I mean the one YOU spent your hard earned pennies on.

Not one from Dad, Grandad, Uncle, Santa--etc.

Mine was at age 13 from Tony's H&T, Longview, Texas.

$14 bucks, earned by cutting firewood for the neighbor. (He## no, not for us, that was expected)

For that amount of sweat equity ( & all I had) Tony ( bless his heart) threw in some ammo and an old surplus web sling.

7.35 Carcano," sporterized", now as Paul Harvey would say, you know the rest of the "price" story.

Don't start laughing quite yet (not that all the " old-heads" around me didn't).
It was this purchase that led me into reloading and a much better understanding of ballistics.

Hornady still made both 128 and 150 gr. bulltets, Herters and Lyman had dies, Pacific had a Berdan deprimer and Tony had the berdans in stock. He also had a keg of surplus 4895.

Economics led me further into bullet casting, brinell hardness, gaschecks, barrel slugging, annealing, case forming, free-floating and trigger work. ( As well as introducing me to some true Gentlemen: gunsmiths.)

Though retired now for decades as the "first-line" rifle she remains in the safe, not much more valuable than when I got her;

that is, to anyone but me.

I was lucky in the fact that my parents always bought me a gun for what I needed on holidays, but the 1st one I bought myself was a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight Classic in .300 WSM. Don't laugh, guys, I'm only 23. Didn't know any better at the time!

Been thinking about getting rid of it these days to get something I would enjoy more...don't know if I'll do it, though.

Mine was a Remington 700 BDL 30-06 3x9 leupold Back in 1976.

This gun gave a few deer a dirt nap. <g>

Heck Justin why get rid of it? Don't let a lot of these internet guru's feed you a line of crap..
If it feeds good, which I bet it does, if it shoots good , which I also bet that it does,, and if it kills good, which I know damn well it does then you have a great rifle.
And it is your first, keep it, shoot it, and in a few years let us know how you feel about it.

Mine by the way was , and is because I still own it, is an old custom mauser in 270 and a timney trigger.
Only rifle that I ever bought that has cast off in the stock and it still fits me better than anything else that I own.
In fact I don't really know why I ever bought anything else for big game.

My first High Power Rifle was a Ruger 44 Mag Deerstalker.

My dad and I looked in the paper and saw a fella that had that rifle and a Winchester 30/30 for sale, so we went to look at them.

My dad wanted me to get the 30/30.

BUT, as I was a "serious" reader of Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, I was very familar of Bill Rugers ads, where he had modified a 44 Mag to a straight pull to allow importation into Africa ahd he had taken a lot of game with it.

As soon as I handled it I knew it was "the one".

I used this rifle for several years, killed a lot fo deer and smaller stuff with it. I do not have it now, wish I did, but I do use another 44 Mag rifle a fair amount.

I paid $60.00 for it, money I had made mowing the neighbors yards.

I mounted a 2.5 Bushnell Banner scope on it in Weaver Tip over mounts.

I painted the exterior of our house to get the money to pay for the scope and mount.

A left handed Remington 788 in 308 Win that I bought with cowboy wages when I was 17 years old.

I still have it and as far as the Feds know it's still registered to my 79 year old mother.

Remington M600 6mm Remington. Mounted a Bushnell Banner 3x9. That was 1966!!!
Sold the rifle because it was so ugly and bought a Browning Safari grade 3006 in 1967.
Mounted a 2x7 Leupold. Sold that to romance a new hot blonde. STUPID I was!!!
Still have the Bushnell Banner 3x9 on an old Ruger 10/22. PERFECT set-up to this day.
That scope is OVER 40 years old!!!! Everyone said that "jap" scope was a P.O.S.!!!

My first real rifle for hunting was a winchester 94 in 30-30. I wish I still had it.
My parents bought it for me when I was 16.

When I was 25 and I moved away to CA from NY.

I felt under gunned out west hunting desert mule deer and feral pigs. The long distances are what worried me, not the lack of power in the 30 30. My best friend's father was a FFL table dealer, he sold me a new in the box Winchester Model 70 Supergrade in 300 Win Mag.

We put a Leupold VX III 2.5 x 8 and away I went!! At the time I thought that the $17.00 for a box of 20 cartriges was obsene. So I wanted to reload out of ecenomics. An old guy at work who used to be on the national pistol team sold me all his reloading equipment for $100.00 and taught me the basics. He warned me that reloading dosen't save you any money. You wil still spend whatever you can afford on shooting supplies. You will just shoot alot more!!

That rifle not only got me into a life of reloading (every gun since then has never seen factory ammo) but it has accounted for 6 mule deer, countless coyote, javelina and feral pigs. It has made 2 trips to Africa and taken over 20 animals there and yes I still have it. I just got it back from a gunsmith in Maine with a new Accumark Barell.

Well, my first was Rem 700 BDL 7mm mag. I fell into mag craze in the early 70's. I started with my dad's old Rem 721 '06 and it's funny that I use a '06 now on whitetails here in Tx.

In the late 1940's, I shoveled snow and mowed grass for half of my home town to save up money to buy my first centerfire rifle. It was a Remington Model 722 in 300 Savage. Shot my first Deer with it in 1949, with the iron sights that came on the rifle. Seems I had read about scopes back then, but never dreamed of actually owing one..

Don

My first self-bought rifle was a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in .243 Winchester. I told my dad that I wanted it and he responded that if I made all "A's" that spring semester (I was 14) that I could buy one. I had paper routes both in the morning and afternoon and had no problem affording it. In fact, I ordered a Lyman All-American 6x scope for it, too. Because the scope wasn't part of the deal, Dad made me make grades again before I could install it. So for the first season I used just the iron sights. Eventually I got a Leupold 3x9 for it when I was in the Marine Corps.

That rifle was stolen out of my pick-up when I was about 35. At that time, I lived in South Carolina where the deer season started August 15th and ended January 1st (no limit). I rented a nicely refurbished and modernized tenant house on a soybean farm and was given carte blanche by farmers all around to kill every deer I could (and I did... some from my back porch). That dang rifle probalby was responsible for 200 deer during those years.

With the old screw-lathe Nosler Partitions, I got 1" accuracy and most every shot, at any angle, was a shoot through.

Needless to say, I'd castrate the s.o.b. that broke into my vehicle. I reported the rifle stolen, but the store from which I bought the rifle was out-of-business and I didn't have the serial number. Alas. Maybe someone worth a flip bought it (unknowingly) and is enjoying some of the same fun I had with the little gem.

While I've had other rifles, that first Model 70 got me hooked on 'em. I now have half a dozen or so... and my favorite, of course, is a pre-64 Featherweight.

Mine was a Model 94 32 Special. I bought it with money I earned raising 4H pigs; the other half of my money had to go into my college fund. I had wanted a 95 that was in 405, but Dad talked me out of it. He knew I could use either 32 Special or 30/30 ammo in the 94. You could buy individal rounds out of big glass jar down at the country store down the road. Dad got me a Lee Loader that Christmas. Still have a 94 in 32, but not that one. I acquired BFBA disease(Bigger, Faster, Bolt Action) and that nice 94 went in my first trade.
Bfly

I imagine "high power" is a relative term but that would have to be my 30-06. It has shot well since the day I bought it and continues to do so. I don't forsee ever getting rid of it. As to what is definetly high power, that would be my 338-378 Wby .

Ken....

I bought a Winchester Model 70 300 win mag in 1972 with a Weaver 4X scope and Weaver mounts. Still have the rifle and the scope. Rifle has a 3X9 Zeiss on it now and a different stock, but the same weaver mounts.

It has been out west to Africa and used this year to take a 9 point whitetail. I have other rifles but it is my fav.

BigB

Damn if I can remember! I remember the first handgun like it was yesterday but I had my fathers's Model 70 and uncle's Rem 760 so buying rifles wasn't a priority. The first rifle I REMEMBER buying is my Sauer 200. I THINK it was the first but it MIGHT have been a Savage 220 Swift.

Brand new 1970 Remington 700 BDL 25-06. Like JudgeG's rifle, it too was stolen. It was recovered 12 years later, missing the bolt (thanks to the Philadelphia police property room) and the Redfield scope, and the bowling pin finish looked like it had clubbed a 100 sheep.

I salvaged the action, installed a 24" Hart barrel chambered in 338-06 AI, skim bedded into an H-S Precision stock. It did itself proud on Namibian plains game in '04.

I was never in a position to receive a gun as a present. My dad bought me a 22 when 12, but against his will (thanks mom!). He didn't feel it was money well spent. I still have that Marlin 25N. My favorite rimfire.

I worked for my dad cutting trees. With my first and to my recollection only pay check after the entire summer; I bought a Cabelas Hawken in 54 caliber from the bargain cave. I bought the whole setup: caps, balls, Goex powder, powder horn, possum bag, etc. I think I spent about $150 bucks. Turns out to be the only rifle I hunted with until I was 20 years old. Many-a whitetails fell to that rifle.

I plan to shoot it again this fall to cull some does.

It was back in the days when Sears had several pages of gun listings in its catalog. My father, being Norwegian saw little need for a frivolous purchase such as a rifle so I knew I had to go cheap.

I did have good instincts though. If I got a 22 LR first I would have had little chance for something bigger later so I went for a centerfire. That way I would later be able to plead economy and buy a 22 LR.

It was a sporterized 7X57 Mauser from Sears and I believe the cost was less than $30. The barrel was pitted but it did go bang and make a lot of noise.

I learned to reload for it with a Lee Loader on the kitchen table with no adult supervision and never blew myself up.

mine was in 1974, at the ripe old age of 16. Remington 700BDL .270 Winchester. Bought it at K-Mart with money earned working at the grocery store, and summer jobs welding, and wrenching cars and motorcycles. Couldn't use it for much in Iowa, but Missouri isn't far away. I wish i still had it. I have the same rifle now in 30-06, but if I ever find a duplicate in .270, I will buy it.

Traded my milsurp R388URR radio for a war souvenir M98. Only rifle I had for ten years or so. Actaually killed more game with that rifle than any other one I've ever owned. Still have it but haven't hunted it in 20+ years.

My first rifle was a .243 Win I purchased when I turned 18, $175 with 5 boxes of ammuniton at an estate sale. Parker Hale Midland with Jana 4X rifle scope. Shot my first ever mule deer with that combination. She now wears a VX-I 3-9 and a Timmney trigger but pretty much the same old rifle I bought 19 years ago.

Dad never was a hunter after Viet Nam. So until that rifle I never shot any thing larger than a .22 LR and 12 gage shotgun because dad didn't own any. Dad always talked of hunting rabbits and birds as a kid. After he came home from the war he never picked up a rifle except to kill a coyote or put down an sick animal.

For a high power rifle, I was 21, and it was a BAR in 270 Win. I put a Leupold VX on it, their first 50 mm obj. lens. I din't know that was tacky, and I didn't know that a semi-auto shouldn't shoot as well as the 270 Remmy I had inherited from my pops (who had from his) so I just bought some Winchester silvertips, and it shot about 3/4" at 100 yards. Never looked back and killed a lot of critters with it before I realized it wasn't supposed to shoot so good. It still does though--probably 1000 rounds through her by now, and still going strong.

My first centerfire was a Christmas gift from my mother and was a Remington 742 in 30.06. It was minute of deer and quick with a second shot which was good because I mostly hunted in Arkansas and the deer were being chased by dogs.

The first centerfire I purchased was Sears M-53 Winchester clone in 270 after I moved to Denver in 1990. The old 742 just wasn't accurate enough for 200 and 300 yard shots. The 270 came with an off brand Jap scope in 3x9 and a leather sling for the price of $250.00. The rifle would shoot one hole groups and killed many coyotes, hogs, whitetails and mule deer over the years and even a couple of elk and pronghorns. I shot the hell out of it and finally the barrel started to go so I sold it for twice what I paid and used the money to buy my daughter her first deer rifle.

Perry

My first one was in 1967 from Williams gun sight a H&R Topper single shot 30-30 and 20 gauge barrels

My first center fire deer gun was a model 94 win 30-30 given to me by my father still have the rifle not the father.
The first rifle I bought was a Browning A-Bolt in 280 rem.was a very accurate rifle but couldn't get over the made in Japan stamped on the barrel so I sold it and replaced it with a model 70 featherweight in 280 rem.

I was 12 yrs old and Dad bought me a Remington 760 in 30-06. It was ALL I wanted!!

The first rifle I bought with my money was a 1917 Eddystone, 1964 in Glendive, MT for 35.00. This is how I started my career as a bubbasmith

Weatherby Vanguard 30-06. Killed many a deer with it, but always wanted to move up to a Mark V like some of the beautiful examples in their custom catalog. After I got older I finally traded the Vanguard for a German Weatherby Mark V also '06. They are very accurate guns.

Still later managed to expand on the 30-06 theme with a pre 64 Model 70 and a Belgium Browning bolt gun in a high grade model. So I guess the collection is pretty much complete.

Ruger 77R in 338wm purchased in 1979. I wanted a single rifle to hunt anything in the usa. Second rifle -- ruger 77 RSC in .458wm bought in 1981 as a graduation present for myself for finishing college.

My first hi-powered rifle was a model 91 Mauser in 7.65 X 53. Traded a .22 lever gun for it straight up. The trade happened 39 years ago. Still have the rifle today but it is now a 7mm-08.

My Dad didn't hunt, but when I was 9 or 10 he bought me a .22 single shot and taught me to shoot.

It wasn't until I was in college and had a summer job for the Forest Service in Steamboat Springs, CO in about 1966 that I bought my first centerfire rifle. I ordered (through the mail with no restrictions) a Herter's Model U-9 barreled action in .30-06 and a Herter's semi-inleted stock.

After I moved to Montana in the mid '70's I had this rifle rechambered to .30 Gibbs, because I thought the Gibbs case looked cool. I retired that rifle a couple of years ago, but it served me well taking almost 30 elk, 20 each deer and antelope, 2 moose, a mountain goat, and an Alaskan caribou with it.

Mine was a Remington 721 in 270. It had a weaver k3 on it. I bought it used at a local pawn shop. I had to have a 270 because my grandpa had one and I idolized him. I don't remember how much I paid. It was really a tack driver. It didn't seem to matter what if fed it. Back then I didn't reload so whatever was on sale at the sporting goods store was what it got. I sold it for another 270, a Ruger 77 that was smaller and lighter. What a mistake. The guy I sold it to just laughs when I ask to buy it back. What a dummy I was.

Remington model 600 in 6mm with a 4x weaver. I was 13, and I paid $100 for it!

Rem 700 in 7 mag. I was in my early 30s at the time. Hey, better late than never!

The same rifle I still use to this day. Savage 116 7mm STW. Came with a POS Simmons scope that I got rid of and replaced with a Nikon Monarch. I absoulutely love this rifle!!

1980, a MARINE CORPS base in california had a layaway program.i was making 121.00 every 2 weeks,took 3 paychecks to buy my very own
model 70 in 270.topped it with a weaver k-4
started feeding coyotes to the buzzards on
weekends,buzzards got fat and i got alot
of practice.
still have it w/the same scope,30 yrs later
the buzzards "still" follow me when they see me break it out.

I was 21. My buddy's dad was a manager at a gun store. My boss at the time brought in his Howa 270 where we worked, as he and his friend were about to go hunting. I said, "what the hell is a 270?" I had heard of a 30.06 and a 308. Since I was a hardcore bowhunter, I didn't know anything existed other than those 2 calibers.

After looking at his rifle, I called up the gunstore that day. I was told that there were "plenty" of 270s on the shelf. Since my dad owned a little Ruger 22, that was the only brand name I was familiar with, and since dad owned one, I figured it must be a good brand.

I went to the bank on my lunch hour, withdrew $1000, and went up to the gunstore. I had my friend's dad hook me up with a Ruger M77, wood/blue, and a Nikon 4x12x40 glossy scope, and 2 boxes of Remington corelockt ammo. All New stuff.

I shot this rifle and to this day regret trading it b/c it was so accurate. (yea yea, it was a Ruger, but it was a gem). Since I shoot left handed, I wanted a LH rifle. So, about 3 months into my ownership of my new rifle, I was sitting on the thrown reading the back page of a hunting rag. There on the back was the "NEW RUGER MK II M77, RH AND LH." The 2 rifles were pictured back to back.

I called up the gunstore and asked if they had a LH in stock. Was told they just put one on the shelf. I told them to set it aside. Drove up, paid $20, they switched out my scope and took my first rifle.

Now I was set with my first LH rifle. It wasn't even close to as accurate as the first. But, I still own it and still hunt with it. It now wears a Hart bbl. and Leupold scope.

My first rifle was a Howa 1500 30-06 S/S I spent all my savings on when I was 14. Put a Burris Fullfield II 3-9x42 on it and haven't changed anything since. Dad bought me the scope though since I was flat broke after buying the rifle.

my first hi power rifle was a 3006 my dad had reblld and put on a mark 1 1903 Springfield. i was living in Bangkok,Thailand at the time. the original rifle was captured from the Pathe Lao in Laos. it was origionally give to Chiang Kai Shek to fight Mao. i had to do a lot of gardening for it. My brother got a 30 m1 carbine as well same way. the Thai armorer made teak stocks for them. we still have both of them.

Model 99, 300SAV. Bought it sight unseen for $180.

My most favorite and my go to rifle for anything. It just feels right.

My Dad said to me way back, "Anything that gets in front of that rifle is dead."