I thought that it would be fun to hear about eveyones first gun they hunted with and their first deer that they took.

It was November 15 1999. I was 16 years old and had a doe tag in my pocket. I had been bow hunting since I was 12 and rifle hunting since I was 14 without success. In the area that I hunted the DNR did not allow anterless hunting for several years. I hunted hard but could not connect with a buck. Finally I knew that 1999 would be my year.

I got out in the woods real early and couldn't wait for first light. At the time my Pop and I hunted about 200 yards away from each other. At 745 AM I heard my Pop shoot. I got real excited knowing that my Pop does not miss with a rifle. It's tradition for us to stop hunting and go help the other hunter when we hear a shot. At that point I realized that I would have to get out of my stand soon and that my morning hunt was probably over.

I decided to wait about 10 mins and get down. As I was waiting, I saw three does running at 100 yards due west of me. All of a sudden they changed course and ran straight to me. I bleated and the largest doe stopped at 35 yards broadside. One shot through the heart/lungs put her down real fast. I couldn't believe that I had just shot my first deer.

The best part was that Pop shot at 745 and I shot at 750. After we got our deer I called my mom at work to tell her the good news. When she answered the phone, the first thing she asked was if Pop got a deer. I told her that he had. Then she asked if I got a deer. I told her that I too had shot a deer. I remember her saying that she couldn't believe it was 800 Am and we were both successful hunters.

The real neat thing about that hunt was the rifle that I used. My grandpa bought a stevens 30-30 bolt action back in 1946. He used it for many years but did not get a deer. In 1964, Pop started hunting and took ownership of the rifle. He shot his first deer, a large 5-pt with an 8-pt frame, back in 1978. When it was my turn to rifle hunt the 30-30 was handed down to me.

It was a very special moment with a very special gun. I used that rifle, and took many deer, up until 2008. Now she sits in the gun cabinet until I have a child that goes hunting for the first time.

Well my first deer with a gun was in 1995 in MI. I had shot a big doe (first deer ever) with a bow earlier that fall so i was looking for my first buck. Opening morning came and dad took me to my blind which was about 200 yards from his, so that we had intersecting shooting lanes so he could keep tabs on me. As I say there anxiously awaiting first light I could swear I heard deer in the lane in front of me, as dawn broke a deer-like shape materialized 50 yards in my lane against the snow. I picked up the Savage 99 in 300 savage and put the scope on it. It was a buck!! I waited a couple minutes as legal shooting light came about and picked a spot behind the front shoulder and BOOM! The deer bolted in the direction of dads stand. 3 Minutes later I hear a BOOM from dad's 30-06 and a deer came staggering into my shooting lane and fell. I got up and walked out to where I thought my buck was and saw tracks but no sign...i was bummed so I went back and sat down. I sat there waiting for dad I saw him walk up to his deer and look at it, then walked up to me....He said "Did you get a buck Buster?" I said "no I missed, did you shoot him?". He said "no you didnt miss, I got a nice 8 point that came from the east". We walked out there and stopped where i said "he was on this runway dad"...dad said "what about the next runway (about 8 yards further) with blood all over it??" I look up and WOW! 50 yards later i put my hands on my first buck, a nice Michigan 7 point!

My first deer was when I was 15. I was armed with a brand new remington woodsmaster 742 in 30-06 with a 2 X 7 Redfield Widefield scope. I was using 150 gr Remington bullets. The deer was a 140 pound 3 point in a bucks only season. I was alone and shot the deer and didn't really know how to take care of it since I had never been with my dad when he got one. Soon I could see my uncle Mike come up the ridge and he showed me first hand how to gut a deer. That was 46 years ago and was my first deer. Today was a lucky day for me because I filled my Vermont ML buck tag with a 6 point. It has been many deer over the last 46 years with gun, bow and ML but every one is filled with memories and it doesn't get less exciting.

.270win BAR on a WY muley doe... think I hit her 2 or 3x, flung about 14 rounds though...

I was 15yo, maybe 14.

My first deer taken was many, many years ago in Maine with Dad's 250/3000 (250 sav).
I still have that rifle and use it a few times every deer season, mostly for sentimental reasons.

My fathers 1956 Model 64 Winchester in 32 Win. Special. First deer was in 1972 in Cherokee Park north and west out of Fort collins, CO.

Many moons ago when many here were just a twinkle in their father's eyes. Used a Winchester 94 30-30, open sights. 100 yards at the biggest deer of my life. Neck hit. Weighed 317lbs. without the guts. Rack was approx. a 140"incher. No one commented on the rack. We threw it away. Back in those days no one in the family hunted for antlers. LOL! After the shot my dad grabbed the gun from me and emptied it at the running deer. He had a few shells left in his pocket and told me to get my uncle for more shells. Hearing a shot in the distance, dad ended up catching up to it and dispatched it for me. For years I was sour because "I" wasn't the one who killed it, dad did. I know now though. From tracking the buck through thick brush, he was covered in blood. Back then we hunted in reddish flannel shirts and jeans. None of this camo and blaze orange we have today. LOL!

iSnipe

First deer rifle was a Marlin 35. I loved that gun but, unfortunately, never shot a deer with it. I ended up selling it to a friend years ago. Last year I bought a Savage 110, 30-06 from a pawn shop and shot my first deer with it on opening day. I won't retell the whole story, you can read it here. Shortly after that, I ran into my old friend, who asked if I wanted "that old Marlin" back. So far, I have two in the freezer this season with the 35. I sold the 30-06 to another friend and am planning on keeping the Marlin for good.

I sincerely hope I can give my daughter a 'first deer experience' (or first hog, for that matter) better than mine was. If I recall correctly, they handed me a rifle and turned me loose in the pasture. No one ever taught me how to shoot, how to set up, anything like that. So, I pretty much roamed around, haunted the big oatfield at the center of the lease and took pot shots at everything I saw.

Eventually I got a freakhorn 5 pointer...no pictures, no handshakes, no congratulations. Got chewed out for hunting around someone else's area, for shooting a 'trash' deer, for missing so many before that.

If I knew then what I know now.....

My dad and I both hunt. We hunt on the same property, have for years. I can't stand hunting 'with' my dad. I only have once in the past 10-15 years....he had a bad accident and couldn't hunt on his own so I took him. It was....an experience, to say the least.

EDIT: Oh yeah, Remington 700 .270 Win Mag.

1977, thanksgiving day. I shot a huge doe in the Fingerlakes area with an ancient JC Higgins 12 gauge bolt action shotgun (my first deer). My first buck I shot in 83 on the Tug Hill, with my fathers sporterized Oberndorf Mauser in 8x 57. It was a fine north country 10 pt, field dressed out at 158 points. I had only been on stand about 30 seconds when it sauntered right up to me as I was sitting under a pine tree trying to stay out of the rain.