When I was 11 I hounded my (future) brother in law into trading me his Atari 2600 for several knives I had.
When I was 12 (1986), I took that Atari to school and traded it for a single shot FIE 20 gauge. We both had to keep our trade fodder in or on top of our cubby-holes until the school day ended. Took the shotgun and a paper bag full of shells home on the school bus.
First gun in a formal setting was the following year when I was 13. Went to the Greensboro gun show and traded my 20 gauge and a couple of 22 rifles plus $30 for an Inland M-1 Carbine. Guy at the private booth had wanted $110 for it. Now THAT is the gun I wish I still had.
First long gun in a store at legal age (1992) was a Pittsburgh Police Dept. trade in Wingmaster 12 gauge with 18 inch barrel. Beat all to hell but ran really smooth at $149.
First handgun in store was a Ruger KP-90 .45 at Ken's Gunsmith Shop in Madison NC.
I don't have any of those guns anymore. I wish I still had the carbine and Wingmaster.
My dad wasn't a "gun aficionado", but we always had guns in the house. My parents never bought me guns. Dad didn't look at them sentimentally, they were just a tool in his mind. First time I asked for a .22, he was like "Why? We already have one (Remington Speedmaster).You can use it whenever you want. Why do we need 2?".
Fortunately, even though I didn't hang on to "my" first guns, I was older and more established when I inherited the "family guns"and did mange to hang on to most of those. My only big regret in that regard is that I was not able to hang onto the S&W 39-2 that my dad carried as a policeman in the big town of Liberty NC starting in 1978. I WILL find another one soon. Whether I can afford it or not is a different story, but I figure I'll make it happen.