I've been fascinated with the topic about 1958 and what folks were shooting out West. I was born in 1958. I'm just wondering what folks were using to lob lead at the beasts in the rest of the States, not just out West.

I know my grandfather was using a savage 99 in 300 sav.most of his contemporaries were using 94's in 30-30 and there were alot of WW2 war trophies being used by his friends,my father had a Carcano and a 6.5 Jap,Gramps also had a 7.7? Jap.
here in NJ it was shotguns with buckshot or rifled slugs

For most deer hunting, right or wrong - 00 buckshot.

my father said they used to use a shotgun round called a "pumpkin balls" it was 00 buck strung together with a steel wire.
but like anything that was cool or worked well the State of NJ made it illegal.

My dad was using a 6.5 Jap, his dad was using a 30-40 Krag--neither sporterized. My maternal grandfather was using a model 94 in 30-30. Had uncles using Krags and model 99's.

A "Pumpkin Ball" was just that- a ball. A big lead .69 caliber ball, sized as such to clear the commonly tight full chokes of the day. They just rattled down the bore, and accuracy was a sometime thing. That was in the days prior to the intro of the Foster slug (which is what we kids called "punkin' balls" in those halcyon days of 1958).

I was only 5 in '58, but if I were to go back in time I would carry what my Dad and most of his cronies carried- a Savage 99, Winchester 94 or some sort of sporterized army rifle (not to mention the occasional shotgun with "punkin' balls"). Winchester 70's were pretty much the domain of the well-heeled gentry, but were spotted from time to time. Didn't know any rifle loonies back then, or anybody who handloaded. In our corner of Pennsylvania a deer rifle was a means to an end, a tool used to put meat in the freezer, and since the depression still really hadn't ended there yet low cost was a driving factor in rifle selection.

I was 14 in 58, gun of choice in MI that I remember was a Win 94 or 64 in 32 special or 30/30.

I was not even a thought in '58 but my dad was using a Marlin 35 Remington, open sights. I have photos of him and his buddies from back then, all were carrying Marlin lverguns in 35, 30-30 or 32 win spec. This was for hunting in New England and the Catskills of NY

My uncle was using a new M94 in .30-30 w/Weaver side mnt and a Weaver K2.5x scope.

til later

Marlin model 336 in 35 Remington with a peep sight. Friend of mine had one with a 4x scope. I thought I had the better setup till he shot a deer right at daylight that had walked past me at about 35 yards in the timber that I couldn't see good enough to shoot. So long peep sight.

Well I wasn't shooting anything, but I have three guns in my safe. both of my grandfathers. My moms father had two guns that I got. a model 71 and a Model 94 in 30.30. My other grandfather had a 99 in 300 savage.

The one gun of that generation that I wish I had was a model 14/141 in 35 rem.

I was not alive in 1958 but I know what my grandfather and his buddies used. The Remington 141 was really popular in North Georgia (30 and 35 Remington). Of course there were many 30/30 rifles floating around and also the Savage 99 was big news.

Landrum

I grew up in NE Louisiana. I did not start deer hunting til 1963 as a kid but my recollection is that almost all the adult hunters used shotguns. (Almost all deer hunting was done by running deer with dogs.) Some Winchester Model 12s and some Browning A-5s. Best I can remember all were 12 gauges and most everyone hunted with buckshot.

One guy had a Marlin lever .30-30 and another had a Winchester 94 in the same caliber. My dad had a Remington Model 722 in .257 Roberts with a Weaver 4x scope and he had the only bolt gun and only scope in the group we hunted with.

Within a few years there started to be some guys who had Remington autoloaders, usually in .30/06.

I think if it were 1958 I would use the same rifle whether it would be North, South, East or West. My folks used a Rem. 721 in 30-06 that I still use to this day. Oh yeah, I have used it in the forests of North Carolina to the Mountains of West Texas.

If it were me and I could afford it I would have picked up a model 70 or a Belgium Browning probably both in 30-06.

Chance

My Dad had just traded a Krag for a brand new Savage 99F in 308. He carried that gun for nearly 50 yrs, and I'm carrying it these days.

In 1958, I was in the womb for the last 3 months of 58.
seems to me The one rifle huter would likly be using an 06 a 270 a 30/30 or a 300 savage.
If he was dedicated and could aford a model 70 that was probably the nicest common rifle.
But a frugal guy was probaly shooting a springfield. But a savy guy who wanted to fave a good no frills game killer might have had a JC-Higgins. Still a great rifle that can be had cheap.
...tj3006

+1 on the JC Higgins!

I was born in 56 but I believe my dad was using a sporterized 303 enfield. A lot of guys did in upstate New York back then. There were also a lot of 30-40 krags in use up near the Canadian border back then and fifty bucks would buy you a nice one when I was a kid.

I wasn't old enough yet, but my Dad hunted in Utah every year with a Winchester Model 94 .30-30. As I recall he brought home venison most years, too.

Here if you were hunting deer it was in front of dogs and shotguns were it.
GreggH

IN 58 my grandfathers/great grandfathers where using sporterized Mausers and Springfields.

I grew up around quite a few WWII veterans,and it seemed like they all had at least one "bring back" from the war.I saw a lot of 7x57 and 8x57 mausers in the woods,though those 7x57s were not likely "bring backs." Also lots of SMLEs ,which were also not likely "bring backs",plus a sprinkling of Arisakas,Springfields,and 1918 Enfields,in various stages of sporterization.
At least two hunters I knew carried M1 Carbines,and swore by them,though they were considered as too weak in power by many.I don't know how far these guys were shooting,but they were both very successful hunters.
Almost every young hunter starting out was first outfitted with one of these old war horses.
You could find stacks of these rifles in all kinds of stores in those days,often displayed in wooden barrels,often for less than $10.00 each.I remember seeing them in Auto Parts and Dept. Stores,and even a gas station in Brooklyn.You could buy them just as cheaply through the mail from a number of sources.This ,of course,was still ten years before the 1968 Gun Control Act.
Almost every group of hunters had a member,or knew someone who would cheerfully reload ammo for others,often taking readilly available,and cheap, military surplus,and pulling the bullets,then reloading commercial hunting bullets over the original powder and primers.Not very sophisticated or elegant,but the deer never seemed to notice the difference.

I was also 14 in 1958 and like many people was carrying a Winchester 94 in 30-30.

These Winchester carbines, along with a few Marlins, in 30-30 and 32 Win Spl were by far the most popular outfit in the part of Wisconsin I grew up in. I knew two brothers who lived near me and owned a pile of them. They rented them out every year for $10.00 for the nine day deer season. It seems an unthinkable thing in todays world but I don't ever remember them losing one or even having trouble getting one returned after the season. In fact, many folks rented the same one year after year from them. At that time in our area if I recall correctly a new Winchester 94 cost about $80.00 and used ones not much less. That was just too much money for some folks to come up with so $10.00 looked pretty attractive. Add five dollars for a dear tag and three or four for a box of shells and you were in business for less than $20.00.

Then, as now around here, you might see almost anything. Primarily, though, you would see .30-30's and .32 Specials, .30-06's, .270's. Also, a good number of .35 Remingtons and .300 Savages. Some shotgun slugs.

In 1958 in our area of eastern NC there were far fewer deer than today, so most of the relatives in my family used their shotguns for the annual deer hunt. One uncle was rather excentric (never married until he was 65), a veteran of WW1 & WW2, and spent his spare time raising, and hunting, with his bird dogs. He had a Belgian Browning A5 shotgun (most everyone else had cheaper guns) and he had the only centerfire rifle in the family I ever saw; a M94 Carbine 30/30. He went deer hunting enough to justify owning a dedicated deer rifle.

I was a year or two away from my first deer hunt that year but watched Dad leave home with his M99 .300 Savage. When my first morning on the deer stand would arrive, I would be carrying my new M37 Winchester single shot in 16 gauge loaded with a single slug. I can still remember following behind Dad that first morning as we headed for a ground blind we had revamped on the edge of a swamp earlier in the year. Dad had sat there for several years before, but we needed to enlarge his blind to make room for me. Naturally I got cold and we started a fire that was the highlight of that first morning. Several members of Dad's hunting party were Minnesota Gophers football fans and after noon would end up at one members stand to listen to the start of the game and catch up on who had shot deer and who had missed. Then it was back to the stands for the afternoon sit. Other members of the party carried Remington autos and pumps, Marlin and Winchester lever actions and only one bolt action, a Springfield .30-06.

In 1957 my dad was 19 years old and had grown up in Nova Scotia. He picked out the exact same rifle a couple of his older hunting buddies were using, and had his older brother pick it up for him because older brother could get it wholesale, $64. The rifle? A M94 carbine in 32 Special because it was "a better stopper than the 30-30".

While his brother (who was not a shooter or hunter) was picking it up, the salesman tried to talk him into a different Winchester lever, which turned out to be a M88 in 308 Win. For $84. Older brother insisted on the M94 because he wasn't sure and didn't want my dad mad at him.

My father, who had never heard of an 88 in that small NS town, still brings it up occasionally; how his hunting success may have changed for the better if he had known about the M88 at the time.

In what seems ironic today, I gave him his favourite field rifle about 20 years ago. A 1957 M70 standard rifle in 270.

There was not a whole lot of deer in CT in 1958 we only had crop damage back then and of course the guys that Jack Lighted. You had to go to VT NH Maine Or NY in those days. My uncle Felix shot a 270 that was an FN that came from Sears Roebuck and Co. I on the other had hand to make due with a Marlin 22 Bolt rifle. I was not quiet old enough yet. Mom drove a Studabaker back then, My father a 1949 Caddy. They were divorced by then. A 1957 Chevy Bel Air became the car my mom drove, latter on, drove it till 1968, then my dads caddy, when he died. Lots of guns around, didn't know that even the cheap ones then would be something special 50 years latter. My Uncle Felix FN, is still in the family. It didn't look like much back then but now its really a fine rifle.

I was born in 1954, I know my dad was using an old Springfield that had been sporterized. He used it up until he had to give up hunting. My nephew now uses it for his deer hunting back in VA.

A custom .300 Savage (or .35 Rem.) built on a Mauser Kurz action stocked by Dale Goens with a 21"
barrel, and a 2.5 to 3 power scope in detachable mounts. It would swing like a Wells Fargo sawed-off shotgun.

Or a single trigger M-S .358 WCF and 20 " barrel and peep sights.

Or a Winchester 64 .30 WCF with 20" barrel.

Or a Winchester M12 12 gauge with a 20" barrel and slugs.


Or a beat up pre-war Savage 99R in .300.

YMMV

My family in WNY always had to use shotguns, so they all had Ithaca 37 Deerslayers.

For the Adirondacks, they had Savage 99 in 300 Savage.

Many parts of Indiana didn't have huntable populations of deer then. So, dad and grandpa killed the heck out of cottontails and squirrels with shotguns. Grandpa had a Model 12, 12 ga and later an 1100. Dad hunted with a Rem semi-auto that looked like an A-5 and then latter a Mossberg 500, both in 20ga.

Dad was using his 99 Savage 250-3000. His one friend had a .35 Remington pump. Don't know who else had what. His shotgun was a 20ga Mossberg bolt action, modified choke.

In 1958, my two mentors were using a sporterized Mauser 98 in 8x57 and a Remington Model 8 in 35 Rem. I think they each had a 94 Winchester in 30-30 floating around their households as well.

Dan

I was only 12 in 1958 but I remember going along with an uncle, and he had me carry a couple spare cartridges for a custom 35 whelen built on a rem model 30 .it was a very hard to find civilian version of the 1917 enfield.
he had a gunsmith buddy custom barrel the rifle, for hunting BEAR in MAINE.
I wish I knew where that rifle was today, both my dad and uncle are long gone and I think my cousin who never hunts got that rifle.

In 1968, I was shooting a 30-06 03-A3 Springfield.. Deadly on whitetails,

The poster who mentioned the depression not being over in 1958 was not far wrong, things were better. I lost my dad in 1955 and was home with my mother and sister, I was 17 . In fifty five I hunted with a 20 gauge Stevens 94 that I had bought myself, slugs for deer and #6's for small game. What ever I took in the field was apprecited on the table as Mom couldn't work sis was 5. In 57 I landed a much better job and started to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Then eventually came the model 12 and the 94. A lot of people are upset about our troubles today, and I like others have suffered some loss, we will get through it. I believe it will make a better people of us all. kotzy

Deer, rabbits, squirrels, fox, wood chucks, and quail, but no coyotes. 1Minute

I weren't born yet; not by a long shot.

What were the go-to guns, though? Likely 1894/94 Winchesters and 336 Marlins, with the occasional 99 Savage, and sporterized Mauser and Enfield and Springfield thrown in.

I know my family hunting mentors used Remmington 141's in 35 Rem. There was also many shotguns in use, with Model 99's and 94's bringing up the rear. If someone used a bolt gun it was usually a rifle "from the war" in which the bullet was measured in mm's. There were some odd rigs out there like single shot 30-30 bolt guns, a bolt action shotgun, and rifle/smoothbore over and unders.

3 years before my time, but for deer hunting, one grandfather used an uncut 30-40 Krag, my Dad and his Dad both had 94 Winchesters in 32 Sp., my Aunt hunted with a Savage pump in 30-30, a couple of Dad's cousins had a Savage 99 in 300 Sav and Rem bolt (721?) in 30-06.

A buddy of mine just got his FIL's Rem. pump rifle chambered for 30 Rem. I think it's a model 14.

I remember Dad and the cousins talking about a 38-40 but don't know the model. They joked about it holding a huge handful of shells but having to wait for that big fat bullet to arrive at the target.

Shotguns that I know of were a Model 12 Win and a AH Fox double, both in 16 gauge.

I've been thinking of borrowing some of those old guns and hunting them again.

Dale

I was nine in Norther MI and we had a lot of hunters around. Dad had his M94, Gramps had a 300 savage. Uncles had single shot bolt 30-30, 351 winchester Auto, 45-70 Winchester Lever, 8 mm mauser cut down. I first carried a SxS 20 - buckshot in one barrel and slug in the other.

My Dad was using a Winchester M-70 .243 FWT. Gun was bought in early 1956 and may have been one of the first in Kentucky. John.

I was raised in a deer camp in Northern Michigan. My grandpa had a 740 remington 30-06, Gram had a 98 mauser 9X57, Mom had a 336 Marlin in 35 rem. Among the uncles and cousins there were several 99's in .250 .300 Sav. and .308, a Rem 760 '06, a few 94's, a couple of 71's in .348 and the odd shotgun. I was blessed being brought into such a diverse group to listen and learn.

Scott

16ga/16ga/8X57JR drilling with 4X scope in claw mounts and the right barrel regulated for Brenneke slugs...a 22 L.R insert for the right shotgun barrel.

It would be legal and appropriate for anything.

Or a Mdl 99 in 300 Svg, as many others mentioned. It's about perfect for the job, IMO.

A Rem model 14 in 35 Rem.Topped of with a 2.5x Lyman Alaskan scope.What a killer.
dave

Very few deer in Mississippi in 58. I wasn't born until 67, but all of the old family guns that I saw from that time were shotguns and 22s. All of the rifles were purchased in the late 60s and 70s.

Let see in the Fall of '58 I turned 9 y/o. I had been shooting a Springfield youth model .22 caliber bolt action single shot since I was 6 y/o. When I turned nine Dad gave me his old .22 Rem Take-Down pump rifle. On Christmas Day of '58 Granddad loaned me a Stevens pump shotgun w/poly-choke from Monkey-Wards and took me to deer camp.
In those days if you were deer hunting you were hunting with dogs in swamps and mature woods on the ridges.
The guns of chose were a pump shotgun, a lever action rifle and a bolt action rifle in that order. There were also a few semi-auto shotguns and rifles around but not many.

If it were me and I had the money...

Marlin 336 in 35Rem with peep sights.

Good for deer, bear (black), moose, pig.

Would be shooting 200g Rem factory or reloading same.

In 1958 I had just received my first 22 rifle and a single shot 16 gauge.

My Uncle, who mentored me, was shooting a Husqvarna 30-06 with iron sites and a 12GA Winchester Model 21.

I never saw the man miss anything he shot at with either

Dad used a custom 98 mauser in 8x57 & a 336 Marlin in 35 rem.. Many had the Model 94 30-30,32Spcl. Model 99 30-30,250-3000,300sav.,303sav,38-55 etc. 30-06 and 270's were popular. 32-40, 32-20, 25-20's,& 218 Bee's were still around, as well as some 348's,351 self loading and the Rem. Pumps. You could even see one of those new things called a 308, I'm sure somebody had one.
It all changed in 64, when the Model 600 came out,and the local serious stalkers choice was the -------------------350 rem.mag..

The only gun at our house was a single shot .22, a Remington that I can't remember the model of. There were no deer to hunt in East Tennessee then. Most guns were squirrel or rabbit/bird guns. Oh yeah, I think I got my first Daisy BB gun that year for Christmas.

Leon

I was 16 in 1958 and got my first deer rifle, a 94 Winchester 30-30 for my birthday. I had dreamed of having one for as long as I could remember. I shot my first of many whitetails with it that November in Downsville NY, in the Catskill Mtn's. I am sitting here looking at that gun as I type this. I don't use it much anymore, but would never part with it. I think my grandson will eventually own it.

Now that is a Classic!

I was 11 in 1958 and the family guns were a Springfield single shot .22, an H&R 12 Ga. single shot, a Colt Woodsman and my grandfather had his LC Smith 12. Small game was all that was available so we hunted squirrel, rabbit and many many quail.

The only deer in Kentucky were a small herd around Mammoth Cave and a smaller herd of Fallow Deer brought in to their Nelson County estate by the Bernheim Family. the first season in North Central Kentucky was in 1966. I hunted first with a 94 Winchester and later with a Sako .243. In the 1960s there were more groundhogs than deer in Kentucky and so that's what I hunted.

In '58 I was an eight year old, and a lot of the stuff being shot by my father, uncles and an older cousin now reside in my gun safe. My dad had an Iver Johnson "champion" 16 ga. break open (primarily for pheasants) and a Winchester model 67 that used to provide my grandmother with rabbits for stew meat back before WWII. One of my uncles had a Luger he brought home from Germany after the war, which was used for shooting rats down at the local dump in the evenings. My older cousin was 16 and was starting to deer hunt with a Stevens model 820B 12 ga. with slugs for western NY state.
I have vague memories of guys who went rifle hunting in the Adirondacks and used various lever guns in 30-30 and an occasional bolt gun that was almost always a 30-06. They always spoke highly of the "ought-six". Once I even saw a bolt action that was for one of those 270 things that that used to get written about by that rifle guy in one of the outdoor magazines that my buddies dad used to get; (musta been O'Connor). Old military surplus rifles were cheap and plentiful. Mostly I recall seeing various Mausers and Lee-Enfields, although an uncle had an Arisaka "wall hanger" over his fireplace.
Varmint hunting was basically Woodchucks, the old 22 Hornet still had a loyal following amongst my dad's generation, who also used to use stealth and stalking to get close enough to pop 'chucks in the head with a 22 rimfire. The 222 was around but I don't recall seeing one. One of my buddies families had a family friend who had a Savage 23-D in 22 Hornet that he owned since the late 30's and I own it today.
A lot of my other gun memories from those days are primarily shotguns; mostly pumps, break-opens and doubles, and nothin' high end; just working class guns. I don't recall seeing a semi-auto shotgun until the 60's. 22 rimfires were common and there were tons of them but I can't recall their identities other than Model 67 Winchester's because that's what my dad owned, and I still have that one.
One last thought that just came to me was my dad telling me about one of their neighbors in the late thirties who used to have several rifles and was pretty darn good with them. This guy was into it so far that he even used to "make his own ammo". I guess today he'd be called a handloader.

I was born in 1958 . Most people hunt deer with hounds. 12GA. shotguns and 30-30s. My dads first deer was killed with a single shot 12ga. 36in. barrled long tom with buckshot. Later years was a surplus 30-06 Enfield and a 1941 potbelly Johnson simi-auto.

In the early '50s I was in my mid teens. Once while visiting an uncle at his farm I heard shooting one morning at a neighbours farm. My uncle said the farmer was a hunter and shooter and had some friends who visited and brought some guns. He asked if I wanted to go and visit.

It was there I first saw heavy barrelled target guns. One of them was either a Wasp or Zipper (remember this was over 50 years ago, you can't expect too much from my memory).

At that time the extent of my arsenal consisted of .22 rimfire and a .410 shotgun so I was duly impressed. It certainly didn't do anything to dampen my enthusiasm for firearms and it hasn't waned since then.

Jim

My Great Grandad was coming to an end of his hunting days around that time, but he was a big fan of his Win 94 in 32 Win Spcl. He lived in rural PA and didnt need a flat shooter. I used the same gun to kill my first deer, which also is my biggest to date.

In 1958 I was 9 yrs. old. There were not a lot of deer to hunt here at the time. Most of the people that I can remember deer hunting used a 30-30 (either Winchester or Marlin) or a 35 Marlin. Scopes were not much used around here.

A Springfield single-shot .410 2 1/2" Daddy bought around 1930, later gave my brother and he me. Anything I killed with it was just down-right unlucky. But I still have it.

I like this topic so much I went and looked up Dad's hunting albums, I could not find '58, but I did find '57. The pictures show him and his crew using Browning A-5's in 16 ga & 12 ga, Remington 11's in 12 ga, one Winchester 12 in 12 ga, Dad with his Remington 1917 20 ga, and one Jap 7.7 mm rifle. The only other gun Dad may have used was an LC Smith in 12 ga, which I do not have. He loaned it to one of his uncles and never got it back. I guess I ought to take a sledge hammer to that great uncle's headstone, but he was never worth that much effort. I on the other hand was four years old and was armed with a Daisy 1925 pump BB gun and had many hunts in our yard where I shot many elk, moose, and black bear. They were just paper targets, but I imagined that I was on hunts all over the country beside Dad.

There were so few deer in North Louisiana in the 1950's that most were taken with the use of dogs. One of Dad's pictures show what looks like three blood hounds, I can't belive these were used to chase deer. I wished I could ask Dad, but he is not here anymore. One thing I do remember Dad talking about, one of his friends that had a 250-3000 Savage, I guess it may have been a 99, but he never said or I don't remember.
Good shooting!
Marcus.