My First Gun

My First Gun.....

Well, kinda my first. I Pretty Much "Owned" my Father's 12 Gauges and .22 Rifles by that point--they were mine to use any time that I wanted to, and it was well understood that I was to inherit them when the time came.....

And sadly, that time has come. I can remember a day or two after the Funeral, taking my Father's Browning Shotgun (an old Auto-Five), and holding it and crying.....

But this was the first Gun that I bought with my Money, and my First Handgun/Revolver.

I'd seen the Movie "Dirty Harry" while I'd been at Purdue. I'd had no idea what the Movie was about when I first went--for all I knew, it was about a Weenie-Flasher.....But it was Free.....

And I'd never heard of the .44 Magnum.

After I saw the Movie, I just had to have a .44 Magnum--and no Single Action either--I wanted a Double Action just like the one in the Movie.

I talked to everyone who would listen, about my serious Jonesing for a .44 Magnum.

The consensus of The Peckerwoods was that the .44 Magnum could be mastered, just as one could master riding a Unicycle, or Juggling--And just about as Laboriously, and Pointlessly.

{I mentioned to my closest friend, and confidant, about a Jack London story where the dude was desperately trying to get back to "The Land of Little Sticks". He guffawed and Said that Southern Indiana should be Christened, "The land of the Little Ricks"--That's not right....."Land of the Little Bics"?.....Still no. "The Land of the Little Richards"--yes, that's tolerably close.

He and his Brother owned a Gunstore.....}

Anyway, every story that I heard about Arms, Fingers, Noses and even Heads Broken by the Whip-Crack Recoil, The more determined to have, and to master the mighty .44 Magnum that I became.

This was back in 1978. Gunstores were paying more than Manufacturer's Suggested Retail--And of course they had to buy lots of S&W Ammo; and a raft of Model 10's to get one Model 29. Barrel Length? Order any length you wanted, and gladly accept what they shipped you.

I wanted a Blued One,like the one in the Movie. I'd read some Peckerwood Opine that Nickel was for "Amateurs". Once I saw how quickly practice draws wore both Bluing and Satin Nickeling off the Muzzles of my .45 Autos, I became a big believer in Bright Nickel.

Anyway, my wish list was: Blued; 61/2" Barrel--1st Choice; 4" Barrel a 2nd Choice; and 8 3/8ths being a Distant 3rd.

I put about $300 down on a $550 8 3/8ths inch Nickel Plated S&W Model 29. (Lay-Away).

Folks, you should have seen the fit my father threw when he found out. He'd never laid a hand on me, since I'd went away to College in '75, but I believe that with a little Provocation, he'd have hit me right in the face with his closed fist (Which he'd never done, of course--slaps--a very few times--but no fists).

He kept harping on what he could have bought with "That Money" if I was just going to "Throw It Away".

I wasn't about to Antagonize him, but the thought kept occurring to me, that it was My Money.

(This was when I used to net $132/Wk. And when I got a 26 Cent/Hr raise, it made a difference--not a big one--but still discernible.)

Anyway, by the time I paid off my Lay-Away, I had added a "Like-New" Safariland Shoulder Holster and about 500 rounds of .44 Magnum, and another 200 Rounds of .44 Special--and a half-dozen HKS Speedloaders.

Now several thoughts occur to me. Folks generally recommend that folks start out with a .22 Rimfire for their First Gun.

That's fine advice, if you can take it. I didn't want a Damned .22; or even a .357 or .45--I wanted a .44 Magnum! I wouldn't have gotten home with a .22, until I was dissatisfied.

Jeff Cooper always recommended starting Folks with a .45 Auto--a 1911A1; Carried in "Condition One" Or "Cocked-and-Locked".....

{Honestly, if "Cocked-and-Locked makes you Nervous--at least too Nervous to carry your .45 that way--then you don't deserve a 1911A1.}

If you choose to go with the .45 Auto, either get some First Class Coaching--Cooper's original Lectures are available from Paladin--or at least get a firm understanding of the process; and practice dry-firing Beaucoup Many-Many times.

If you just have to have a magnum, after you've scratched your magnum itch with 200-300 Rounds, put in some good Double Action Basic Training with Reduced Target loads.

Second:They used an 8 3/8ths Inch Barrel in several of the scenes in "Dirty Harry". Actually, if you know the different silhouettes of the two Barrel Lengths, it seems the Longer Barrel got most of the Face Time.

As a practical matter, if you can hide the 6" or 6 1/2" (The standard changed over the years...) You can hide the longer Barrel Just as well. Neither is easy to hide inside the Pants--though I've done it. Either is easy to hide with a shoulder holster, and a light Jacket.

I wish that I had a reasonable chance of coming across one of the rather limited number of Ten Inch S&W Model 29s the factory made briefly. I'm curios how well the ten Inch would Carry and Conceal--and what kind of Performance it would give.

Anyway, I didn't get around to applying for a "Hunting and Target" Permit While I was either Gainfully employed; or happily laid off, and drawing Unemployment.

Later, when I got the Job on the Railroad, I was out of town all through the work week.

Finally, I took off half a day's work to get home, and apply for one.

It was Februrary or March of 1979 when I first took my New Friend into the Stripper Pits.

I had a gallon milk container full of water. I had to tempt fate, and fire the first six rounds one-handed, Double Action.

I was wearing Plugs and Muffs--the Revolver Kicked a Bit--but I wasn't entirely sure if it had actually fired, the first few rounds. It sure wasn't the Digit Mangler that I'd expected.

I think I shot my milk jug with a full-power Remington 245 Grain LSWC. Maybe I should have used one of the Super-Vel 180 Grain Hollow Points. All the SWC did was punch a hole clean through both sides.

I had about 600 Rounds of .44 Magnum, and about 250 Rounds of .44 Special with me.

At some point, I fired several Rounds at a scrub pine tree. When I went to check what effect my shots had upon the tree trunk, all I could see was a bunch of marks that looked like someone had been belaboring the tree with a ball-peen hammer.

I presumed that my mighty .44 had bored deeply into the tree--and then the hole had closed a bit.....

I decided to dig a bullet out.

Our comes my 9 inch bladed Western Bowie--the Best Bowie ever made, By Far--wish that I could get another.

CHOP!

To clear a low hanging Branch. OOWWW-UChee! As the Bowie cuts right through a near wrist-sized pine branch, turns, and stabs me in my right thigh.

My first thought--how strange that the Bowie cut my jeans, but not me.

Second sensation--Warm Fluid running down my Right Leg.....

Did I Piss myself, per chance?

No. Pulling my pants down reveals a hole in my mid thigh. Hey this is cool, I can see my femur.

No real pain. Cram a clean hankie into it, strap my belt tightly around it (Not a Tourniquet!)

Hmm, still got about 250 assorted Rounds. Fire remaining rounds. Drive home and show my Father. He says it'll need stitches. I say, "Let me eat Supper First."

Spagetti. Pretty good. Drive myself to Emergency Room. Intern has me repeat my tale five or six times--left out all reference to my 44 Friend.

Finally he says, "I'll treat you, but I'm highly suspicious of your story. Stab wounds are very rarely Self-Inflicted."

Is that so, Sherlock? Tell me, who is always within reach of me, when he has a Blade in his hand?"

Don't tax yourself, the answer is "Me!"

I have stabbed myself many a time--though not so dramatically.

No, I didn't tell the Intern that--I was still modestly impressed by some authority Figures back then.

Lesson Learned?

"Always treat all Knives as if they were loaded."

Correction: "All Knives are always Loaded." (Rule #1. A} )


.....RVM45 :sht: