, but in my younger years all I had was more modern rifles. My first rifle of my own was a Ruger M77 30-06 with a Weaver K6 scope that I got when I was about 13 or 14.The rifle was made in 1976 so it had an inscription about “Made in 100th year of the American liberty” on the barrel. I paid $150 for it which was a lot of money to come up with as a kid. I am not a large framed guy by any means and I was lucky to weigh 125 back then so that rifle kicked me pretty hard. Before that I had use my mom’s Rem 600 in 6mm for hunting.
I am also impressed with those of you that have kept those first rifles for so many years…..very cool.
~Gary~
My very first lever action (Winchester) came along as a wannabe – a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun in 1954. After hunting the neighborhood lizards into extinction the 1955 Davy Crockett craze put an end to my lever gun days when I got a plastic flintlock and a authentic synthetic matching powder horn. I had to wait until 1965 to get my first genuine Winchester, a used Model 1894 30-30 carbine. It was in great shape and must have been a pre-64 model, since it was previously owned. I was 19 and got it from a co-worker for the princely sum of $50, which I could now afford as I had just gotten a raise to 96¢/hour at my full time summer job.
This old carbine was only about 10 to 15 years old and was a great shooter. I never got to shoot it much though, as I was always away at college. A mere 4 years after purchasing it I was drafted and “graduated” to M-14’s, M-16’s, M-60’s, M-2’s, M-1911A1’s and M-ad nauseams. When I got out of the Army, no one claimed to know what happened to my first “Winnie”. I’ve always wondered if, and hoped that, it ended up in a good collector’s home.
"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
My first rifle was an Ithaca Model 49 Saddle Gun. I got it for Christmas in 1966, and I still have it today. In my formative years, I shot more than 10,000 rounds of 22 LR ammo through it, and it was (and still is) a wonderfully accurate rifle. Someday, one of the grandkids will get it.
My first high-power rifle was an old Model 1892 Springfield Krag that I hunted deer with on the Oregon coast starting in Fall of 1970… I still have that rifle as well.
My first experience with any rifle was in 1965 (at the age of 5), when my dad started me out on my shooting career with an old rebarreled Model 1885 high-wall that was chambered for the 22 Hornet. I fell in love with that old rifle, and many years later, it was passed on to me… I still have it. It fueled my passion for the Model 1885, and today, I have a safe full of them.
The first Winchester I bought was in late August of 1974 (just before Deer season), when I acquired an old Model 54 in 30-06 G’OVT. I still have that rifle as well. Never owned a Model 70, as I did not see the need to give up that old Model 54.
In the many years that I have owned and acquired firearms, I have sold fewer than ten of them. It is never easy for me to let go of one after I have owned it.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
First of all you guys need to know that I am fairly young only being 29 years old , There is no big history here.
My first Rifle was a post 64 Model 70 Winchester in 270 Win serial number G1684349 . I bought it used a at a local gun show in 2002. That fall I found my self walking around in a snow storm on opening morning. Wondering why I was not cutting any fresh tracks in the fresh falling snow. When I came upon a field with 8 deer in it well lets say there was a lot of shooting and when they left there was 3 nice deer laying in fresh snow. I remember are gang members coming on the radio saying meet on the table. I hunt with gang of older gentlemen that don’t care much for trophy’s ,more so hunting for table fair, so they where quit happy. since then that rifle and I do a lot of hunting together and it well always have a spot in my gun rack.
My love for collecting lever guns has stared but a mere couple years ago when the long gun registry stopped up here . I found my self at a local gun show again but this time buying a old 1894 32 WS . I traded that gun after learning more and realizing it was re-barreled and was ruff with not much finish, but listening to all your stories make me wonder if I should have kept the old relic .The next week I bought a minty pre 64 30-30 and the rest is history. I am hooked bad, once you get one lever gun your collection grows quit fast.
Thanks for the chance to look back and remember and thanks for the help I get from you guys here to help me become a better collector.
Bruce
Aim Small ,Miss Small
My first rifle was a Winchester Model 55 Single Shot 22 cal. It was a ” working rifle ” for me, getting 25 cents per gopher in the neighborhood. I believe I used “birdshot” loads.
That rifle tore the heck out of my right hand pinkie from the side bolt lever, and burned my left hand palm with the ejected cartridge. Made money though, which was more fun than shoveling driveways in the winter.
Moved on to bird hunting with a Model 12, 12 ga. shotgun, bought in1963. My neighbor was a Winchester Rep.
My first Winchester Lever was August of 2013, an 1866 SRC, beginning my tortuous path on antique lever collecting, which I love in my retirement years.
Bill
Mine was a M1890 (1907), # 332161, in 22 LONG, that was given to me by a movie actress, and double for Miss Mary Pickford, in 1959. All original,some blue, and a rough bore. I still have it and it will be passed on to my family along with the story of where it came from.
“Dolly” was also one of Mac Sennett’s 1920’s or 1930’s “Bathing Beauties”. She married a Dr. Louis Strahlman who was a San Diego Police Doctor. They were big contributors to the old publication,”Arizona Highways”, and were amongst the prominent of the San Diego society.
Big Larry
I started out with a single shot Remington model 514 youth rifle chambered in 22 LR. My Dad obtained it with green stamps. When I was about 12, my grandfather gave me his 1933 vintage Winchester model 12 shotgun in 12 gauge. He used to hunt quail with it in Missouri and even took it a few times to my grandmother’s home when he walked over there to court her. I put much more use on it than he did- hunting quail, doves, and turkey with it as a youth in Texas. I grayed it a little more than it deserved but my grandfather was glad that I was using it.
Years later, I friend of mine who operated a small gun shop in Alaska, wanted me to go test fire an old model 1892 in 25 WCF that he had in the shop. Well I had been told for years that lever actions were not accurate. My cousins used to scoff at anyone who took a 30-30 hunting. With open sights, that relic of a firearm just stacked the bullets into one small grouping at 50 yards. I was amazed. I had to own one and bought one like it from some guy in California from the Gun List. It had a refinished stock and all of the bluing was buffed off of the receiver. But that rifle could shoot too! I dusted many a ground squirrel and ptarmigan with it out to 100 yards. I even got a lucky shot on a squirrel at about 150 yards one day. He looked like a cowboy in a Western movie when he tumbled off of the rock he was perched on. But that rifle wasn’t a collector piece, so I traded it off to another friend. I then acquired an 1891 circa model 1886 and started my fascination with hunting big game with vintage higher grade Winchesters of all models and calibers. But I never forgot that “stainless” looking model 1892 that traded off to my friend. We traded it back and forth thrice more but I finally ended up with it and still shoot parka squirrels and beavers with it today. Even though it’s not a collector’s piece, I appreciate it for what it is and will keep it to the end of this life.
As the son of a Winchester collector I used to go up to my fathers gun room with 80-100 Winchesters hanging on the walls at any given time. When I was 16, almost 17, I bought my own first Winchester. It was a brown patina 73, FO, FM, with nice wood and a decent bore in 38-40 caliber for $350. I kept that gun a long time, but eventually sold it. Subsequent rifles, only went up on condition, rarity and price. Believe it or not, I still miss it and wish I didn’t sell it.
I used to visit my grandfather when I was a kid and he had an old 1894 in .32 WS that used to belong to a friend of his that had passed away. It was a sporting rifle with half round barrel, button mag, special smokeless sight, Beeches front sight and Lyman tang peep. The serial number was 189xxx so probably one of the first .32 specials to be made. The bore was rough owing to the fact that ” Half the country borrowed that rifle from Casey to shoot deer in their fields.” according to my grand dad. He gave me the gun because I always got it out and cleaned and polished it when I was 12 or 13 years old every time I visited. Shot my first deer with it but when I was 21 I traded it for a Brno ZG47 in 8mm that I had to have. My grandfather was gone then but he would have said,” You oughta have your ass kicked.” And he would have been right. I regret trading that one away worse than any other.
My first Winchester was acquired in a trade back around 1973 .It is an 1894 model carbine in 30wcf .The little carbine looked almost new then and still looks fair for the many yrs. of use by me. The little carbine was big medicine amongst my group of friends back then . When my oldest Daughter turned 12 I gave it to her to use as her deer rifle as the carbine stock fit her better than any other rifle I had at the time. She made a clean first shot kill on her first wt. deer with the little carbine, and many others after. This yr. her son my oldest Grandson that just turned nine, was given the old 94 to use as his deer rifle. Brylen has practiced with the light loads very often ,he is also leaning how to hand load the old 30-30. In summer he can shoot low velocity cast bullet ammo after rabbits and other small game . This has made him very familiar with his carbine. He had a chance during the Thanksgiving Holidays to hunt for wt. on our family ranch. No shooter bucks came close enough. The wk. after Christmas he gets another chance to hunt wt. deer at the same place. So the same old 94 carbine will be in the hands of the third generation of our family ,something I had hoped to see. We will be out there trying for Brylens first wt. deer in a few days ,so please wish him luck .I am already feeling very lucky getting to watch it all come around again. Merry Christmas to you all! ,,,,,,DT
What a great way to raise a youngster D.T., especially in the 21st Century! And a very Merry Christmas to all, whether you be a collector or not.
"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
My first Winchester was a 1890 22 short. It was a family gun and kept at cabin. I would use it to hunt Chipmonks and Gophers. The first Winchester I actually had to buy was a Pre 64 M70 FWT in 308. The last one I bought (just recently) a M94 in 38-55 with a full octagon barrel. I still have the 22 and the 308 among others. There is a M70 carbine in 22 Hornet calling me currently
My first Winchester was also my first gun. When I was 3 in 1971, my dad purchased a Model 88 for me and actually had a left-hand safety installed as he figured I might be left-handed. I was. My brothers, 19 & 17 years older than me both had pre-64 rifles for PA deer hunting, a 1960 M70 Featherweight in .243 for my right-handed brother and another M88 in .308 for my left-handed one. Dad was no gun collector, but he made sure we had Winchesters for deer but preferred Remingtons for small game. Go figure. Ironically, my dad switched from a 1955 M70 .270 Featherweight to a .243 M70 manufactured in 1971. He had me convinced that the .270 was a cannon and was not needed for PA deer hunting.
I still have my Model 88, but I haven’t used it since 1992. The stock is pretty beat owing to the fact that I was a clumsy kid who spent a lot of his hunting time putting on drives for his elderly dad and uncle. In an attempt to carry on the family tradition, I bought my two daughters Model 70 Classic Compacts in 7mm-08 when they were one or two years old. My oldest has taken a few deer with her gun, and the youngest’s gun still sits in the safe waiting for her to take it on her first hunt. Sorry for the ramble. Matt
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