When I got old enough to hunt in N. Wisconsin (late 80's early 90's) I started off with a Rem 600 in .35 Rem (still have it--serial # low 2000's). Probably just about perfect for the environment but of course it seemed too outdated and old and my older buddy (now my BIL) shot a .30-06 and was always telling me how anemic the .35 was!
I still remember the rifle I absolutely lusted after in my early teens was a Rem 7 in 7-08. I loved the trim size, schnabel foreend and the 7-08 seemed to be everything awesome to a young boy's mind. Read every article I could on the rifle and cartridge and mostly remember Layne Simpson singing its praises. (As a side note, I actually wrote two letters about the Rem 600 and the .35 Rem to Simpson's Q&A column in Shooting Times and had both answered in the magazine--quite a thrill for a young kid!).
Never got a Model 7 but I did eventually get a 7-08 (in a beautiful Kimber, no less) but eventually sold it and have even 'regressed' acquiring a 7x57!
So what was high on your wish list as a young hunter and did the dream ever come to fruition or did you move on?
