The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting American Big Game Hunting What was your first "Hi-Power" rifle?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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Remington 1903A3. I was shooting a .22RF at our local range at a distance of 100yds and having fairly good success. I was keeping a 5 inch group. This older gentleman next to me suggested I help him shoot up a bunch of his excess ammo. Little did I realize he was the local DMC champion. I fell in love with the rifle and purchased it from him for $250.00. That was in 1990 or 1991 as I recall. It has a 4 groove barrel, the original stock with all the correct markings, matching serial numbers, is fully bedded both the action and the barrel and has a 2 lb Timney trigger. I have taken several deer, a few piggies, and embarrassed many folks with expensive scoped rifles on the silhuette range. I even sent some AP into the 400 meter backstop and created interesting staining after it rains  Andy B We Band of Bubbas N.R.A Life Member TDR Cummins Power All The Way Certified member of the Whompers Club | |||
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Remington 700 Sendero in 270win back in 2000, I think. That rifle now lives as a 270-300Rum. | |||
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Gidday Guys, Savage 99F in 308 win cause the Army used to supply free 7.62 to keep the herds of Reds and Sika from over running Waiouru. Sold it to pay some bills and replaced it with a Sako Forester in 243 win. Now that Sako is one I wished I never sold. Happy Hunting Hamish | |||
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Holy Bore-Burners Batman, and I thought my 6.5/284 was hard on throats. DuggaBoye-O NRA-Life Whittington-Life TSRA-Life DRSS DSC HSC SCI | |||
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270 built on a Sako action, custom stocked in a piece of fabulous Bastogne walnut,by my uncle with a 2.5x8 pentax light seeker. Funny story around the rifle. I had always hunted with my Dad's rifles, post college I went into the Army, after the Army I ended up getting a job in the same town as my uncle. I owned a couple of shotguns and a marlin 39a. Anyway, my uncle and I were scheduled to go hunt whitetails and he called me over to his shop. He told me that I needed a rifle and he had one in his shop that he was building for a client who died during the build process. My Uncle tried to deliver the rifle to the client's wife, since the client had paid for the rifle. The widow told him she had no use for the rifle and he should keep it. That is the story of my first high power rifle. That same rifle is now living life as a 6.5x284 with Leupold VXIII in 2.5x8 and has since been checkered to give it some more character. I posted an old picture as the new version should be delivered by the brown truck early next week. I guess I should have read the original post, my first purchased rifle was a Brand NIB Win M70 Classic in .25-06, with a NIB 3x9x36 Swaro. I bought the rifle, scope, rings, bases, bore sighted and 2 boxes of ammo at McBrides in Austin, TX for a mind numbing $1150.00. I still have the receipt. The funny thing is I thought I had lost my mind spending that much money on a scope and rifle. Funny how times and perspective change. I still have that rifle and love it as much today as the bright summer day I walked out of the gun store in Austin.  | |||
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One of the very first Ruger M77s chambered for .280 Remington when I was 18 years old. After trying to decide between a .270 and a .30-06, I split the difference. I made the mistake of putting the gun into a synthetic stock. I found out immediately that I hated plastic stocks and sold it shortly thereafter. One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know. - Groucho Marx | |||
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99-C Savage in .308. One of the most miserable P.O.S. rifles I've had the misfortune of owning over the years. Founder....the OTPG | |||
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Vangaurd 300 weatherby with a ridiculous ~8-20x Boone and Crockett Leupold. Sucker cut me deep the first time I shot it. Had an old man that worked at the range helping me bore sight it standing over my shoulder. I immediately tried to hide it as though nothing happened. Worked great until the blood started spattering on his bench. I was actually going to shoot it again just to hide my shame... I'm glad he stopped me b/c the next shot could have really methed wiff mie cognitive abylitiys... Put another inch of LOP on it, now I love shooting that little tack driver. "Sometimes nothing can be a pretty cool hand." 470 Heym; 9.3x74r Chapuis, Heym 450/400 on it's way | |||
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The first rifle I purchased was a 1962 Remington 700 in 264 Win Mag. It had been fired 2 time's. It had a Leupold 4 power scope and 3 boxes of cartriges minus the 2 that had been fired in the rifle!!! I sold the 4 power and put a Leupold 3x9 on it. That was in 1976 my Senior year in High School. I still have it!!! | |||
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British Rifle No. 5 Mk I (Jungle Carbine) which I bought from a San Francisco surplus store for sixteen dollars in 1962 while I was in the Marine Corps. They wrapped it up in newspaper and I walked out the door, carrying it through the streets of downtown San Francisco, got on a Continental Trailways bus to LA with it, even showed it to my fellow passengers in the cabin. Times have changed. Namibiahunter  . | |||
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FN mauser in 30-06, bought used for $200 | |||
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30 yr.s ago when I was still teaching school and on a very tight budget, I traded a used lawn mower for a butt-ugly 30'40 Craig. It was a military veteran with a cracked stock. It was crudely sporterized and fitted with Layman sights. The bore was worn and pitted near the muzzle and the chamber so worn that it cracked brass. The magazine wouldn't feed so I hunted single shot. The bolt was so worn that once a sudden movement when I was pointing it up caused the bolt to fall open and my bullet to fall out. I felt like Barney Fife. But I did kill deer with it, got really hooked, and the rest is history. Sei wach! | |||
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Mine too was a sporterized 7.35 Carcano. I think I paid $24 for it circa 1958. It came with military ammo with the FMJs replaced with soft tip bullets. I was a piece of crap but I killed my first deer with it. Later, I destroyed it by firing it by remote control (tied to as post with a string on the trigger) with a cse full of Bullseye (Ah, youth). | |||
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First was a 93 Ovdieo Mauser in 7x57. Must have 12 or 13 years old. Paid $80.00 for it from a guy who took me groundhog hunting for the first time. Was not old enough to know it had excess headspace. Killed a number of deer with and when I got older, realized it was not all that safe to shoot. Put it away for probably 20 years. Just had the barrel turned back a rotation and rechambered. Shoots great. Always had a perfect bore. Sporterized and not pretty, but I would not trade it. Earned the money by building fence with my dad. | |||
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HA! Thanks for the giggle, and wear your scar proudly. ______________________ Hunting: I'd kill to participate. | |||
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I was given a Marlin 30/30 as a kid, but the first one I bought was a 3006 model 670 Winchester with blind magazine and ugly blond stock. This was the first rifle I reloaded for. I used data from a lyman book an old friend had. It was very accurate, and cheap , got it at a local pawnshop, saved money working after school and in summers. Lost it in college some years later. I should have kept it forever. | |||
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Rem 700 30-06 700 BDL I was about 25 yrs old...should have never sold it...and should have never bought another rifle... Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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My first that was MINE was rather late. I bought an old Marlin 30-30 when I was 21. Up to that time, I did have an SKS, but that was more of being 19 with a paycheck in my pocket. Sold the gun later to buy a varmint rifle. Never really used the 30-30 | |||
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Worked all summer doing construction and farming saved up enough for a new Browning A-Bolt stainless stalker 7mm rem mag. It was a real tack driver, but I was only 16 and didn't realize how hard it can be to come by a real accurate factory rifle. A couple years later I sold it for 200 less than I paid for it  | |||
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My first was a Colt 30-06 coltsman. I bought it from a sgt. in the Marine Corps in Barstow CA in 1963 while stationed there. It also got me into reloading and I have never taken a game animal with a factory round. I still have the rifle, it is retired and is only wiped down and fondled now and then with fond memories. Now I shoot so many calibers I sometimes can't keep track. By the way, that Colt is a tack driver with 47 grains of imr3031 and speer 150 gr. spitzers. Semper Fi | |||
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Mod 70, 22-250 in late 70's. Started the reloading past time - obsession that is un-shanged today unfortunately the rifle is long gone. Von Gruff. | |||
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I was home on leave, 1968. The rifle is a Rem 700 BDL 6mm Rem--still have it, still use it. Phil NRA Life Member since 1976 philny1@zoominternet.net 877 485-6270 Visa/MC accepted , plus 3% We have to save the Earth, only planet with beer!! "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading". Thomas Jefferson | |||
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First rifle I bought on my own was a LH Browning Stainless Stalker 30/06. Killed a lot of deer with that rifle, and still have it, but don't hunt with it much anymore. Will never get rid of it. Ken | |||
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A M-94 in 30-30. Purchased used in 1960 for the princely sum of $50. That included a box of silver tips. BTW, it's still in my safe, though I haven't shot it since taking a Javalina with it in 1981. NRA Patron Life Member | |||
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You were reading TOOO much Ackley I suppose  DuggaBoye-O NRA-Life Whittington-Life TSRA-Life DRSS DSC HSC SCI | |||
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My first high powered rifle that I bought was a Ruger #1 in 375 H&H that I traded a Sig P226 in 9mm that I had not shot in a few years for on Fathers Day a few years ago. Mounted a Leupold VXII 3x9 on it and a Moyers trigger and called it good then took a nice moose with it and my wife made the killing shot (head)on her black bear with it. I do enjoy shooting that rifle and love the way it carries considering how heavy it is. | |||
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Mine was a 94 30-30 when I was like 18 or 19. Was building fence for 7 dollars an hour. It killed many bucks. I think bought it for 170 or so, during the time I was paying off an old Power Wagon. The gun held five rounds in the tube. Now I have neithor, I know the truck is still running around, but I got another 1 of both. I miss em dearly. | |||
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My first High Power rifle was a BCD code Mauser in 8mm. Bought it in 1974. Sporterized with a Bishop Stock. I was in college and engaged so little to no money. I blew the budget and had a Redfield peep site installed. Total was $125.00. Did not reload at the time and used the cheapest Herters 8mm ammo I could find. Tried some surplus stuff but 3 out of 10 did not fire. Took many a MN whitetail with that rifle. Gave it to my Brother-in-law for his first "big gun" Just got the rifle back this year after 24yrs.. Going to spend way more than its worth but turning the old Mauser into a lite weight 280. | |||
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My first high powered rifle, was a ruger 77 25-06. I made the money by selling one of my show steers at our county show. I almost spent all may cash on the gun, I think it was 480 + tax. I had to buy a used Redfield tracker 3x9. My total bill was right at 6 bills, in 1989 I was 15. I made some of my best shots with that gun. I shot a really nice 8 point with it a dead run at 120 yards. I shot a doe at the edge of a wheat field ranged at 444 yards. I still love that rifle even though its right-handed. Ed DRSS Member | |||
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Savage 110 in 7mm Remington Magnum. Love shooting precision and long range. Big bores too! Recent college grad, started a company called MK Machining where I'm developing a bullpup rifle chassis system.  | |||
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First one I bought was a Remington 700 ADL in .25-06. Came with Weaver K-4, case, couple boxes ammo, Lee loader, brass, bullets, load book, and sling. Paid $120 in 1972. Later traded out scope for a 3-9 Leupold. Still shooting it. | |||
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"Sometimes nothing can be a pretty cool hand." 470 Heym; 9.3x74r Chapuis, Heym 450/400 on it's way | |||
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My first purchased gun was a 1917 eddystone enfield ,sporterized,with a Fajen walnut stock and redfield scopemounts and a 4x redfield.Still had the 5 groove original 30-06 barrel and weighed close to 10 lbs.I had been loading for a few years for my hand me down remington 742 in 308 and wanted a bolt action to load for.Paid $200 for it,traded it in a few years later on a ruger 77 flat bolt in 6mm. ****************************************************************** SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM *********** | |||
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My first purchased rifle was in 1963, a M70, 300 Win Mag. I sold that rifle when I thought I was broke. HUGE mistake. I have not made that type of mistake again...... I purchased two of them, one for my buddy who has since passed on. They were purchased through a part time gunsmith named Zane Denman who also introduced me to reloading. Damn, speaking of the dim historic past  Jim "Bwana Umfundi" NRA | |||
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There was a local pawnshop that carried a lot of used guns, quite a few being sporterized military rifles which were common in the 1960's - 70's. My first big game rifle was a M93 Spanish Mauser 7X57, made in 1896. It cost $40 which gave me enough left over for a box of shells and the deer, elk & bear tags for the season. The Springfield 06 that I really wanted was $60 which would have kept me from getting the shells and/or tags. That gun served me well on the local Blacktail deer, and the Roosevelt elk, with it's iron battle sights. During the summer I had a fire watch job so the Mauser was always with me. This gun also went along on my first guided hunt, a moose trip to British Columbia. I didn't get one, but two of my partners scored, so all of a sudden we had ALOT of moose meat to get home. We rented one of those small Uhaul box trailers, put the cut & wrapped meat into it and bought every bag of ice we could find along the way for the trip back to Washington state. The guy at the border crossing was a little suspicious when we stopped because of the trail of bloody water comming from the back of the trailer. But we and the meat made it back home just fine. It was quite an adventure for the $500 apiece we paid for the hunt. It really was a different world back then. Roger ___________________________ I'm a trophy hunter - until something better comes along. *we band of 45-70ers* | |||
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The first rifle I bought myself was a Springfield Armory M1 Garand. Bought it at Les's Gun and Pawn in Tampa, Floriday in the mid 60s. Was $89.85 with a 100 rounds of surplus ball ammo. Took a few deer. Still have it. Loaned it to a buddy a couple of years ago who bagged a pretty decent Black Bear with it  Bought the next rifle the following year at the same place. A very nicely sporterized Remington 1903 Springfield in .308 Norma Magnum. Turned out to be a tack driver. Still have it too. Later that year I bought a Smith & Wesson M57 in 41 Magnum. Fine pistol. Still use it for deer. Longest 1 shot kill has been 124 yards. Mike -------------- DRSS, Womper's Club, NRA Life Member/Charter Member NRA Golden Eagles ... Knifemaker, http://www.mstarling.com | |||
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Duggaboye, Great thread, interesting answers. My uncle lead me to the promised land early. He is big on fine rifles. I bought a Sako .270 with a 2-7 Leupold. He even got me a couple boxes of Sako brass with the deal. It seems like I paid about $500 bucks even back in early '70's. I had been working on fishing boats for a few years even by then. I think I was 15. I still have the rifle. It was a tack driver. Accuracy fell way off a few years ago. As a matter of fact, it's at the smith's. New barrel, soon to be a .280 Ackley. | |||
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Thanks Buff, Thought it would be sort of a "common thread" running through our lives. I'm truly enjoying everyones stories. DuggaBoye-O NRA-Life Whittington-Life TSRA-Life DRSS DSC HSC SCI | |||
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Savage 99 FG in 250/3000 with a B&L Balvor 2.5x8 scope. What a shooter, wish I still had it. ? | |||
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First rifle I bought I was 14, spent all of spring break clearing ivy from a guys property, at least a acre of the stuff.... Bought a Browning BLR Mdl 81 in 243 used it to kill my first 5 deer. Stil have it in my safe, still shoot it! | |||
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