Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 1st Centerfire Rifle You Shot

30 Carbine on a deep sea fishing boat off of Mobile, AL in the 7th grade.

7x57. Sometime around age 8 or 9. Followed by a 3030, then a .303.

Winchester 1892 SRC in 32WCF. Still have it...

I believe it was my dads Remington 788 222 Rem. He was very fond of that caliber.

Winchester 94 rifle in 30-30

7.7mm arrisaka. Cut down to "spoterized" the stock, taillight and steel but plate kicked like a mile to a 9 yr old. Happy memories 😀😀

Darn good start as well 😀

My big brothers Weatherby Mark V in 257 wthby mag, He owned a big salvage yard and on saturdays him and his shooti'n buddy's used to shoot up the junk cars stacked up for scrap. One of them bet him $50 he couldn't shoot out a door lock @ 100 yds. He took the bet, as he was a handloader and shot hundreds of rounds per week in various rifles! He proceeded to punch out not one, but five or six locks in a row, But then he missed by something like 8 inches, he tried again, same thing 8" low and to the right, WTF? I said let me try it! he said go ahead, it ought to good for a laugh! I was like 14 and never shot anything but my 22 rimfire and 20 ga slug gun. I held 8" inches high and to the left and punched out three locks and then got cocky and missed the fourth by a half inch! He said you little fugger your holding on the other side! YUP i was, and i got my $50 too! Turns out the stock had cracked at the wrist because it wasn't relieved enough at the tang! common problem on 257 bee's at the time!

Dad’s sporterized O3A3 in 25-06.

A Century Arms sporterized M93 mauser in 7x57. It shot so good in my 14 year old eyes that I spent money on it for d& t, bolt bending, low swing safety and a blue job.
Later fitted it to a E C Bishop blank. Taught me about reloading and shot my first whitetail buck with it. Yeah I still have it. Mb

SMLE No.4 Mk. 1, purchased at Joe the Motorists Friend in Hanover, PA for $14.95.

Either a M95 Mauser in 7 x 57 with a horrid barrel or an Argentine M91 Mauser in 7.65 x 53 that was "sportereized" and in nice shape. I remember a friend shooting the M95 at a target and cutting the wire the target was hung from several feet from the target. Long time ago and far, far away.

A Winchester model 94 in 32 Winchester Special made in 1949 was the first centerfire I shot. I still own and enjoy it.

Remington model 14 in 30 Remington. I was 10 and old enough to finally go hunting. Dad figured I'd better be able to handle and shoot the rifle, so he took me out and taught me how to use it.

I was 13 and it was a "mean kicking" H&R single shot 30-30. Best I could do was a 4+" 3 shot group at 100yds. I never killed anything with it, hated it, later traded it for a 16ga double.

Rem 600 Mohawk .308 with a Tasco 3-9x40 and 150NBT over W748. Stood on a milk crate and propped it on the hood of Dad's Bronco. Pulled the trigger on a water-filled Weider Protein steel can (remember those?) and blew it up at 50yds. Then we went hunting and I shot my first deer at a bit over 100yds. I believe I was 10 years old, but remember it all.

The Remington made Springfield 03A3 my Dad converted to a "hunting" rifle and gave to me when I was 14. I used it to take a moose and caribou on the same day in 1965 in the Slana River valley where my folks built a retirement home. I was 15 at the time and it was a thrilling day for me. The old battle rifle is now a 338-06 and has been customized. I gifted it to my manly grandson who is now 17. He likes it!

Savage 24 222/20 about 1976 followed by a savage 340 30-30

94 Winchester 30-30 when i was 12 , but i did get my 12 year old son a much better safer rifle Remington 700 - 7mm-08 in 1999 , but son`s 1st centerfire he shot was a Sako 17 Remington at age 7

Model 94 Winchester 30-30 borrowed from an uncle.