Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting What did you use to kill your first deer?

870 Wingmaster with a 30” full choke barrel with a bead. Remington slugger. Big doe at 40 yards.

Ron

Smith & Wesson 1500 in .270. Tasco world class 2-7x33 in kwik site see thru mounts. 1983. Winchester 130st. Big doe at 70 yards. It was the second thing I killed with it. The first was a bobcat. Still have the gun and carried it last week. Now has a 3-9 Nikon in leupold mounts. The kwik site see thru were the schnizzel in the 80s. They actually cost me what would have been my first deer the day before. Too many options for a kid, I kept going back and forth between the iron sights and scope. I mounted the Tasco 2-7 on my daughters first rifle a Ruger 77 ltwt carbine in 260 and she killed her first deer with it.

I was 13 and about 125 lbs , used my dads Remington 700 7mm mag . The buck was a 76 lb PA three pointer and it flattened him . Started a life long passion

Marlin 336, Simmons 3-9x Deerfield loaded with 170 grain Remington Corelokt bullets.

Button buck head on at probably 75 yards.

marlin 35 cal wish I had that old lever action back

Model 700 in 270

Shot was all of about 20 yards

Was 1984

Savage 1899 , 1915 dlux take down in 250-3000. In 1964.
Still have it .

Shot my first whitetail in 1974 in Aroostook Cty., ME with a pre'64 Winchester M/88 .308, load was a 180gr. Hornady RN over 41.4gr. IMR 4895. Buck still holds the camp record of being the heaviest @ 254# field dressed, shot him 17mi. off the paved road. Closest I could get with 4WD was 2 1/2 miles, took a day and a half to get him out of the woods.

1971. 45# Ben Pearson, Bear pre-made arrows.

Still have the bow, don’t know where the arrow is…

Not sure when, but a pretty early kill was with a VW Rabbit.

Winchers model 94 30-30 -1967, 15 yo, Vermont 6 point following a doe, two shots 3-5 “ apart, dropped like a stone. Happy my father was with me, he passed 2 years later.

Also a Win 94 30-30 1968 16 yo Surrey NH Button buck

1988

shot a doe

Bear Black tail compound bow with a 52lb pull...

I was 11. To young to have a license yet....

"Dad... I need some help....." was followed by.... "You did what ??? No freaking way....... "

Marlin 336 in .30-30, with Remington 150 gr. Coreloks.

T/C 45 caliber percussion

A Marlin 336 in 30-30. I think the ammo was Federal 170 grain Power Shock.

Winchester 94 30/30, first season I could deer hunt at 16. Day after Thanksgiving deer drives with family and friends, the rifle was my uncle’s but he didn’t want to go and let me use it. Popped a doe on the last drive.

Twenty some years later he passed away and my aunt gave me the rifle after finding out my history with it. A few years after that I took it out one afternoon with the idea of filling a doe tag for old times sake. About a half hour before sunset a coyote came cruising by, dropped the hammer on the gun for just the second time and had my second first.

What state was it that restricted you to age 16 to hunt?

Marlin 336 30-30 Winchester power point 150gr

In New York State I had to wait until I was 16 to hunt deer with a gun & was required to be accompanied by someone at least 18 yrs old. Small game minimum age was 14. The minimum age is now 12 for all hunting.
Most of the state was limited to shotguns. (rifled shotguns had not been invented yet)
Now most of the state allows any center fire rifle, but I live in one of the areas that remains shotgun only.