Squirreldog

Do you ever think about how different or not different your firearm has changed since you harvested your first big game animal?
I know mine has changedby leaps and bounds!
When I grew up if you had a 3030 you were in high cotton.
And some folks around here got hold of some military 30M1 carbines and had plenty of ammo which incidently I took my first deer (doe deer) probably 35 years ago, I also saw a lot of deer taken with those rifles, not to say they were even fit to deer hunt with but its what folks had to hunt with around here, it was not uncommon to see some one hunting with a single barrelled shotgun with buckshot in it either. I hardly seen a bolt action rifle untill I was probably 15 or 16 years old! and now almost everybody owns at least one or has owned one. Boy how time flys!!

sandilands

Then it seems I'm going backwards....... I'm looking for a pre 64 win94 for deer hunting. In the woods where I hunt thats all you need...... its light and fairly short fot the tight brush. I don't have enough time in the woods to notice how times have changed........ but why change if it works?

stubblejumper

When I first hunted the place that I lived was a farming areaconsisting of fields surrounded by heavy brush with many patches of brush in the fields.Shot distances were relatively close and the mostcommon rifles of the day were lever30-30s, and lever 308win,and surplus bolt .303 british.
Over the years more and more brush was cleared and the fields became larger,and the shot distances increased.The most common guns became pumps and semi autos in 308win,270win,and 30-06.
As evenmore time passed even more brush was cleared and the area is now primarily large grain fields surrounded by smaller patches of brush and far fewer large sections of brush.The average shot distance increased still more,and the common rifles today tend to be bolt actions in 270win,7mmremmag and 30-06,with a fair number of 25-06 and 280 rifles being used as well.
Where I now hunt elk,and moose,the most common rifles are bolt actions in the 7mm remmag,30-06, various 300 magnums,and 338 winmagnums.
I should mention though that the 30-06 has never been nearly as popular in Canadaas it is in the U.S. most likely because it has never been our service cartridge and the surplus military rifles available here were in .303 British,not the 30-06.

handloader1

The first big game animal I killed was a Mule Deer with a Marlin Model 336 .30-30 Win. The last big game animal I killed was a Mule Deer with a T/C Encore 50x209 Muzzleloader.I wouldn't mind hunting Mule Deer with a .30-30 Win., but where I live chances of killing a Mule Deer is increaseddurring the Muzzleloading season. What firearm I use depends on the circumstances of the hunt.Good luck.

Duffy

The first big game animal I killed was a moose with a borrowed Sav. 99 in .300 sav. Then I bought a Rem. 600 in 308 and over the years hunted with a Win. 70 in .264 win mag. and a bolt 7X57 and a pump .35 whelen, a couple or three different muzzleloaders and a semi-auto shotgun with a rifled slug barrel and a Rem. 788 in .243. (I have an over and under 30/30 / 20 ga. but haven't really hunted big game with it)

Then I got a "yen" to own a Sav. 99 in .300 sav. and so I bought two of them and the last couple animals I shot were taken with the Sav. Full circle.

I have a T/C Encore smoke pole and I may get a rifle barrel for it and shoot some things with it.

Robin down under

Rebel Hog

I have a Savage 24V in .30-30/20ga!