Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire What was your very first center fire hunting rifle and....................

1980 BLR in 308

Mine was a Marlin 336 in 30-30 Win that I bought used in ~1980. I shot an antelope, a deer and an elk with it while in college. Still have it, but I've since moved on to a .30-06 for big game.

1951, friend of my mothers gave me a win. 44=40 long barrel it held 15 rds. with 1 in the tube but fully loaded i couldnt holed it up free hand to shoot. so quickley learned to only load 5 rds.i was 12 yrs old, killed my first elk that year with it at about 40 yrds.killed my first mule deer with my uncle bill's 30-30 when i was 8 yrs old. the first rifle i bought for myself was a rem.720 in .270 then a couple of years later i got a weaver k=4 scope for it. dont know how many elk,deer bears, coyotes and cats i killed with it.but it was a bunch. rio7

i bought a .243 vanguard with money given to me by my mom out of her inheritance from my grandfather. she said buy something that reminds you of him.

it shot well. and then i got rifle looney disease and "needed" something else and was stupid enough to trade it. now i am back to .243 and hate knowing i let that one go.

Push feed Winchester Model 70 in .270 bought new for $139.00 the day I turned 18.
Sold it and bought a .338WM after I figured out the hard way that a .270 just wasn't enough gun for big Alaskan critters.

Ed

On thinking back on my first CF, the Marlin mentioned above, one reason I bought this rifle with no practical use in the IA cornfields was I was a lefty. While more appropriate chamberings for IA fox an coyote hunting were available in the Savage 99s, I don't know if I was aware of them at that time or just didn't like their looks. For some reason I didn't go for the Rem's at that time either as they were available in left hand, vanilla chamberings.

As it turned out, I realized I needed a bolt gun and my next couple were right handed bolt rifles; then a lefty (am I dreaming they were made in left hand) Rem 788 in 308. As with most folks' experience mine shot very well though those rifles would lose to a tent stake in a beauty contest.

When I was 14 my father gave me a new Rem 600 in .308. I bought a 3x scope for it (I think it was a Herter's) and loaded it w/ 165-gr. Speers behind a max load of 4320, IIRC. Took my first deer with it the next season at a whopping 25 yards. I sold the gun a long time ago and I have no big regrets about selling it. That 18.5 inch barrel was too short, IMHO. The muzzle blast was plenty loud and when you shot it in dim light, the flash looked like the business end of a blowtorch.

I bought my first rifle when I was 14. It was a used Marlin .30-30. Shot my first deer with it. Kept it one year and traded up to an Interarms Mark X in .270. That's the only .270 I've ever owned. If I remember correctly it took a lot of shots to finally kill a deer with it. Bullets kept bouncing off.

Bob

308 british, still have it and my 15 year old is using it for bow and moose. Flat shooting gun, kicks hard.

i got that rifles twin in a 6mm! it was my first centerfire.

Rem. 722 in .257, loved it, but it was passed down thru my 3 younger brothers. Parents offered to buy me a used dirt bike or a new rifle for getting good grades thru grade school, I got a Herters U9 (BSA Monarch) 25/06 with a 3-9 Leupold. Always wanted the 257, but couldn't work up the nerve to ask 'em to sell it to me. Dad sold it to my favorite nephew so it worked out well.

Still have the 25/06, found an upgraded factory stock to dress the old girl up, still shoots 3/4".

My Dad picked me up a Marlin 336, older model, sans crossbolt safety, chambered in 30-30 when I was about 10 years old; I believe it was topped with a Tasco Golden Antler 4x32. I had it for a few years before my stepfather at the time stole it out of my closet, pawned it, along with several others off to fund his gambling habit.

Never heard from it again, and my father died shortly there after. It goes without saying, but I wish I still had it.

My first center fire is a marlin 336 chambered in .30-30 which I still own. It is now cached at my bug out location.

Winchester mod 70 in .243 with a varmint barrel, 4x12x40 Redfield. Heavy sombeech. I hated carrying that thing around, but it shoots bug holes. My father and his buddy bought them at the same time. I bought if off of my dads buddy. They are both sitting in my safe today. They have taken a few elk and deer over the years. I use mine as a back up gun now. I use the Savage 99 in .308 that was my Grandfathers. All of them will go to my son when I am flower fodder, if not before that.