Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What was your 'dream' rifle as a kid?

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 Probably just about perfect for the environment but of course it seemed too outdated and old and my older buddy (now my BIL) shot a .30-06 and was always telling me how anemic the .35 was!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?

I read the 1974 Remington catalog every night before falling asleep. I literally could quote it chapter and verse.

So, you probably won't be surprised when I tell you Model 700 BDL chambered in 30-06.

Remington 760 30-06. My son, High Brass owns it now.

My favorite was a Winchester model 70 in .264 win mag. Never acquired one, being young I never paid much attention to over bore or barrel life. I was more worried about velocities. I had a second favorite, which was the .243 Winchester. My first rifle was a 30-06 and its my favorite that's in my current stable. I have a 30-06, .243, .223(AR), 22-250, and a .17 Winchester super Mag. My current wish is a .338 lapua or a 1-9 twist 30-378 Wby, just not sure which to build.

As a kid in the 70's it had to be the Weatherby MkV in that high gloss wood and white spacers

I grew up reading Jack O'Connor and wanted to hunt with the 257 Roberts and 7x57. I "bought" a sporterized Venezuelan 24/30 in 7x57 for $37.50 when I was 12. I still, sort of, have it, but the barrel and stock are in a storage tote box and the action has been the foundation of a 257 Roberts for many years.

When I arrived at my first Army duty station, I went to the Outdoor Sports Store and ordered Ruger 77s in 257 and 7x57 for $200+/- each. I still have the 257, now a 257AI, but the 7x57 was donated to an African church mission over twenty years ago.

+1.

Except for me it was early 80's and it would have been the 257 Mag.

Reality set in and the wages of a 15-y-old didn't cut it so I ended up with a M700 BDL in 270. Still have it.

At 15 I worked my tail off mowing and hand trimming a cemetery for two years to finally purchase this .243 ADL which is going to my oldest grandson in a few years.It used to wear a Weaver K4 back in the old days busting ground hogs back home in WV ...still shoots a decent MOA with the 85 gr TSX.

M40A1. Which is probably why I like forest camo so much.

As a kid I watched a lot of John Wayne movies with my grandpa. Wanted a lever action 30-30 so bad it hurt. When I was 11 almost 12, I had money saved up to buy a hunting rifle. The same grandpa I watched all the movies with talked some sense into me. The 30-30 just isn't practical for deer and elk hunting in Idaho, not that a guy couldn't make it work, just not practical.

Ended up buying a used rem 700 30-06 from a coworker of my other grandpa at the sawmill. Still have it, it will be one of my childrens when they get big enough.

When I was a kid, it was the 1950s and the only rifle that I wanted was a Marlin 336 "Texan" in .30-30 Winchester. By the time that I could actually afford to buy my own rifle, I had read enough O'Connor that I bought a Model 70 Fwt, but in .30-06 rather than .270. At that age, I never imagined that I would ever own or have any use for more than one "big game" rifle.

Funny how things change...

My magnumitus infected me early on, and I lusted after anything Weatherby. I saved my lawn mowing and packer pennies and bought a 10 gauge when I was 17. That thing is still whacking turkeys and geese.

I FINALLY got a 340 Wby when I was 18 and still have it. I even hunt with it too on occasion.

I have since gotten over the magnumitus thing, but for old times sake I still play with my original bonerific rifles.

As a kid I always wanted a weatherby rifle.... But I outgrew that kick...

There were 3 that i really craved.

First and foremost was the Sako .222. In high school I ached over one of these in a LGS forever. Finally the funds and the opportunity crossed paths at the K.C. cabelas in 2008.


Then there was the Savage 99. I really wanted my uncles old take-down in .300. He had 5 sons who still fight over it.
Settled happily for a 99F in .300 that I got from the classifieds here in 2003 or 2004.

And I've always wanted a pre 64 model 64. Might happen. Might not...

I forgot all about drooling over pre Garcia Sakos at the gunshows during my youth I wanted one in a 264 real bad. I don't know why a 264 win mag but I wanted one.

All of them.

In 1977 I was a senior in high school and my dad said I could have a rifle for Christmas. As a lefty I drooled over the lh Remington 700 BDL in .270 Winchester. Unfortunately my first quarter report card mysteriously showed up right before Christmas, and well that ended that. Had to wait till I graduated then found one myself.

The one I had. I didn't start lusting after other rifles until I found this site.

This

Probably a .30-06 that was my grandfather's.. Got it shot it for 10-15 years.. Occasionally hunt with it every 4 or 5 years now..
But I was bitten by the gunbug early.. I also wanted a 700 in 7mm Mag. Got a rebarreled Enfield sold it.. Later had a brief fling with a Sako 7mm Mag. Sold it.. Then I got a teaching job and had some money, and it has been down hill since..

Oh YES! Ditto here!

I wanted a H&R 317P in .222 which was high gloss everything with white line spacers. Ended up buying what I could afford which was a 788 in .22-250. Did my first batch of reloads with 63gr Sierra's and learned that day why brochures listed twist rates.

Having grown up in the swamp, I never really wanted a rifle, other than a .22. I won a Marlin 336 in a fishing tournament when I was 15, and never really shot it. We used shotguns, bows and .22's for everything. I didn't really get into rifles until my late 20's, when I found out that killing deer without them was not cool.

A 22 long Rifle. I didn't care what kind, any 22 Long rifle would work.

A pre-64 FW Model 70 in '06. Boring but true.

Winchester Model 71 for Alaskan adventures. By the time Alaska rolled around a .338 Winchester Alaskan seemed more better.

Due to my Dad, the long guns of my dreams were in a wall locker in our attic, so I lusted after 5" Smith & Wesson revolvers.

After I got married, I got a copy of RL Wilson's Ruger book for my birthday one year, where I discovered the 350 Rigby Magnum that had been built for a member of the Maytag family.

http://www.christies.com/lotfinderimages/d40036/d4003616r.jpg

I still lust after it today.


Okie John

Mine was a 264 Win Mag, Model 70. I was a fervent reader of North American Whitetail back then. There was an article about a great buck taken in either KS or NE. The old timer who shot the buck was using a 264 Win Mag. The article mentioned how it was a cartridge a head of it's time and the use of the dual diameter bullets.

something other than a 30-30, nothing wrong with that, but every brother, cousin,under the age of 18 was made to start hunting with a 30-30. i just wanted to be different.

Wore out several Herter's catalogs, and lusted after a U9 in just about any caliber, but probably .30-06. Never got one, but my first rifle was a 1917 Enfield sporteriezed nicely that I still have.

A Sako Vixen in .17 Remington and a Ruger M77V in .220 Swift.




Travis

By the time I was 13 I already have a MKV dlx 270Wby and a pre81 BLR.
Dad was in the police arms biz so I got plenty of trigger time with MACs, Mini14s, and pistols of all shapes and size.
My all time most fun was the FA M12 380 MAC. It would rip a mag before you realized it was firing. 1400+RPM.

Matel "Shootin' Shell" rifle and pistol. Still have them...

700BDL in .308, I bought one my senior year in high school. It turned out to be everything I thought it would be, until I grew up a bit and decided it just wasn't "it".

Now, I'm completely lost and dunno what it would be. I'm currently using a M70 .270 and perfectly happy with it, as I was with a .30/06. Just don't know what I would be happy with, hell, they all work on a puny little old whitetail.

My last purchase was a 336SC .30-30, and it'll work, too.

Way back when I was in junior high school I was a member of the "Outdoor Life Book Club". One of the books I received as part of the subscription package was Jack O'Connor's "The Hunting Rifle." As I read it I thought, "How cool would it be to have a M70 Featherweight in 7x57!!"

Who knew...

A Remington Model 700 BDL in 30.06. As a kid I wanted one so bad I could taste it. I finally could afford one after college. I still have it.

A Winchester 92 in .44-40 with a Colt Single action to match. Had both, but in .45 Colt. Killed a lot of stuff with those guns, and sold both in a fit of stupidity. Haven't searched out a replacement set due to having other stuff that fills the need. Not the kind to have things just because I like them, gotta have a better reason. Sometimes I hate myself...

A H&H double rifle in .375 Win. mag caliber.

Winchester Model 71, 64, 70, 55, 94 and not in any special order. Life in the 50s was tough...no money!

You know, I honestly can't remember lusting over a single rifle. When I grew up, I hunted with a shotgun (started with a single shot .410 with slugs and moved up to a Mossberg 500 pump 12gauge with good ol' double ought buckshot). I more lusted over semi-automatic shotguns, mainly Rem 1100's. We hunted rabbits, squirrels, dove, ducks, etc., so having a shotgun was higher priority than a rifle.

Now, I would have loved to have one of several different rifles, but I dreamed about semi-auto 12gauges!

Savage 24 in 22LR/410

I too scoured the Remington catalogs and ballistic charts, figured the best bullet weight options, speed, trajectory and energy, yes energy was still important in the 80's, I came up with the perfectly balanced rifle cartridge combo would be a Rem 700 ADL in 7mm-08.

Was at a local propane sales/pawn shop and saw a Rem 78 in .270 with a scope that looked like it had not had a box fired through it, bought it with my grass cutting, cow feeding money and have never looked back or had any regrets!

Over the years it got a new scope or two and an old school B&C plastic stock for $100 from Midsouth shooter's supply with the built in sling, still in the safe and still my favorite.


Ironically I've never bought a 7mm-08!
Mike

I remember when the Remington Sendero came out(about 20 years ago?) and I thought one would be cool as chit.


That and I really wanted a 7-08.


Of course that was before I discovered the 270 Winchester....




Mike, I basically just repeated what you said!

Winchester 70 Featherweight in 30-06

Remington Model Seven schnable in 7-08

A double rifle in .470 NE.

Yup and still do to.

The Browning BAR, in 30-06. Then it was an M1-A.

Was kind of interested in Remington 788 in 708, bit later a model 7 in 708. Never acquired either...may have to fix that.

Weatherby Mark V. The first I ever saw was at a deer club just north of Vicksburg in 7 MM Wby when I was 14. I actually handled my first one in '68 when I was 18 at a Gayfer's in the Biloxi/Gulfport Ms. area. The salesman was very patient and if I remember correctly, it was a 300 Weatherby and was either $295 or $300.

About 12 or 13 years later, I bought two through the rod and gun club when I was stationed in Atsugi, Japan for $450 each...a .240 Wby and a 7 MM Wby Mag. Still have both.

Sako Forester in 7mm Rem Mag.

Savage 99 in .250/3000 finally scratched that itch a few years ago. While I dont pack it as my main rifle I have shot a doe and Boar with it. Love to shoot it.

Remington M700 Mountain Rifle in .30-06 with a Bushnell Armor Sight 3-9x40 (remember those). I ended up with a Husqvarna .30-06 with Weaver K4, which basically a 'Husky' Mountain Rifle. I still have it and it would be the last rifle to go.

I hear you loud and clear..

Model 88 in .243, after seeing one in a gun shop in Cumberland, Maryland, where I was buying my first hunting license. It was 1966 and the one they had was "checkered" with oak leaves and acorns pressed into the stock. By the time I was old enough to buy one they were gone, so I ended up with a Remington 600 in .308. $99.95 at Sears.

I still have the deringer from my belt buckle gun. I sawed it off the hinge so I could aim it better; my first gun tinker.

Anybody have any Shootin' Shells and Stickem Caps?

I wanted a Mark V 300 Wby. Never did get one, now I don't want one

Any Weatherby. (mid 70s era) I would go crazy until the new catalog / brochure would come out every year. Those were the days. I'd go and get every catalog I could get me hands on. Then go home and stare holes in them. I miss it. The Remington catalog with it's cartridge line up was the stuff dreams were made of. Rifles were show pieces then. HIGH gloss and walnut. Oh my! We killed critters with that crap too. No camo. No CeraKote. No muzzle brakes. Critters must have been different then. The internet is great,but the anticipation of those catalogs was intoxicating.

Weatherby Mark V .300 Weatherby.

Any and all firearms were intriguing but I always lusted after the Mannlicher Schönauer rifles that were shown at the beginning of the Stoger catalogs.

When I was a kid in the late 80s-early 90s I wanted a Model 70 in either 30-06 or .270...until I was 19 and saw a Model 99. Wound up saving some money and getting a Century Arms M98 sporter(30-06) instead. Bought a 99e 18 years later...

There were two.... As a kid starting deer hunting and my Dad shooting a .300 Savage in a 99, that cartridge was at top of the list, but I wanted one in a Remington 760. I found a used one at a good price so that scratched that itch well over 50 years ago. My son has the rifle at this time.

The second was a pre-64 M70 in .220 Swift. Never got that one, but recently did scratch the Swift itch with M70 short actions with 1-8 twist barrels....

A deluxe Mark V, but the deluxe sako finnbear and colt sauer were close 2nds, that was quite some time ago and I would still take any of them.

Any thing in 300 H&H, A high gloss Weatherby . And a double Holland and Holland in 375. Still want the Double. First rifle I bought myself was a Ruger 77 tang safety in 25-06.

Model 70 in 270, circa JOC.

That itch has definitely been scratched, and is now simply a comfort rifle.

Sporters, FWT,s, pre's, classics, supergrade,FN's.
All is good.

Weatherby Lasermark 338-378 for rifle, Colt Delta Elite for handgun.

I still want the latter, wouldn't touch the former with YOUR shoulder...

Me too, in 7mm Wby. My first, in 1977, was stolen from the local gun shop in a burglary while in lay-away. I still have its replacement.

Sako .243 i bought in 1968 with lawn mowing money.

Never got a fancy Weatherby but the wife had me a Weatherby Mark V stainless in 270 Wby mag redone at the Weatherby Custom Shop into their Outfitter Package,hand honed blue printed action,select fluted stainless re barrel,restocked ,bead blasted matte finish everything to match,The Works!
Then sent the bolt to Karl here for some lightening up finished with
Hired Gun here on the Cerakote and Micro Slick
Tried a few scopes on it Zeiss,several Leupolds until I settled on
a Trijicon 3-9x40 DUPLEX GREEN DOT for it.
The wife also bought me Wes 7x57 here WBY MK V ULW 30-06 had it off to Hired Gun here also for the Cerakote and Micro Slick also
AMRA

one that didn't exist a lh pre 64 mod 70 in 308 win

1988...Remington 700 BDL in .30-06. Nothing like looking at that Remington catalog with the high-gloss, dark blue finish.

Later, it became a Sako 75 Deluxe.

Weatherby Mark V in 270WM. Figured it would be the shizzle. I own a bunch of rifles, but still never owned one of those. No desire for one now. Older and wiser?

I am older, but not any wiser!

Sako Forester 243.

Grew into shooting late 80's early 90's. I had 3 favorites and eventually owned all 3. Mark V Deluxe 300WM. Browning BAR 300 Win and BDL 7mmRM. The first two were deemed heavier than necessary and while I still have them I prefer the BDL. Later on I've been getting into Sakos. I also used to memorize the Remington and Browning catalogs. Miss that.

Sako Finnwolf

Colt-Sauer rifle in 7 mag, Kimber or Kleingunther 22lr, Colt Python 357.

Back about 1955 I had the coolest Uncle in the world, my Uncle Frank.
Didn't give a sHiz 'bout nothing except hunting and fast cars.
He deer hunted the Adirondacks with an original Henry 44 cal. 17 shot rifle. My Dad use to tell me when a deer passed by his brother Frank, everyone in the Adirondacks heard him shoot that gun 'till it was empty, or the deer fell.

I was staying at my Grandfathers for a while, and one day Uncle Frank came out to shoot some kind of a gun.
He set out some targets at 100 yds, & set up a shooting bench.
I was about 8 years old, so I just climbed up a Cherry tree about 5 yards to his left, and just a slight bit behind the gun. I never heard a high power rifle go off until that day.

He touched the trigger on that old Winchester Mod. 70, and holy jeabus I 'bout crapped my pants right there.
My head was ringing, and I couldn't even cover my ears 'cause I had a death grip on that Cherry tree.
BOOM.. Off it went again, Then BOOM... God, I was in Heaven !!!

After he shot the 3 shots, I slid down the tree, and Looked at that gun in total amazement. I asked Uncle Frank "What kind of gun is that?"

"270 Winchester" He said, and I never forgot those words. I can still remember that like it was yesterday, and it was 60 years ago.
I never could afford one until I was in the Air Force, but my first Sargent sold me a brand new Remington 700 in .270 for $100.00 in 1967.

My Uncle Frank died young from Cancer, but left me a Winchester Mod.70
in 30 Govt' 06 with a barrel dated 1936 !! Ser # 2***. The .270 was a twin to it. They were both stocked by Al Biesen.

Nobody knows what ever happen to that .270 (or the Henry .44). He moved out to Utah for hunting, and it seemed to vanish..

The 30 Govt' 06



And it shoots well (on the left)



I still have the Remington .270 too.

My dad has a .280 rem 700 mountain rifle and growing up as a kid I always admired it. I always wanted a short action though. My first centerfire rifle purchase was my rem 700 bdl stainless 300saum and I have a love affair with that rifle, I won't ever get rid of it.

I really wanted one of my Grandpa's guns, or similar. He ended up giving me his Marlin 336 in .30-30. Awesome!!! I shoot it frequently and hunt with it every year.

I was born in the early 50's and came of age in the 60's reading the gun rags of the day. Even though the Monte Carlo/white line spacers/exotic wood fore end tips were touted in seemingly every article I read, I didn't buy into that style at all. It all seemed kind of kitschy to me even as an impressionable newbie. On top of that, every oater on the big screen had the heros and villains toting Winchester lever guns and Peacemaker Colts. How boring, even though I loved (and still do) western movies. What I lusted after was a Thompson SMG like Vic Morrow carried in "Combat", or failing that, a Garand like the other guys carried. When I learned that my uncle John Lenig was a real life WWII combat hero (Big Red 1, beginning to end) and that he carried an '03 Springfield (infantry scouts got to choose their weapons back then), my dream changed. I haven't been without an '03 in some form or another for over 45 years now.

Which gun? Just about every one I saw. Why do you think I'm on this board? But I'll name a few that I still stick a little harder.
Die hard made me want an AUG and MP5. Didn't know what they were called but I thought they were so cool.
My buddy had a Remington 541S that he out shot me with every time we competed. He wanted to go on some trip and sold it to me for cheap. That's one he's not getting back.
His grandfather's basement was lined with guns that would rival Cabela's trophy room. Literally hundreds of guns. Customs DGR rifles with marble cake stocks, Krieger and Parker shotguns, and just about any store model gun there was.
The one that caught my eye was the Pre-Garcia Sako 308 in a mannlicher stock. It was a beautiful stock, don't know if it was a deluxe model but it had better grain than most deluxe stocks.
When I was in college he sold all of his guns to a collector. I wish I knew because I would have bought that gun. I'm still lusting after one and have a piece of walnut mannlicher length waiting for a build because of that gun.

I always wanted a .270 of my own.

My dad had one during the years that he hunted and my favorite author was Jack O'Connor, so enough said there.

I acquired a brand new Rem 700 so chambered while still in high school. I still use it today.

Rifles I lusted for were the pre 64 model 70's and Sako Foresters in both rifle and carbine form.

I bought a pre 64 in .338 mag from an older elk hunting friend and used it for many years. It went to another hunter when I found myself solidly becoming an archery only elk hunter.

I ran into a Sako carbine in .243 at a gun show and bought it - it's still the only one I've ever come across. My boys and I used it to take several deer.

A bit later, my elk hunting mentor left me a Sako rifle in .243! So, not needing two .243's and wanting a handy elk thumper, I had the carbine rebored to .358 Win.

It's taken several elk and is a really great rifle. It's taken elk to 257 yards with 225 grain bullets and is way easier to carry and shoot than the .338 was.

Both of the Sako's are early models from the 60's and a joy to use.

I still "need" a custom built rifle to play with, but I doubt I'll ever follow thru with the urge.....

Born in '37 and grew up reading JOC and Keith. I lusted for a M70 Super Grade in .270 or '06. After I got one or four, reality set in. (I owned one SG three times.) They are too heavy. I'm still looking for the Featherweight Super Grade at a right price.

In the meantime, I discovered Browning Safaris in the sixties. They were every bit as nice and even nicer finished than the SGs. My present crop of bolt guns include a custom stocked and engraved 03 Springfield, a custom stocked commercial FN, and two Browning Safaris on the small ring Mauser in .243 & .308. The little pencil barrel jewels way outshoot the first two, both in .30-06. I threw in a Blaser R-93 Prestidge with a .270 and .9.3 barrel for grins and something not quite out of the dark ages.

Once I quit letting gun writers tell me what I needed, life got better. I like JB's approach. He never seems to tell us what to buy. He gives objective reports on guns and calibers, what his opinion is of the same, and wishes us well. That doesn't mean he has not cost me money, but he did not mentally twist my arm.

Jack

Bravo !!! I have a current love affair with the 300 WSM though I own some exquisite 280's.

Winchester M88. Never got one and now not sure I will.

I grade school the first one that caught my attention was the Marlin 444. I just knew that was the coolest thing in the world.

Winchester model 71 .348

Do you still hold the same opinion?

I remember going to a sporting goods store with my dad when I was about 10 years old and knew I wanted to deer hunt... And I saw a nice tang safety ruger 77 and liking the looks.

I turned 14 and bought a rem 788 carbine in 308 (price point - affordable)and used it one season. It was real heavy, problems with the scope base loosening up, and it was the odd caliber in deer camp and I had a huge supply of 3006 and new reloading gear that dad bought.
Sold the 788
Found a used R77 3006 (because of the integral scope rings) and bought it on my 15th b-day and still have it even if I only use it every few years.

I've been foolishly dabbling with other guns and plan on selling all of them except the R77, a SS browning X-bolt 3006 (similar safety, SS for rainy days), and a Tang safety Savage 99 308 that my dad gave me for Xmas.

Its hard to part with the others though.

In 257 Wby

M1 Carbine. Not really a hunting rifle but it was the first higher power rifle I wanted. Dale

Seeing this thread also reminds me of the older sporting goods stores and not the junk stores we have today like Bass Pro, Dicks, etc.


I loved the old family-owned stores which had better quality merchandise, smelled of smoked and knew folks by name.

Model 70 winchester.Finally bought one when I was 50 years old.

A Remington 760 pump in .243. I thought it was the ultimate rifle for shooting running whitetails in open county. I grew out of the idea before I got one.

Ruger M77 Flatbolt in 308. Living in a shotgun only for deer state, my father, while driving me to the gun dealer asked me "why would you want to buy that?" Then said "guess you could be doing worse with your money." For over forty years that rifle has traveled across the country with me on various hunts, and is now my semi-retired safe queen.

None of the elders in my family hunted big game but we lived on a farm and did small game and birds with .22s and shotguns.

I guess my "dream rifle" back in those days would have been a Remington Nylon 66.

Ever since I was 12 years old. 378 Bee in a lazermark.

Mine was in 1958 a FWT Mod70 in .270 Win. However, my first rifle was a Rem.721 in 30.06.,because I could not afford $129 for the Winchester. The used 721 cost $50. Then another $35 or so for a Weaver 4X.

I really, really wanted one of those Remingtons with the short barrel, vent-rib, sharkfin sight, and dog-legged bolt in 350 Remington Mag.

Mine was one of those same same rifles in 6MM Remington. All through high school I drooled at the Montgomery Ward catalog looking at one. Princely sum of $119.

I found a pristine one about 4 years ago, mounted a Leupy 2.5x8 scope on it, and it is a definite keeper in all respects.

Late 1970's.

A Sharps 45-70 made in Big Timber.

Who knows, maybe someday.



Should add, that was back when Elmer Keith was editor of Guns & Ammo magazine......I was a huge fan.

As a kid it was a lever action 22. We could not afford a repeater so I was happy to get a lever action Ithaca single shot. It sits here beside me right now, probably 57 years old if my math is right.