Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Boys and their first rifles.

I originally had posted part of this in the Elk forum under first rifles but decided it needed its own thread.

My first rifle was a Ruger 77 mkII boat paddle in 270. It was a great rifle and served me well until i "knew" i needed bigger and better. Fast forward about 7 years and i bought a replacement boat paddle in 7mm-08. It absolutely loves the 120 TTSX and 140 Accubonds but i have never been drawn to it and thus never hunted it.

2 years ago my hunting buddy put his 10yo through Hunters Ed. He is a sheetrocker by trade and was laid off so money was tough. He asked if i had a cheap hunting rifle for his son to buy. I told him about the 7mm-08, that it wasnt for sale but his son could use it as long as he wanted/needed.

Opening day of 2012 found us all sitting a long ridge watching the sun come up. Lots of deer were spotted but nothing came within our self imposed 250yd range for him. About 10 A.M. we headed down the hill for the truck and lunch. On our way down we kicked out a few small bucks that were under the 3 point minimum and several mulie does (no bueno without a permit). About 1/2 mile from the truck my buddies kid stops and says "deer". About 125yds away he found a fat whitetail doe bedded under a tree. In our area due to over crowding whitetail does are fair game for youths and seniors on their buck tag.

Knowing it was his first hunt and how excited he was his dad gave him the green light. Damn if either of us were going to tell a kid what to do with their tag.

Due to the steep angle of the hill he couldn't see her while sitting down to shoot and there was nothing to use as a rest. A quick plan was formed to have his dad put him on his lap for height. I leveled my spotting scope in front of him with his jacket for padding as a rest. The doe finally had enough of us and stood broadside.

She was probably the dumbest doe ever as she gave him a solid 2-3 minuted to calm his nerves and place a single 120 ttsx behind her shoulder. At the shot she dropped and a chorus of cheers erupted from the valley floor.

Apparently our whole hunting group had gotten to the trucks and a few passerbys had stopped to watch the whole 3 ring circus and saw the deer drop.

We got to his doe and you would have thought he shot the next world record buck he was so happy. I remeber glancing at his dad and thinking "is that a tear?", then realizedy eyes were a bit watery as well. Must have been the wind.....

He was adamant that he would gut it on his own so with considerable coaching from his father and myself that was accomplished. When we got packed up to go my buddy put his drag strap on the deer and started walking. That was promptly halted by our succesful hunter, seems he figured he hadnt earned the deer if he didnt drag it himself. He told us to go to the truck and he would meet us.

We were on a wide open knob with a slight grade and tall grass so we could keep tabs on him and off we went to let him have at it, just him, his deer and "his" rifle. He probably fell no less then 20 times on his way down but kept getting back up. Several in our group offered help but he wasnt having it, he said he was a hunter and had to do it.

He got about 100 yds away from us and fell again and just rolled over laying on his deer. His grandpa was with us at the trucks, he can no longer hunt due to his health, hell he can barely walk and goes to fish and just hang out. Without saying a word grandpa grabbed a cold Coke out of the cooler, grabbed some M&M's out of his truck and asked for my orange vest which i gave him.

He told us all to stay at the trucks as he had private buisness with his grandson. It probably took him a good 5 minutes to reach the boy and the deer. Grandpa and grandson took their time with their snack and started dragging together. They didn't make it far and my buddy balling his eyes out went to finish dragging. All 3 of them had a hold of that strap moving dead slow but determined.

The wind must have kicked up again as now there was about 15 people with teary eyes and 3 cameras blazing away. What i wouldnt give for one of the pictures of grandpa, dad and grandson dragging that old doe but i sent them all to my buddy.


Once the doe was loaded in my truck my buddies son gave me the biggest hug and thanked "Uncle" Matt as he calls me for loaning him a rifle. My dad made a comment about that rifle needs a new home to which i agreed. I looked over at my buddy and quietly told him that 7mm-08 was now his sons as far as i was concerned. He told me wait until he turns 12 atleast.

He has taken 2 deer, 1 elk, and 5 coyotes with it since. He turns 12 in 3 weeks and true to my word that rifle and 350 rds of 120 ttsx will be going to him for his birthday. The Leupold VXIII 3.5-10 on top will cost him a few lawn mowings over the summer. I may be a softy but im not dumb.... lol

Its just a rifle to me, every ding or scratch in it was put there by him hunting hard so to him its a whole nother thing. Getting to watch him hunt it and be succesful the last 2 years has been worth every penny....


Austin and his first deer

Wow! That is awesome! Good on ya!

Very nice Sir!

Fantastic story! And a fine gesture on your part!

+1 Thanks for sharing your story and for helping a young man join the hunting fraternity. Well done!

A fine gesture, sir. You are to be commended.

My almost 12 yr old and his first rifle. That morning was crisp and cold, below 20 degrees. He sat in the blind with me for over 3 hours, but we missed his first opportunity early in the morning and then didn't get a shot.

So after lunch we hit the blind again. Perfect afternoon, he got set up and practiced numerous imaginary shots. Finally with about an hour of shooting time left this spike appears. "Dad, look, there's a buck!"

"I see him Matt. You get ready and when he's broadside, you know where to hit him, right?"

"Yeah, Dad. Right on the shoulder about 2/3 of the way up. But it's going to be loud!"

"Not for you, bub. You've got your ear muffs on."

"Too loud for you, Dad"!

"No it won't be. The muzzle is outside the blind and pointed away. I'm fine. You just take your time and squeeze the trigger when he's where you want him."

"Are you sure it won't be too loud? Just shoot him whenever I'm ready?"

"Yep. Whenever you're" BAM!

Couldn't be prouder. 80 TTSX right through the shoulder.

Special thanks to a couple of fine Campfire members who helped make his first buck possible!

Shot my first buck with my Great Grandad's Remington 760 in .244. I was 9, he was 93 and we worked a deal that I'd borrow it if he got a little backstrap when I killed a buck.

Dad took me and that oversized to a scrawny 9 year old rifle to the ranch after school on the third day of season. We crossed the fence onto the neighbor's place, he had a wheat field that the deer used and had told us to sneek over and let me shoot one just don't let his wife find out. We were about halfway down to the wheat field when Dad stopped me and whispered that there was a buck headed our way down the gully we were walking in. We crouched down and I got ready. Dad reached over and took the safety off for me so I wouldn't snap the button loudly and we waited.

It was probably about 3 minutes though it seemed like three days until that buck stepped out from behind a big elm 7 yards away from us. The 6x unertal scope filled with hair and I let it rip, loosing sight of everything with the blast and recoil. I knew the shot had been good though and jumped up hollering, "I got him Dad!"

I had spined him and Dad told me to shoot him again behind the jaw to put him out of his misery. Even at 5 yards, I got a little closer to improve my odds, I couldn't get steady enough to shoot again. I begged Dad to finish him but he told me "no son it's your buck and your job to do". I found a low hanging limb for a rest and put another 90 grainer into his neck to end it.

We walked back to the truck, about a mile and a half, unloaded the wheeler and drove back to where the deer was. Luckily both our and the neighbor's place had been owned by the same guy in the past and there was a gate between them so we could drive right to where I'd done the deed. We got him loaded up and there wasn't room for me to ride so I had to walk another mile and a half back to the truck again, truth be known I didn't mind as I was stoked.

We made it back about 20 minutes past sunset and unloaded the buck on the creekbank to gut him and wash up a little. Dad pulled his pickup over to use the lights and was going to guide me through the dressing process. I got all shook up all over again and was suddenly FREEZING! Even though it was up in the 50's. I'm afraid I wasn't much help but did manage to hold a leg some of the time.

I was so proud of that little fork horn you'd have thought it was a state record. I took the antlers on the skull plate to school for show and tell the next week. My Grandad later helped me mount them on a plaque to hang in my bedroom and he inscribed the date, place, and whose rifle I'd used on the back of the plaque. When the meat came back from the locker I took Great Grandad a pack of butterflies and I don't know which of us were more proud.

After the second buck the next year I loaned Great Grandad his 244 he'd told me to keep so he could shoot some geese in the wheat field next to his house. Yeah when you're 94 you can apparently shoot geese with a rifle and not give a crap what the game warden thinks. My Dad bought me a model 7 in 260 so I'd have a rifle of my very own after a cousin made off with the 244. It was a lot better gun than the 760 but the old cornshucker still holds a place in my heart even though I doubt I'll ever see it again.

+1. Excellent story and great job Matt. That smile says it all too...

Thanks for the kind words guys. Its been a blast watching him grow as a young man and a hunter. I'm definitely getting the better end of the deal trading a rifle for those priceless memories.

I already bought the 7-08's replacement, its a Kimber Montana in .243. Its going to my son which should be born mid July.

Guess I'm getting to be one of the "old guys" and start passing it on but thats okay too.

For the other posters with their stories and pics congrats. I'm always happy to see kids out hunting.

Awesome!!! You are a lucky man..