The thread about what you used to take your first deer was interesting, and has some photos. But thought it would also be interesting to see us.

This is my first deer, a muley doe taken with my father's Marlin .30-30. The photo was taken by Norman Strung, the well-known outdoor writer who passed away in 1991--a friend of my father, and one of my major mentors in the writing business.

(For those interested, black and white film was the standard back then, except for a few bigger magazines. This was taken with a twin-lens Rollieflex--back then considered a top professional camera.

Didn't have a camera back when I took my first buck back in the 50s.

Photo of a photo from my Mom’s scrapbook.
Fork by spoon whitetail buck from SWOK. Shot him and my next two bucks with my Great Grandfather’s Remington 760 chambered in 244. Oddly enough all three of the little bucks I shot with that rifle weighed 97lb dressed.

Congratulations…….I’m envious!

I was 11 yo by 10 days. Killed a small racked 4x4 Whitetail when hunting with my grandfather. No photos were taken, thankfully I still have that little rack. memtb

I probably posted this in the other thread, but hey, it was a proud moment. I was 13. About a 200ish yard shot across a hollow in a snow storm. Still remember it like yesterday.

Looks like you blew the back legs off John. Good Job/

My very first deer was an unlucky blacktail doe that I whacked with a borrowed 30-30 Win M94.
The 2nd was a husky 3pt with a sporterized Springfield 30-06. But no one ever carried a camera back then.

So all I can offer up is deer #3, a dinky little forked horn.

It's maybe more important that the first two deer anyway, as it was on a hunt where my brother and I camped under a tarp in the back of my pickup truck and hunted totally on our own. It was in the Cascade mountains near Howard Prairie Lake in southern Oregon.

Win M88 in .284 and my own handloaded 130gr Speer Hot Core bullet. I'm 16 years old in the photo.

My first deer was taken with a Smith and Wesson Model 1500, 7mm Rem Mag.
Maybe 1984 or 1985

I have no idea where the pic of my first deer is. I'd have to dig through the photo albums at my parents.

My son got this first deer this year.

Cool pics.

Not real sure but I believe there are only pictures of 4 and maybe 5 deer that I have killed. Rare there was a camera and if there was we generally never worried too much about taking pictures. Same with turkeys. I think there may be 3 pictures of me with a gobbler.

At times I wish we had taken more.

That kid couldn't get any bigger grin if he tried.

Good stuffs right there!👍🏻👍🏻

Haha. Agreed!

Nope!

Spotted the deer's wide-spread ears early in the morning amid the juniper/ponderosa above us, while Norm drove his Dodge Power Wagon up the road in the bottom of a sagebrush draw. Told him to stop, and I eased up through the timber. The deer had bedded by then, and when it stood up about 40 feet away, quartering toward me, I put the crosshairs of the 4x scope on the base of the neck, and it dropped right there. The bullet broke the spine.

The photo was taken after field-dressing the deer, which Norm supervised. This was partly because the light when I shot was too dim for the camera and film--but it was also because both of us wanted the meat to cool as soon as possible. Which is why the hindquarters look like that.

It's still one of the biggest muley does I've taken...and even today I kind of specialize in big muley does.

I regret to say any pics of my first few deer or antelope are long lost...

Great thread MD. Dad took me mule deer hunting in 1971 in the Trans Pecos region of West Texas when I was 11 yrs old. I've been hooked ever since.

This was my second buck. I'll have to dig for a picture of my first.

My brother had killed his early. It was a real wall hanger in those days. I believe I had spooked this buck earlier in the day. Amid a snowstorm again, he came out of a cutover thicket just before dark. The old .300wm did it's work. My grandfather had a buddy hunting with us who was none too happy for fear of getting snowed in. I hadn't given it any thought....

Me with my nephew when he got his first deer. Oh, yeah, he used my .30-30 Marlin that I then gave him. One of my best days....

I don't have a picture of my first deer which I took at the age of 9. I grew up in CO and back then you couldn't hunt big game until you were 14. Both my father and grandfather thought that was a dumb law so at the age of 9 I took a mulie buck on my grandfather's tag with a Win Model 1894 in 30-30. The statute of limitiation has long run out and my grandfather is long dead. The first buck I took on my own license was when I was 14 and it was a fork horn mulie I shot with a 7mm Rem Mag.

Not the best picture but this was in 1976 and we didn't have digital cameras back then and the old Polaroid photo is deteriorating. The next year I took my first bull elk, a spike bull, with the same rifle. This was 1977 and spikes were legal game in CO back then.

They didn’t have photographs when I killed my first

My first deer was an antelope. Wyoming 1962.

That's too bad!

I might have to do a little search among the photos on my computer, but know I have photos of my first mature WT and MD bucks somewhere.

I have my first little rack, will take a pic of it tomorrow

Killed my first deer at 17 in 1965. Taking pictures of deer was just not something we ever did, which was funny because my father was quite accomplished as an amateur photographer. I don’t recall ever being photographed with a deer until I killed a real trophy 10 point WT buck around 1986 or 87.

My first was this little spike from west Texas. Shot him at 210 “yards” (steps 🤣) with a R788 in 22-250. I realized about half way along our 5-hour trip to the deer lease that I forgot my boots, so I had to hunt in my baseball cleats.

Funny you should mention your choice in footwear. For reasons only known to a 10 year old, I killed my first gobbler while wearing a pair of baseball cleats. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Very cool photo!

While photography wasn't as easy back then as digital is today, it's good to see some "period" photos....

John

Southern AZ Coues 1980. No camera available until back in town. Happy but tired...

Somewhere I have a photo of my first. I remember Norm very well. Tried to buy the magazines for the stories he wrote. I didn't know he passed that young.

Rem 870 12 ga

8 year old me. With childhood friend from the neighborhood. Old deer dog named April.
Killed running dogs in Bunnell, Fl
Ithaca model 37 20 gauge

Flhoundhunter28,

Cool photo!

It's always interesting to me how many folks used shotguns on their first deer--and many probably still do, despite newer regulations that allow specific rifle rounds in some areas.

Of course, I was born and raised in Montana, but in recent years some public areas near towns don't allow rifles. My wife especially has used shotguns to take not just deer but a young cow moose. I've also used them some in other places, such as British Columbia to take my biggest black bear, and in Iowa to take a whitetail buck....

Yeah, we had to use shotguns up until 3 years ago. They legalized straight wall rifles and I hope I never have to shoot another 12ga slug for the rest of my life.

My son's first deer when he was 11. Rem 870 20ga Junior Model.

No pictures of my first deer. It was 1978 and I was 17 and had a '70 Camaro RS. I was by myself and I shot it late in the day. After dragging it out, I loaded it in the trunk of my car and headed off to the local country store to check it in. Man, I was on cloud 9. When I finally got home, it was pretty late. My parents were worried about me and my old man was pissed. My father only hunted geese and had never been deer hunting. I told them I shot a deer, so we go out and pull the doe from my trunk to hang it in a tree. There was about 1" of blood in the bottom of my trunk. So my old man blows a gasket and proceeds to give me a rash of schit for getting blood in the bottom of MY trunk. Man, he really knocked the wind out of my sails that day. Don't get me wrong, the old man was a great guy, but he had a bit of a temper and was pretty strict with us kids. I think it all started because I was 2 hours late getting home and they were worried. I cleaned the blood out and it was all good. So, no pictures, just a rash of schit.

It's a region thing for sure. Just about every kid you pass standing on a dog box next to his dad is carrying a shotgun to this day including my own son.
Graduate them to a rifle when they are 13-14 years old. No laws that say they have to it's just the way it is

Fall of 1975 from the original home place of my father's family in Arkansas. I used the Remington 742 that belonged to my uncle. No camera in deer camp. The photo was taken the minute I got home by my proud mother. And yes-those are the clothes I wore that day minus the rubber boots and oversized coat.

Not my first deer, but first branch antlered buck (and first picture I have with a deer. 17 years old senior in high school.

Great buck Cheesy!!



Here’s mine, 16 years old in 1996. I’d never been around deer hunting but wanted to give it a try. I borrowed a boat paddle Ruger 30-06 from a friend and my older brother helped me pick a spot to sit. I shot this guy about 10 minutes after sunrise at 30 yards. I took it by the high school ag department to show it off and ended up getting by butt chewed by the principal for not being in class. Also stopped by the gas station/coffee shop in town. The new owner there offered to help me gut the buck, followed me home and took this picture. That guy ended up dating and then marrying my mom. He’s still my stepdad 27 years later.

That's crazy

My son with his first deer
6 years old
H&R .243

My boys and their first bucks - Applegate country blacktail.
Top pic deer taken with a Browning micro medallion in .223. Bottom buck with SAKO .243.

That’s a great story and an awesome deer. I love it!

Great pictures! That lower blacktail is very nice with a cool rifle as well! Great pictures of the boys!

[/quote] Great pictures! That lower blacktail is very nice with a cool rifle as well! Great pictures of the boys![/quote]


I second that! Love a Sako and a mannlicher on top of that

Nothing here. This first picture taken was in 1995 with my first elk.

From the early to mid 60s until about 1998 I never had a single picture of any animal I ever hunted or killed. Our family didn't own a camera at all until the late 70s, and I never took it on any trips anywhere.
To this day I have very few pictures of myself (or anything dealing with me,) from about 1979 back to the mid 50 and -------------- probably only 10 pictures of me from 1979 to this day.

As I age, not ever having a camera (or having one with me) is now something I have some regrets over--------- but it's too late to change that now.

Never too late buddy!

Sure wish I had one

1987 PA archery season

Real high-class photography, lol...this would have been in 1995 I believe about 10 miles south of Canton, Texas. There wasn't a ton of deer around the area in those years. An acquaintance from school invited me to sit in a tree with him one evening and this deer stepped out shortly after that. I was so excited I drove the five miles home with the parking brake on.

Probably around 1974 or 1975. My first deer, a blacktail doe taken along the southern Oregon coast. Rifle was my dad's Remington model 600 in 6.5 Rem Mag, as I recall it was a handful to shoot as a new hunter

That is a GREAT picture.. Man, what a scene!

Thanks - the orange VW bus in the background sure was a great rig. My dad put some bigger tires on that thing and we sure could get into places you never think a VW could drive into. Lots of great memories from back then.

My father had a pretty similar VW bus when I started hunting. It got around pretty well in southwestern Montana with bigger mud-snow tires, with that engine in the rear and good clearance. It wasn't a real off-read rig, but never got stuck!

Relatively few 4WD vehicles were around in those days, mostly Jeeps (the majority WWII surplus) and some Dodge Power Wagons--which was what my mentor Norm was driving when I got my first deer.

That tends to happen in the west!

My wife Eileen's first "deer" was a pronghorn buck as well, taken at around 200 yards in 1984. She didn't get her first deer, a whitetail doe, until the next fall.

1985, 10 yo, 5 miles from my current locale, Ruger 77 6mm, 3-9 Burris, 87 gr Hornady. 19” outside, took several years to top it. Amazing experience, much thanks to my old man.👊🏻

I would post a picture but cameras hadn't been invented yet. There is a cave drawing somewhere that my artist friend Thag did. Deer had fangs back then....

👍 very true, my younger brothers first “deer” was an antelope the next year. 😎
Eileen’s goat looks to be a very nice one with those ivory points.

Taken November 1989 in Marion Co, WV on a family friends farm. I shot this 5 point with my dad’s pre-64 model 70 in 243. The shot was about 60 yards. It was pretty much a bang, flop. I was also wearing my dad’s old buffalo plaid wool suit. I still remember it like it was yesterday.

Very cool! Including you dad's plaid wool....

This was 1984-85 circa with a bow.

That was Sunday, November 22 1987. I was hunting a friend’s family’s property in Pierrepont NY, the guy on the far right holding the tenderloins away from Snoop. His father, and the four of us kids, made a series of small drives on the property that morning. It was too cold to do much sitting, around 10 degrees if I remember correctly. I was a stander on a good runway and the drive worked perfectly. A group of 3 or 4 does along with this awesome 7 point came charging right past me. I made a perfect double lung shot on the running buck at about 30 yards with my trusty little Model 94 Trapper .30-30.
Back in those days, deer populations were much lower than today, and almost any buck was hard earned, especially when you were a kid and really didn’t know what you were doing! I look at that photo and think how many miles we walked in everyday clothes and leaky work boots. I wouldn’t trade a minute of it for anything in the world.

Great story and photo! Especially love the dog looking at the tenderloins....

Theres only one picture of my 1st buck with me in the pic and I dont have a clue where its at. My sister thinks my mom has it. But I have this one which mom took as soon as me and my dad made it back from "camp". It was 1993, I was 23. To this day I cant believe it took me from 12-23 to kill a buck But dad and my uncles just took us out in the mountain and said sit here, good luck. We never really scouted, just where ever you saw deer one time is where you went. Shot couple doe, but that started to be frowned upon, doe really outnumbered buck then. Doe werent pic worthy I guess, cause none of my cousins have pics of their 1st does either.



I put camp in quotes cause we didnt have our own camp yet, and my uncle Eddy's camp was full. So my old man bought a beat up Winnebago....I gotta take a 2nd to see if I can find a pic of that




There it is lol. Bought it that summer and the roof leaked so my old man fixed that. Had some issues with the 413, fixed that. New tires, all kinda stuff. Its funny thinkin back now. On the way to "camp" the fuel pump went bad and left us sit right at Lock Haven college just past the light to Renovo. I was behind him in the Wagoneer so dad jumped in that and headed to the auto parts store and he grabbed some tubing, wire and an electric pump and he plumbed it up and strapped it to the frame. Hey...it worked and got us where we needed to go lol.

We parked at a little pull off right near the swamp, bout a mile from where camp...well house, where dad lives now. Wrapped some plastic tarps 'round some trees, put a bucket with seat in there for a toilet and we were set.

Opening morning me and my cousin drove dads old Wagoneer up to the top of the mountain. We walked the whole way out this gas line. I had my 1st and only rifle with me, 336 marlin in 35 rem. Still got it, if I remember right its a 1957 or '58. Anyhow, we get out as far as we could go on the gas line before it dropped off again and walked up the mountain to a bench. I sat down by a tree and my cousin walked about 50 yards to my left and sat down. Wasnt there an hour and here come a doe with this buck behind her. I pulled up and shot! He ran off and I ran over to my cousin. I said lets go see if we got blood. He said what? I said didnt you hear me shoot?? I just shot a nice buck! He said he didnt hear anything. I think he fell asleep lol.

We looked and couldnt find hair, blood...nothin. It was about 9:30 now, so I said its cold, lets go back to camp and get some lunch and then get back out here before the other hunters leave for lunch, theyll surely push something out. So we did just that. When we got back to camp dad was there and I told him the story. He said the scope must be off, here, take my 6mm. Dad just bought that before the trip. It was a remington 600 6mm with vented rib. Never shot the gun myself so wasnt sure I could hit anything, but I didnt have faith in the 35 after missing that buck. It was probably me, but why chance it?

So off me and cousin went back out to the same spot. The temp dropped 20 degrees and its a helluva walk out that gas line. We finally get out there and start up to the bench. My cousin Bobby was in front of me and we got to the laurel he yelled HORNS!! I looked up and that same buck was facing us then took off to our left. I pulled the 6mm up and BANG!! The buck went down! And my cousin started runnin toward it. I yelled for him to stop, the buck was still kickin his back legs and told him I gotta finish him off. So I pulled up again and shot him in the chest finishing him off. At the time I didnt think about how much meat I was ruining I just knew to finish him so he wouldnt get back up and run off. When we gutted it we saw he wasnt gonna get back up. I hit him in the hind quarter and the bullet drove up and along his spine just short of his neck.

I was so shook up I couldnt gut him lol. My cousin never gutted one so I talked him through it while I smoked half a pack of cigarettes lol. Soon as he started gutting him it started snowing. Finished gutting and it was really snowing now. I was afraid we wouldnt be able to drag that buck back up to the Jeep.



Red arrow is where I shot him, yellow is as far as we could drag him. By this time it was almost 4 inches of snow on the ground. I asked cousin if I should try to bring the Jeep down that mountain. We both looked up and there was a smaller vehicle parked beside dads Jeep. I said im goin for the Jeep, if anything happens those guys will help us. I get up there and its 2 old men in a 40 some model Willys, they had a rifle I never saw before on a bench that the top swiveled. Said they were long range huntin. I never heard of that before, but by the looks of their spotting scope and the barrel length on that rifle it looked like they done this before lol Just lookin at it it looked like it weighed a ton.

The one older guy said we been watchin you young men drag that deer and wonderin how far youd get. Looks to be a nice one. I said thanks, but we cant drag it any farther so im gonna try to drive down and load it up, but im scared we aint gonna be able to make it back up the gas line. He said no worry, we got a winch we can get ya up. Hey boy, when ya get back up here stop, we'd like to get a look at that buck. I said sure thing, thanks! Jumped in dads Jeep, and went to put it in 4 low. I knew how to do that in his old Wagoneer, but this one didnt have a shifter. Then I remembered dad said this was fulltime 4wd and the "shifter" was a knob in the glovebox. So I opened the glovebox and turned the knob. Off I went.

I slid the whole way down that damn gas line, ass cheeks clinched!! Got down to Bobby and he said I thought you were gonna slide right on past me! LOL! So we opened the back and put the buck inside. I said you ready for this? Bobby said im ready. And I floored that sucker!! We were spinning like hell!! Dumb as hell, but I was scared we wouldnt make it. But sob we sure did! And I was so pumped about making it up that hill when we got to the top I forgot to stop and show those old guys my buck like they asked, just waived and kept goin. I still regret that. Hate to think what they were sayin about me.

We got down to the bottom of the mountain and looked across the hard road up the other side of the gas line. I told Bobby thats dad, lets go show him. He said that aint yur dad. One way to find out, so we drove up. And sure as hell it was. I stopped short 200 yards or so and yelled up I got that buck dad!!! He yelled back oh yur full of schit.....something he'd say many more times throughout life when id get something, he'd always say it, oh yur full of schit LOL. I said no im serious we got him stuffed in the back. He said if you got that buck you can have that 6mm. I yelled DEAL!! He said I was full of schit 3 more times til he got about 40ft away and he could see the horns stickin up, HUGE smile on his face! I think his smile beat mine that day! He said well deals a deal, guess you got a buck and a new rifle and patted me on the back.

He jumped in and we drove over to Eddy's camp to show off and brag. Eddy and them were already done for the day and sitting around drinking. Think they all tied a big one on that night!! LOL.

I said many times before on here about that 6mm. My dad loved that gun, and unfortunately I had to sell it when I left an ex of mine. Dad was pissed but understood. Later he bought 2 more 6mm's, Winchester featherweights. He had to sell one when him and mom got divorced. The other featherweight he hunted for years. I always teased him about that one and he said there aint no way I get that one after I sold that 1st 6mm. But you know how dads are. Eventually he ended up givin his favorite featherweight to me. Still got THAT 6mm, and ill be damned but ill die before that leaves my possession.

Sorry I rambled as much, but that hunt was one of my favorites, for many reason. Take care now.

What a great story.

Glad you enjoyed

You know I gotta add somethin here. When I shot that buck it took 4 of us to lift him up on that Jeep. It was a 4hour drive home. Didnt matter if it was in a small town or on the highway comin down RT 15, everybody and I mean EVERYBODY beeped and waved, kids just stared with smiles. Today its almost "expected" that you cover your animal for fear of offending someone. Damn shame what its come to. For the record, its been 3 years since I got a buck, but to this day I still proudly display my animal. If it offends someone, so be it. I have a right to be proud and ill be damned if ill bend just to appease a bunch of pussies. End rant.

No poobs, they are still on the wall of the cave where you drew them as an adolescent.

good story Hick, I enjoyed it

👍

My family didn't own a camera then. I bet I didn't get a picture of any game I ever killed until I was in my mid 20s and I was killing deer at about 8 years old.

Like szihn no pictures . Fact is I took the first deer picture I ever took last season. Never been big on taking pictures of dead stuff.

I never took a photo of my very first buck. I was so excited to shoot the buck it didn't occur to me to take photos

The deer was a young 8 point.