Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting What was your 1st deer rifle?

Sorry but I got a chuckle out of your story!! Youre by Great Lake Sacandaga huh ? Used to fish that place whenever I could. Camped over @ North Hampton Beach. Beautiful area

No apology needed. Haven't had a person not laugh when told. I even chuckle now when my old time pals bring it up. Little southwest, near Cooperstown and Otsego Lake

Model 94 30-30. Young, dumb and low on funds, got rid of it

Let's see, that would be about 1952. Mom and Dad gave me a brand new Winchester Model-94 .30-30 for Christmas. The next fall, I killed four deer with it. By some dumb twist of fate, I still have the carbine.

First good buck mule deer I killed the next year with a low-numbered Springfield 'O3 in .30-'06 that I'd "sporterized." I killed that buck ammo I'd handloaded (150 Hornady Round Nose, if I recall correctly)

Several years later, I went to a Weatherby Mark V in 7Weatherby and a Mannlicher-Schoenauer Carbine in 7X57.

kd

Friend had a house on Canadarago

Seems like a lot of us started out with lever actions in 30-30. This past season my Marlin 336 in 35 Rem saw all the action. The Rem700 stayed in the safe.

Mine was a hand-me-down from my Mom....Remington 760 Gamemaster Carbine in 30/06. Dad got it sometime in the early '60's and put a Winfield 3x9x36 on it in a Weaver Flip-mount.

I shot my first deer with it in '84 and shot most of the deer since then, including last year, with the same rifle, mount and scope.

Why fix what aint broken

Remington 742 in .308...accurate for 2 shots. I can't remember what happened to that rifle.

Dco

Lot of them old rifles around. We have 2, one was my Grandad's, the other is my Dad's. But they were wise enough to get them in 32 Spl. It's much better than the 30-30

Of course Dad and I have long since acquired the ultimate deer rifle: Savage 99

Dale

Savage 308 mod C, open sights, which belonged to my great grandfather.

It's a small world 1tnhunter. I'm about 12 miles south of Canadarago. Used to ride snowmobiles that way in my younger days.

Ruger M77 MKII, .308 Win, Simmons Whitetail scope. Since upgraded the scope but still shoots right at MOA with 168 grain bonded loads. Will never sell that rifle.

Mine was a Marlin 336 in .30-30. It has been my primary deer gun ever since. Is shares a little time with a Ruger and Winchester but it goes hunting more than them combined. You can't beat a Marlin lever gun in the N.C. mountains.

1955 Winchester model 70 featherweight in 243 Win

Lots of 3030's for sure. I read too many hunting mags as a kid to know a lever 3030 couldn't do the job... I was going to use my dads marlin 336A the first year I was allowed to use a rifle and the firing pin broke so I would not have anything to do with a un-reliable lever..

now I have 4 of them to combat the common bolt action.

1st year the cartridge was made wasn't it?

CVA big bore mtn. rifle, 54 cal. Shooting real black and a patched round ball.


maddog

Ruger 77 in 30/06 with a Leupold 2-7x.

Here is it with my first deer.

Mine was a single shot 20 gauge shotgun of unknown manufacture.

It broke down by sliding the trigger guard back.