My dad gave me a Winchester 30-30 when I was eight years old, I hunted with it for a few years and rarely, if ever even saw a deer and when I did, couldn't hit the durn thing with those iron sights while shaking like a leaf. Of course in our deer camp all the men kept telling me you couldn't kill a deer with anything less than an .30-06 and a .300 mag was what a fella really needed, so when I was 12 I talked my dad into letting me trade the .30-30 for a .30-06, of course 220 grain bullets were what you needed, and after a few rounds through that thing I had a tremendous case of flinchitis. We went hunting with my cousins one time in Tennessee and I watched one of my cousins smoke a deer in his tracks with a .243. I asked him to let me shoot it that afternoon and I've never looked back. In the past 30 years I have taken over a hundred deer with a .243 and my first one took around 50 before I retired it. Just recently I've converted to a 22-250 for deer and like it even better, I guess I'm just a wimp when it comes to recoil, but that bullet goes within a half inch of where I want it.
First or worst deer getter
- Thread starter sconnie264
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Skimbleshanks
Well-Known Member
First rifle I hunted with was a marlin lever action in 357 mag that I inherited when my dad passed. Hunted a few deer seasons on public lands with out ever seeing a shootable deer, switched to a Tikka T3 lite in 22-250 and baged my first deer but had to pass on a monster that was tucked into some brush earlier in the day. Bought a weatherby vanguard sub-moa stainless 30-06 the next summer and have been using it since. For elk i've been using an old model 700 in 350 rem mag that I also inherited from my dad. Dont know why but I still have fond memories of that rifle **** near taking my shoulder off when I was little.
Red Sparky
Well-Known Member
First deer rifle was a Winchester Model 70 in .270 Win. Still have it 30 years later and was all I used until I started ML hunting. Dad just gave me all his guns and I have his Remington 721 in .270 Win. Both it and my Winchester shoot 1" groups at 100 yards with hand loads. Waiting to go rifle hunting again so I can carry that model 721 with me and remember the days in the field with Dad.
264WM
Well-Known Member
I know the feeling as just a few weeks ago my brother gave me my dads deer rifle a model 1917 Enfield 30-06 which he had before I was born in 1945. It has the original stock which he cut down and re shaped. I shot rock chucks with it when I was young. Its ashame that there is so many youth that never have the great outdoor enjoyment that learning to hunt and survive in the outdoors with our dad's was for us.
429421Cowboy
Well-Known Member
My brush gun is a Winchester 1894 rifle in .32 Win Spl. Being the rifle it is about as tall as i am and very weight forward with it's big octagon barrel. The Serial no. dates it to 1899 per Winchester themselves but it is chambered in a calliber that didn't come out till 1903 so...? We figure that great great grandpa had it rebarrelled, but can never know for sure because Winchester claims they lost the factory records in a fire. I shot a spike with it last year, for all practical purposes it's a .30/30, but the twist rate was designed to give medocre accuracy with BP or smokeless, something the .30/30 didn't do when it first came out and guys were reloading it with BP.
T Shot
Well-Known Member
My First Deer rifle was a H&R single shot chambered in 223. Some of my dads buddies kept telling me that it was not enough to get the job done. I had to prove them wrong . After plenty of practice i managed to get several does down. 223 isn't exactly what i prefer to deer hunt with now but heck at the time i got the rifle i was only 9!
. After plenty of practice i managed to get several does down. 223 isn't exactly what i prefer to deer hunt with now but heck at the time i got the rifle i was only 9!Inpursuit
Member
First deer was an Oklahoma whitetail with a 303
enfield that I paid $15.00 for wish I still had it. Of course I wish I still had every gun I have sold over the years. If memory serves me Oklahoma only had a one weekend deer season back then. I cut school to go hunting that day. Got my picture in the paper so my excuse of being sick didn't fly. The principal just grinned as he listened to me, had the paper on his desk. He did congratulate me on a fine deer though.
enfield that I paid $15.00 for wish I still had it. Of course I wish I still had every gun I have sold over the years. If memory serves me Oklahoma only had a one weekend deer season back then. I cut school to go hunting that day. Got my picture in the paper so my excuse of being sick didn't fly. The principal just grinned as he listened to me, had the paper on his desk. He did congratulate me on a fine deer though.
Well my first gun was given to me by my dads dad it was a Stevens Savage Model 125A and the next summer my moms dad gave me a deer gun a Stevens Savage Model 125C. I still have them both to this day both scoped refinished and reblued and locked away in the safe. My first whitetail bit the bullet of my first gun from my dad a Winchester Model 100 in .243. I still have it with the original Weaver scope my dad installed on it when he bought it new.
