I mowed grass all summer long and saved and saved until I was able to tell a family friend with an FFL that I had enough money, $275,It was 7600 in 30/06. At the time I got it I hardly weighed 100lbs and the thing felt like it weighed as much as I did. I couldn't afford a good scope so I did have to wait until the next summer when I got a Vari-XIII 2.5-8x Leupold from the same guy for $165.
That first season I hunted without a scope. The very first day I took it to the woods was opening day and that evening killed my first deer with a rifle, a spike buck. That rifle was stolen.
I hunted with a left hand 25/06 for several years and the found i had an addiction to Marlin lever action rifles. Many years after my 7600 was stolen I read (on line) that Remington was ceasing production so that convinced me to get another. When I learned that Grice had some made up for them in 35Remington and 35Whelen I decided that I needed one to commemorate my first centerfire rifle. My local FFL had my 35Rem 7600 carbine. (18.5 barrel) I kept it unfired for about a year then sold it to finance something else that I don't even remember. Fast forward>>
Summer 2018 I decided I needed another. This time I wanted one with the white line spacers and the impressed "checkering." I had a LH 3 0/06 M77 so I wanted to do something a little different than before and found a late 1980's 35Whelen on an auction site and made it mine. I had taken the scope off of my original 7600 - 30/06 and had it on another rifle when the 7600 was stolen. So I was once again with a Remington 7600 and put my very first scope on it---the Leupold 2.5-8x. I've had it for a couple seasons now but it seems like
deja vous---------the first day..... the evening hunt..... a spike buck!
I hope that this 7600 and I are together a long, long time
