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In 1958 I wanted a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in .270 Winchester (because Jack O'Connor so recommended) or in .30-06 (because Colonel Townsend Whelen had declared "The .30-06 is never a mistake.") I wanted a Weaver K-4 in Weaver mounts on that rifle, and I wanted to load it with DuPont IMR 4350 to push a 180 grain Nosler Partition bullet because Jack O'Connor and Warren Page both said that Nosler bullets actually did what Nosler claimed they would do. And because Jack O'Connor said that a Bausch & Lomb 7x35 binocular was a good compromise, I wanted one of those too.
All of my firearms knowledge came from books and magazines; I lived in an anti-gun and non-hunting family. That didn't matter. I knew what I wanted!
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The 30,06 would have to be the cartridge,(cause it still is as good as any). The .270 would be a close second, and I bet there were a lot more 03 and 03A3s in the hunting camps back then.
If you had the money iam sure the Model 70 was the cadilac.
But just think I bet a guy could get a JC Higgins prety cheap then , and the higgins in either cartridge is sort of plain jane , but no rifle could be a much better tool for taking game, even today.
An 45, thanks for pickin 1958 , I was in the womb from about october of that year & I like the rare ocasion I still get to say I was,t born yet.
I think The dogers were still in broklyn and the Giants in new york !
...tj3006
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tj3006, the Brooklyn Dodgers played their final game at Ebbets Field on Sept. 24th 1957, they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0. The 1958 season was played in L.A. 58 was a good year.
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tj3006, the Brooklyn Dodgers played their final game at Ebbets Field on Sept. 24th 1957, they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0. The 1958 season was played in L.A. 58 was a good year.
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I think it would have to be a Winchester M-70 in 270 or 06'. For some perhaps a 721 Remington in similar calibers.
270
Member: NRA Life Benefactor
Gun Owners of America
2nd Amendment Foundation
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Where did you get your griz?
It was on my grandfather's homestead near Horse Butte. We used to hunt the bears at the garbage pits that the Forest Service had dug for the local campgrounds. My brother and I were sneaking into one by Beaver Creek one afternoon and caught a bear in the pit. My brother shot it and we went over to investigate the bear before my dad made it in with the pickup truck. Bears will eat anything and let their intestines sort it all out, this one was no different, as there was a plastic Eddy's Bread sack coming out of it's butt. When dad showed up, we didn't really know how to bring attention to the bear's butt, but we had to say something. When we showed him the bread sack, I remember distinctly how he advised us on our discovery. Being a Montana born and raised cowboy, he was never a real diplomat, but he was more eloquent about this than any situation I can recall..."Don't mention any of this to your mother". Advice heeded and remembered for over 40 years.
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Campfire Outfitter
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When dad showed up, we didn't really know how to bring attention to the bear's butt, but we had to say something. When we showed him the bread sack, I remember distinctly how he advised us on our discovery. Being a Montana born and raised cowboy, he was never a real diplomat, but he was more eloquent about this than any situation I can recall..."Don't mention any of this to your mother".
Advice heeded and remembered for over 40 years.
That is funny. Brings to mind a wiener dog my mother had. For some reason he ate the Christmas tree tinsel. It doesn't digest very well. We called him our Christmas dog 
Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it.
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
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!!!!
My grandparents homesteaded on Bear Creek south of Roy. My dad said that a couple of the guys from the neighborhood (if you can call Bohemian Corner a neighborhood) killed the last grizzly reported in the Judiths when my dad was a kid. They were out looking for something, probably both cows and "free" meat, cause one of the guys had a .30-06 along, when a big grizzly charged them. The guy with the .30-06 ran, but the other guy had a Colt single-action .45 and started putting lead into the bear. It fell dead on top of him.
So I guess the .25-35 and .45 Colt will work on grizzlies.
Last edited by Mule Deer; 12/21/08.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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You want an all around rifle for hunting "the West," whatever that means  What do you pick? If you were alive then, what did you pick? Heck, I was there, and I went with a .30-'06. In my case a Rem M721 from the Sears, Roebuck in Salinas, California...jim
LCDR Jim Dodd, USN (Ret.)
"If you're too busy to hunt, you're too busy."
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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Shrapnel,
Just out of curiousity, how many times did you shoot the bear, and where?
An old buddy of mine grew up near Polson. His family had a some resort cabins they rented out on Lake Mary Ronan. When 10-12 he was assigned to shoot the black bears that came into the dump on the place. His rifle was a Krag. It always worked. he has no idea what some of the bullets were.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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You only need 4 rifles for all Western Hemisphere game, a 22 LR, a 22 Hornet, a 257 Roberts, and a 30-06. Why do have 9 times more rifles than I need?
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Joined: Jan 2006
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2006
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Where did you get your griz?
It was on my grandfather's homestead near Horse Butte. We used to hunt the bears at the garbage pits that the Forest Service had dug for the local campgrounds. My brother and I were sneaking into one by Beaver Creek one afternoon and caught a bear in the pit. My brother shot it and we went over to investigate the bear before my dad made it in with the pickup truck. Bears will eat anything and let their intestines sort it all out, this one was no different, as there was a plastic Eddy's Bread sack coming out of it's butt. When dad showed up, we didn't really know how to bring attention to the bear's butt, but we had to say something. When we showed him the bread sack, I remember distinctly how he advised us on our discovery. Being a Montana born and raised cowboy, he was never a real diplomat, but he was more eloquent about this than any situation I can recall..."Don't mention any of this to your mother". Advice heeded and remembered for over 40 years. Re the bread sack out the butt - Maybe he was an early ecologist and packaging his schitt for re-cycling
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Joined: Oct 2007
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Well, I was not around but I still hunt with the rifle my grandfather hunted with then a Rem. 721 in 30-06 with a weaver K-4 scope, I did change the scope. Despite having other rifles it seems my 721 is the luckiest of the bunch killing most of my game. On my Wifes side of the family all of her people hunted with open sighted Savage 99 take down versions of the 250-3000 and 30-30's. All of her people hunted out in West Texas near Marfa and the rifles saw daily use on the ranch.
On a side note...Were there any of the Belgium Brownings on the market yet, I think I would take one of those if I was alive then.
Chance
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What year was the 300 Win Mag introduced?
All the cartridges listed were probably popular, the 303 still works up here. +1 around here too ... every hunting camps got one hidden somewhere ...
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There weren't nearly as many Model 70's in hunter's hands as some of us would prefer to believe, mostly because they cost more than other rifles. I would've picked the M70/'06 combo as well, but the above quote makes me curious, what were typical 1958 retail prices for a; winchester M70 Remington 721 Savage 99 Winchester 94 surplus 1903 surplus SMLE or No.4 Browning FN anything else that was common ...... thanks
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
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In the 1958 GUN DIGEST the basic Remington 721 is listed at $95.25, the "standard" Model 70 Winchester at $129.95. This may not seem like much, but it's the same difference as between rifle costing $500 today and one costing $682.
The Savage 99-EG is listed at $113.65. The lowest grade of Weatherby Mark V was $265.
I have some old AMERICAN RIFLEMANS from that period but ain't going to drag them out right now. I do remember magazine ads in the early 60s that had SMLEs for as little as $10-15, military Mausers for $20, and Springfields of various kinds from $30 to $40.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Campfire Tracker
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I would have liked to seen those days.
ddj
Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau
The best part of hunting and fishing was the thinking about going and the talking about it after you got back. - Robert Ruark
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OP
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On a comparative level, we are living in those days. I see Remington 721's for sale for under $300 routinely, often with a Weaver K4 on board. Pre-64 Winchesters, anywhere other than the internet, are regarded as just old 30-06's and can be had for under $600 in good condition, often, again, with the old Weaver K4 on top. Today classic rifles are everywhere, languishing on racks. I believe this to be the fault of too many insolent grandchildren who sell off heirlooms to fund Ipods. Their loss is my gain though 
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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A decent salary in those days was $8,000 per year.
First gun prices I remember were around the late 1960's. Ruger Blackhawks were $96.50 for the longest time, the SBH was expensive at around $112. My father bought a Colt Gov't Model .45 for $99 in 1969 and I remember the pained look on his face over how danged expensive that was.
Gunnery, gunnery, gunnery.
Hit the target, all else is twaddle!
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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In 1958 $10,000 a year was considered pretty good pay for a professional man (women got paid less), and a blue-collar worker often got around $100 a week. That would pay for a 721--before taxes.
Today many people consider consider $30,000 a year on the slim side. That's about $14 an hour, or around $577 a week, just enough to buy a Ruger 77--before taxes.
When I started working on Montana ranches and farms in the late 1960's, the average daily pay was $12, plus room and board, for an experienced man. That's about $3750 a year, working 6 days a week, which was common except during harvest when you typically worked 7. I got $5 a day for my first full-time ranch job.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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