Hunting Rifles/Guns When We Were Younger

[Old Stony]

Model 37 Winchester 12ga my father bought me when I was 14. I hunted all kinds of birds with it in Nebraska. Unfortunately I always bought the 2 3/4 inch magnum ammo and it always kicked the holy crap out of me.

[L_Killkenny]

First Rimfire - Marlin M25. I can't remember if I actually killed anything with it or just plinked. Mostly shotgun hunted in those days.

First shotgun - Winchester 1300 Ranger. Killed lots of stuff with this gun and while it now wears a shorter 22" barrel than the original 28" tube it's still my go-to gun.

First Centerfire - Savage 110 in .22-250. Still have the Savage although it's far from it's original form. Now a .243 and the only factory parts left are the bolt and receiver.

[Picher]

Funny, I too had a .22-250 and had it re-barreled to .243 Win. Now it's more useful for larger varmints and deer (grandkids).

[Crankylove]

First rifle I hunted with (rabbits and squirrels), was a Rossi 62SA pump action .22 LR............started shooting it when I was about 2 (I had help).

First centerfire hunting rifle was a Winchester Model 70 Supergrade in .270 Win, received for Christmas when I was 12.

I still have both.

[Powermwt]

My firsts were hand me downs... like some of you.

First .22 was a Remington 41-P bolt action single shot. My father carved his initials on it and that peep site made it a real accurate rimfire.

First shotgun was a Stevens 16ga. Model 105 that father had bought for $3.00 when he was a kid. I think they went for $11 new back then! I shot a lot of quail and pigeons with that old single shot.

First rifle was fathers Savage 99 250-3000 that had a bore that was shot out. He and I drove up to San Jose after I missed my first buck and he paid $125 for a used Remington Model 721 30-06 with a Weaver 4k scope that has shot true ever since.

Still have them all but the 99... wish I had that one also.

[Picher]

Cranky Love: A Winnie mod 70 Super Grade at 12 years old? You were spoiled rotten! I hope you still cherish it.

[alex0535]

It wasn't so very long ago in the scheme of things, but my first .22 was a Henry lever action given to me by my father. I still have it today more than a decade later, and will have it until I have a child to give it to, or until I am dead.

It is deadly accurate on squirrels, by now I am sure that number is in the hundreds. The occasional nuisance opossum or raccoon on the porch has experienced some .22 ratshot.

Other than that, I shot a number of my parent's guns. I learned to shoot with a Ruger 10/22. First deer was taken with a Marlin 336 .35 Remington and done some shooting of the Marlin 336 in .30-30.

First rifle I ever bought for myself was a Savage .17 HMR, then a Marlin .17 HMR and traded the Savage for a Taurus Tracker .17 HMR revolver. I have taken squirrel with all of them. When rabbit season rolls around I will probably take a rabbit with the tracker, these rabbits that we see in the yard nearly daily let us get closer than I target shoot with it.

[4runnerman]

Well time for the old folks to chime in. Where are the real first guns/. Mine was a daisy red ryder BB gun. Many a gopher fell to this as did mice and sparrows, then moved to a Brand New Marlin 22, the old drop 18 down the tube ones. Gophers now had a serious problem. Then came the trusty old 410. Not a rino killer for sure,but lots of Pheasants and grouse fell.Went to a odd 6 for many years for deer and finally about 12 years ago gave up the hunting and started killing paper. I remember being able to walk down Main Street holding a rifle loose,no gun case and the police would just wave when they drove by. The world was wide open. 3 blocks from the house was open field and open shooting.

[Crankylove]

A Winnie mod 70 Super Grade at 12 years old? You were spoiled rotten! I hope you still cherish it.

I do like that rifle, we've spent a lot of time together in the 20+ years I've had it. It's one that will never be sold, and hopefully my kids will enjoy as much as I do when they get old enough to shoot it.