I used a Stevens double 12 gauge. I still own it

Benelli 121 SL 12ga -Federal Premium 2 3/4" #4 Buck. November 7th, 1987

Weatherby Vanguard deluxe 338 win mag. In one eye out the other. Buddy looked at him and says “ you sucked the brains out of him.

Winchester Model 70 Short Action Carbine in 243. Took the shot off my father's shoulder. Shooting a 100g NPT That's been almost 20 years ago and I think this season is the first season since then I haven't carried that rifle at least once.

Mine was a Stevens double 20 ga. I took several deer with it.

kwg

NEF handi-rifle 243 win. Tasco world class 3-9x40. 95 gr ballistic tip Georgia Arms ammo.

Winchester M0d 94 in 30-30

Browning nomad bow. True flight arrow and a 125 zwicky.
I was in sixth grade and tossed one in the lungs at about 20 yards. Loved that bow. So simple. Wooden riser. Made a nice squeak when I came to full draw and everything lol. Cobra brass pins with painted heads. 3 pin sight. Stick on arrow flipper rest. 40 pounds if I remember right. Oh, can't forget the spinner bait skirt silencers. 😆

Daddy's 30/30 my momma bought for for
him in the 50's + - as a Sears employee back then.
( 60 some odd dollars if I'm remembering right)
IIRC the Federal ammo in the 10 round red
plastic belt carriers from Gibson's department
store cost a bit less than the Remington or
Winchester, so that's what I bought

That was back when the hunting magazines
all said that you couldn't kill a deer without
a magnum rifle and that the bullet needed
to expand greatly inside the animal and stay
just inside the carcass, or it had failed and
wasn't effective. I almost believed that for
a couple of times in my lifetime


( the one in the image gallery of Marlins I
had my nephew post for me some hours ago)

I started deer hunting late when I was in my early forties, until then upland birds was my thing.

Pinned a beautiful doe through the shoulders shooting a Browning 20 gauge Citori Superlight with a Foster slug @ 35 yards during shotgun season circa 2001.

I used a partially "sporterized" Italian 6.5 Carcano carbine to shoot my first mule deer. I only used it for a couple of years before I bought a 1903 Springfield, which I modified some and then used for some time.

This was all long ago and I've only gotten back to 6.5 cartridges relatively recently.

Weatherby Vanguard VGX in .243 Win. Both of my sons harvested their first deer with it as well.

It was December 28th 1963, I was 11 years 10 days old (my Dad kept great records) hunting with my grandfather near Turkey Creek, Louisiana. The firearm was an Over/Under Stevens 22/410, killed with a 410 slug @ 55 steps……I said that my Dad kept good records. 😉 It was a small racked (very small racked) buck. I hit him in the neck, not where I was aiming, and he eventually bled-out!

Possibly the first “legal” deer killed in Evangeline Parish! 😂

My Dad won the Stevens right after WWII, gave it to me when I was 8, I’ve since given it to my son. memtb

Savage Springfield 840 in 30-30 with a Springfield (?) 4x scope. I still have that rifle.

Dad was an independent shop automotive mechanic in the Park Cities region of Dallas, near SMU. The local auto parts store, Monarch Auto Parts, held a contest to award this rifle to the mechanic that purchased and installed the largest number of Monroe shocks. Dad won in a landslide.

The next year, they held another contest and awarded a Savage Springfield semi-automatic .22 with a scope. Again, Dad won in a landslide.

The following years, they changed the contest to award a string of imitation pearls for every 20 shocks sold - the other nearby mechanics were mad about Dad’s wins the previous two years.

The other guys didn’t have a chance. Dad had twice been recognized as the best independent shop automotive mechanic in Dallas. He never had a lack of work. In my avatar picture, Dad is the guy in the center wearing a red plaid shirt. Yes, I am proud of him. And I miss him.

'03-A3 Springfield (sporterized).

Rem 870 "Wingmaster" Deluxe 20 ga smoothbore slug gun... 14/15? yrs old in 77/78... shot a trotting fork buck at estimated 35 yds while sitting under a tree at sunrise on opening morning... Waupaca Cty Wi... (still have that 870)

Bear Archery Whitetail bow and 125 Wasp broadhead.

Model 94 30-30 with offset Bushnell 1.5-4

Remington Mohawk 600 in 243 in Dec 1975. I was 12. Still have the rifle.

Remington 600 Mohawk .308 with a 150 NBT. I was 10 or 11 years old.

Shot my first few with a Ruger 96/44... carried and handed really nice, but it was about a minute of pie tin rifle, so I moved on to something better pretty quickly.

Win mod.94 32 Special my Grandmothers rifle 4x4 Mulie 1948 I was 9 years old. walked home and got my uncle to bring Blondie my Grandmothers Mule and help me gut him out and load him up and bring him in. Rio7

Same as S Kane.

Ruger M77 chambered in 250 Savage. Scope was a Weaver K4.

Model 1917 30-06 that I “sporterized” myself in my early teen years. Weaver K3. I was 23 years old in 1975 when I killed my first deer with the rifle. There weren’t nearly as many deer in Georgia back then. I don’t think every county even had a deer season. The season limit was 2 deer and “doe days” were few. Now the limit is 2 bucks and 10 antlerless and in most of the state every day of the season is either sex.

Darton Trailmaster bow - advertised a blistering 180 IBO speed. Easton aluminum arrows and Satellite broadheads. I was pulling 50 lbs then as a youth.

.50 cal T/C Thunderhawk
100grs FFG
275gr Maxiball
CCI #11
3-9 scope

Rem 600 in 6mm.

Grandfather rem 742 3006 iron sights! I was 15

Magtech single shot 20 ga. Shot her with a 3” slug.

Ruger M77 in .300wm. I was 13. About a 200 yard shot across a hollow. Middle of a snow storm. It had a weaver 2-7 ish scope. I couldn't find the deer on 7 because it was snowing so hard. Turned it down and leaned against a tree to steady myself. Big doe. She dropped at the shot.

Marlin 336 in 35 remington

721 Rem, 06, with a 4X Weaver Scope. I still have the rifle and I have taken numerous elk and deer with the same rifle

Remington 760 carbine in 280 Rem, 165 gr Rem Corelokt. That was over 50 years ago, still have the rifle!

M77 Ruger MK ii in 270.

A month shy of 20, mule deer with a left handed Remington 700, .270.

Remington 7600 .270Win with 4X Tasco (Japan) and C-thru rings.

Savage 99 in 250-3000. Shot a nice 8 pt. Went to get it and there stood a 8 pt. Shot it and it dropped. Walked down there and had 2 8 pts. Back when you only got one buck a year. Dad checked the other for me.

Marlin 336 in 30-30 hunting on ground, 10yd shot.

I KILLED my first deer with a Winchester 94, 30-30, at about 5 yards....

I CAUGHT my first deer, bare handed........ before I started shooting them...

Investarms 50 cal. Hawken Carbine
T/C Maxi-ball, 60 grains FFG
Nice doe

This would have been 1989 when Indiana still had an 8 day either sex muzzleloader season.
I was 16.
Still have the muzzleloader.

I used a Remington 742 in 30-06 using 180 grain Musgrave RN ammo.

The exercise turned into a complete fustercluck. Full disclosure here:

Shaman's First Deer

Knight muzzle-loader

Remington 742 30-06 180 Core Lokt 1972.
Received the gun for Christmas 1971.
Tracked and killed a nice 8 pointer in the fresh snow.. I was 16 y/o.
.

My Marlin bolt 22 LR 40 gr standard velocity solid.

Mod 88 Winchester in .308 caliber.

Win 94 in 32 Win Special. Age 13. Mulie doe. Looong shot, must have been close to 40 yards.
A couple years later I also got my 1st elk with that gun.

Ford Crown Victoria. Second was with a Dodge Dakota. At that point in my life, I decided that lead was cheaper than chrome, and got the next one with a Sears/Mossberg 20ga smoothbore.

700 BDL 243. Someone turned some dogs out close to me on the next club and they struck and were coming straight to me. I could hear the.deer running to me. I was watching a narrow opening where I thought they would cross. First one out was a buck And he was close. When I moved to shoot. The deer behind him saw me and jumped. I shot at him and hit a yearling that jumped between us.

H&R 12ga single shot.
Jefferson Nat. Forest
As the group of doe tried to slip past I put a 00 buckshot to one, she stood there after the shot while the other 3-4 ran off, I ejected, reloaded closed the breech and instead of cocking ejected again.
Still managed to get a 2nd shot to her but if memory serves it was #4 shot.

But she went down.

Still have the gun.

Remington 1100 with a slug barrel with rifled sites. Ammo was a Brenneke rifled slug.

11-87 Remington with a rifled choke tube and Winchester BRI Sabots.

50 cal muzzleloader with a short camo bull barrel (can't remember the manufacturer), using Barnes all-copper bullet with sabot and FFG black powder. Shot a doe at around 30 yards DRT. I was hunting at my friend's farm and the primitive weapon deer season had just started, so I borrowed my friend's ML. Back then, you could not use optics, so I used the open sights. Hooked me on using a ML and some time after, I bought a SS Knight 50-cal (at that time was the cadillac of MLs).

About 1964 with my dad’s 1954 Remington pump in 270 Winchester. Still killing deer with it once in a while. Had my daughter kill a couple with it. Edk

Killed my first two deer back in the mid 80's with a used Marlin 336 30.30 that I bought from a pawn shop and that had an old Weaver steel tube fixed 4X scope mounted on it....according to the serial number it was made in 1973.

Dad’s buddy was a gun guy that let me borrow a Winchester m64 .30 WCF (.30-30) to gun my first very accommodating forkhorn. The next few years it was his western rifle, a Winchester Pre-64 rather rare .300 WM.

T/C Hawken, .50 cal. percussion, patched ball, 100 grs. black powder. Very effective...

T/C Contender, 14", 357 Max.

1979 Dodge Ramcharger

First deer was with a sporterized Mauser K98k -8x57-170gr Federal SP

More shotguns than I thought there would be. I never considered vehicles, didn’t get one with a vehicle until I was 68 in Georgetown by the HEB. I was looking back in the rear view to see if trailer cleared a car, looked to front, caught a flash of white. I thought I hit a child. It scared hell out of me. Thank goodness it wasn’t.

45-70 Marlin from a MS tree stand, shooting 300 gr. Hornady bullet. One shot did the trick.

Long time ago.

DF

870 20 gauge.

Stevens 200 in 270

13 yrs old. 20 gauge pumpkin ball slugs with a front bead only pump shotgun on a flat out running field buck going perpendicular to me roughly 100 plus yds. Clean misses the first 2 shots, hit him about 2" behind the ear on the third shot and he did a end over end flip. 100% pure skill! LOL! Not.

That was 40 yrs ago and I can still remember all of it in detail. Man I was excited.

Still in the top 3 of the nicest bucks I've killed.

First year hunting in Canada, I was 40 years old.

Borrowed a buddies M99c, in .308.

Bought the rifle from him, after the season ended.

M1A

20 gauge slug from my Remington 870. 25yds....8 pt buck!

Interesting. More shotguns than I ever expected. I got my first deer with my dad's model 94 carbine in 32 spl. Still have it. Since another deer, antelope and a mt. lion.

I remember satellites. Darton bows were awesome back in the early 90's.

Yep - I went from that Darton to a Mathew's SQ2 - world of difference. But I have nothing bad to say about that old Darton or the guys at Trail's End Archery (Dino!) who let me shoot there for free as a teen.

Oh if we're going way back in the bow era. 1st deer killed with a bow when I was just a young squirt. 45 lb Jennings forked lightning. Finger tab, 3 sight pins......10,15,20.

I killed my first deer when I was in college using a Win '94 in .32 Win Spl that I borrowed from one of my college roommates.

1958 Savage 99F 308 with a Williams peep in 1976.

Zabala Hermanos SxS 20 gauge

Agree on surprise at the number of shotguns, 20 ga. nonetheless.

They do work if the shooter does his part.

Correction: (his or her), gotta be P.C. these days, don't ya know....

DF

I live in Michigans zone 3 so I used my Colt 12 ga. In 1967.

Thompson Center Cherokee 45 cal. Muzzleloader. I was 7 years old.

First with a rifle was using a ruger 77 flat bolt in 220 swift

Ruger M77 30-06.

Ruger M77R in .243, with old Red Box Federals - 100gr. Hi Shok. Over 40 years later, I still have that old rifle, though now it throws my handloads.

Marlin 336C in .35 Remington with a 3X Leupold scope
Rifle was about 9 years old.
200 grain Remington bullet-30 yards - 7 pointer Carbon County, PA.
Second day of the buck season.

1989 Ruger M77 Tang Safety 280Rem loaded with a 156gr Norma Oryx.

~90-100 yard shot broadside on an 8pt whitetail buck on a trot. Shot hit a little farther back than point of aim, double lunged him through the ribs. He ran about 50 yards into a corn field and fell over

I hunted with my dad as a kid but then was out of hunting for about 15 years and only recently have gotten back into it in the last 5 or 6 years. This was my first deer of my own and took place in 2021. The deer dressed out at 187lbs and is currently on my wall. It's odd to me how it worked out, was one of those days where everything seemed to go "wrong" but still makes me smile. I ended up getting out to the blind much later than I would have liked, sat in a spot that has not been hunted for many years prior and had standing corn on both sides of me with about a 150 yard gap in between. A new to me rifle that I picked up a few months before on a trip and only about 90 mins of light left. He stepped out of the west corn field headed to the east edge of the second field through the gap. I had no knowledge or sightings of him on that farm before that day. He was the only deer I saw that outing as well. Sometimes its more luck than anything I have come to learn.

Winchester Model 70 XTR in .338 Win Mag.

It way over penetrated.

Ithica 10 gauge. 3 yard shot in chest and found slug just under skin by deer ass-hole when gutted it out.

I went from a browning nomad to a pse thunderbolt, to a mthews switchback. Wish I still had that switchback.

Winchester M-100 in 308

Remington 1100 12ga with 00Buckshot.

My Dads 12ga Savage 726 (browning auto 5 clone) with home made peep sight, & foster slug.
This was his only shotgun, which he used mostly for grouse & pheasants.

Ben Pearson bow and a wasp 100

12 yrs old

I was probably 40 or 45 before I got a deer with a bow. I’ve gotten a few Aoudads with my bow also

When I was a kid, you were allowed to bow hunt sooner than rifle hunt - state regs so that's why, I think, I got one with that first. Was the quickest way into the woods with a chance to put meat on the ground. Plus its fun. My dad was always more of a bowhunter than rifle guy. Even today - he has a rifle, uses it but it stirs no emotions. He doesn't get excited for it. Bowhunting, even in 70's - he's all over it. Shotgun - all over it (in the past, retired now lol). Rifle or pistol wasn't his thing and as kids, we were enthusiastic about the things our parents were.

Remington 760 pump in 243. Remember everything about it like it was yesterday.

760 30-06.

A hand-me-down Savage 99 EG .300 Savage. It was loaded with the W-W 150 grain Silvertip factory ammo that came in the old Red, Black, Orange and White boxes.

22 LR

Win Model 1894 in 30-30. I was 9 years old. Deer was a fork horn mulie. The rifle was my late father's and I still have it.

Was that at night or in the daytime. Is a .22 LR legal for deer in Oklahoma?

A 67 Camaro.

It was in broad daylight 50 some odd years ago. No it's not legal to use a 22 LR for deer in Oklahoma, then or now, but the statute of limitations has long since ran out.

Winchester Model 100 in .284 Win. handloaded Speer 130 grain and IMR-4350. Killed my second in the same field. Longest shots I've ever made.

.45 cal Esopus swivel breech muzzle loader with patched round ball. My 1st deer was a doe at about 40yds in the mid 70's. Back then does could only be taken with a bow or muzzle loader.
Have a great day.
Jim

A Marlin 336 30-30

Buddy of mine saw me hunting with an SKS.......he handed me a ruger #1b .270 with a leupy 3x9.....said here, use a real rifle.......

1994, December 26, took my first deer with that rifle......the shot covered a whopping 10 yds.........

Savage 110 in 243 with a 4x scope (weaver?). Borrowed from a relative and used handloads that I assembled under his tutelage. I was 15.

Dale

Haha. Good thing you had a real rifle!

I used a knight muzzleloader with a tasco world class 3.5-10. Shot the deer freehanded at 70 yards at 8 years old.

I borrowed a Winchester 70A .243 from my cousin to kill my first deer. I had a Winchester 94, but I couldn't shoot it for schitt, so I borrowed his "spare" rifle and killed a little deer with it. My eyesight has never been real good, and the 4X All American Lyman scope on the .243 helped a lot. I killed another buck a couple of years later with another .243 (my own, this time), but switched to a .270 a couple of years after that. Been using the .270s ever since.

Sounds like you and I grew up in same place

Marlin 336 30-30, 125 gr hollow point, tasco 3-9x32 scope, 10 yrs old.

Browning BLR in 308 Win. Simmons 3x9 scope, using Remington 150gr ammo...more than 40 years ago and remember it like it was yesterday

Bear 45 pound recurve with fiberglass arrows tipped with a 6 bladed wasp broadhead.

Old70

Remington 1100 12 gauge 2 3/4 00 Buck. Small 7 point at maybe 20 yards. The whole load caught him in the neck. He literally stood on his head.

GreggH

Bear Pro Specialist 70# compound and Easton 2117 arrows. Bear super razorhead. 1986 I believe. Next 3 were with a Rem. 11-87 Premier. They had just came out when I purchased it. Gave 361.50 for it. Still have the box and receipt. 3 " Nickle buckshot over dogs.

16 gauge Ithaca M37, shooting a slug through the modified, bead front sight only barrel. Good enough at 10 or 15 yards. Heart shot, blood trail you could have followed in the dark. He only went about 25 yards if that.

Remington 788 .308 carbine wearing a 4x Weaver.

I was 16 and didn’t know anything about deer hunting, but something made me want to try it. I borrowed a boat paddle Ruger in 30-06 from a friend’s dad for my first deer hunt and killed a good 10 point 15 minutes after sunrise. It took 8 years to shoot a better buck. I hated that 30-06 though, so I bought myself a Remington 25-06 the next year.

Remington Model 760 pump action 30-06 with factory iron sights. That would have been about 58 years ago.

Ruger 77 in 220 Swift

My first gun was a winny model 37, 16ga, 30 " full choke...

My dad thought I could kill a deer with it if need be, whenever he wasn't using it for roadside Turkey shoots....

He couldn't drive past a roadside Turkey shoot without stopping.....

I never took a deer with that gun, but a stepson took his first deer with it.

Savage 340 bolt action carbine in 30-30, with open sights, about 5 yards on a fork horn mule deer. 150 grain Remington Corelokt.

November 1975 Fielder Ridge near Tilly, Arkansas. Last day of the season and it snowed the night before. Neck shot at about 25 yards. A Remington 742 in 30.06 that belonged to my uncle. I got one just like it for Christmas that year from my mother.

i shot my first deer (3" spike) with 1972 Winchester m94 in 30-30 with 170gr Winchester Power Points at around 5 yards. i still have the rifle, but JES Reboring did a 35/30-30. my grandpappy gave me the m94 (secondhand) when i was 13 - 14yo. i killed alot of deer with the 30-30 and open sights.

Winchester model 12 in 16 gauge. was my grandfathers. Full choke and foster type slug. Spike horn at 20 yards

Martin compound bow, aluminum arrows and Bear Razorhead broadhead.

Belgium Browning Sweet Sixteen with buck barrel and Federal foster slugs. Thank God we got rid of shotgun only rules.

TC Renegade 50 cal flintlock, I think with a maxi ball but could have been a patched round ball. Was a long time ago.

Smith and Wesson Model 1500 7mm Rem Mag

Marlin 336 30-30 170 grain silver tips

Sako Finnbear 30-06

My uncle let me use his muzzleloader that he bought and put together as a kit. I was 16. I bought it from him 20 years later for $100. Still have it and the ADK 8pt on the wall.

In 1957, I killed my first deer with a Win. Mod 94 carbine in 30-30. Still have it!

When I started deer hunting you couldn't hunt deer with a firearm 'til you were 14 but could begin archery deer hunting at 12.

So, my first deer, a spike buck, I shot with an old garage sale compound bow (I can't remember now the brand), Easton 2217s (if I recall correctly), and Bear Razorheads.

I eventually "upgraded" to a brand new Bear Whitetail Hunter bow, fully outfitted, it set me back $79 bucks. That seemed like all the money in the world back in the 80's but considerably less than my latest Hoyt RX7 Ultra outfitted set me back last year.

Remington 700 BDL .30-06 with a 3x-9x Redfield "WideField" scope. Remington factory 180gr. RNSP Coreloct ammo.

I was young, ignorant and foolish when I traded it.


RS

Mossberg bolt action, poly choke 12 gauge with 00 buck.

I was 15 and worried a Camp-meat Yearling to death with an M1 Carbine and 86gr HP. Booo...hissss...POC

The meat's probably bad by now.

savage 24 with a 410 slug. one and done.

Well played T

20 ga single shot, 3in 00 buck, doe and baby under a crab apple tree about 30 yards, aimed at the doe, both fell over dead. Crazy first deer kill, 9yo.

Remington 870 12 ga (21" bbl), modified choke tube (grouped the best), saddle mount and a fixed 4x scope. Winchester 1 oz foster slug.

Day before Thanksgiving 1956. Four pointer dressed 156lb,with
6.5 x 257 Arisaka.

Got my first deer with a customized Korean war trophy rifle that had been restocked, bolt bent and rechambered to .308. It originally belonged to a cousin who brought it back from his paid trip to Korea and had all the work done. The deer was a button buck that snuck up behind me while I was sitting on the ground leaned back against a tree. Thought it was a squirrel that had been pestering me for the past hour and turned around and we were nose to nose about 18" apart. I slowly turned back around and waited until his head was behind a small tree about 6-8ft away and raised up the rifle and got him.

Day before Thanksgiving 1956. Four pointer dressed 156lb,with
6.5 x 257 Arisaka.

Model 94 in 32 special. Same one my dad used for his and my mom used for her one and only.

Brother has it now.

I got my first deer with a Ruger M77 (tang) 270 Win. Still have that gun.

H&R single barrel 410, slug, aimed behind shoulder, hit it in the neck, pop drop, fall of 1971, 8 years old. where in hell did that near 53 years go? ; ]

That can't be right
I've been reading and have been told all my
life about how ineffective that a .410 shotgun
was.
Same for a 30/30. I've been getting sideways
looks everytime I've killed something with one

Dec 1988 with 00 buckshot in a Mossberg 500 12ga.

1986 i killed a small 8 point with my tc 50 caliber muzzleloader built from a kit and still have both the deer mounted, and the rifle

My first compound bow was a Ben Pearson 50#. This was back in the late 70s. Back then we could use Anectine pods. As kids, we could walk into the local pharmacy and buy the stuff.

LOL, yep, have heard and received same looks, quick story, i rattled up a buck for a bud, he swore he shot it dead in the chest and was dogging his scoped lever 30-30, i had loaded 170gr partitions for him at 2240 fps, great load, we followed blood till it petered out, old man that owns that place showed me a pic of a buck that next spring on the minerals with left shoulder hide healed up from a bullet skimming by, like you cut it with a knife.

Never told my bud about the pic, but did go home and immediately mark calendar for September to contact him for a rifle zero prior to season opener, yep, you guessed it, his rifle was over a foot right at 100 yards, i got him zeroed and ready, last check he was still using that setup.

Marlin 1893 30-30.
Grandpa bought it from some "Russian trappers", according to family lore.
As the youngest of 10, Dad wound up with it.
I was almost 12 years old.

Marlin 336 30-30, Weaver K4, 150gr corelokt. Trans Pecos mule deer in Texas, 1971.

Killed my first with a break open 410 single shot and a slug, Winchester I believe. Shot a spike about 20 yards and broke its neck. I was 6.

My Dad's 300 Savage. Factory ammo. Iron sights. I am unsure of the year but I was VERY young when Dad got me started. I would guess it was about 1961 or 1962

I too am shocked by the amount of folks first deer that were killed with a shotgun. I really had no idea.

I killed my first deer, a 5 point buck, 35 years ago. I used my dad’s Winchester pre 64 Model 70 in 243 with 100 grain Remingtons.

He gave it to me as a Christmas gift this year. It was kind of emotional and pretty fantastic.

Rem 710 30-06. It's long gone and I don't miss it.

Where I'm from kids back then usually only had two guns to learn to hunt with, a .22 and a shotgun. Unless you were rich Deer Rifles were for grown ups so you learned to hunt deer with shotgun slugs. My first was on Thanksgiving Day 1978, with a beat-to-hell-and-back 12 gauge Wards-Western pump, and a Remington green hull pumpkin ball slug. A doe that somebody else had gut shot and didn't follow up. Was headed back to the house for Thanksgiving dinner when Dad and I jumped it up. Started tracking it in the snow and found it laying down again. Mom was mad we were late for dinner messing with getting that deer out.

A Remington 7400 carbine 1990. Was home on leave from the Army.

Used a Sears Model 53 in 30-06 with handloaded 150 grain Sierra game king over 52 gr of 4064

Browning BAR in .270 Winchester with Remington 130 core lokt

Rem. M700 ADL, .270 Win. Factory Winchester 150gr. Power Point. 2 inch exit hole. High lung/spine hit. Dropped like a rock.

REM 721 in .270 Win with a 130 Silvertip.

870 00 buck

Ok, I am likely an odd ball. Nov. 1977 Waupaca co. Wis. ( central Wis.) a Franchi 48 in 20ga. I shot at it while it was running 4 times. Not sure what shot hit it but likely the last shot when it stopped to see what the noise was. It tipped right over at 30 yds.

Killed my first deer, a doe, in 1968 while squirrel hunting a bend in the Bogue Phila River ( means long river in Choctaw) southwest of Cleveland Mississippi. I was using my first gun, a Winchester model 37 steelbuilt 12 gauge shotgun. I had high brass 6s for the squirrels but a buckshot between the first two fingers of my left hand. I broke the gun and slipped in the buckshot and nailed her before she got 25 yards. I had already killed 6 squirrels and 2 wood ducks.
I killed my first buck just south of this loop across the highway. Used a Marlin 336 in 30/30 170 grain CoreLocks. Was set up on a ditch bank beside a cut soybean field, small wood lot behind me. Benoit Hunting Club was running dogs and he and 3 does ran across the bean field to where I was on the ditch bank. He reared up his hind legs at the shot and fell over backwards. He was a spike. Had to be 4” to be legal. Right antler was 4” and Left was 4 & 1/4”.

Remington M700 ADL 30-06 with a 150 gr Speer mag tip hand load. Believe a 3x9 VX or vari x II. Whatever Leupold was making in 79 when it was bought new. Big fat doe, flattened her immediately.

this....

Interarms Mark X Mauser in 30-06, with a Bushnell 3-9x32 scope.

A Savage Model 16 Chambered in .338 Win Mag. It was a medium sized mule deer buck in NW Colorado. Shot it with a 250 Nosler Partition at about 120 yards.

Soon to be viral on the inter web as an actual black panther kill in Colorado.

Benelli M2 tactical 12 gauge, shooting a 1oz Foster slug.

1972 m93 mauser 7v57 140 npt's 40 yds.i was 17 3x3 whitetail buck.mb

the sparsely populated Wi. co i hunted was shotgun only in the 70's, so no choice... i would much rather have used a rifle... now, with triple (or more!) the population, rifles are legal... i'm sure many other first deer shotgun users had similar situations...

Remington 700 MTN LSS BDL, 30-06, with handloaded 125 Btips that my grandpa and I loaded.

In 1982 I killed my first deer a doe with my 1980 Mazda RX7 while driving from Tampa to Miami.

Bear compound bow

Model 94 in 32 winchester special.

Sizzler Compound bow, I was 14

First deer was killed in 1977 with a 1971 Ford Ranger. Actually, that was the first deer I'd ever laid eyes on in my home county.
First actual hunting kill was a few years later, with a Winchester model 670 in 30-06.

When I was 8 years old my dad did start me hunting with a 20 gauge H&R Topper with slugs. I just can’t imagine hitting much with those things much beyond 25 or 30 yards. I was 13 when I killed my first deer with his 243. We were far from rich.

dayum. So close to missing the deer. I'm just curious. Evidently broadside deer, why would you aim at an eye, assuming you were trying to hit the brain?

Winchester M70 .308 and still shooting it.

Compound bow.

I think it was 1978 with the Marlin 336 in 30-30 that my folks bought for me the year before.
It still goes for a walk with me every year. (The rifle, not the deer.)

A left handed flint lock 50 cal muzzleloader when I was 12. That was 37 years ago. Still have the gun.

Remington 700 ADL in 30-06 with a Tasco 3 X 9 scope, both bought from Wal-Mart in 1987 when I was a sophomore in high school. 180 gr. Remington Core-Lokt. I still have that rifle. It is now topped with a Leupold VX3 3.5 x 10 and shoots 150 gr. Barnes TTSX.

Marlin 336A in .30 - .30.

Killed my second deer with a Winchester 1200 with a load of 00 buckshot. That was all that was allowed on Fort Lee in southeast Virginia.

Expat

My father's Western Field .30-30-- a Montgomery Ward "store brand" Marlin 336. The ammo was also Western Field, probably made by Federal. He bought it at the local "Monkey Ward" retail store, three blocks from our house in Bozeman, Montana--and the ammo was also Western Field, probably made by Federal. It was a package deal with a fixed 4x, made by Light Optical of Japan.

The range was about 40 feet, in ponderosa pine timber. Could only see the shoulder area through the scope, but the doe dropped right there.

Ruger .44 Deerslayer with the fancy stock....mild monte carlo, finger groove forend, and no barrel band. 2 3/4 Redfield with post and crosshair. 240 gr Federal blue box. !979 IIRC. Head on 8 pt. between the eyes at 20 yards. Flipped him backwards head over heels.

One of three or four pieces traded in for a 14' alumacraft jon boat for waterfowling. Should have kept it in hindsight but it grouped about 4" at best at 100 yards and I had not yet learned that most Michigan deer are taken at 60 yards or less.

Tikka 30-06 with a Leupold vx-1 scope.

Martin Cougar II compound, Rothhaar Snuffer broad head. 1982

Winchester 1917, 30-06. Killed mule deer with it in 1961.

Win 88 .243, Redfield widefield scope, win ammo irrigated to get the funds

Marlin 336 in 30-30 using 150gr Federals in Nov 1979

My first deer was killed with a $90 Bear compound bow I bought at K-Mart. It was in October of 1990. (I was broke.)

Sako .243 using 90gn Sako factory ammo.
One and only time I used factory stuff on deer.

First deer was with my Father's Ruger 44 mag carbine, semi-auto. A gun he used to keep his freezer full when he was younger! Red-dot on top is a great little brush gun.

1955 Winchester Model 37 12ga single shot. First kill November of 1978. My father paid $20 for it at the local hardware store.

Browning A bolt in 7mm rem mag shooting 150gr B tip over IMR 4350. 30 years ago and I remember it like yesterday.

Hand picked rock out of the creek bottom and a sling shot!

Winchester 670 carbine in .243 with a cheap Bushnell scope.

Savage-Fox double barrel with buckshot

Remington 742 243 didn’t like it much but it did the job. I bought my grandson a Winchester 270 featherweight and got an extra stock on eBay and shortened it to 12 inch he is 8 years old and has killed 2 deer so far he is a hunting machine.

That would be a borrowed 98 mauser in 8x57, "customized" with a cut down stock some time in the '60s. I think I might be the youngest guy to use such a contraption for hunting, as I'm a mere 54 years old.

1st long gun deer, Mossberg 20 ga smooth bore, after being made fun of for carrying a 20 ga.

1st pistol deer was a .41M

Remington 700 BDL 270 with 130 gr corelokt

Winchester model 95 (1903) 30-06 in about 1951 This was the family gun. Killed a nice 4x4 mule deer buck in spite of not knowing anything.

It had the issue buckhorn sites & they worked on many head of critters later in my hunting days.

I don't remember the photo, but the episode was
written up in one of my loading manuals somewhere
as a foreword

Great picture!

Savage 340 in 3030.

Early 90s PSE Spirit Compound Bow. Game Getter II aluminum arrows. Thunderhead 125 on the end. She was 18yrds from my treestand. It was OCT 17th 1997, I was 12. First season I was legal to deer hunt in Michigan back then. She field dressed @110lbs and had 2 fawns in tail. I will never forget it.

Dad taught me and assisted me in tanning her hide. I still have it and it hangs on my wall.

Mine was a 94 in .32 special. Borrowed from ma.

An as-issued 1903 Springfield.

Cva muz ldr 50cal 385 gr Buffalo bullet

Win '94, 30-30, . 1966., central ND. Dad's rifle. Nothing with it since. Couple brothers killed with it in the interim in NV, ID.

It's my walk-about rifle up here. I should kill something with it again. 1966 was a long time ago!

I did kill my first moose with a Marlin 336 now sleeping with the fishes , in 1969 or 70 before I re-acquired the '94 from a deceased brother.

Remington SP10. Federal #4 buck

Remington 760 Game Master in 30-06.

It belonged to my grandfather, I took it over when I was 14-15.
Still have it today, killed 2 deer with it this season. But have lost track of all the game it has put in the freezer and on the table.

A Remington 1100 12 ga with buckshot in 1980.

870 Wingmaster with a 30” full choke barrel with a bead. Remington slugger. Big doe at 40 yards.

Ron

Smith & Wesson 1500 in .270. Tasco world class 2-7x33 in kwik site see thru mounts. 1983. Winchester 130st. Big doe at 70 yards. It was the second thing I killed with it. The first was a bobcat. Still have the gun and carried it last week. Now has a 3-9 Nikon in leupold mounts. The kwik site see thru were the schnizzel in the 80s. They actually cost me what would have been my first deer the day before. Too many options for a kid, I kept going back and forth between the iron sights and scope. I mounted the Tasco 2-7 on my daughters first rifle a Ruger 77 ltwt carbine in 260 and she killed her first deer with it.

I was 13 and about 125 lbs , used my dads Remington 700 7mm mag . The buck was a 76 lb PA three pointer and it flattened him . Started a life long passion

Marlin 336, Simmons 3-9x Deerfield loaded with 170 grain Remington Corelokt bullets.

Button buck head on at probably 75 yards.

marlin 35 cal wish I had that old lever action back

Model 700 in 270

Shot was all of about 20 yards

Was 1984

Savage 1899 , 1915 dlux take down in 250-3000. In 1964.
Still have it .

Shot my first whitetail in 1974 in Aroostook Cty., ME with a pre'64 Winchester M/88 .308, load was a 180gr. Hornady RN over 41.4gr. IMR 4895. Buck still holds the camp record of being the heaviest @ 254# field dressed, shot him 17mi. off the paved road. Closest I could get with 4WD was 2 1/2 miles, took a day and a half to get him out of the woods.

1971. 45# Ben Pearson, Bear pre-made arrows.

Still have the bow, don’t know where the arrow is…

Not sure when, but a pretty early kill was with a VW Rabbit.

Winchers model 94 30-30 -1967, 15 yo, Vermont 6 point following a doe, two shots 3-5 “ apart, dropped like a stone. Happy my father was with me, he passed 2 years later.

Also a Win 94 30-30 1968 16 yo Surrey NH Button buck

1988

shot a doe

Bear Black tail compound bow with a 52lb pull...

I was 11. To young to have a license yet....

"Dad... I need some help....." was followed by.... "You did what ??? No freaking way....... "

Marlin 336 in .30-30, with Remington 150 gr. Coreloks.

T/C 45 caliber percussion

A Marlin 336 in 30-30. I think the ammo was Federal 170 grain Power Shock.

Winchester 94 30/30, first season I could deer hunt at 16. Day after Thanksgiving deer drives with family and friends, the rifle was my uncle’s but he didn’t want to go and let me use it. Popped a doe on the last drive.

Twenty some years later he passed away and my aunt gave me the rifle after finding out my history with it. A few years after that I took it out one afternoon with the idea of filling a doe tag for old times sake. About a half hour before sunset a coyote came cruising by, dropped the hammer on the gun for just the second time and had my second first.

What state was it that restricted you to age 16 to hunt?

Marlin 336 30-30 Winchester power point 150gr

In New York State I had to wait until I was 16 to hunt deer with a gun & was required to be accompanied by someone at least 18 yrs old. Small game minimum age was 14. The minimum age is now 12 for all hunting.
Most of the state was limited to shotguns. (rifled shotguns had not been invented yet)
Now most of the state allows any center fire rifle, but I live in one of the areas that remains shotgun only.

NY, but they did lower firearms to 14 and bows to 12 a few years ago. Small game is 12, was 14 in my day.

Damn.

An iron sight, bolt action, Coast To Coast 30-30

First deer (doe) sometime early 80s, was killed with a Bear Whitetail Hunter compound using 2117 Gamegetter arrows and Satellite broadheads.

Marlin 336 Rifle in .32 Win Spcl. Still have it!

Winchester model 94 in 32 Winchester Sp given to me by my grandfather. About 1976.

Killed a nice buck with it this year as well. 2023.

You do the math...

1st deer...a VW Jetta...
First with a firearm was a 50 cal CVA mountain rifle. A Win 94 in 32 WS was my first centerfire deer kill.

Hope your VW Jetta deer kill didn't take out the radiator. My VW Rabbit was still driveable. But that car is still as bad a car as I've ever had

Hope your VW Jetta deer kill didn't take out the radiator. My VW Rabbit was still driveable when I hit the deer. But my VW ended up needing 5 new alternators in a few years. Great engineering VW. I had 3 horrible cars in a row back then, the VW was the middle but all were pisspoor.

Young Roe buck 1975, with open sight Mannlicher 6.5x 54mm, firing 160gr round nose bullets.

12 gauge with 000 buckshot.

Ruger Blackhawk 44 mag.

REM 870, 12 ga slug

Marlin 336 .30-30 circa 1971 with a Bushnell Banner 1.5-4x scope and sight through rings. 150 gr Corelokts. Deer was a spike and I was 16.

870 express in 12 Guage that I bought at Woolworths the last year they were in business.

First deer was a doe with a Bear Grizzly II compound bow.

62 Chevy 3/4 ton 4WD pickup....

79 chevy monza. PA doe

53 cal muzzleloader

Had one of those.

300 hp 350 small block. Made that little car scoot.

Savage 99 chambered in .308 Win. Topped off with a Bushnell 3-9 power scope. The year was 1975.

M77 in 7mm Rem Magnum.

44 Magnum Super Blackhawk

Ithaca Model 37 20 gauge while running dogs at 8 years old

Remington 700 ADL in 30-06. 3 x 9 Tasco scope. Remington Core-Lokt 180 gr. PSP.

Winchester Model 12. 30 in barrel.

Steven’s single shot .410. Still have it.

1st deer ever was a PSE Thunder flight.

1st with a gun was a Remington 870 Wingmaster with slugs.

A push feed model 70 30-06. Shot was about 150 yards across a hay field. I was walking into my spot when he jumped up.

Winchester Model 37 .410 single shot w/W-W Foster slug in 1951. Range about 20 yards outside the hayloft of my Mom's barn. Little forkhorn Blacktail. Got another one the following season at a longer range and had to track that one--our stock dog Jock followed the blood trail right to the dead critter.

Nexr season my Grandad took pity on me and gave me a '92 .25-20. I used that for years, all the way thru grad school....

Savage 99F in 243, 100grn Sierra Semipoint running 2850fps. Dropped in tracks.

My first deer and elk, both fell to a 7 x 57, the rifle was a 95 Chilean Mauser Carbine, in full military. I got the rifle as payment, for cleaning my uncles gun shop! During my jr high and high school years, I aquired 12 different Mauser and Springfield rifles. From a very great uncle!

Ithaca 20 gauge. 25” slug barrel

Idk why my posts keep not posting.

Anyhow.. savage 340 in .223 with a cheap tasco scope

H&R Mod 301 308win full stock which I wish I still had.

Springfield 03 “custom” with K4 scope.

Remington 552 speedmaster, open sights.

A Marlin 336 30-30 I got in 1981, plus severalmore, killed one with it 2017, never been scoped.

Shot a fair 8 point in the early to mid 80's with a 444 Marlin with 265gr Hornady flat points. Damned near knocked my narrow ass outa that tree.

Three days before Christmas 1982 I killed a little 7point with my Christmas present that was given to me early. It was a Smith & Wesson 1000P 12ga pump. The buck was shot at about 40 yards with a load of 00 buckshot. He ran maybe a hundred yards and then piled up. What a wondrous morning it was! I was 14.

J.C. Higgins bolt action .22. Thirty yard head shot. Dropped like a lead balloon.

A .300 Savage 99R. I was 12. It was 1959.

The deer was a 4 point muley. A nice one.

Savage 110 tactical .308 win. Vortex diamondback tactical 3-9x40. Hornady 178 gr ELD-X. Great rifle, too heavy to tote around for hunting but accurate. Sold it, moved on.

A savage 110 30-06. That was 33 years ago.

Remington 700 BDL 30-06 still have the gun with the redfield 4 power scope on it.

700 BDL in .270. The mule deer dropped right there. So did the next two, as well as my son’s first two deer with the same rifle, and my first elk.

Whitetail doe marlin 336 and a 150 grain Winchester powerpoint

Winchester 94 AE 30/30. Worked pretty good on a 125 pound doe.

Savage 170 pump in 30-30, 170gr deadliest mushroom in the woods.

Need to pass it to some kid who will use it.

Mossburg 500 12 ga with vent rib barrel and pumpkin ball slugs. Year before I missed a deer with a savage Stevens single shot 12 ga that a point of impact about a foot from where you put the bead so I talked my dad into an upgrade for the next year.

Browning BAR in .270 Win

Winchester Model 94 Trapper in .30-30 with open sights. 1987 and I was 18.

Winchester XTR 30/06

first deer, handloaded 130gr bullet, standing off hand shot at a moving target.
I forget what the rifle is called.
something grand I thinks...

Glenfied 30A in .30-30. I was 15 saved my money up at my $1.85 an hour job, then had my parents buy it for me.

An arrow. After sticking many in trees. Home made, with a Hills Hornet three bladed head. Neck shot in spine, tho wasn`t looking at the neck.

M760 Carbine in 308. Factory loaded R-P 165gr. ammo.

First deer (and first shot ever) was a forky on the run (15 yards) w a 55# compound.

First gun deer was an 8pt w 12 ga shotgun, smoothbore.

Ithaca 37 Deerslayer 12 ga.

Hanco: Remember my first Deer like it was yesterday, even though it was in 1959.
The Rifle used was the families only "gun" a sporterized Winchester Model of 1917 in caliber 30/06.
I was 12 years old Hunting in the Wolf Canyon of taxingtons Okanogan country. Original peep sighted Rifle and the shot was 125 yards or so - to harvest a dandy 2x2 Mule Deer Buck.
Drug that chubby young Buck all the way back to camp "whole" (by myself) as I had NO idea how to dress it out.
Lot of water (and Big Game animals) under the bridge since then.
Time flies.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

243 Win, 100gr Cor Lokt. Rifle was a Winchester 670A, with a 4X Tasco scope.

Would have been around 1975 or so.

Winchester Model 94 30-30 with 150 grn Winchester factory loads. Not sure but I think they were power points. Small 4 point but seemed monstrous running straight at me. Deer was running from walker hounds and I had to split the meat with the dog's owner. 1979.

CLifford

A 12 ga. smoothbore, High Standard Flite King DeLuxe pump gun that I still have. Using Remington "Slugger" rifled slugs, AKA Foster slugs. Got a decent body sized 7 point buck just after I had quit for the day, as the light was fading. Got down from the low 6 ft. or so ladder stand I was in, laid the gun down in the leaves to get the rest of my gear together when I heard a deer charging up hill from below me through the leaves. I froze in place bent over and the deer stopped 10 yards to my right. Stayed froze bent over for about 2 minutes until the deer moved a few feet and I slowly began to pick the gun up. The deer bolted at full speed and I swung the gun to my shoulder and made a quick snap shot. As the gun went off I suddenly saw my sight picture and realized too late that I had shot too high and missed. Then the buck crumpled to the ground, twitched a couple times and lay stone dead. When I had fired too high he was at the bottom of one of his leaps, my "high " shot then connected with the back of his head as he was jumping upward. Turns out one of my buddies was walking up the hill to meet me, as he had quit for the day also. He saw the buck jump up and head uphill and heard my shot a couple minutes later. Range was about 20-25 yards.

22-250

Remington 1100 LT 20 . Smooth bore barrel with a slug. Slug was the only legal option in Indiana then in firearm . Long ago

20 ga single shot with #3 buckshot..........A doe chased by hounds.

I used my Ruger American in .308 to kill my first deer.

Ruger m77 243. Boat paddle.

Borrowed pre-64 model 94 in 30-30.

Winchester 94 in 25/35 117 Remington core-loks in 1967. Only shot I ever fired from the rifle. Still have the rest of the box of ammo that I bought with my allowance $$$ for $3.85 at the local sports shop.

Remington 722 rechambered to 308 Win from 300Sav. about 1965.

Model 12 12ga. Skeet grade with a 21" cut off barrel. #245 10 pt. 1979

HVA 30-06. with federal 150 gr factoryloads

Marlin 336 30-30, open sights with 150 sp. Approx 90 yards in 1976.

My first rifle was a Marlin 336, caliber 30/30. I was 17 years old.

Savage 1899, 1915 de'lux, 250-3000,
top

Model 94 - 32 Winchester Special.

H&R Mod 301 full stock 308win (that I wish I still had) 125gr Sierra in 1980.

30/30. Still running the same rifle.

I have since bought this rifle from OGB for a very reasonable price. This is for my son when he's big enough to shoot it. Want to say thanks again to OGB for such a nice gesture
Also a great person to talk/deal with!!!

I used a 270 Remington model 710

56 Chevy

Savage 110 3006 with a bushnell scope.

A 1958 production Model 94 Wichester .30-30, with a Lyman aperture sight and PMC 150 grain factory loads.

Montgomery Wards western field 243

.

Who made the rifle for Montgomery Ward?

My first deer was in 1979. My dad and i hunted central Wisconsin with recurves. It was warm so i was wandering aalong a trail and happened to get within 20 yrds of two deer.
I shot, hit was a little far back and blood was sparse. Dad helped me track and we found it 70 yrds from where it was standing.

Ruger M77 Ultra Light in 250 Savage. Redfield Widefield 2x7. Probably a 100 spire point.

Who held the light?

1987, 17 years old. Ruger #1V 6mm Rem with handloaded 100 gr Hornady BTSP. I watched the buck come towards me from 100 yards until he stopped facing me at 30 yards. I was shaking like a leaf, and pulled the shot so hard I hit him under the chin. He flipped over backwards, and that was that. I got blood all over me from gutting him, so I knocked on the front door with my elbow when I got home. My mom opened the door and I said " I got a deer!" My mom said "no, you're kidding". I said "yep, I'm kidding. I killed all the neighbors."

Model 94 my dad bought at the RAF Alconbury Rod and Gun club, in June 66, before we came back stateside to Pope AFB in the middle of Ft Bragg. I took my first deer that fall with that rifle. 30/30.

Still own that rifle also...probably taken a dozen or so deer with it over the years. As I got older and needed glasses to hunt with... I didn't use it as much since it wasn't set up with a scope on it.

As I have aged, I love the 30/30 case or its bullet speed. I load a lot of different calibers to hunt with, that duplicate 30/30 MV out of bolt action rifles... from 243 to 338/06. Most of the deer I've ever taken have been at 200 yds or under.

My guess would be Mossberg, probably a model 800B. I have the 800A model in .308 Win. that my dad bought me from Kmart in the 60s. In fact it was the rifle I shot my first deer with.

.44 Mag lever action marlin. Doe about 70yds away. I was maybe 12 or 13.

My parents' boss took me with him and his son. They'd taken me and my dad the day before (dad was never really into deer hunting) but he couldn't go the 2nd day due to my granddad having some health issues. So they said they'd take me themselves. Me, their boss and his son who's about my age got in a ground blind on a hardwood ridge between 2 pastures and nailed a doe traveling between the two.

Old Sako L46, 222rem, appx 150yds, took a 6pt, one shot right behind the ear, he dropped like something fell on him out of the sky! Had an old Leupold, thinking 3x9?

I was about 15 years old, got a part time job at Goose Hill gun club, picking birds and setting trap at night. The club picked up a new 700 bdl 30-06. My dad came home and told me to grab my gun. Open sights. I sat on the back of his flat bed pickup and he drove me down the road and turned around. There were 2 deer in a field about 75 yards. One was a forked buck. Dad told me to shoot it in the neck. I did and it went down. I left the gun in the truck and went after the deer. It was running a head of me . It was in a field what they call milo. There was a lot of blood. I grabbed the deer by the horns and cut his throat. I had just grazed his throat. I learned a lot that day. I killed 4 deer with that gun, re barrel to 270 and sold it. Alan

An old Savage, 12 gauge, pump that my dad bought from Service Merchandise in 1980(or somewhere thereabouts). Shot a whitetail doe with #4 buck. Dropped her where she stood at about 40 yards. Yes, I still have that gun!

Winchester Super X Model 1, plain MOD barrel, Western 7/8 oz lead slug in November 1976 at Aberdeen Proving Ground MD, I was 20 and at the Ordnance School. Still have the shotgun and one box of the slugs.

11 years old, sitting on my dad's lap. Remington 700 BDL 7mm Rem. Mag, 150gr CoreLokt. I only know the specific bullet because that's always been the only bullet my dad would use. Shot a doe in the neck at about 50 yards, she flipped over backwards and rolled another 50 yards.

11 y/o with a 788 carbine in 7/08. Still have it

Early 70's 700 BDL 270 with 130 Hornady over H4831

I own some real nice rifles, but my pet rifle that's been carried more than any of the rest is a 788 in .222 Rem. I love that rifle.

If it was my bullet that killed this one, then it was a $5 Mauser 98 7.92x57. with issue sights - Norma ammo.



There were two others that shot at that deer. I was a teenager.

The next one would have been with a '03 Springfield with a K4 scope, either with cast bullets or 180 grain core lokts.

50's model 870 corncob 16 gauge and #1 Buckshot on a hound chase

Remington 760 in 6mm Rem 100 grain cup & core game king I believe.

A borrowed 870 w iron sights a lot of years ago.

The following year I bought one of my own and have easily shot 25+ deer with that gun.

Time tested, mother approved.

I shot my first deer with a combo identical to this one. Wound up selling that gun then traded into this one a few years ago. I have yet to use it for deer but it is a sweet shooter. The ported barrel gives an impressive fireball.

Shotgun.

A new 6mm Rem 788 left hand with a 100 gr. Rem CoreLokt.

I was lucky to be a lefty, or I'd likely have gotten whatever was cheapest on the used rack. 4 of my brothers and I each got a Buck knife, a deer rifle and a shotgun for our 12th birthdays. Most of us still carry them some 50 years later.

An open-sighted 6.5x54mm Mannlicher Steyr, made in 1905. It was my first Roe buck, stalked on my own in the Highlands of Scotland, when I was 16.
A rite of passage in my family!

Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in .308 Winchester

Remington 870 12ga with slug. DRT!

I was nine years old. I used a Pre-64 Winchester Model 94 in .30-30 Winchester. A beautiful rifle, but she's spent the last 30 years in my safe. I got a .25-06 when I was 15 and since then I have not needed another rifle (hasn't stopped me from buying them though).

Early 70s Winchester M94 30-30 with iron sights.

I started hunting deer in 1995 after I'd moved to Cali. Picked up a boat paddle Ruger in 30-06 really cheap from a farm and ranch store that was closing.

10 minutes into the hunt and I spooked a heavy forked horn buck and dropped him with a 165 grain Corelock.

This was my last buck on the same ranch and also same rifle but it's now stocked in a coyote bomber Micky.

I had a sears ted williams pump gun 23 gauge. My dad set me up on his stand on a hill. Buck jumped over fence spined him as he ran downhill

12 gauge not 23 gauge. Had a weird glued on site. I remember sighting in and I centered the target. One shot and good to go

Weatherby Vanguard in 270 Win

Pre war Winchester 94 in 32 special

I attempted a ~500 yard shot with a 300 winchester handloaded with 165 Hornady Spirepoints. Missed but I insisted I didnt so we went to look in very high grass. Jumped him from 20 or so feet and I still had the scope on 14x so i couldn't see. Held the rifle a bit offside and hit him in the right rear . Darn near didnt have to gut him. A real mess

Savage 340 in .222 Remy

Winchester Model 12 12 gauge 30 inch barrel full choke.

Remington 788 in .308

Was using my older brother's rifle, a Rem700 BDL in 243win.

A model 325 Stevens cambered in 30-30. A mulie buck near Skull Valley Az. About 63+ years ago.

870 express slug gun

44 magnum Super Blackhawk

300 Savage M99

First deer, out of season , lad of 12 or 13, shot him between the eyes at about 15 or 20 yards, little 6 point. Didn’t endear myself with all the family at thanksgiving dinner when I came home and told them what I had done. Lost the use of grandpa’s 22 for awhile after that. First legal deer, nice 8 point with a borrowed 1951 marlin model 336 in 35 Remington. I was 14. Did not get in trouble over that, only deer the family got that year.

1978
Remington mod 760 pump in 30_06

Winchester 88 308

The Remington 700 BDL .270 I bought from Sears when I was in eleventh grade, 1967.

November 1977. Borrowed a friends Ruger Number One in 243. Being a poor college student I had a local bait shop which sold ammo by the round. Don't remember how many I bought but probably 8 or so. Killed bunches after that. I hunted for about 5 years before killing my first. We didn't have many deer back then, especially bucks.
Take care,
Rick

A Jennings Model T Compound, before many here were even born :-)

A T/C Contender in 357/44 Bain&Davis.

Killed my first bow kill with a Jennings back then...

First rifle kill was a 788 in 308 in the late 70's.

16ga Mod 37 featherweight made in 1953.. I got a doe in 1977.. I still have it… Matter of fact, I bought a case of duck loads from Boss.. It was sending a shell into the magazine upon recoil.. Took it to a friend that retired from gun smithing a few years ago.. All I have to do is test fire… Glad I dusted this bad boy off…..

Killed the first one (PA Whitetail) at age 16 with my Nana's 1950 Buick. Killed the 2nd one (AZ Mule Deer) with an 1895 Chilean Mauser in 7x57. Had bought it from Sears through the mail for $13 and change, and finished "sporterizing" it just before hunting season.

12 ga. Ithaca 37 with a smooth-bore slug barrel - Burris Scout Scope - Foster slug

Like CCCC above killed my first deer with a 91 toyota truck. After that I decided I wanted to start hunting them since my dad never hunted. Killed probably my first 10 deer with his winchester 94 30/30

Marlin 336C in 35 Rem.

1962, a great mule deer buck, near La Pine Oregon, 1 shot running with a 30:06. Somewhere around that same timeframe I killed my first elk, near the Billy Meadows Ranger Station, in NE, Oregon, with the same rifle.

Winchester 94, 3030, New York State, my father gave me one round and said make it count I wanted to fill up the tube up lol but It did count..

Same bullet, too?

‘86 Chevy Nova at 110 fps.

1976. He was running uphill past me on a drive. Shot him in the ass with Ye Olde 240 JSP. broke both hips. Still hunt with the gun but my daughter bogarts it when she's hunting.

I used a Remington 740 30-06. First rifle I bought, serial number 13,010, first year made 1955.

Savage 1899 in 250-3000, 1965.
Still have it .

Running shot with a model 99 300 Savage. Hit it in the horn and knocked it out. Came alive a little later.

Savage 110, 30.06

Remington 870 12 gauge with a 30” mod choked barrel, S & W slug. Southern Minnesota

Ruger Ultralight in .308 with a 130gn Speer HP took a small fallow buck.

Winchester model 1894 30-30 rifle I got from my grandfather. Running shot right through the heart ant about 60 yards on an average size pacific mule deer doe. At 14 my dad thought I had missed and hauled a friend’s doe he had shot in the same small herd. I stayed to track - found her right behind the first tree she ran behind. Ran the mile to the cabin to get dad & the truck.

1920s vintage 1894 Winchester saddle ring carbine in 30-30. The rifle was traded to my grandfather in the Depression for work in lieu of cash.

The saddle ring was rumored to have been removed my father at age 16 because “it made too much noise in the woods” - the stud was still there, and an old Lyman or Redfield peep was added.

It was a complete #%^# show on my part, but we ended up with a big fat whitetail doe and I gained a number of painful lessons that day.

250 Sav……

I killed my first deer with the Remington model 700 .308 with a Bushnell trophy 3-9 X 40 on it.

Remington 700 BDL LSS Mtn rifle, 30-06, 125 BTips that Grandpa and I loaded.

Winchester Model 88 chambered in .308 Win.

Savage 99E in .308W. Soon sold it to my brother and got my first left hand deer rifle.

45-70 Marlin, 300 gr Horn hand load.

One shot, nice 6 pt, DRT from a MS tree stand.

I was in my late 20’s.

DF

I used a 12 ga 870 Wingmaster here in Iowa and the sight (the same one you used?) adhered to the receiver with an adhesive backing. It was about 9-10” long and was very malleable. You’d bend the front tip and back fork whichever way you needed as the means to sight in. Regular 28” barrel with fixed M choke.

As I recall, I could keep the Foster slugs, about the only thing available then, in a paper plate at 90 yds or so. Walked up a big dry doe in a thigh-high dirty corn field (we used to have those). Straight-away shot. Broke her pelvis and severed the femoral artery. It was about a 20 yard recovery.

Winchester M70 30-06. 180gr Partition. Same rifle/load I killed my first elk with as well.

Just spent time reading this entire thread.... a lot of good memories from those days, told by other campfire members.

No one has mentioned it, but its amazing of how often the 30/30 from multiple manufacturers is mentioned... then the old 870 Remington Shotgun. Seems we were also able to make real cheap scopes ( by today's campfire standards) work, often mentioning Tascos, in 4 power, or the 3 x 9 x 32. Heck I've bought the 4 power Tasco for like $25 to $29 in the last 10 to 15 years, and the 3 x 9 x 32 for $39 to $49 in the same time period....

First scope I ever bought on my own, I put on a 30/06 in a Rem 700 ADL with a gloss wood stock, a 3 x 9 x 32 tasco. I thought I was styling after using open sites on a 30/30 before that time. This would have been 1980. I think I paid $179 for the Model 700 in 06, at Sears in the Twin Cities. And the Tasco was probably $25 or so., then the rings like $5.00 a set back then. It still worked just fine in Northern MN north of the Iron Range were I hunted with my wife's family... at least until I breathed on the scope's glass and it instantly iced over for the rest of the day... So I beat that problem by going to see thru mounts., and later changed to hinged mount, I could push over to the left and go to open sites.

The first two deer I ever shot were in 1966 at Ft Bragg... Model 94 and then my younger brother got to use that, and I was stuck with the 870 Remington 12 gauge.. still have both of those.

We all sure got by with a lot of inexpensive stuff in your youth....that most of us wouldn't even admit owning these days, much less paying for something that inexpensive. Funny tho, we seemed to make do with what we had in those days... so why not these days?

As for myself, I use to think the bigger caliber I had the bigger badass hunter that made me. Nowadays, a good old 22.250, or a 6 x 45, or a 6.5 Grendal is more than "all I need"....My favorite scope use to be a 2 x 7... nowadays, I have quite a few 4.5 x 14s on rifles...but then I can shoot stuff at much further distances than I could in my youth. Hell in those days in my world, a 200 yd shot being successful, is what I'd consider a 900 to 1000 yd shot being successful in today's world.

The thread, after reading the entire thing today.... Times sure have changed in our minds for many of us, compared to what we thought was the best option in your younger days....

I think the third rifle I ever bought, was my 444 Marlin... that thing was a cannon! I still have that rifle also... but I handload it, and it kills just as well, but a lot less recoil than factory fodder.. yet only gives up about 10 to 15 yds point blank range... with the right scope reticle on it, it doesn't give up ANY PBR. It usually has a 1.5 x 4.5 shotgun scope on top these days...with a Circle X reticle. Most than " all ya need".

But I'm sure there are others on here also... but the time has come, that I need to start passing these treasures on to younger folks....who can use and enjoy them... but I hesitate due to giving away other rifles to someone, who used them once and then sold them for a cheap price, just to blow it on something stupid like a couple cases of beer.. or probably some dope ( common around here )

Interarms Mark X .270 win w 150gr partitions, bushnell trophy 3-9

Remington model 742 30-06.

Model 740 30-06. Fresh out of the Navy and reunited with my best friend who ignited my admiration for the Savage 1899/99. year 1966

75 years ago, when I was a baby, my dad got a deer with a rock. We were on a ranch in SE Oregon where Dad was a ranch hand and Mom was teaching in a 1 room school. One lazy Sunday afternoon when everyone was off work, Dad had walked down to the creek and saw a forky standing in the water. Dad had played baseball on a town team and had a very good arm. He threw a rock at it and it dodged it but didn't run. Dad threw a couple more and the deer kept dodging them, but still stood there. Then something distracted it and it looked to the side. Dad pitched another one and hit it in the side of the head, cold conking it. He didn't have a gun or even a knife so he dragged it to a fence and tied it to a post with his belt. Then he walked back to the ranch for a knife and gun. He told the other men that he had a deer tied to a post and they all laughed but several did follow him back to the creek. By this time the deer was awake and struggling. Dad shot it and dressed it and had lots of help dragging it back to the ranch.

12 gauge Lefever shotgun loaded with #1 buckshot.

If you are going to use buckshot, 12 ga #1 was the best. Patterned very well. In NH it was banned years ago because the pellets weren't 30 cal. The only deer I ever killed with a shotgun was killed with Winchester Mark V in #1 buck.

Beat- up savage 99 ,250-3000 lever with at a peep-sight. 100 gr win silvertip. Dad had bought the rifle from a coworker for $75. My brother & I both shot our first deer with it. Some POS stole it years later. Wish I still had it. Some things are worth more than money.

A #4 Mk1 Lee Enfield .303 British with my handload using a Hornady 150gr spire point and IMR 4895 powder, in 1971. The deer was a cow-horn spike buck. I killed my first seven deer with that rifle and load. My Grandfather had "sporterized" the rifle by removing the top wooden handguard and then shortening and rounding off the forearm with a handsaw and wood rasp and wiping a little linseed oil on it.