Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire First Deer Rifle

My first deer rifle was a Savage 110 LH .243 that I saved up and bought myself. I started my son with a .243 and would recommend it or .260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmoor. Any of those cartridges in a bolt action rifle that he’s comfortable handling could last him a lifetime for mid-sized game or predators. Put a Limbsaver recoil pad on it to really reduce felt recoil!

Winchester 94 30-30 was my first; Aunt & Uncle bought it for me for my birthday.

My oldest son has a .257 Rob and my younger a 6mm-250.

If I were going for under $600 today I’d look for a post 64 model 70 in .243 Win or 7-08 Rem.

Hope to see pics of your brood with their kills and that rifle!

My first deer was shot in the face with a Rem 1100. There were few deer and no season in my area until I was in my 20's. They were a pest, messing up the rabbit hunting.

First centerfire was Interarms Mark X in .243, traded it off for my first 1911, wish I still had it.

A Remington 700 BDL 30-06 that I bought with money saved up from my paper route and my uncle adding $100. Bought at Williams Gun Sight.

first deer shot with a single shot .410 with slugs

first "big boy" deer rifle was a marlin 30-30

today there are plenty of sub $600 rifles that would make a fine first/only/lifetime deer rifle

My first deer was with my grampa's Marlin 336 RC .30-30.
"MY" first "deer" rifle was a Parker-Hale .270 Win I swapped a Ruger .41 Rem Mag for.
Gramps old .30-30 is now on my youngest kids gun safe.
My family just wasn't into buying and/or selling guns.
You only bought what you needed and used it until it was useless.

My first rifle was an old Enfield .303 Brit. That weighed 346 pounds. The first one that was mine, I got from my dad the next year, Remington 742 in odd-6. That rifle burned up when our house burnt down.

Mine was an old Marlin .30-30 that belonged to my Grandpa. It was a great rifle to get started with. It gets the honor of our first deer hunt every season, by either myself or my son.

Mine was a Savage 110LH in 30-06.

Sold it years later for a Ruger 77LH in 30-06, for a 13 year old I'd go with anything accurate that fits him in 7mm08 or .308 just for ammo availability, maybe a .270 if you live in open country.

25.06, 7mm-08, 308 win, pick whichever you can find and ammo for.

Me too. I have the short jungle carbine. Open sights with a flip up peep sight. Not accurate for me on long shots, but plenty accurate and lethal in thick timber where a long shot might be 100 yard at most. Harvested a lot of deer and elk with that thing.

My first deer rifle was a 1977 Marlin 336 in 30-30 that my folks bought for me at the local farm supply store fr $88 brand new. It will still kill deer just as well as it did 45 years ago.
Now that I've had both the Marlin and Winchester 30-30's I can say I much prefer the Marlin as it's way easier to disassemble/assemble for cleaning etc.
It sounds like your grandson isn't recoil sensitive since he was smiling after firing your 30-06 so that might make your cartridge decision easier. Like others have said, I too would recommend looking for a used Tikka in your price range. They're accurate, reliable and I like the 2 position tang safety for simplicity. Put a Burris 3-9 Fullfield II on it and he will be set for a long time.
Congratulations to your grandson and good luck with your search.

I looked at those, but right when I was about to order one I ran across a like new ruger ranch in 300bo that still had the stickers on it for 375. May pick one up anyway when my can arrives.

The supersonic 300 in his video didn't seem very loud either.

Winchester model 94 classic in 30-30. It had a heavy octagon barrel and was pretty damn accurate. One of a few rifles I regret selling.

Savage 110E 30-06
Bought at Rose's Five & Dime $199.99
Son still uses it.
Dad bought for me as an early Christmas around 1981-2

Marlin Glenfield 30/30 lever topped with a 4X scope. $99 total.

-Ken

Mine was a Savage 170 in 30-30.

If I was outfitting a kid with a new rifle, (in your price range) I'd look hard at a Howa or Bergara in 6.5 Creed or 7mm-08. Since he is going to inherit an 06 why not give him something more mild that he can hone his rifle skills with? The Creed, like it or not is here to stay and there is ammo everywhere for it.

Though perhaps considered a tad heavy, these weigh more due to having a flat-bottom action vs round profiles found on many bolt guns. That and I'm pretty sure a vanguard will have a standard 24" barrel.

I believe the basic design is a copy of a old sako model (L61 I think). The only significant change on these rifles since being made has been a 3 position safety and a 2-stage trigger.

I personally think they're the most manufacturing bang for the entry level buck. A Vangurd to me is the prettier of the two.......both will accept the same series of B&C medalist stocks should the need for a new look arise down the road.

Marlin 30-30 for me. For a kid something that fits and does not kick much. Iffin ya roll your own the world is your oyster.