What rifle influenced you most?

[6mm Remington]

My father started me out with a Remington Model 600 in 6mm Remington. With that rifle I have taken many deer and antelope along with quite a few coyotes and gophers. It's just such a great rifle and cartridge. I was reading Jack O'Connor and other buddies of his and came to the realization that the 30-06 and the .280 Remington were about all anyone needed. I had a Remington Model 700 ADL in 30-06 and later acquired a 700 MTN rifle in .280 Remington. Both of those were fabulous rifles but I ended up selling both of them. I had fallen under the spell of those darn Ruger #1B's about this time and I wanted one of those darn sexy classic rifles. One shot is all you need and the first shot is usually your best shot anyway.

I now have two Ruger #1B's in 30-06 and 6mm Reminton. I love them, love to shoot them, love to hunt with them. There is something special about those rifles and the whole concept of the one shot. I've always been a fan of Winchester Model 70's and the controlled round feed and other features they bring to the table. So finally I bit the bullet and got my custom Winchester model 70 in .280 Nosler A.I. I am seriously now smitten.

Now out of these it all falls back to the Remington model 600 that started all of this and what a great little rifle the model 600 is. That is probably the single rifle that influenced me the most and one that will always remain in our family.

 

[Rigbymauser]

A .30-30 Model 94 made in the 70s. Not much but had a huge impact on my gun-interest later.

 

[big rifle man]

My first rifle was a Marlin 336 "Texan" in .35 Remington that shot "lights out". I saw one at the local range, handled it and for my deer hunting (maine) it fit the bill perfectly. My first bolt rifle was a Rem 700 stainless in 7MM Mag. It was one of the first ones out and was black in color. It also shot great and took a lot of deer. Eventually sold both rifles and now wish I had both back, especially the Marlin. The Texan is impossible to find. Remington 700's always peaked my interest.

 

[DrMike]

One of the first rifles I acquired (a gift for performing a funeral) was a Model 94 chambered in .356. I've loved the Model 94 and the Big Bore cartridges ever since. That particular rifle accounted for many head of game for a number of years. I surrendered it to a dear friend who has yet to take anything with the rifle. It is ready when he is, however. I still have three of these .356s hiding in my safe, together with a couple of .307s.

 

[SJB358]

I think the Winchester Model 70 has been the largest impact on me. I was given a M721 30-06 back when I was 14, it shot okay but it had been hunted very hard and I really didn't embrace the 30-06 since my Dad already had one and being an avid reader of Bob Hagel I got the 7mm Magnum bug. I sold the old 721, put a down payment on a M70 XTR 7mm Rem Mag. I shoveled and worked for about 6 months to pay it off but man, I shot that rifle a lot. I learned to hand load using that rifle. Took a bunch of deer, moose, elk and black bear with it. Lots of varmints as well. Today that rifle is in a different stock, chambered in the 7mm Mashburn Super Magnum but still works as it always has.

Since then I've gotten a bunch more Model 70's and even a Pre 64, but the old XTR is still a reliable rifle and even more deadly now as a 7mm MSM.

 

[Africa Huntress]

I think the Winchester Model 70 has been the largest impact on me. I was given a M721 30-06 back when I was 14, it shot okay but it had been hunted very hard and I really didn't embrace the 30-06 since my Dad already had one and being an avid reader of Bob Hagel I got the 7mm Magnum bug. I sold the old 721, put a down payment on a M70 XTR 7mm Rem Mag. I shoveled and worked for about 6 months to pay it off but man, I shot that rifle a lot. I learned to hand load using that rifle. Took a bunch of deer, moose, elk and black bear with it. Lots of varmints as well. Today that rifle is in a different stock, chambered in the 7mm Mashburn Super Magnum but still works as it always has.

Since then I've gotten a bunch more Model 70's and even a Pre 64, but the old XTR is still a reliable rifle and even more deadly now as a 7mm MSM.

Good story Scotty. You worked hard for the rifle you wanted and still have it, although altered a bit. Impressive.

I was reluctant to post on this thread, but after reading it again today, so many of you were influenced in one way or another by your dad, which I think is very nice. Dr Mike getting a rifle gifted to him after performing a funeral was also special. Cool stories, all

I was not given a rifle, but was given access to three rifles. A 6.5 x 55 Swede, a 300 H/H and a 375 H/H and was told to know those three rifles inside out and to know what they could do and what I was capable of doing with them. I was not allowed to even think about a different caliber/rifle for a period of time. Obviously it was those three, not just one, that had the most influence on me.

As for the op's second question, why---my mother

Best Regards

Jamila

 

[DrMike]

Dr Mike getting a rifle gifted to him after performing a funeral was also special.
Jamila

I should clarify this matter. I do not accept a stipend for ministry to my own people. All my services are without compensation. A friend had asked if I would travel to a distant community to provide burial services for his grandmother. I was happy to do so. Some weeks later he showed up at my house with a Model 94 chambered in .356, topped with a B&L scope appropriate for the cartridge and a pair of B&L binos. It was unexpected and very kind of him. I immediately fell in love with the rifle and with the cartridge. I have had many rifles since then and quite a number of binoculars, but those were an unexpected and meaningful gift.

 

[Idriflenut]

The rifle that has influenced me the most is the old Savage 99 lever action.

As a kid I hunted with Dad's hand me down Win-94 30-30. I couldn't hit the broad side of the barn. ( It wasn't the guns fault I was an impatient kid!). My uncle however had the "coolest" gun it was a Sav 99 in 300 Sav. He got a deer every time. I just knew that if I had a gun like his I could get a deer. Well over the next couple of years I saved my money and bought me a brand new Savage 99 in 308. I practiced with that gun and sure enough I got my first deer the next year. Over the years the old 99 has been my go to gun for everything from Jack Rabbits to Elk. I have reloaded it with every bullet size available. My favorite loads are 125 gr BT with 48.5 gr of w-748 and 150 gr Speer SP over 46.5 gr if IMR-4064.

In the last few years I picked up another Sav 99. This one is in 250-3000. It has the old 1-14 twist so it doesn't like long bullets or boat-tails but shoots 87gr and 75gr bullets great. I love to blast through a full magazine in that smooth feeding fast lever gun!

I wish they still made the old 99 but I have fun checking all the pawn shops and gun stores looking for the ever elusive one that is still in good shape!

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

Blkram, anything John Moses Browning and Peter Paul Mauser designed along with Mike Walker (Rem 700, 600, etc)!

Doh!
Homer

 

[Oldtrader3]

I shot the barrel out of my first 7mm Mag which I bought while I was in the Army. I shot that thing to death.

 

[lefty315]

The rifle that influenced me most would have to be my first rifle. Grandpa gave me an 1895 7mm Mauser, unsporterized, when I was around 12. He got me into reloading when I was 17-18 and really drove home the point of how versatile that cartridge is. Since that time I've really had an affinity for the 7x57, which has grown into a fondness for the .280 Remington and 7mm-08. Over the years I've picked up a couple more 7x57's but I'll never get rid of the first one.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Nothing wrong with either the 7x57mm or the .280 Rem. I have a high regard for both!

 

[super-7]

This is a tough one for me to decifer in my own mind, if one in particular influenced me more then others and I could not come up with a definite yes.
From the single shot cooey s , to the wonderful marlin 39a , the slab sided model 94, grandpas model 88, Dads crowbar as he refers to his ol FN custom, and the 2 788s in the family have all played a part.
The one that means the most to me and I've shot the most is my Rem 700 BDL in 7mmRM . Dad bought it second hand from his hunting buddy "Joe" who had recieved it from his sister Inlaw after his brother had died from cancer . His brother had no sons, the two girls and the wife told joe to take the guns and get them to a good home but where they will be used.
Unknown to me Joe called Dad and sold him the 700 and 788. Dad then gave me the BDL and I've used it ever since.. It was one of those rifles !!!! First shot I ever took I dropped a coyote at 300 yrds, and its been that way ever since point and squeeze sharpen a knife!
I will hand it down to my son when the time comes, and I hope he will enjoy like I have.

 

[Wincheringen]

A Remington 37. I grew up with 10/22s blasting ground squirrels, but I spent a week with a 37 and was soon hunting blades of grass. That rifle was so ridiculously accurate I felt like I could do anything with it.

 

[STW]

Back in 1976 I was a teenager my dad never hunted or shot but my sisters boyfriend who eventually became my bro-in law had a farm. I learned to shoot and trap out there. 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. (No one dares to do this anymore much less selling a rifle to a teen. I took a whitetail doe with it that year with the factory open sights. My uncle encouraged me to save the empty cases as he was a reloader. A few more muskrat checks and a set of Pacific Durachrome dies and Pacific press were in my possesion. Slowly I had the basic tools to begin reloading. A Bushnell 4x Banner found its way on top of the ol 6mm in a set of Weaver mounts. I have no idea of how many 75 gr Speer HP went down the barrel of that gun as well as 100 grain Sierra's for BIG GAME. H4831 was the only powder I used in it and I think it was a good shooter. Can't remember and never saved any targets back then. One of my most memorable shots with that little gun was when a family of four gophers were standing atop of their mound checking what was making all that noise. I was prone probably 70 yards away took aim and sent a 75 grain loose, after the pieces returned to earth I walked over to investigated . Four seperate heads were eventually found in that mess. Wow, I thought bowling with bullets. I made the mistake of selling that gun but the memories it created and hobby it started will be with me forever.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I've been thinking about this for a week...

There have been 2 rifles that deserve mention here, for me.

The first was a Remington 700 BDL in 25-06... the rifle that taught me how to shoot.

The 2nd was the Winchester model 70 in 30-06... The rifle that showed me what a rifle was meant to be.

I'm hoping there is gonna be a 3rd... The Nosler M48.... The one that shows me what a rifle can be.

 

[Thankful Otter]

This is a no brainer for me. springfield 03-30-06. The only rifle I had for the first 8 years of my hunting life. And no Scotty and Dr Mike I am not going to convert it to a 35 Whelen, LOL I dont use her anymore, but I dont want to change her either.

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

My first rifle was a Rossi 62A (the Win 62 clone) in .22 LR. I still own it though lost it for some years but that's a very long story.

My first centerfire was a Savage 99 EG in .300 Savage that was my grandfathers gun. He had bought it new for about $80.00 in 1941 at a General Store in our hometown. The store was built in the 1890s is still there and still in operation today. He had saved money from raising a litter of pigs to buy the gun.

He and my father have shot more deer and elk with that gun than most people have ever seen using just the Remington and Winchester 150 grain factory loads. I took several deer, and one elk with that gun. I also shot several jack rabbits, a wild hog and a coyote. My best shot with that gun was on a mule deer doe at nearly 300 yards. I was holding nearly two feet over her back. A lucky shot.

I inherited a .25-06 in a Remington 700 ADL when I was 17. That rifle and I have seen lots of adventures.

My favorite is my Winchester Model 70 in .30-06 without a doubt. There have been several guns in between for sure. Years ago I read a letter published in one of the Gun Magazines where an old boy was talking about how he had come full circle. Started off with an open sights lever gun, went to a .30-06 w a scope and then off to the races with magnums and high powered scopes etc. At nearly 70 years old he was still elk hunting. His weapon of choice and undisputed all-around choice going forward after a lifetime of looking for the Shangri-La of hunting rifles: a Winchester 70 .30-06 with 180 grain factory loads.

I can hardly disagree. Luckily I have come full circle considerably sooner in my own life

 

[DrMike]

This is a no brainer for me. springfield 03-30-06. The only rifle I had for the first 8 years of my hunting life. And no Scotty and Dr Mike I am not going to convert it to a 35 Whelen, LOL I dont use her anymore, but I dont want to change her either.

Ah, come on, Cheyenne; do the conversion. You know you wanna' do it. :grin:

 

[Polaris]

The Daisy model 880 powerline air rifle. I started off with a red-ryder type smoothbore BB slinger, but nothing could ever beat that Yellow and white cardboard box with the coarsely printed picture of my first rifled bore, high powered air gun sitting on my uncles coffee table when I woke up on the morning of my 8th birthday. The warning label referring to severe injury or death sealed the deal. I can still smell the Pall Malls and cheap Folgers coffee.

A quick trip to the hardware store to procure some of the wasp waist pellets, some rudimentary marksmanship instruction and not a gopher or beer bottle was safe on my Uncles farm that weekend! I could actually hit what I aimed at and the BB didn't just bounce off. I had that rifle for 3 years until I wore it out. Learned about trajectory and Kentucky windage lobbing pellets long range at floating sticks in the lake, and almost always shot offhand with a hasty sling of barn twine unless a tree was nearby to be rested on. I think I was a better offhand shooter at 9 years old than I am today despite several years of HP competition. I could dump a fox squirrel out of the top of an oak tree in a stiff wind with that air gun. At 10 years old, I made what I consider to still be my most difficult shot to date. Clipped a pigeon off the silo with a single shot in a crosswind. 3 pigeons windage, 2 pigeons elevation. Uncle Leroy paced it off to 70 yards to the bottom of the silo, and owed me a 12 pack of Mountain Dew for the improbable shot. The only gun I've ever come close to that sort of "oneness" with is my Rem 1100 wingmaster I've owned since I was 12 and taken countless feathered critters with.