HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN HUNTIN/WHAT GUN??

[Loggy]

Per Redclubs suggestion :lol:

Ok, how long have you've been hunting & what gun(s) did you start out with??

I started hunting at the young age of 12 back in 1963. So that adds up to 41 years hunting.

Dad bot me an ole Sears JC Higgins Model 20 12 GA Pump with polychoke for my first gun (used of course :lol: ). First Deer Gun was a 35 REM Pump..ole model 141 with spiraled forearm) with cartridge head embedded in receiver.

Look forward to hearing how long you all have been enjoying this great sport & what gun(s)you started off with!

 

[Kodiak]

Dad got me a Savage bolt-action .22 when I was 10 years old. That was in 1946. Don't have it now as I passed it on to a friend's son when he became 10. Got a .270 J.C. Higgins rifle when I was 15 and that really started it all. Over the years there have been many guns come and go, but I got my first in-line ML just a few weeks back. See how the best remained 'till last? Lots of fun, :lol: :lol: :lol: .

 

[Admin]

I started hunting when I was 12 or 13 with a pellet gun. Ok, well shooting sparows isn't exactly hunting. I then started rabbit hunting with my grandma's old 22/.410 using the .410 barrel. I got away from it for several years but remember always wanting to try deer hunting. Well when I met my wife in '96 (her family is big into hunting) it was kinda natural for me to try. I bought a compound bow and got started that way. I bowhunted a couple years. Sometime around that time I bought a couple Mossbergs, one in 20 ga and one in .410. I used the 20 for deer and the .410 for rabbit and squirrel. I hunted with the 20 for a few years but never got one. Somtime during those years I bought my Rem 870 Supermag and that's what I used on my first deer in '00. In '01 I tried bowhunting again and managed to take a young doe. That year was also my first year muzzleloading with a CVA Hunterbolt. Based on my lousy hunting experiences with it I upgraded to my Disc Extreme with thumbhole stock in '02 and took a small 7 point that fall. Needless to say it was a match made in heaven and I haven't looked back since.

 

[IndianaHunter]

I gigged my first frog at 10 and trapped my first muskrat at 12 and I?ve been going ever since. I used a borrowed Stevens 16ga. to hunt rabbits and squirrels when I was 13 and got my Winchester 1200 20ga with two barrels on my 14th birthday. I used it that season for my very first deer camp hunt. This will be my 32nd season and I still have that original gun. Since then I?ve deer hunted with pistols, Contenders in .44 mag, .375 Win. 309 JDJ, 30 Harrett and a custom Ruger .480?Muzzleloaders, 50 cal T/C White Mountain Carbine, .54 cal Lyman?s Deer Stalker, Savage 10ml-II 50cal, NEF/SMI 50cal. Shotguns, the venerable old 20 ga. a great 870 with rifled barrel and a Savage Slug Warrior. And when we get a season to hang from a tree and spear them I?ll get a few cool spears?.

 

[sheephunterab]

Not sure when it was but it's been 40 years or so. My first gun was a single shot .22 Ranger. I was deadly on gophers and magpies. I likely killed my first big game animal about 30 years ago and I picked up my first muzzleloader about 16 years ago. It was a Thompson/Center Firehawk.

 

[big6x6]

My brother, Harry1, bought me my first gun, a Daisy 102 BB gun at Housel Hardware for $7.95! That was probably 1966 or 1967..I was probably 5 or 6 years old I guess. Most won't believe this but you could buy BBs at every store in town! Everyone had BBs, no joke!

When I was 6 going on 7 I got a Stevens bolt action .410 for Christmas. Still HAVE it! Still have the store tag, again Housel Hardware and the price was $36.95! Either that year or the next I shot my first doe with a .410 slug while on a stand with my Dad...I shot her in the neck and she went down like a ton of BRICKS! When deer season wasn't in we always dove hunted starting the first weekend in Sept and then squirrel hunted starting every October 15...

We hunted EVERY weekend as a family up until I was probably 22-23 years old or something like that...and here I am still at it! :lol:

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[Grouse]

I started hunting when i was 12. My dad bought me a 30-30 Marlin. Open sights was it. Boy i hated that gun. First year i shot the horn off a 10point buck. No kidding. The next year was a Remington 760 30-06. Now it was my turn to laugh. I got a really nice 9 point at 13 years old. It took 4 shots. :shock: :lol: About seven years ago i shot a 6 point buck with that same 30-30 and sold it. I've been hunting now for about 23 years. I went to Canada in the year 2000. That was the last Deer i shot with a CF Rifle. It's been all Muzzleloaders ever since.

 

[Nic_58]

I started hunting squirrels and rabbits in the early 1970's at the age of about 13 or so with a Western Auto Revelation brand bolt action .22 rifle (BTW, I STILL have that old gun!). A couple of years later, I purchased a Remington Model 700 BDL .270 and put a Weaver scope on it and started deer hunting. I took up muzzleloading just 2 years ago with a T/C Black Diamond and have owned a total of 4 muzzleloaders since then. I now have an Omega and a Savage 10ML-II. I enjoy my muzzleloaders more than any guns I own. It's a really great sport, just sorry it took me so long to get started in it!

 

[Rifleman]

I got started when I was 9, so that makes about 33 years. Shot a rat with a 22lr Winchester 190 I bought with money I saved from mowing grass. Shot 2 groundhogs with a .410 shotgun not long after. First deer when I was 16 or 17 in Pennsylvania with a Marlin 336c. Mostly handgun hunted deer and coyotes up to a few years ago, caught somewhere around 50 deer with pistolas and half-dozen yotes withem too. Hunted out of state a few times with centerfire rifles which I really enjoy and long range ground hog huntin too. Used shotguns on a few deer as well along the way. Used to do alotta small game huntin when I was a kid, and recently took up waterfowling. Done some bird huntin along the way as well.

 

[VENISONEATR]

First gun was a Stevens 28 ga. shotgun that I recently had reblued and have big plans for in a few years...
First deer rifle was Marlin 336 30/30 But I killed my first deer with a Rem. 870 Express 12 ga.
First hunting license was in 1980 at the age of 13.

 

[Redclub]

I started small game hunting when I was 5 back in 1945. carried a Bbgun
First 22 was a steven's single shot when I was 7, first shotgun was a stevens single shot with a plastic stock 20 ga.
I started deer hunting in 1953 and have never missed a year. First rifle was a marlin 30-30. then I went to a winchester model 100, 308 auto. I believe that was in 1959 or 60. I kept it a couple years but it was really a piece of crap, jammed constantly. I traded that for a 308 remington pump and used that rifle for about 30 years I still have it. In 1968 I shot 7 bucks with that rifle (not a big deal today but back then that was unheard of) All 7 were shot on deer drives while I was a driver, all 7 were running shots. I used open sights until 1985.
Since then its been bolt actions for the firearm seasons.
I go to Co. elk hunting and have gone to Alaska and Canada as well.
I shot my first ML bull Elk and my first Buck with a ML this year.
A lot has changed over the years, When I first started hunting deer (in WIS) we had a 7 day rifle season. A buck had to have 1" fork.No doe shooting was allowed. Now you can shoot all the does you want.
I am 65 and hunt almost every day from Sep through Jan. Mostly just an excercise walk at this time of the year. Carry a 22 and shoot at rabbits don't hit too many.
Redclub

 

[DeerNut]

The first gun I ever hunted with was a Remington Model 121 pump .22 when I was 8 years old, the first gun that was mine is a Ruger 10/22 (Best christmas present I ever recieved.....I was such a happy 10 year old I cried tears of Joy....laugh if you must). The first deer rifle I ever hunted with was my Dad's 300 Savage Model 99 and the first Deer rifle that was mine was a Smith and Wesson bolt in 25-06. My first muzzleloader was a Hawken style ML...make unkown when I was 17 years old. I guess I've been hunting for 24 years.

 

[smokit]

Then Patrick You wouldn't think hunting sparrows with a BB gun was hunting.Well, I can tell you when I was 11 years old in 1960 and my Daddy's boss paid me .05 cents each to kill them It WAS HUNTING.I wore out 2 Daisy Pumps in 3 years killing" them there" birds that $hit a lot in the grain bins.

My fiist real gun was a 20 ga. bolt action shotgun.

 

[RAF]

I started at about 9 with a daisy BB gun shooting sparrows. Then graduated to a 177 single shot pellet gun. At 12 my dad gave me a Ranger 22 cal bolt action repeater. Gophers and sparrows were the main targets. My dad took me out at age 14 and used his Lee Enfield.This is the result.

. He then gave me a Ross rifle, in 303 British and used that for a few seasons. Also started hunting ducks and upland game at 15 with some buddies, who were slightly older, had a licence and access to vehicles. At first used a Remington 12 guage auto loader borrowed from an uncle. Bought a Remington 870 shortly after and still have. In 1972 Got a Parker Hale chambered in 30-06 and hunted with that until 1984 when I bought a Remington Model 4 in 30-06. I eventually gave the Parker hale to my son who still uses it. In the past few years have acquired a number of other rifles including a Remington BDL in 22-250 for varmints and a Savage 110 in 243.
I still have the Ross rifle, a Cooey 12 gauge single shot, a Remington Nylon 66, an Anshutz(spelling) 22 auto loader,a cooey 22 single shot and and a Winchester 22 single shot. I also just took possession of my fathers Lee Enfield (from his estate) which I likely won't use but keep for sentimental reason.
Of course I can't forget about my Savage 10 ML>
I know I don't have as many firearms as many here, but, it's sometimes hard to decide what to take out.

 

[MattWV]

First rifle was a pre-war Model 70 in 30-06 my grandpa gave me when I was probably 16, up until then i used my dads .243 BAR. I bought a browning A-Bolt in 7mmRM last year and got a disc elite last year for christmas. I also have a Model 12 12ga that is mine but my grandpa hasnt given it to me yet (not really sure why, he's got two for me and my brother and has told us they were ours since I was 5 but I've never even shot it) and another model 12 that he let me "borrow" but never asked for it back. :wink:

 

[Tar-12]

Started hunting when I was 6 yrs old with my Dad, hunting small game on the farm. That first gun was a Sears, Roebuck,and Co. .22, with a recoil sling in the stock. I almost flipped out when Santy brought that one! :wink: Soon after it was a single shot H&R 20 ga.Hit the railroad tracks a lot hunting bunnies with that one. I soon graduated to a Ithaca,Auto,12ga.! Man was I in heaven,until I started buying the ammo! :lol: A Lyman Great Plains was on the horizon for me,I sure took alot of deer with that one! Forgot one! I had a 410,bolt action Mossberg in there too. Sav.311 12 ga double,30 in barrel. That gun made me tough, packing it around all day pheasnt hunting!And of course the Sav.10ML of today. There were many more, but to numerous to list. I guess it has been about 36yrs now. Although I lost my Father at the tender age of 14, he instilled a love of the outdoors in me,in which time will never extinguish that flame that was kindled so long ago.Thanks again Dad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Harry1]

I started very early too with a Daisy BB gun. Probably 7 or 8 years old. Next was a Stevens single shot 20 gauge a year or two later. I sure wish I still had it. Boy did the squirrels in Pickens County suffer with that one! Next was a Western Field M830 (Mossberg) 22 rifle clip fed (still have that one). Next a Browning sweet 16 A5 (long gone :cry: ) used for deer and then a Marlin 336 30-30 deer rifle. Those times dad took me hunting at an early age were really special that I will never forget. That's why we need to forget about our own personal ego sometimes and just take a kid hunting.

 

[Chasam60]

I started shooting frogs with the older kids at about 6 or 7.got my own Daisy at age 10 and shot just about everything that crawled,swam,or flew. even killed a squirrel once.Caught him in an open tree in the middle of a field.I must have shot him 100 times before he came down.Shot my first deer in 1963 at age 18.Spent the next 4 years in the Marines,and got back into hunting and fishing.Went every chance I got. Shot most of my deer with a shotgun(no rifles in my area) I bought my first MZ in 1995,and discovered a new passion.All I hunt deer with now.

Charlie

 

[edmehlig]

Larry, I got my first gun when I was about 14yrs old and it was a 22LR Semi-Auto JC Higgins from Sears. After that I bought a Savage 110 in a 30/06 when I got out of the Marines as well as a Itahca 12ga Deerslayer.

Ed

 

[RAF]

sGee, I forgot to mention I too have a Mossberg 410 bolt action. Just got a few months back from a friend and haven't fired it yet. Opps, just remembered. Haven't registered it yet either