outdoor338

I am still working on my book project and have lots of questions only my friends on hunting.net can answer.

How many of you can remember your first big game rifle, and the first elk or deer you took with it? I am looking for stories that share first experiences in the woods. Where were you?, what kind of weather did you hunt in? Was your dad with you, grandpa, brother, mother, aunt, I would like to hear about your first experience hunting elk or deer.

My story was I hunted with a 7.62 Russian dated 1917, I was a freshman in college back in Wisconsin, and shot my first deer in a blizzard, I was so proud to call my dad back in Chicagol and tell him I got a buck, he was very proud.

I appreciate all the help I can get from everyone, thanks..

Dr. Mike

ArcticBowMan

My first rifle was a 1903a3? 30-06. The first big game animal I took with it was a bull moose. We had run up the river the day before to our moose hunting cabin and got all set up for a nights hunt. My god father stayed at the cabin where we have a large white spruce that we called the grandfather tree. My dad and I headed down the trail to sit in some other stands we had built in fields anywhere from 1/2-1 mile away. I set up in the first stand about 1/2 mile from the cabin and got situated, then my dad was headed to the far tree about another 1/2 mile up the trail. He was out of sight in no time as the woods was very thick where the tree was, but opened up into a large clearning that you could see nearly 3/4 of a mile down, and about 500 yards across. He worked his way through the woods and made it about half way to his tree when a young bull moose ran out into my field. He never saw it or heard it, but the bull came running right in my direction. I put the cross hairs on him, but wanted to wait for the shot he had taught me, but the moose kept a running pace right towards me. About 40 yards out, he slowed to a walk, and I put the cross hairs on his chest. I squeezed off a round and the bull stopped, hunched up and turned broadside. I took another quick shot and he dropped in his tracks, not 40 yards from my tree. I had time to get down and go up to my moose before my dad got back, and when he saw that I had a bull down, he was exstatic. We got the bull packed out by the middle of the next day and did some grouse hunting. We dropped 5 grouse and I went back up that same spotting tree, and saw two large bulls and a cow. The larger bull had just run the younger bull off, which was right in our direction. I left my 30-06 in the tree, and my dad came walking through the woods with the grouse. I quickly got down and told him a bull was coming in, and he got up in the tree. The bull held up about 400 yards out, so I started some calling by brushing a dead black spruce against some dead tamarack trees, and the bull came running, thrashing brush, grunting and sniffing the air. Once the bull got into 100 yards, my dad squeezed off a round and dropped the bull in his tracks. My bull had a 24" spread and the bull he shot had a 53" spread. The skull cap cracked on the hike back through the woods, so the right antler on the big rack is angled in. This was one of my most fondest memories for hunting.

trapper T

Mine was a Marlin 30/30 lever gun. Still have it today and use it in the heavy brush.

I was thirteen and we were driving to another spot when a spike Buck stepped out onto the road, I hit him in the heart and he headed for the deep ravine but got stuck between two trees and expired before he could launch into the great abyss he was aiming for. But my best story with that rifle was the year before, My Dad and I was working a patch of reprod that we had smelled a Buck in. The Sile brush was up to my chest and tough going. Well I slogged through this nosiy stuff for about an hour and made my way to the road, with no luck.I noticed my Dad was still in there, so I started looking around and noticed a Deer had walked through our tire tracks. So I followed the trail into another patch. I stopped a short while in an opening, stood there for a minute and started day dreaming about a spike walking into the opening, I wasn' t picky about my trophies back then I just wanted to notch my belt at the time. No sooner had I finished my day dream, a spike Buck walked into the opening! Well he was no farther than 20yards, so I put the brass bb on his shoulder and squeezed. I missed, so I commenced to unloading my lever gun at him then took off on the dead run after him. Well I never touched him and finally lost his trail so I made my way back to the truck to find my Dad fuming? He told me he was tired of pushing the deer to road hunters with Automatics. Well I tolod him that was me shooting and he said, well there' s no way I would hit anything with that huge Slile leaf hanging from my rear sight[:-] With all that Buck fever I could see both sights in my mind.

kirkl

Mine was a Harrington/richards single shot 30/30 with open sights. My first year my dad told me to sit in this one spot over looking a coulee and he went up a couple hundred yards to sit. I didnt even have binoculars so im sitting there like dad said and about 3 deer walk by about 50 yards and about half hour later grandpa comes walking by and says did you see that spike with those bunch of deer and i said nope. thats when i wished i would of had some kind of optics. My first deer i shot was with a 30/06 over on the islands and i thought it was a doe when i shot it (either sex on islands) but when we found it it had 5 inch spikes so that was my first deer and buck.

elk_freak99

My first rifle was a 270. It had a leupold scope. It was my dad's gun, but he gave it to me because I shot my first deer with it. She was a small doe, but I didn't care. My dad, and my grandpa, and my aunt were with me. My first elk came only four years ago with the same gun. I was walking up a ridge by myself, family members were on ridges around me and there was no sign anywhere. It was a wet, cold morning, had rained the night before. I started cow calling and somethiung below me made this weird sound. It was what's called a glunk. So I stepped off the ridgetop and called some more and all of the sudden it was bugling and only about 200 yards out. Gave a couple more calls and he came running. He ended up about 30 yards down the hill. and broadside. I steadied my aim and first shot hit him and he hunched up and stood there. So I put #2 in him thinking okay he's gonna go down now. He still stood there. He spun and was gonnna run and I put a third one in his neck. He never moved a muscle after that one. My first elk was a 6x6 bull, call it luck.

pinkys79

The first rifle that I hunted with was with my grandpas old 30/30 with these flip up rear sites. I also unloaded on a buck and never hit him. But my first own rifle was/is and 8mm Mauser that my grandfather gave me. I still use it when I go hunting with a rifle.(but I bow hunt now rifles for bear). Anyhow my first buck was on my grandfathers property, and there were only three days left in the season. I got there just before the sun came up and I was going to go down a road that I hadnt yet hunted. I didnt get too far when I heard some bushes moving and I remember thinking to myself "that just some more darn birds but I will check in anway) well low and behold there goes this little buck, so I side stepped watching him in the brush what little I could see then I lost him for a bit and all of the sudden there was movement so I looked through the scope and saw a patch of fur right about neck level I figured. It was like 60 yrds or so and just getting out of the Marines I was preatty confident in my shot. So took and deep breath relaxed and let one off. I did end up hitting him in the neck and dropped him in his tracks. I cannot tell you how tickled I was that was so awsome. So I ran about 3/4 of a mile back to my Grandpa's house and another thing that was cool that I remember was when I ran passed his pond there were about 150 geese grazing out there that I scared the crap out of and they were all flying over my head, I could almost touch them. (Luckily I didnt get bombed).

So we get him to my grandpa's and hang to cool off for three days. And he showed me how to butcher the deer. So I got all of my meat and the antlers ready to take home I set them down and run in the house to wash up and come back and my Grandpas dog stole my darn antlers. I was soooo bummed.

Well about 4 months later my grandpa calls me up and tells me that his dog brought the antlers back and left them on the porch, and the only thing that they were lacking was the hide on the skull. Cool dont like cleaning that part anyhow.

pythonwill

my first rifle was a 30/06 akley improved. I got it when I was 11 years old and used it for many years. then my good for nothing cousin stole it from my folks's house when he moved out. they might find him duct taped to a tree one of these days[>:]

Elkcrazy8

A BB gun and my first big game animal in which I pursued was the neighbors cat , until the gun was taken away. Thats where it all began. By the way, I never did hit the cat and when I started kindergarten it didn't leave much time for hunting.

WaBlacktailHunter

My first gun was a Ruger 270. I killed a few deer with that gun then I bought a Ruger 7mm Mag. that I use now. I gave the 270. back to my dad.

1eyedfish

first big games i took was with a 12 gauge( then i moved & got a ruger m77- in 270 also.