Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Dad's Rifle

Tomorrow is Opening Day here in North Dakota. By now, I've usually spent the last couple of months deciding which of my rifles will be chosen to take this years deer, loads will have been re-tested for verification of accuracy, and (of course) sighted in. This fall, though, a random thought entered my head and kept picking at my brain until I had no choice but to follow it's edict: I am to try and shoot this year's deer with my Dad's 30-06.

I'm not sure exactly when Dad bought this rifle - my brother hypothesized somewhere between 1972 and 1974. I'm guessing 72. Prior to Dad purchasing this rifle, he had hunted a year or two with a surplus 1917 Enfield (Remington), which he detested. Hated the bolt. Hated the peep sight. About the only thing he did like was that it was a 30-06. So when he purchased the "new" Remington, the open sights didn't cut it there either ("Damn comb is too high!")... and on went the 4x Weaver.

I watched my Dad shoot a lot of deer with this rifle - he was a meat hunter, and every year he applied for a doe license, with the buck option as his second choice. And back then, truthfully, bucks were kinda scarce - we might go all fall and not see one...so finding one during the 10 1/2 day season (as I recall - now it's 16 1/2 days) was a bit of a gamble. I can only recall him tagging two bucks with that rifle - a nice 4x4 and a dandy 5x6. As for my brother and I - we've each only shot one deer with Dad's rifle, both does. My brother tagged his first with it, and I took one on a whim back when I was in my twenties.

Dad passed away in 2007, and to my recollection his rifle has sat in the gun cabinet ever since. My brother long ago gave up on deer hunting, in favor of bird hunting. And I have somewhere in the vicinity of 13 different rifles to choose from each fall. So his rifle has sat. Dad liked his Remington rifle, but always seemed to shoot Winchester ammunition in it (he didn't reload). So when I decided to go with his rifle, I went to the store to buy some ammo for it. The local hardware store didn't have any. On a trip to Fargo, I stopped in the Scheels there, and cringed at the prices they were asking. I bought two boxes of the cheapest 150gr loads they had (Federal Non-Typical) and paid them their blood money. I was a bit concerned when I took the rifle to the range - and put a target up at 25 yds to see whereabouts the ancient Weaver was going to put the first round. In the end, the rifle/scope combo is still solid - at least out at 100 yds.





Not bad for a Jam-o-matic 742......

Great story buddy! Ton's of luck out there this fall!

I like stories like you shared - reminds me of time around a campfire. Good luck!

Doggone it, that's a great story and good on you, and now you have me thinking similarly. I just dug my Dad's old 1903A3 sporter out for its biennial cleaning. Haven't shot it in decades, because frankly I don't like it. He simply dropped the metal from the $20 rifle as it came from the DCM 60 years ago into a Fajen stock, and didn't hardly dress down the wood before slopping a couple coats of linseed oil on it. Like your father he eventually installed a Weaver K4, and found it to interfere with the safety. He did what most guys did back then and installed a low-swing safety, but he botched the job and it kept falling out. His falling in love with Savage 99's put the A3 on the back burner from the late 70's until he died in '90, but not until he whacked a bunch of does with it. (Like you, bucks were scarce way back then here in MD.) And I thought I was all set for deer season......

God took my verbally & physically abusive father out of my life in 1970 when I was 12 years old. I have nothing but bad memories of my time with him.

Cultivate any memories you can resurrect that bring you joy thinking of your father. I still try every now and then, but there are none.

That's the BDL MODEL 742 they are a lot rarer than the ADL mod. One for the old man. Youbegettnr.. Best of luck ..mb

I’ll be doing the same. 742, .30-06 with the old man’s 180gr RN reloads. Redfield wide field 3-9x

Good story Kaiser and I hope you get one with your Dad's rifle.

I have my Dad's Remington 760 in .270 and I've used it a time or two in his memory. The old Bushnell Scopechief 2.5x8 he put on it way back when is still dead on with 130 grain Core-Lokt's.

Great story and I now have to get my Dad's Marlin 336 and take it for a walk in the woods!

Been using my Dads pre-64 70 Featherweight since he passed. I did have to replace the Weaver K4. The O rings were coming apart and front lens was loose. Gnoahhh did clean the checkering up for me and refinish it. Didn't hurt value any cause Dad had already refinished the stock at least once. I'd rather have it than about any new rifle I could think of.

I have my dads Ruger 257 Roberts he used the last 10 or 11 years he hunted. He died in 2020 the day before Easter. I dropped a nice fat doe opening morning with it. Must of been pretty windy because I remember my eyes watering awfully bad when I was following the blood trail lol.

I made same decision last year to use my dad's pre 64 model 70 in 308 win I only hunted it in good weather and was very particular about the deer so last day of season got to shoot a Coyote at 100 yards and then 18 minutes later shoot the buck I was after he broke one side of rack off but weighed 188 dressed it is either my heaviest deer or second heaviest

Great accounts fellas. Neat stuff!

Yes they are I should of shared a last year. One of my favorite books as a kid was cartridges of the world third edition where I read the book and fell in love with 308 norma mag which is what I'm going to hunt with this year and if I shoot more than 1 I will use the 308 win to test the norma bondstrike bullet

My Dad died last year, about a week before the Pa. opener. I hunted a lot with his 99 last year. I sighted it and loaded a new box of 300 Sav. this year. Won’t be the only one I hunt with buts it’s in the rotation.

I use my dad’s and grandfather’s rifles every year, even if it’s for a couple of morning sits. I killed a nice buck the season after my dad passed. I’m convinced it was divine intervention that I hit that deer running through the woods past me! I enjoy the stories about other “dads” rifles as well.

I just wish I had grandkids to leave my to !I have 12 and none hunt or shoot!

I’m far from certain that retailers are to blame for the high prices. They are likely just passing along the misery. They also have brick and mortar expenses and people to pay. I know time’s short for you, but online sources often have good sales if you take the time to search a bit.

Good luck with your nostalgia project. Those old BDLs were pretty wild, trying to outdo Roy Weatherby I think. When I was a kid a neighbor who hunted in PA had a pump version.

Used my Dads Remington pump 270 after it sat awhile. Killed a nice buck with it. Put a scope on it and my daughter has killed a couple bucks with it. Hoping my grandson will do the same in about 10 years or so. It’s a 1954 model. Edk

Ether goe get one for dad