My first centerfire rifle was a Ruger M77 MKII Standard .30-06 that I bought when I was 16.
Before that, it was a single-shot 20 gauge w/slugs my first year, then my vintage Remington 870 2 3/4" w/ a slug barrel until I got the Ruger.
I shot my first buck (which was also my first mule deer) with that Ruger, it was also the first time I reloaded ammo for myself.
The first load I made for that rifle was using Winchester brass, 56 gr of IMR-4350, Winchester LR primers, and some old 180 gr Hornady Spire Points that were sitting around my dads's reloading bench.
They were leftovers from when he briefly owned a Browning A-Bolt Medallion .30-06 w/ the B.O.S.S. system on it, he also sold that rifle because of the B.O.S.S. system on it, but that's a whole other story.
I didn't necessarily love the recoil of that load at age 16, even though I was (a hulking 5' 7" and 150 lbs soakin' wet), but it killed deer well, so I used them until I shot all those up.
Then, I switched to Hornady 165 BTSP and worked up to 58.5 gr of IMR-4350, that's still my standard .30-06 load for deer to this day.
When I bought that rifle, all I knew was that I wanted a .30-06.
Nowadays I check and see how a rifle feels when I shoulder it, how the controls work, and how it balances, I tend to gravitate towards short-action rifles with 22" or shorter barrels on them and prefer cheekpieces on my stocks.
I hate the stock and trigger on that rifle, and sold it to my brother years ago, but I recently got it back, I will be putting a McMillan and a Timney on it one of these days.
