What was the very first handgun you bought?

It was a match 1911 that I bought off of one of my Staff NCOs back in the late 80s. He was stationed in Quantico a few years before I met him and one of the armorers built a gun for him as a gift. The only commercial parts used was an Essex frame, a Bar-Sto barrel, and high-mounted Bo-Mars. Everything else was spare GI parts that was available at the armory. Paid $250 for it and it came with one of those wooden shooting boxes with the scope mount. The thing was a tack driver and had an absolutely beautiful trigger. As the training NCO for my unit, I even took it to the field during live fire training exercises. It "looked" GI enough that my Gunny and OIC looked the other way and let me get away with it.

I really wish I held onto that gun as I learned a lot tinkering with it. By the time I sold it in '94 to help pay for college, I had "upgraded" the pistol with Low-mounted Bo-Mars, which did require milling the slide, Wilson Commander hammer, Wilson match sear, extended thumb safety, full length guide rod, and a drop-in Wilson beaver tail safety. You know that saying "You don't realize what you have until it's gone."? So true.

Mine was a Smith&Wesson pencil barrel model 10.
Then the flood gates opened, been broke ever since.

An Italian reproduction of a 1851 Navy Colt , 36 cal. cap & ball , brass framed , revolver ...for the grand sum of $35.00 . It was 1967 and an 18 year old was allowed to purchase a black powder firearm .
Modern handguns , you had to be 21 years old . I shot the Navy Colt for the next 3 years ... I shot it so much the brass frame stretched out and it was so loose I had wire holding it together .
The week I turned 21 ... I found a nearly new 1970 Ruger (3-screw) Blackhawk in 357 Magnum and because the market was soft on SA 357's ... Dirty Harry was making DA S&W 44 magnums the hot comodity ... the gunshop owner let me have it for the $175 cash money I had in my jeans , saying nobody wanted them old cowboy guns ! The BH was only a year old ...the first owner brought it back and traded it in on a 44 magnum ... the shop had sold it once so it was listed as used but only 25 rounds of ammo had been shot ... the dealer threw in the 1/2 box of ammo for free !

I still have and shoot the old model Blackhawk but some creep stole my worn 1851 Navy Colt ... I hate thieve's !
Gary

Colt 1911 in 38 Super that I bought in 1980 converted it to 45 ACP and still have both the gun and original parts in case I want to convert it back.