What rifle influenced you most?

[Oldtrader3]

Super-7, I grew up with a Cooey 12 ga. single shot, in Quebec. Same as Winchester Model 37

 

[257 Ackley]

Little different twist on my biggest influences; first is a Ruger 77 in .280 purchased in 1982. Reason it has a place of honor is that this was the caliber that made me start reloading after the disappointment I had with the factory ammo available for this caliber (anyone remember the old 165 grain corlokt bullets made for the remington 742's...yuck). The second would be the Ruger #1 purchased in the late 80's to use on a p-dog shoot. This is what got me started in precision loading and shooting, and the fever only gets worse as I get older. The .280 is long gone, but the #1 is on it's third barrel and is now chambered in 22BR.

 

[Blkram]

Awesome bunch of stories and memories here!

Thanks for sharing!

Always interesting to hear about people's influences in their passions, and to see how they have evolved.

 

[preacher]

hey 257- My 1977 model 77 280 would put that 165RN about a foot higher at 100 than the factory 150! It also got about 4" group if I was lucky, ha. The 150CL did about 2.5". When I started handloading for it, I used the 139 Hornady and IMR 4831, 55gr gave me a solid, rounded 1"! I was ecstatic!

 

[Oldtrader3]

No doubt, my 1968 new Browning High Power, .338 WM influenced me more than anything else I had owned until then, including a Husqvarna 7mm Rem Mag. That .338 WM whacked 'em and stacked 'em, when I was hunting elk.

 

[truck driver]

My first rifle which I still own and shoot, a Remington 510 Target Master .22 single shot which taught me that you only needed one shot to make one kill and I have practiced that philosophy since my first kill. Dad would give me five .22 shells and tell me to bring back a squirrel for each shell or bring back the loaded shell. Needles to say I didn't waste many shells because I would only get replacements for the shells that brought back the meat. Dad gave me a Marlin 336 in 30-30 for my first center fire and I didn't like that rifle at all. Yeah I know the levers are well liked here but I wanted a used M70 one of his friends had in 308 but Dad didn't like the 308 or the $150 price tag, he was a 30-06 type of guy and owned a pre war M70 in US-Cal-30-06 Springfield and that is how it was stamped on the barrel. My brother stole it from me right before Dad died as it was my inheritance and he talked Dad into selling it to him for way less than it was worth.
I bought a used Remington M725 in 30-06 and shot the throat out of the barrel and had it rebarreled to 257 Roberts and I still have it also only sold one rifle and that was the Marlin. It had a over size bore and would key hole at 100yds with win ammo even though the rifling looked perfect.It did stabilize Fed and Rem ammo, but didn't trust it to make the one shot kill I had grew up on.
Love a good bolt action in 30-06.

 

[6mm Remington]

A poor day of muskrats brought me enough cash then (big money at the time) to walk in to the local hardware and lay down $147.00 for a Remington M600 in 6mm Remington and a couple of boxes of 100 gr Remington Core-lok ammo. I carried the gun home walking down mainstreet. I made the mistake of selling that gun but the memories it created and hobby it started will be with me forever.

I thought you might like to see this!



My father gave this to me as my first big-game rifle. My first animal was two antelope with one shot, running! The doe ran right on the other side of the buck when I shot and it dropped them both. Mine also was a 6mm Remington. It now belongs to my son. He used it to get his first animals also.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I wish that I still had that Browning .338 High Power, David. But I have made sure that each one of my hunting children have a good rifle, shotgun and handgun.

 

[EOD Diver]

There are two that come to mind. The first was my stepfather's pre-64 M70 Westerner in 264 Win Mag. I recall the story of his moving from Texas to New Mexico and taking a big buck antelope with it on its first outing. He gave me a matching red Winchester ball cap that I wore for the better part of two years. I remember looking at the antelope and the rifle and thinking how impressive they were.

The second would have to be my uncle's custom FN Mauser in 7x61 Sharpe and Hart. He built it before the 7mm Rem Mag came out so it had some miles on it, but still looked pristine. Being a kid, I had no idea that a person could actually build their own rifle and select their own cartridge. The rifle wore a 26" Douglas #6 contour barrel and my uncle did the stock work himself. It weighed a ton, but boy did it shoot. I sure thought I was something special when he'd let me carry it for him when I'd tag along on elk hunts. I guess these are the roots of my becoming a rifle looney.

Joe

 

[SJB358]

Cool story Joe... I was enamored with my old smiths 264 Westerner as well.

 

[muleman]

I grew up in a non hunting non gun household. I harassed my parents for years and finally I was gifted a .22 Benjamin Air Rifle. I lived in suburbia but one property line backed up to a state forest. My dad hung a cowbell off a tree branch across the fence line. My air rifle had an aperture sight and I got to the point where I could hit that bell at 10yds to about 50yds every time. My parents gave me two rules. I couldn't leave the property with it and if I decided to kill anything with it I'd have to eat it. I broke the first rule continuously; I roamed the nearby woods constantly. I never broke the second but I did eat a lot of strange things! I ate Blue jays, Squirrels, Robins, Sparrows, Doves, Pigeons, Black birds, Starlings and one Rattlesnake. My mom wouldn't prepare the snake so my Dad did when he got home. I thought about shooting a feral cat one day but didn't because I didn't think it would taste good. That old air rifle took about two minutes to pump up so it was basically a single shot. I learned to make the first shot count.
My first firearm was a Browning BLR in .308. I bought it for my first big game hunt and I was heavily influenced by John Wayne and his Win. 92s. Some where along the way I became a Win 70 fan and that still holds the majority in my safe.
Scott

 

[Gunner46]

I'd have to say the rifle that 'influenced' me the most was my dad's '03 Springfield. Being the 1st hi power rifle I had any prolonged exposure to convinced me.....I didn't want a 30/06 !! NOT a good weapon for a intro rifle. I've never bought an '06 since I made enough money, from my paper route, to buy my own rifles.

But the rifle that has defined me as a Shooter and a Hunter, will forever be the rifle friends, family, hunt partners will remember as being 'Mine' has been a Rem 600, in 308.

Just about any picture you'll find of me at camp will be with that little killer. I've retired it now, after deer #50-60 something. Just didn't seem fair anymore and I'd asked enough of it.

My lastest courtship has been with a Ruger M77 7mm/08. The only 100% one shot kill rifle I have ever owned. A dozen and counting. Fun to experiment with.

Now, my next most influential rifle is a project I just started. Re-boring a new Ruger from 308 to a 338 Fed. Who knows, my last camp pics may be of that one..........

 

[.280 Remington]

Custom Remington 700 in .280 Remington that my dad had for quite some time. All the while he had it and was "tinkering" with it to give to me. I drooled over that rifle for several years as he was building it up right. It started it's life as the "blah" 30-06 and he made it better! :grin:

That rifle has been my go to rifle, and until I harvest most every Lower 48 animal with it, I will not retire it. I have a long ways to go though. Hopefully Elk, Boar, and Bear are on the short list. I"ve already killed P dogs, Coyotes, WT Deer, Muley's and Antelope with it. Once the next animal on the list is harvested with the .280, then I will allow myself to use a different rifle and caliber. Until then, she's my girl.

 

[Elkman]

My 1966 push feed Winchester Model 70, 300 WM. It's not pretty, its not cool, in fact some here might call it ugly, but well over 100 head of big game and has been taken with that rifle. Its been consistent year after year, and when I do my job it has never failed to put meat on the ground.

 

[salmonchaser]

03/A3 in 30-06. That rifle was magic; moms 257 Roberts and her mantra front sight, front sight press.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Easy, my .338 WM, Browning High Power-FN.

 

[ElmerThud]

In my early boyhood Dad was in the army & we sailed to many middle and far eastern postings on troopships. My earliest memories are of soldiers shooting at balloons thrown into the sea from the rear of the ship. I would stand in the sun on the deck watching and picking up .303 spent cases.

So for me, the Lee Enfield .303 was my greatest influence

 

[bandit3]

My great grandpa's Remington model 760 .35 Rem that I now own. I killed my first deer with it and it got me hooked. I still hunt with it occasionally.

 

[Stillhunter]

The BLR .308 I was gifted by dad on my 18th Birthday. Still have it and use it well.