What was your first deer rifle?
 

I am still working on my book project and have lots of questions only my friends on hunting.net can answer.

How many of you can remember your first deer rifle, and the first deer you took with it? I am looking for stories that share first experiences in the woods. Where were you?, what kind of weather did you hunt in? Was your dad with you, grandpa, brother, mother, aunt, I would like to hear about your first experience hunting deer.

My story was I hunted with a 7.62 Russian dated 1917, I was a freshman in college back in Wisconsin, and shot my first deer in a blizzard, I was so proud to call my dad back in Chicagol and tell him I got a buck, he was very proud.

I appreciate all the help I can get from everyone, thanks..

Dr. Mike

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first rifle I ever had was Browning A-bolt medallion 270. The first day I hunted we seen a few does off in the distance nothing close enough. The next morning my dad shot a real nice 10pt scoring in that 140 class and I can remember it was dark enough to see the fire come out of the barrel before the sound. Later that second day I sat in a stand with my brother heavily wooded. I had only sat for about an hour and a small 7 point came by and I took my first shot at a deer and got my first deer right behind the shoulder. I can remeber it being cold and lots of snow here in central Minnesota ideal for deer hunting. I know I will never for get it.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

my first rifle was the same one I have now(or my wife has now) a Rem.742 in 243 cal.32 years ago.my first buck was a 7 pt. taken at about 70 to 75 yards.my wife was with me.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

A Winchester Model 94 in 30-30. I passed it on to my son this year.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

I used a 30-30 my first year, when I was 12. I then bought a 25-06. I will never sell it, and probably wont buy another gun. Now bows... I will probably buy quite a few.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first deer rifle was a brand new 700ADL 30/06 with a lil 3x9x32 Tasco uptop. It was one of those " long skinny boxes" wrapped up under the Christmas tree that I knew what it was but didnt know EXACTLY what it was. That was Christmas 1984 when I was 13. I was the " BIG DOG" after Christmas at school that year while all the other boys had gotten 243s and 30/30s I had a REAL gun that actually kicked at both ends!!!

The first time I pulled the trigger on it was in November ' 85 on a 10 pt in Missouri (120incher that seemed HUGE at the time lol). I remember putting the crosshairs on " brown" and pulling the trigger. 6 shots later (yep had to climb down and chase after him with a followup shot) I had one shotup trophy and the start of a lifelong passion/obsession, as well as a trophy that took me several years to top! I was at my step-father' s ranch in MO and it was he who first took me deerhunting with him the year before. He was just around the corner from me when I shot the 10ptr and came down to see what all the shooting was for. We hung and dressed the buck in the very tree that I killed him from.

What a NASTY habit/addiction that spawned! ;)
RA

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

I was 12 when I got my first deer rifle. It was a 1917 Eddystone Military 30-06. Not sporterized it was just like the army got them. A surplus store in Rapid City SD was selling them for $17.50. I got a nice four point mule deer with it the first year. 1954. My dad was working as usuall. I never hunted a day in my life with my dad. He was always to busy farming to go hunting. However my Grandpa and several uncles and older cousins alway ask me to go hunting with them. I used that old rifle for 15 years then it just kind of wore out. I have had to many deer rifles to count since then. From 222-416 Rem mag.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first rifle was actually very old double barrel shotgun. ;) It shot 00 buckshot very well. 3 years later I upgraded to a 30.06 Remington.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

Remmington .300 savage AKA " Laser gun" !

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

Well, I am 22 and I first hunted deer at 16 with a Remington 700 BDL 30-06. My father gave it to me when I was 16. He bought it in 1976 and it is still in great condition. My first year with it I shot a doe and a six pionter (my biggest buck to date).

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

.303 Lee Enfield and still use it today.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

my first rifle was my grandfathers 1940' s Marlin 30-30 lever action. I got a spike my first year. I hunted with it for several years. I have recently started to get an itch to have one and since my uncle has that one I might have to bring home another rifle soon.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

Traditions Buckhunter Pro inline in .54 cal. that my sweet wife bought me for Christmas .

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

James are you telling us your were 12 in 1917 :D (just kiding)

PAHUNTER I also use a 300 savage it was my dads.

The first gun I ever used was an old 12 gage bolt action(one of those like you would get from sears or monkey wards). I' ve been using the savage and a ML sense, the first deer I ever took was with the savage.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first hunting rifle is a Original U.S. Military Issue M1 Carbine with a thirty round magazine. I must note that I have never shot a deer with this gun. I was 12 years old at the time. My first hunt was in Mason County Texas and shot at a doe and 4 point but missed both. The following year my dad bought me a Remington Model 742 Woodmaster in .243 caliber. That year I harvested an 8 point and a doe.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

Ruger M-77 standard Mark II, in .30-06 springfield, took my first deer with it using winchester Supreme balistic silvertips 150grns, it was a 197# live weight doe, 43yrd shot, slight angle away, both lungs and heart, and broke the far shoulder, she slumped straight down.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

First deer rifel was a 8mm mauser dated 1944-(what a heavy gun) i was 12, shot at many never hit. first deer was shot witha new 700 adl 308 with a 3-9x40 tasco, using 150grn win. power point. small spike horn, 112# with 12" spikes, I was 25. opening morning, only been out for couple of hours when he just appeared.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first rifle was a new Remington Model 7 in .308 topped with a Leupold scope. After years of hunting public land, I finally took a doe with it. It was mid-day, and I decided to try some still hunting. Before long I heard something behind a bush and shouldered my gun. About 30 yds away a doe stepped out and looked at me. I took a broadside double lung shot, and it went down immediately. When I brought it home I called my grandfather in Wisconsin and asked him how to butcher it. He was a deer hunter, but I never got to hunt with him because my family always lived far away. He was extremely proud of me, and I am so glad I got to share that experience with him before he passed away.
Anyway, I wish I still had that rifle because they are pretty expensive now.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

Rem 788 in 243, shot a 4X4 in the temple and the bullet came out right between the antlers. The skull split leaving the antlers hanging down. I was thirteen and the whitetail was about 60 yards out.
Bryan.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first deer rifle was a Win. 30-30 at I think 13 or 14. Still have it. First deer with it was a doe.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

Well when I started hunting it was in a shotgun only county, I was 9 or 10 and was using my uncles double barrel 12 gauge, the last day of the season I killed a doe with it on a dead run at 20 yards, man what a rush, it was the second deer I had seen that year and the only one in range, dropped her with one shot. My first deer rifle was a model 94 30-30 and the first deer I ever killed with it was a doe at about 100 yards out of a tree stand.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

A Marlin Leveraction 30-30. 5 shots at a running Whitetail buck before he went down. I was 16 at the time, in good old Michigan!;)

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

Marlin 30-30...13 years old. Had to kill a deer with a shotgun before I was allowed to get a rifle.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

308 rem 7600 pump, 12 years old shot a Mulie doe with my uncle on a special antlerless youth draw in Nov weather was cool but tolerable, a skiff of snow on the ground and never put the safety off on the first attempt, but made good on the second once the safety was off:D..however pulled it a foot or so and banged her at the base of the neck and the body at 150 yards. I followed up that with my first whitetails the next week in the forest, both were bucks 3x3 basket and nice little 4x4 both shot in the H/L region. My Dad and uncles were on the trip and I witnessed my first bull moose as dad harvested a nice 3 year old bull (wow was he emense compared to my deer). I remember it was darn cold and over a foot of snow on the ground.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

first deer was with a remington 1100 shotgun with ooobuck at 32 steps a doe shot her in the side of the head, first rifle remington 7400 270 cal.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

First rifle deer was taken with a friends browning a bolt 270. It was 4 years after I graduated college. This buddy of mine also worked with me. The last day of the season He took me out to his land, where I shot a nice 8 pointer. My first deer rifle was a remington 700 30-06. The first deer I took with it was an 8 point buck. I still have the gun.

I had been bow hunting many times before I had ever rifle hunted. I started bow hunting in highschool. I didnt take a deer with my bow for a few years. The first one was a doe. I arrowed her a few years after I graduated highschool. She was at about 35 yards from my stand. My first bow was a black bear, the old squeeky kind. My first deer was taken with a pearson bush master, I still have both. I have since moved on to hoyts, but still have the old bows. I just cant part with old equipment.;)

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

Marlin 30-30 Leveraction

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first deer rifle was a Remington model 700 BDL 6mm. I shot a 4X4 in the Black Hills with it.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

Sporterized .303 Lee Enfield , out of the sears catalogue for $25 delivered.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first deer rifle was a japanese sniper rifle, 6.5 cal, that my uncle bought back from WW2, only ammo i could get for it at the time were full metal jackets, would shoot right through a deer. then i moved up to a winchester, 38-40 cal, held 14 shells, but it would drop them out to 100 yards. first buck i shot was 8 pointer, using my brothers 30-06, i was 12 at the time.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

marlin 336 in 35 rem. my father bought it for me before i was born , i shot a few with it , in 5 years i will be handing it down to my son

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first was a Marlin 336, 35 Remington. When I lived in Ill I took my first deer with a Mossberg bolt action 20 ga. I just removed the screw-on choke and it shot pretty straight. I now use a Remington 700 custom in .35 Whelen. I don' t have to track very many deer, they drop.

Russ

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

I just shot my first buck about 8 hours ago with my grandpa' s BAR in 30-06, a 55 yard heart/lung shot it was a spike weighing in at 125 pounds. great memories with my grandpa.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

Marlin 30-30 lever action. Still have it, and hunt with it. It' s probably 30 yrs. old or so......still shoots great!!!!!!!!

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

.300 savage, model 99, lever-action. It is my dad' s, and he also has the matching .250. The .300 is a lightweight model. I just have the open/peep sights on it, i don' t know if i could get used to using a scope.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first rifle was a Savage model 340 in 30-30 caliber. I worked all summer on the neighboring farms doing chores like cuffing hay bails and milking cows and cleaning stanchions! I think I paid $69.00 for it brandy new, and the gunstore owner threw in a sling for good measure. Shot a tiny little squeaker of a doe with it that fall while hunting with a neighbor. We ran into a whole herd of deer while walking through a grove of white pines, and I emptied my clip once, reloaded, and shot all but one shell, and noticed a deer head peering from behind a great pine trunk, so I leveled those open sights on that deer' s cheekbone and shot her right below the eye! Man I was proud as hell, but my dad said " Good Lord, you shot a puppy!" ;)

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

I used a 35 Remington for the first two years of hunting, and have since been using a Rem model 700 30-06 for the last 18 years.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first gun was a 12 guage single shot. My dad gave it to me about 21 years ago and it is still in service today. As a matter of fact I took tree-rat with it last year. My son will probably hunt with it when he gets old enough.

I was 11 when I took my first deer with that gun. It was a doe that weighed about 100#' s on the hoof. It was a cold Dec. day in 1982 when I took her. I was sitting on a hickory ridge when she came up on the right of me. I had to shoot her left handed. I love that gun and my dad for getting it for me. It was my dad who had showed a lot of patience because I had missed 3 other times that day.

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My first deer rifle was a British Enfield .303 series II. I bought it for $79.99 in PA in 1989. I went out that you a novice deer hunter (my dad was not a deer hunter). I had no one to teach me except the tv shows, which aren' t the greatest of teachers. Anyway, I failed to apply for a doe tag and all I saw were does the first couple of days. The next time I went out at on a friends land and saw a nice buck at 100 yards. I took a shot and missed under his legs. He just stood there and I took another shot. Another clean miss that kicked up dirt and he took off. I got so mad that I traded that rifle in for a Marlin .32 Winchester Special lever action rifle. I took that thing to the range and it fit me like a hand in a glove. Unfortunately, I did not see another deer the rest of the season.

I moved to MD after that year and did nto deer hunt for another three years until I moved home to KY. My little brother took me out on at a high school buddy' s farm that year. I brought my .32 with me, but my brother insisted that i use his .270 that had an incredible scope. Since I had shot the rifle before and was familiar with it, I agreed. He set me up on a good trail and then went to his stand. About 45 minutes later I had a doe walk towards me on a trail about 20 yards off. I took her with one shot and was hooked from then on after.

I have since sold that .32 and have gone thru several more deer rifles until I settled on a T/C Encore which is now my baby.

Matt

RE: What was your first deer rifle?
 

My dad passed down his Marlin 30-30 to me years ago. Still using this gun today. Although, my first rifle kill was with my dad' s 30-06.