Any good memories?

41

My name says it all.....my Dad's 99

Pre-64 Win 1894 30-30 my Grandpas rifle.

My dad's Rem.721 in .270 Win.

My uncle's Remington model 8 .35 Remington autoloader.

1894 wINCHESTER .25-35.

Dad's model 94 in .32 Win. Spec.
My first out-of-state deer hunt, in 1972.
I felt like a man among men, at age 14.

Grandpa’s MkV .300 Weatherby Mag when I was 11.

M16A1, and lots of it.

My boat paddle stocked Ruger in .243. Had a VariX ll 2-7x33 on it. I used it for quite a few years on everything from rabbits to pigs and goats. But then I bought my first .257 Roberts and the .243 sat up the back of the safe for about 15 years. I couldn't sell it as it was my first rifle. I replaced the stock with a walnut take off for $100 which looked nice, the walnut and stainless steel. But I finally rebarrelled it a couple of years ago to 6.5 CM. I replaced the Leupold with a 6x42 Meopta but didn't really like it as the Meopta is a big scope for a 6x. So I replaced that with a 6x38 Weaver after reading about them In Rifle Loony News. And now I actually get to shoot the rifle a bit more.

The stupid thing is when I took the Loopy off and put the Meopta on, I think I put the Loopy in the Meopta box. I remember throwing the Meopta box in the recycling..................and I think I threw the Leupold scope out as I can't find it anywhere. Duh! Shame as they are great little scopes and I still have two more that get used a bit.

SMLE MkIII*

My father’s Ruger M77 chambered in 22-250.

Me too!

My cousin's Winchester model 94 30-30

Winchester 94 30-30

My dad's Sako L579 243 Winchester when I was 12, my dad gave it to me a few years later. I still have that rifle but re-barreled it about 20 years ago to 22-250AI

1903 Springfield, circa 1964.

My dad's friends 22-250. Don't know what model gun though.

Dayum Jordan!!

Not sure which one was first.... It was 54 or so years ago. Either my buddies old Savage 23D .22 Hornet or an old Mosin Nagant that had been butchered including a hacksaw shortened barrel that was only an inch or two over legal minimum. IIRC it wasn't recrowned either. A real muzzle blast flamethrowing special.

New recruit. Seventeen years old. M16A1 RJ

Probably dad’s 722 222. My first center fire was a 7.92x57 Mauser, which dad later installed a Sharon 6mm barrel and I ordered a Herters grade “C” stock. We put on an after market trigger - it was a cheapy. It wore a 6x Weaver scope from El Paso. That rifle loved IMR4350.

Damn right good memories, that started it all with me, was 5 or 6, rifle was either a heavy barreled 700 Remington in 243 or 6mm, it was on a bipod, i remember a green canvas type bag for the rear, also remember the scope, it looked two feet long and had external springs on it, i always shot yellow pennzoil cans, i dont remember the yardage, also remember Dad stuffing cotton balls in my ears.

Memories? you bet Sir.

November 1978, neighbor's springfield 30-06

I would have been eleven a the time, tagging along on a deer hunting trip in western SD.

Lee Enfield, No I MK3* that I bought mail order for 12.95 with my paper route money and I still have it today

Sears bolt action 30-06 my senior year of high school. Borrowed it from a buddy for a short notice trip to KY for deer season.

Winchester M94 30-30

My dad's Winchester model 1894 SRC in 25-35.

M1 Carbine

A borrowed Sporterized Ariska. The game warden asked us to hunt down a pack of wild dog that were killing deer, I borrowed my buddies dads rifle and he carried a shotgun. After the first trip he wanted the rifle so his dad dug out a German Hammer Drilling in 16ga/16ga/9.3x72R and my love for drillings was imbedded, a pair of buckshot shells up and 200gr of lead under worked well for the project and my buddy could reach out for the long ones.

My brothers Winchester 1907 351 WSL.

Mine also was a Winchester 94 carbine in 25-35.

Rich

My Winchester Model 88 in .308 Win. that I bought when when I was 14! Picked up a lot of pecans, and mowed a few lawns to make the purchase! Thanks to the outrageous price of ammo, about $3.00 to $4.00 per box......I was hand loading at 15 years old! memtb

Probably my sporterized 03-A3 .30-06.

My uncle was a machinist and part time gunsmith who among others built a fine sporter using a small ring mauser action. It was chambered in 300 Savage and my Dad had to have it. Quite a thump for a 9 yr skinny kid! Sadly, it was stolen in the late 60's and I've looked for it ever since.

Winchester 94 30-30

This one right here...



My dad got it new in 1965 for his 12th Birthday. He gave it to me on my 12th and now it belongs to my oldest son.

My uncle’s 788 in .222. I was convinced it was the greatest rifle and cartridge ever

Can't be sure, probably a 30-30 M94...

I’m in the same boat as as 300 Savage, but chambered in 303 Savage.

Tikka 695 SS in 30-06

Nice!!!! My first was a Mini-14, stainless....was always impressed with the A-Team growing up, until you realize they fired 5,000 rounds and no one even got hurt. I remember at drill one weekend, we had "try the Guard on". We had a 16 year old kid, who had only fired a BB gun. We had Ma Deuces set up on tripods for weapons qual. He fired a 100 round belt for his first centerfire experience......everything for him has had to be a let down.......since then!!!!

Saved up my summer farm work money and bought a Remington 742 in 30/06 ,the guy at the hardware store tossed in a box of 150 corlocks . Shot em up before I got back home ,by the next season I had learned to reload to feed my habit.

My uncle had borrowed an unsporterized "Seven Millimeter Mauser" from a neighbor to hunt deer with one fall. One day when we were visiting my cousin and I grabbed the rifle and some cartridges and ran to the river to try it out. I remember well standing on a bluff overlooking the North Fork of the Red River and aiming at a point on the other side with fear in my heart at the thought of the coming recoil. Squeezed the trigger, dirt flew on the other side and I thought "Hey, that wasn't bad! Let's do it again." I couldn't have been more than 10, cousin was a year older.

I'd still rather hunt with a 7x57 than any other round.

Same day so unknown exactly which was first.

M1899 Savage in 30-30 with a Weaver 4x, post and cross hair or a pre-64 Win M94, iron sights.

Used the Savage to deer hunt that year because dad was nervous about the hammer on the Winchester.

1987, blued Mini-14 with the wood handguard.

That would be a 92 src in 38wcf, I was 12 or so and, believe it or don't, Reagan was in his first term. Dad still has the rifle. Its taken out and fired a couple times a year these days. For dumb fun it's hard to beat.

Dad's 03-A3. Purchased around 1960, mail ordered along with the M1 carbine that soon followed. Living in Manhattan, NYC at the time.

First fired it around 1965 at which point it had been "sporterized" (ruined). Later killed a few deer in ME with it. Still in the family.

My Dads 742 30-06. I was 7 or 8. He put a rusty can over a T post. I shot offhand, the can flew and it split the top of the T post. He had to catch the rifle it tipped me over backwards.

Winchester '92 in .25-20.

My Dad's 03A3 Springfield in 257 Roberts put together by P O Ackley.

An octagon barreled Winchester Model 94 lever action in the old (now obsolete) 32-40 caliber.

.

I think it was a 700 BDL VS ,Varmint Special not Varmint Synthetic for you that don't understand 700 nomenclature, in 22-250.

The old style checker pattern with scrolling in the pattern. Still my favorite style BDL checker pattern to this day.

Trapdoor Springfield that belonged to an older cousin. I was all of 12 years old .

Dad's Rem '03A3 Springfield - sporter stock (no recoil pad) and receiver peep sight when I was 11-12. Shot my first two deer with it...

I wish that this question had not been posted, I have been trying to remember what the 1st centerfire rifle I shot was to no avail. It doesn't seem like something I wouldn't remember but it has been a lot of years since it ocurred - old timers disease I suppose.

drover

Remington 788 left handed 308

Had to be a Remington 760 30-06 at age 12 or 13. Thats all Dad had

Oh yes good memories !!

My first CF shot was Dad’s 760, 30-06. I was about
14 yo. I hunted it when he wasn’t.

Dad got me started hunting young with squirrel &
quail. We didn’t have many deer close to us.

Dad is responsible for my liking Pump guns.
760, 870, and I moved to a Pump 22 as well.

Jerry

.30-30 with a steel rifle butt. I weighed 88 pounds at the time and thought it was BRUTAL!

Pre-1964 Winchester Model 94 in .32 Winchester Special. I was about 8 years old. Next was a Savage 99 in .308. Shot my first mule deer with it.

8x57 with 170 gr. Winchester Power Points at age 12 (I think). My father didn't like round nose bullets. The 8x57 is very under-rated.

It still is at 220#...

A borrowed Winchester 94 in 25-35 , my father's friend let me use for a couple of seasons, took my first deer with it.

1959...shot my new Savage 99FW 243, and I shot my first antelope with it 62 years ago today, on my birthday. Best present I ever got.

M1 Garand

My first was also purchased mail-order with paper route money, a Mosin-Nagant I "sporterized" myself with the help of one of my father's friends. But mine only cost $9.95!

A Winchester Model 94 from the mid-30's in 25-35. I came away with a big bruise because I was totally unprepared for the recoil, since I had only shot a .22lr up till then. That was 45 years ago. I still have the gun and haven't shot it since. I bemusedly relive that painful moment whenever I see the occasional box of 25-35 ammo.

Winchester 100 .308 borrowed from an uncle for my first deer hunt, I was 13. I thought it was a cannon.

Savage 99 in 300 Savage.

30-30 I was about six years old. I still have this rifle. Some day I'll give it to my son or son-in-law.

1. M1 Carbine
2. M14
3. M16
4. M134

May God bless Uncle Sam.

First center fire I shot was a 303 brit Lee Enfield No.4 long Branch in 1966.
This one here in fact! My older brother is in the pic, not I
I still shoot it out to 1K on occasion
Cat

Rem 721 30-06 I still gave the brass that my dad ‘made’ me keep. Cracked the clay pigeon at 50 yards

Marlin 30/30, second was a 98 Mauser in 8mm

30-06, my dad bought it as a military surplus in about 1950. Still have it.

303 of course

My dads Marlin Model 36 in 30-30, was 12 years old & man it was brutal !!!

Marlin 30AW (336 Wal-Mart special)
Got it for Christmas when I was 11. Crazy to think I’ve had the rifle for two and a half decades.
Killed my first deer with it and still like to carry it.

Dad’s sporterized M98 in 8x57 with a Bishop stock. Weighed a ton but recoil was pretty much non existent.

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.

At about age 7, Dad let me shoot his old 94 Winchester .30/30, it rocked me pretty good. And I missed the pond I was shooting at 125 yards away.

Savage Model 340 in a 30-30

Sporterized 303 SMLE. traded a shotgun for it over a campfire at a gate entering Camp Blanding, FL. while waiting for someone to open the gate, thus allowing hunters to enter the areas open for deer hunting. This was in 1966 or 67. Fellow gave me a box of factory corelokts, I believe 215gr roundnose, of which I shot 3 or 4 rounds at a pine tree (after the sun came up) to see how accurate the rifle was. I didn't kill a deer that day but did the following weekend. Sold the rifle several years later.

I like that. My 99 in 243 went away long ago, but I've kept my 99 300 Svg for many years now.

Even kept the K2.5 in a pivot mount on top.

Your first was with a true Classic.

L2S

Winchester Model 1894 carbine in 25-35 when I was eight.

Winchester model 1917 in 30-06.

Same for me

Remington 722 in 244 Remington. I thought I was truly a man. Lol

M1 Garand

Pop's 1959 M70 - 243. I have it now.

I remember the first time I fired a shotgun, when I was 8, but I don't explicitly remember the first time I fired a CF rifle. I think it may have been an SMLE, when I was about 11 or 12. I do remember getting myself a .30/06 sporterised Mauser when I was about 12 and going to the range with several boxes of surplus ball ammo though. I came home with a bruised cheek, and a bruise on my shoulder in which you could actually see the imprint of the screws on the steel buttplate - as well as a grin a mile wide. It wasn't the first time I fired a CF rifle though.

Dan,

I actually fired a 12-gauge double before ever firing a centerfire rifle. I was barely 12, and was around 5'2" and maybe 105 pounds. The shotgun belonged to a friend of my father, and since my father was then recovering from a heart attack took pity on a young loony and after a morning small-game hunt let me shoot his double at a local dump-ground, at cans and bottles he threw into the air. I hit most of 'em--according to him, since I didn't see most break!

About 11 or 12 i got to shoot a BAR.

You know the one with the 20 round mag.

He was a friend of Dad's and showed me how to dig my toes in the dirt.

It moved me back about 12 inches.

I was all smiles for sure.

MD, mine was a 20 ga double which belonged to my grandfather. It had a steel buttplate too.

He set up an empty laundry liquid bottle, on a log, and I had a shot at it. The gun just about sat me on my arse, but the detergent bottle was pretty thoroughly peppered.

Later, when I was a bit bigger, I shot a lot of rabbits and ducks with that gun, before I bought myself a 12 ga auto when I was 14.

Remington 870 12 gauge. I was 10.... then a Win 94 in 30/30... Shot that at aged 10 also...

both put me on my ass, and made my shoulder black and blue...

but I did hit what I was aiming at both times....

And I still have both of those firearms....

A 1979 Marlin 336RC in .30-30, I delivered sandwiches for a summer to buy it used. Still have it!

Ruger 77 tang safety. Still have it. Shot great with factory rem 130gr C.L.

M1 Carbine that my father owned. The next summer I saved my hay hauling money and bought a sporterized (read hacked) Mauser in .243 Win from a pawn shop. It didn't have a safety and was a danger in the hands of a 15 year old me. I carved a block of wood to put behind the trigger when a round was chambered. It didn't take me long to figure out that wasn't safe either. Loaded for it with a Lee loader. It disappeared when my parents divorced in 1971 while I was in Vietnam. I replaced it with a Ruger M77RS flatbolt in .350RemMag that I still hunt with.

Winchester model 70 .243. Belonged to a buddies dad. He let me take a shot at a woodchuck out in the pasture with it. I missed but it was pretty far away. I think I was 10.

I don't recall but definitely a 12 gauge shotgun as a young teenager long before shooting a centerfire that would have been one of my uncle's varmint rifles - a Ruger 6mm PPC or a Remington 22-250 after I became an adult.

Shotguns and birds, especially 20 gauges were my first love. Rifles and big game came later.

Remington M-700ADL in .270Win.

I still own it.

Uncle’s Sporterized A3-03 in 30-06. I was probably 8.
Got my first taste of “scope kiss” and a bloody cut over my right eye. 🤠

Grandad started letting me shoot his pre-64 30-30 M94 about the same time.

30-30 in a model 94 Winchester.

My Dad’s Garand, he deer hunted with it.

Don"t remember exactly but had to be one of dads or grandpas swede 6.5 x55 or 7.7 jap, 1903 spring field sporter or Remington 788 243

I've been wracking my brain for over a week, and I simply don't know.

I remember so much from back then. I can give you a pretty good list of candidates, but I just don't know. In looking over it, I've come to realize that centerfire rifle just wasn't high on my list.

My two buddies Jerry and Bob were the ones to get me into all this. Jerry had been a marine armorer and owned his own gun store. Bob was a retired outdoor writer and editor. I asked to tag along; I had some firearms that had been my grandfather's. None were centerfire rifle. Bob and Jerry started taking me out fairly regularly, and I got to try all sorts of things. There was a a full-auto range at their club. That's where we did most of our shooting. It was only about 20 yards from the bench to the muddy slope on the other side of a creek. It was great for plinking at milk bottles and such.

I was more worried about a .22 rifle that kept breaking. It was a cheezy Savage semi-auto. I don't think I ever got through a full box of ammo without the firing pin breaking. I also had a couple of gramp's shotguns-- an 1897 in 12 GA and a Model 12 in 16 GA. The 1897 and I got to be great friends. On these visits, Bob and Jerry would pull out various pieces and let me have a go.

Candidates for my first centerfire rifle:
Jerry's M1 Garand or his Arisaka 7.7
Bob's Mini 14 or his IBM-built M1 Carbine

I honestly don't remember. I only remember that after about year of it, I mentioned going boar hunting to them, and Jerry agreed to go along. He sold me a Remington 742 in 30-06, and I spent a good long time getting it ready for my first hunting trip. I also remember that at the time I acquired the 742, I was already familiar with shooting 30-06.

You've got to understand: I was still a year or so away from my first deer hunt, and this was Ohio in the early 80's. Deer hunting was done with shotguns. After the boar hunt, the only thing I did with the 742 was hunt groundhog-- until about a decade later when I got an invite to hunt deer in Kentucky.

Remington 760 pump in .270 with the stock shortened to fit my 12 year old body. F-ing thing still kicks like a mule. Somersaulted my first buck though while he was running toward me full speed. I'm 61 this week but I remember that like it was yesterday.

Savage Model 99, in a .300 Caliber!

Several Deer Taken!

I started out shooting with my brother's pellet gun. At the age of 6 I shot my first round of powder propelled lead with my brother's H&R Topper .410. I squatted to assist with steady hold and the recoil was awesome! Put me right on my butt it did....but I hit my target.

As stated earlier my first CF rifle shot was with a M1 Carbine. Living on Guam at the time and dad took me and a friend out to the range one day. Me on the left, buddy on the right, this was the day I was introduced to CF rifles..


He went on to become a nuclear engineer, just recently retired. I turned into a disturbed shooting loony.

Just for the record, me and the pellet gun.....

Shot Dad's sporterized 30-06 Springfield when I was about 12, it was quite enough gun for me! LOL!

A few years of growing later and I took a real liking to his sporterized 30-06 "Enfield" or Model of 1917, which I still have and still hunt with time to time. Mostly these days my youngest son uses it. Pretty cool, a 100+ year old rifle, with three generations of my family using it.

BTW, Dad is still doing pretty well, in his 90's and a WWII veteran. And he still has that wonderful old Springfield, though it's been a few years since he shot it.

Good memories of those two rifles. Thanks, Guy

.222 Rem 722 with Weaver 8X. Good friend had this rifle, would pick me up and we’d shoot crows. I then got a Savage 340 in .222. I was in high school, too young to drive. He had a car.

I later traded him for that gun. Barrel was pretty well done. It now wears a .22-204 Hart with a 10X Zeiss. I checkered it, still have it.

DF

Yeah, skip-a-line was cool back then.

Model 94 30-30

Pretty sure it was a 788 chambered in 308Win in '70.........It was my first centerfire rifle.....An old timer let me handle his old M70 in 257 Roberts a year or two prior,but I can't remember if he let me shoot it ..............I do remember the first time I saw a centerfire shot.We were sitting on the front porch of the old farm and that same old timer shot at a chipmonk running down through the front pasture .............I was hooked at first blast and knew I had to have one just like his...........Funny how that works

Winchester M94 30-30.

Win Model '92 .25-20 that was my grandfather's "coyote rifle" that he permanently loaned to his "segundo" (foreman) when a rifle was needed. His segundo, Jorge Chico, gave it to me when he retired and went back to his rez in AZ. I still shoot it a couple of times a year. Anybody that thinks "Injuns don't take care of their rifles" ought to see the bore on mine--and it's over 90 years old!

My Father's Sauer-Weatherby Europa in 8x68S.

It carried a Zeiss 1.5-6x36 in claw mounts.

I still have it and it is know three generations that have killed game with it,

348 Winchester Model 81 in 1952-53 OUCH! Still feel it today!

M14 ROTC summercamp Tigerland 1969

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My introduction into centerfire rifle was a singular one.


Uncle Bob Robertson was my shooting mentor. He lived in a small town in NW Montana and had about 150 Acres of property about 50 miles north of town up by the Canadian border. My Dad, myself & him would go up there to camp, fish, shoot & hunt ruffed grouse out of season and just generally to goof around. Now uncle Bob had a nice selection of firearms that he had put together over the years he was definitely a Rifleman by nature and had a number of pre 64 Model 70 rifles l remember a 30-06 a .257 Robert's, and a .243 Winchester. He also had a mixture of Winchester lever action and smaller bolt guns and a few shotguns. Being a kid I would go over there to visit and harass him when I was in my early teens and would always ask for a particular gun to be brought out from underneath his bed or bedroom closet, pulled out of the case and handed to me then I would get the story on how he had acquired this one and what had done with it. Now one of his favorites was an old I would guess 1930s vintage Winchester 1886, this gun had an especially interesting story. Uncle Bob had always done a lot of remodeling and generally liked working in wood more than metal. This time he was working at some old widows house taking out a wall and when he pulled off the plaster here was this rifle in between the wall studs so he pulled it out and cleaned it off, here was this beautiful old gun with a nice dark walnut and the curved cut butt plate with the bluing that was almost completely gone giving this gun a stainless steel appearance. I always liked it it was big and long and very heavy must have had the 26 inch octagon barrel on it with a full length magazine tube and it was chambered in of course .45-70 Government. We took this one along with us this up to his property and this was my introduction into rifle shooting. Now other than the Ithica 22 single shot, my little lever gun after a fashion, I had shot up to this point with my dad that was Mytotal experience I'm sure Uncle Bob didn't set me up with too hot of a load but I do remember that it was a stout recoil and it seemed like the echo from this rifle bounced around the hills for quite a while after I fired it I remember it was extremely hard for me to to hold level at a young age and I have no idea where the sites were looking when I pull the trigger but I do remember it like it was yesterday and I felt felt very proud to have fired such a piece of history at such a young age

This has turned out to be a popular thread.



My introduction into centerfire rifle was a singular one.


Uncle Bob Robertson was my shooting mentor. He lived in a small town in NW Montana and had about 150 Acres of property about 50 miles north of town up by the Canadian border. My Dad, myself & him would go up there to camp, fish, shoot & hunt ruffed grouse out of season and just generally to goof around. Now uncle Bob had a nice selection of firearms that he had put together over the years he was definitely a Rifleman by nature and had a number of pre 64 Model 70 rifles l remember a 30-06 a .257 Robert's, and a .243 Winchester. He also had a mixture of Winchester lever action and smaller bolt guns and a few shotguns. Being a kid I would go over there to visit and harass him when I was in my early teens and would always ask for a particular gun to be brought out from underneath his bed or bedroom closet, pulled out of the case and handed to me then I would get the story on how he had acquired this one and what had done with it. Now one of his favorites was an old I would guess 1930s vintage Winchester 1886, this gun had an especially interesting story. Uncle Bob had always done a lot of remodeling and generally liked working in wood more than metal. This time he was working at some old widows house taking out a wall and when he pulled off the plaster here was this rifle in between the wall studs so he pulled it out and cleaned it off, here was this beautiful old gun with a nice dark walnut and the curved cut butt plate with the bluing that was almost completely gone giving this gun a stainless steel appearance. I always liked it it was big and long and very heavy must have had the 26 inch octagon barrel on it with a full length magazine tube and it was chambered in of course .45-70 Government. We took this one along with us this up to his property and this was my introduction into rifle shooting. Now other than the Ithica 22 single shot, my little lever gun after a fashion, I had shot up to this point with my dad that was my total in shooting experience. I'm sure Uncle Bob didn't set me up with too hot of a load but I do remember that it was a stout recoil and it seemed like the echo from this rifle shot bounced around the hills for quite a while after I fired it. I remember it was extremely hard for me to to hold level at a young age and I have no idea where the sites were looking when I pulled that trigger but I do remember really liking it & remember that moment just like it was yesterday. I felt felt very proud to have fired it in such fine company & to feel like l was now a part of the club.

41

53 years ago My fathers Savage 340 in 30-30 , recently passed it on to my nephew.

My first CF was a 1895 Chilean 7x57 Mauser[sporterized]. Second was the exact 788 above.

Model 98k,8mm mauser. I was 12 when I started hunting with that heavy sumbeech

1894 made in 1917. A 30-30

My Dad's Model 94 in 30-30

Ron

7 x57 small ring german mauser. Lots of cool factor there. Had the original military sights on it and as I remember they were pretty accurate.

We always had guns around and I can’t remember the first centerfire I fired. What I do remember is at 10 years old, begging my dad to shoot his Interarms Whitworth .375. After several weeks of listening to my nagging, he let me shoot it with a full load of 4350 behind a 300-grain Sierra. For those that live in the Dallas area, he bought that gun from our down the street neighbor, Ed that now works in Gunmaster in Plano. This was shortly before Ed moved 400 miles to the big city.

I vividly remember firing that gun along with how attractive I thought the English-styled stock looked.

There was only one type of centerfire rifle when i was a kid. 30-06. One guy had a 300 savage. one a 308. Everyone else had a 30-06.

That was all their was.

My Dads 03-A3 Springfield in 30-06

1st CF I recall shooting was my Dad’s Remington 721 in 30/06 complete with steel butt plate. It was fun but probably not the best choice for a 13yo’s introduction to center fire rifles. I’ve killed a few things with that same 30/06 and it worked as well as anything else, but to this day I’ve never thought the ‘06’s performance was anything special considering it’s recoil. That steel butt plate probably didn’t help those feelings…

John

300 Savage, I was 9 and shot a peep sighted model 99 at a 100 yard target and hit the small bull each time...

".. King of the wild frontier."

30/06

Winchester model 94 classic 30-30. Had a 26" octagon barrel. One of only 2 rifles I regret having sold.

A 1948 Spanish Mauser 98 in 8x57 Mauser unsporterized and weighing about 9lbs. Overpaid for it at local pawn shop with my yard moving money. I thought it was the best rifle in the world.

A 6.5 Carcano I bought from a neighbor for $15 in 1975. It came with a box and a half of Norma 156 grain ammo.

Sporterized 03A3 in 30-06. Killed that Kleenex box dead.

Was a Winchester saddle ring carbine in .44-40. It was 1978 and I was eight years old. I spent some time trying to hit a purple-breasted moor hen with it.

I still shoot Winchesters and the .44-40 is one of my favorite cartridges, both smokeless and black powder.. Nowadays I shoot red and fallow deer with it.

Same here

My dad's Marlin 336RC straight stock 35 Rem

Savage 340C in .30-30. Killed my first deer with it that year.

Winchester 94 in 25-35

My dad's send-home Springfield 1903, on a white wool bed roll over the hood of the Oldsmobile (...I had to stand on a 1/2 bushel apple crate)

Sporterized .30-40 Krag

Remington 760 Gamemaster an 30-06 of my grandfathers. 35-40 years ago
Damn thing kicked like a mule.
Killed a bunch of animals with it.
Still have it today,don't shoot it much anymore.
Have plenty of rifles with a lot less recoil and kill schitt just as dead

30/30 Model 94. Still have it.. Dad bought it at the RAF Alconbury Rod & Gun Club for $49, in June of 1966, just right before we left England...
First fire arm I ever shot, was 1962... Model 870 Winchester in 12 gauge... knocked me on my ass each time my old man had me pull the trigger, no matter how firm I tried to hold it... I was 10 years old... still have that shotgun also.

98 Mauser 8MM

Borrowed my brothers Sako Finnbear in 30-06 for my first deer season. Put an old Simmons 4x scope off of my Marlin 22 on it, sighted it in, and killed a 4 point buck on opening day. He doesn't hunt any more and I'm still trying to buy that Sako from him.....maybe this year.

M14 or M16 (or both), ROTC Summer Camp 1969, Ft. Bragg

Dads M77 06. She’s In the safe with me now

Dad's Rem 760 30-06, the recoil bruised my nose, but the bullet hit the empty pop can.

.303 British Enfield about 1963 or 4. My father wasn't about to spend over $15 for a deer rifle.

Savage model 340 .222 circa 1960. Still have it.

I was 14 in 1965. It was a Colt M60 machine gun with every 5th round was a tracer. I was shooting a model A ford and a toilet under the power lines. My father was chief engineer of military gun and vehicle design. A government inspector brought the gun and cases of ammo home.

I had been dove hunting with a 12 gauge since I was 12. My father pheasant hunted with the gov inspector.

Marlin 336 .30-30 Christmas morning, 1979. Was 10 years old.