My first "High-Powered" rifle

getitdone1 · Post by **getitdone1** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:42 pm

Back about 1962 I bought my first High-Powered Rifle. Like so many (most?) it was the great Winchester model 94 carbine chambered for the equally great 30-30 (30WCF) cartridge. Boy, I recall my excitement when I shot it for the the first time. When you go from a 22 LR to a 30-30--it IS a giant step up in power !

I've had many guns since then but it has taken me many years to more fully appreciate that gun and cartridge. So light to carry and the cartridge will do about anything your want. I believe it's the least expensive to shoot of all the centerfire/high-powered cartridges.

I was really impressed when I saw this gun shoot through a seasoned white oak beam about 6 inches thick. Using Speers 150 gr bullet.

What was your first High-Powered Rifle?

(By the way, my second centerfire rifle was a cheap but very good Springfield/Stevens bolt-action chambered for the--now pretty dead--222 Remington cartridge. Danged good, cheap gun ! Had a Weaver K-4 on it. Just might buy another one or one very similar.)

Don McCullough

20cows · Post by **20cows** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:49 pm

The first one I owned was 7.7 Jap I got from my Dad and rebuilt. The first one I bought for myself, was a Winchester 94!

cnjarvis · Post by **cnjarvis** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:52 pm

My first "high powered rifle" was my father's Win. M94 mfg. in 1976. Still have the rifle and my dad.

Bear 45/70 · Post by **Bear 45/70** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:53 pm

Marlin 336SC I inherited from my grandfather when I was 12.

Andrew · Post by **Andrew** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:54 pm

My first was my first high powered:1944 Mosin Nagant M44 in 7.62x54R.

Post by **Old Savage** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:00 pm

243 BLR 81, 30-30 wouldn't really do what I wanted which was flat out to 300 yd capability.

But, got the 94 30-30 within a year.

bsaride · Post by **bsaride** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:06 pm

I bought a Ruger 77 in 30-06 pre-catastrophe

post-catastrophe was a 1908 Marlin 1893 pistol grip takedown in 30-30

(catastrophe = the day my wife blindsided me through the day 4 years later
when I had to sell all my guns to pay the bills)

Streetstar · Post by **Streetstar** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:12 pm

M-16 A2 issued to me in 1989 was the first, if that counts. I never had my own rifle growing up other than a bb gun. In '96, after i had gotten out of the service, i purchased an FN-FAL and a Mini-14 at the same time

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:14 pm

BSARide,
Ouch!

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:55 am

A '93 Mauser 7x57. Only shot it a bit, then built it into a 22-250 that I never shot, which turned into a Marlin .30 Carbine lever which I never shot which turned into a wonderful 39 Mounty which I shot the pee out of......

First RIFLE I ever hunted with was an 1895GS that I got about 9 years ago. Before that it was a SBH and lots of shotguns, bows, and a .54 Renegade.....

missionary5155 · Post by **missionary5155** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:10 am

Good morning
My first was a Marlin 336 in 32 Winchester Special. My uncle had it for some time and ONLY shot Browning. So one day my dad shows up at home and says son as many fox as you shoot with that old Iver Johnson maybe you should think about a rifle. So I bought that Marlin (1967) and never shot a fox with it. But it did do a fine job on other critters it encountered. My wifes uncle bought it in 1976 as we headed of to Bible College.
Mike in Peru

Borregos · Post by **Borregos** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:56 am

Browning BLR in 308Win, got it in 1981 and still have it

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:14 am

my first, and maybe my favorite, was an M1 Garand from springfield armory.

DBW · Post by **DBW** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:33 am

Mine was the Marlin 336 30/30 purchased this past February. I bought a second one in March to keep it company.

2ndovc · Post by **2ndovc** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:45 am

My first centerfire is a Reminigton '03-A3

First one I bought for myself was a 95 SRC in .30-06

jb

Post by **Hobie** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:53 am

My very first was a Marlin 336SC, .30-30. I put a Williams FP on it and one of those Bianchi Cobra slings...

I shot my first deer with it. I shot groundhogs with it. I shot crows with it. In a fit of stupidity I traded it off which disappointed my father. While I eventually got a Marlin 1894 with it, disappointing Dad has never been forgotten.

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:59 am

First one for me was a Win. 94 made about 1978. Dad bought it new for my older brother to hunt with, and I started carrying it the next year. Killed my first deer with it in 1980 at age 10. When I was old enough, I bought my own deer rifle, a Rem 700, 270 Win. Dad still has the 30-30 and I still have the 270.

Buffboy · Post by **Buffboy** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 7:20 am

First center fire rifle I owned was a sporterised Model 38 Mosin Nagant in 7.62 that was given to me by my grandfather. Never hit anything but a fox (at 300 yards, 15 minutes after missing a doe at 50) with it hunting. It was nearly impossible to get ammo in rural SD, when you did it was corrosive and/or expensive. It was relatively accurate(grouping) but with the factory sights shot a foot to the left at 50' and there was no windage adjustment to the sights. The first I ever bought was a Remington model 700ADL in 270 in 1972, it had no such problems. When I started handloading I found it would shoot 3/4" groups with regularity and I've killed a lot of deer, prairie dogs, fox and coyote with it. I still have both rifles.

morgan in nm · Post by **morgan in nm** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:58 am

Brazilian mauser in 7mm that came in to TSJC a few years ago for the gunsmiths to customize. My dad bought 3; one for himself, my brother, and me. I wish I still had it because the condition was excellent if not new. Second, i think, was a 94 in 25-35 that I still have.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:12 am

Streetstar wrote:M-16 A2 issued to me in 1989 was the first, if that counts. I never had my own rifle growing up other than a bb gun. In '96, after i had gotten out of the service, i purchased an FN-FAL and a Mini-14 at the same time

Ditto... though my M16 was issued in '85... after that it was an 1895 Guide Gun.

crs · Post by **crs** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:19 am

Pre 64 Winchester Model 70 in .308. I stil have it and it still shoots better than I can hold it. I plan to pass it on to my grandson when he is big enough to use it.

With any luck, it will still be shooting when it turns 100 in 2054 or there abouts.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:20 am

The first one I owned was a custom Springfield 03 A3, 30-06 with a Douglas barrel, special trigger, Fajen stock of deluxe walnut, rosewood inlaid and a 3-9 x40 Leupold scope. Hows that for a starter? I traded my old 52 Chevy truck for it. I wish I still had both.

madman4570 · Post by **madman4570** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:26 am

My first High Powered Rifle was a 1972 Winchester
Model 70 Featherweight in .243 Winchester.
It was a package deal I bought new in 1972 at age 15
that came with case/sling/3x9 scope/2 boxes ammo for $180
I saved up the money, hot patching roads in the borough where
I lived.
For the 3 years prior at age 12 for deer/bear hunting I used my
dads Springfield Armory M1 Garand that was fixed to only cycle manually. Shoot-Pull her back and let her go.It was kind of heavy at age 12 but it killed what needed killing.
Loved both of those guns then /still got them, and love both of them now!
I had the M1 switched back to shoot in Semi-auto mode.

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:31 am

My Model 94 Win. in 30/30 that my Dad gave me about 1980-1. Your right....I was astonished at the step up in power, and became enamoured with the Western history of the 94 Win. When I went into the Army in 86...gave it to my brother, who gave it back to my Dad. Out of the 2-3 guns I truly regret not holding onto, that is top on the list. So far, my Dad won't relinquish it back to me, but have high hopes for the future.

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:34 am

Winchester Model 94 .30-30

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:13 am

Winchester post 64 94 Antique in 30-30. I remember that carbine kicking like a mule compared to the 22's I was used to shooting.

Tycer · Post by **Tycer** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:33 am

Winchester 670 30-06. Boringly accurate.

Post by **Old Savage** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:43 am

Budyy has one of those. Less than 1/2" group sighting it in as I recall. I saved his target - I'll look.

Ben_Rumson · Post by **Ben_Rumson** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:42 pm

Sporterized 7.65 91 Mauser.. Bishop Stock ..Turned down bolt...Lyman 57 SME for the princely sum of $ 75.00 in 1964...Don't remember what I did with it.. Prolly sold or swapped it off for another gun deal.

KCSO · Post by **KCSO** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:53 pm

303 British Jungle Carbine, paid $18 for it at GEM store. My first lever high power was a used M 94 that cost me $50.

SFRanger7GP · Post by **SFRanger7GP** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:59 pm

I bought a Remington 700 BDL in .243 from a friend of my father's using my fur trapping money when I was 14. I killed 2 deer with it the first weekend and was very disappointed in it's "lack of power". The ignorance of youth did not want to believe that animals can sometimes run despite a fatal wound. I traded my underpowered rifle that first weekend for a Remington M725 in .270.

JohndeFresno · Post by **JohndeFresno** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:45 pm

My father purchased my first rifle, a Remington Nylon 66 .22, which I still have. Many say it is the most remarkable and dependable mass-produced .22 ever made, and I agree.

He also purchased my first "high power" - a beautiful pre-64 Winchester .270. I had regularly hunted with my dad's 12 ga. 3 inch magnum, so I was not really surprised or affected by the recoil; and I loved it.

And now, the rest of the story:
Ironically, this leads to another gunsmith anecdote. Gunsmiths, don't take offense. I know that most of them are honest; although I have learned to investigate them thoroughly before entrusting my firearms to them. On the other hand, I was the son of a truly honest Los Angeles car dealer, so I know that stereotypes can get the best of us. But I have no respect for an incompetent boob who works on guns or other precious equipment, and then expects payment.

Living in the Sierra foothills of Madera County at the time, I took the gun to one of the most prominent Fresno gunsmiths at the time to have him install and sight in a scope. This was in the early sixties. A few weeks later, with my patience at an end, I called him and was told that his shop caught on fire, and my gun along with several others had been burned up. As a family, we weren't the suing type; and the gun was not covered by homeowner's insurance. Knowing what I know now, I would have recovered damages, but things were different in the early sixties, I guess; and I was a fairly naive teenager.

Several years later, as a deputy sheriff, I learned that the gunsmith was investigated by the ATF for staging the arson and shipping guns to the Irish Republican Army. The gun dealer went out of business, but I never heard if the ATF successfully prosecuted him, "turned" him, or whatever - that was a Federal matter. All I know is that he still has his other business in the Fresno area (I don't want to elaborate).

salvo · Post by **salvo** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:35 pm

My Dad gave me his 1949 Marlin 336A (He bought it new with his Dad) After I shot my first Mulie with it at age 12.
I still have both of them

And even let my Dad shoot it now and then!

horsesoldier03 · Post by **horsesoldier03** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:19 pm

A Marlin 336C in 30-30. I shot my first deer with it and numerous since that time. Other than that I have shot a few squirrels (head shots) with it for some stew meat while in deer camp before the first deer was harvested.

Bogie35 · Post by **Bogie35** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:58 pm

I'm a late bloomer with rifles. My first is the Marlin 336C in 35 Remington I bought about 15 months ago. After struggling to hit paper with it at 100 yards, I installed a Skinner Lo-Pro receiver sight. Now I typically shoot about 1" at 50 yards (At my rinky dink local range, the 100 yard target stand was destroyed and has not been replaced!

).

The rifle and cartridge rock. All I need to do is catch up to it!

bogie

loader · Post by **loader** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:47 pm

Mine was a Remington 788 in .308 Win., finally shot out the barrel after many reloads and thousands of then cheap surplus ammo. Sold the bare action last year.

win38-55 · Post by **win38-55** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:10 pm

My first Hi power rifle was a Chinese SKS 7.63x39 mm. I bought it in unissued condition packed in a crate of
10 rifles, all the rifles were in perfect condition for 49 bucks out the door. I wish I still had that gun it was a lot of fun for cheap plinking.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:32 pm

My first center fire rifle was a Marlin 336A just like Salvo`s.
My dad bought it for me in 1961 (IIRC) for deer hunting.
I wish I still had it but had a bout of magnumitis a few years later and carried a Rem.700 7mm Mag. for a few years.
Now I own several of them 30-30`s (a dozen or so).

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:38 pm

My first high power was and still is a N04 Mk1 Savage Enfield. My Dad bought for me for my 16th B-day. I have no idea how many rounds I have launched threw her.

When Evan (pictured) turns 16 it will be his.

Lastmohecken · Post by **Lastmohecken** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:04 pm

The first high power rifle I ever shot or hunted with was my dad's old 1906 model 94 Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55, and that was back around 1968. I still have the gun, as he finally gave it to me, a few years ago.

The first high power rifle I traded for was a post 64 Winchester Model 94 30/30. I swapped a wrecked Honda motorcycle to my grandfather, for it. I believe he and my dad, came up with the trade to get me off of the motorcycle, before I killed myself.

The first rifle I ever bought with earned money, was a Marlin 1895, 45/70.

Jaguarundi · Post by **Jaguarundi** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:48 am

First rifle I shot was my father's senior class field trip rifle.Korea 1950 that was .Yup the ole M1 Garand when I was 16 years old.The first High powered rifle I bought was a circa 1912 98 mauser Chilean contract made by Steyr of Austria in 7 X 57mm.This rifle was the first I also reloaded for.It loved hot loaded 175 grainers.Believe my brother has her.

Mokwaw · Post by **Mokwaw** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:14 am

A "sporterized" SMLE #3 mk I.....got it for $20 when I was about 15 yrs old. Killed lots of groundhogs, feral cats, and floating sticks on the river with it.

brucew44guns · Post by **brucew44guns** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:26 am

cnjarvis wrote:My first "high powered rifle" was my father's Win. M94 mfg. in 1976. Still have the rifle and my dad.

My first powerful rifle was my dad's mint condition model 71 deluxe, 4000's serial number. Still have it and cherish it, but dad is gone now. It's killed many mule deer, and one Roosevelt elk. Love the .348

dkmlever · Post by **dkmlever** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:23 pm

The first I used was my grandfathers Winchester 94 in 32 special 4 digit serial number. The first I bought was Ruger M-77 in 257 Roberts, in 1976 I had jsut graduated from college.
Not that you asked but the first shotgun I bought I was 16 (my brother bought it for me he was 18) an Ithaca model 37 in 12 gauge which I still own today I am now 55.

MrMurphy · Post by **MrMurphy** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:14 pm

Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk1, bought myself in 1998 for $220. Still in factory condition though it had obviously seen extensive service, made, as far as I can tell around 1943ish.

Shot the hell out of it, still have it. It was a friend of mine's first rifle (ever) to shoot, he was going into the Army and I taught him rifle and pistol shooting.

He went from shooting a 12ga (once) to shooting almost every pistol on the market in one day, and then a week or two later, learning riflery with a 1918 Mauser 98 and a 1940s Lee-Enfield.

Having shot two major caliber rifles from 80-1,000 yards (950ish?) with iron sights.....he liked the M16, but it didn't really impress him.

He's still trying to buy my L-E off me (not one like mine..... MINE). Which will never happen.

piller · Post by **piller** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:31 pm

Remington 700 in .270. It has a wood stock, and is the version with open sights and no magazine floorplate on the bottom. Still have it, but with my aging eyes, I need to put a scope on it. Last time it was at the range, about 5 years ago, it put 20 rounds of 130 grain Speer bullets into the bullseye at 100 yards. I can't come close to that now.

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:25 pm

Glenfield 30A, 30-30...bought from Treasure Island brand new, with Tasco Scope, a cool leather "buckhorn" sling, and a box of ammo for less than $50 back in the mid sixties. Still have it, scope is buried in the basement, it is on its second or third stock and my 2nd youngst daughter(11 now, but 9 in the picture) uses it with an ugly red-dot mounted on it.

horsesoldier03 · Post by **horsesoldier03** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:36 pm

A Marlin 336C in 30-30 that I bought myself. I have several other rifles but like you I have to admit on the ease of carrying it in the field. The only rifle that I tend to swap for it is my 1894 Marlin .44 mag.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:29 pm

I went from a bolt-22, to a 10/22, then a MkII pistol, then a 6mm Ruger M77, then a .44 Mag Super Blackhawk. After that, my first levergun - Marlin 1894 to match the .44 Mag handgun.

Added a pump Mossberg 12 gauge later, and completed a set of six of the best guns a person could own.

GoatGuy · Post by **GoatGuy** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:48 pm

Got my 1st in 1960, a sporterized 7.7 Arisaka supposedly rechambered to 300 Savage(?). What did I know at 17? Great looking rifle, but wouldn't put 3 shots into a watermelon size target at 50 yards. Du-uuh! Traded it off for a Winny model 62A.

So I guess my 1st real "high powered" rifle, which I purchased 2 years later, was a Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington. It would shoot! Wish I still had it.