This time of year always reminds me of the first air rifle I ever owned courtesy of Sant Claus in 1953. We also had a TV installed that same year specifically to watch the coronation of Queen Elizbeth 2nd, but it certainly came in handy for the limited programmes broadcast at the time.
My dad was working for British European Airways then and was stationed in Germany which was probably why he brought two Diana air rifles home my brother and I at Christmas. I remember we weren't allowed pellets to shoot the guns without my dad being present, but we quickly learned that the buds growing on a small evergreen bush in the garden appeared to be almost exactly .177 calibre.
What was the first air gun you could call your very own rather than something borrowed from your elders?[
Brian