The firearm you killed your first big game animal with??

[Bigwoodsman]

Cow moose. .303 British open sites, shaking like a leaf on a fuzzy tree! Sitting where I was told to sit and wait. Moose came out at 20 yards. Bang flop. 14 years old. Had shot birds prior with a 12 gauge.

BW

[NCC]

White tail doe with my dad's Tikka M65 25-06 while standing point on a bush push near Stettler when I was about 14. My nephew now has the rifle. I was using the 25-06 because I had tripped and busted the stock off of the Rem 760 in 270 Win that dad gave me when he bought the Tikka.

[Hoopi]

Hi: My first deer dropped to a sporterized BSA 303 British. The wood was trimmed back from the full length stock and my uncle placed a Bushnell 3 to 9 by 40 on it with gunsmith tapped bases. It still had iron sights but these were for backup. I should have never sold that rifle.

Hoopi

[jef612]

At 12 years old - mine was a whitetail fawn with Grampa's .303 British and a 2.5 power Bushnell scope. Later ranged at 303 yards using Google earth (had no idea at the time). Perfect heart shot. Shot from a sitting position with my arm resting on my knee. I was very excited. Still remember that day clearly - even decades later...

Gun was sighted dead on at 50 yards, as it was a bush gun for moose. I realize now how much I had to yank that shot for it to land perfectly in the heart at that range, but the stars aligned that day for me. Not to worry - I have made significant steps in my ballistic ability since then. My understanding of trajectory has also improved

[Who Da Fisherman]

WT Doe, Parkerhale 243 open sights, +-250yds running and quartering away. Lung shot and went another 100yds. Think I was 12yrs old.
Sold the gun when I moved out but the barrel was shot out. Used to reload with a friend and for fun would use that to shoot gophers.
WDF

[whitetail Junkie]

Browning Abolt in 270 Win...5x5 W/T buck on my 14th birthday in november.

[huntinstuff]

1978
Black bear with a Lakefield pump 12g and 000 buckshot.

I was in Worsley on my cousins farm. I was 11 yrs old. We saw a bear in the yard and everyone headed outside. I had my fathers 12g.

Naturally, the bear ran towards me. I shot him head on at about 25 yds. I tried to pull a tooth from the bear, but even with pliers I wasnt strong enough. Cousins husband Ken had hands like a ball glove and he pulled a bear tooth for me. Still have it.

[beerhunter]

1983 Spike Bull Moose I was 14. I was with a family friend on some very remote lease roads in Northern BC. We pulled up to a lease for lunch and got out. It was September. We were eating and out came a cow, calf and a small bull. 75 yards. I heart shot him but he turned and started to trot away. My friend said you missed, so I took another shot at him running away. Got him in the back of the noggin. Down he went. It was one of the best eating moose I can remember. He had been eating in a neighboring rye field.

Remington Model 788 7mm-08 short barrel 140g. Still have this gun and will keep it forever.

[Dick284]

1987, Marlin 336, 30/30Win, with hand loaded 170gr Speer FP’s

[TEQ]

My first big game animal was a whitetail deer dropped with a Remington Model 700 SPS DM chambered in 7mm Rem Mag, which was a gift from my parents and also the first gun I ever owned.

[JBE]

Husqvarna 270 about 50 years ago, still have it

[WinFwt]

1982, used a Winchester Model 670 in 30-06 with a Leupold 2x7 to take a small 3pt whitetail buck. Was hunting with my father and uncle.

My uncle was standing right beside me, he turned and looked at me and said he hoped it had antlers...! I'll never forget that. I know it was small, but...!

[7magtime]

A button buck about 30 years ago when I was 14 with my late uncle's Remington 760 carbine 30-06 , almost identical to the center one in the OP's 1st pic.
I thought I missed as it went into the trees after the shot. My uncle knew better and followed it's tracks into the trees, a couple minutes later he came back out pulling the deer smiling. Great memories!

My late uncle's grandson still hunts with that rifle...

Great thread OP!

[Coiloil37]

It was a little 4 point whitetail on the second morning of the season when I was 14 and I was shooting a rem 760 in .243.

[DirtShooter]

Weatherby Vanguard 308. Was my first centerfire rifle and have shot my biggest deer with it despite having lots of good options in the safe.

[fishnguy]

First was a doe mule deer with a borrowed Ruger American in .30-06 from about 20 yards. The second was the next year, a whitetail buck - still the biggest body whitetail I ever shot, had hell of a time moving that guy around myself and had to call for help and still needed help gutting it anyway, and we had hell of a time pulling it into the back of my cousin’s truck. That was done with the same borrowed rifle, about 100 yards shot uphill. The third was a cow elk next season with yet another borrowed gun (lol), which was a Browning BAR in .308. She was taken from just under 300 yards (not counting coyote, probably my longest shot to date). I then shot another mulie doe the same season with that borrowed BAR and another whitetail buck last day of the season with the borrowed Ruger, lol. I bought my own rifle(s) after that.

Both of those rifles are still hunting with the same people I borrowed them from. I since sold the first rifle I bought, but hunting with the second.

[1899b]

Thank you fellas sure enjoying these stories...

[Bearski]

Big bull moose with my Ruger m77 in 30-06. Called a bit and he came in hot. 30 yards. Great hunt with Dad and cousin near Sudbury. Yup, still have, lefty and it carries and shoots great.

[58thecat]

Stevens pump shotgun, 00 buckshot.
Vancouver Island 1982.
It was my dads and now mine as he doesn’t hunt anymore.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[fps plus]

Sako L61 R Finnbear 270 win

[Twisted Canuck]

My first was a small spiker white tail, shot it with a Remington 788 in .308 win with a very cheap Tasco scope on it. It was all I could afford to buy at the time with 4 small kids and a pregnant missus. There were no hunters in my family, so other then shooting gophers on the farm, nobody ever taught me how to hunt. Or field dress. So it was quite an adventure.

Hung it in the crab apple tree in the back yard to skin it out, my kids came home from school and didn't even notice it when they walked by.

I've learned a bit since then, but sure wish I'd had a mentor, and learned when I was young. Sadly, even though my kids were raised on wild game, they show no interest in hunting really.

I traded that 788 off when I could afford something nicer, and got a beautiful Model 700 in 7mm08. But I did get a few deer and a moose with the 788. Never did trust the safety on that rifle though, even if it was an accurate gun.

[Bushrat]

Remington 721 300H&H, shot my first whitetail and first bear with it.

[Smoky buck]

3x3 bull moose with my Dads Remington 700 mountain rifle 270

[Phil McCracken]

1973- For me, a cow moose. Open sight Winchester Model 70, .308.

My Dad got the bull with her using his Win 94 .32 Special.

I then learned real fast about the work after the kill...

[stob]

Borrowed Mossberg 30-06 with 180gr WW silvertips...'76...2pt WT in Rosebud area

[slopeshunter]

.243 Winchester bolt action rifle. Always regret selling that rifle. Than was back in the mid 80’s.

[trapperdodge]

My Dad's 250 Savage 99. Nobody told Dad you couldn't shoot moose with a 250.
Been shooting one ever since. Gave my grandson a Remington 600 in 250. He shot his first deer with it and quite a few since. It punches above it's weight.

[2 Tollers]

6.5 x 55 open sights. Cow moose hunting down in a river valley. A very long uphill pack out. Very long.

[C&C Outdoors]

My dad's remington 700 chambered in 25-06, we were out on foot the first morning of a week long trip, i'm carrying his 25-06 and he is carrying his winchester model 70 300win, a bull moose steps out just over 100yds away and broadside. My dad tells me to shoot and I said hold on I think I hear another one coming, out comes bull moose #2. My dad looks at me with a more serious look to aim and shoot, I told him again I think I hear another one coming out, bull moose # 3 comes out onto the line. I then got my first big game animal, was 14 yrs old at the time.

My dad still has both rifles. Great memories!

[EZM]

My first big game animal was a spike muley buck which walked out in front of me at 80 yards - he went walking up into the sticks and he was in and out of cover and I had trouble anticipating and no time to get a good shot. He wasn't running, but wasn't stopping either.

I remember one of the old timers told me to whistle and a Muley might stop and look, so I did exactly that when he popped out in the next opening, which was long enough for me to make a shot (was 120-140 yards at this point). He went down like a sac of potatoes.

Total veteran shot from a 15 year old kid - I don't know how I remained composed as I was by myself down that cutline with no-one coaching me.

I credit my dad. He made sure I was competent with the rifle, stressed the importance of being calm, and knew that making an ethical shot was paramount and talked through all his tips in my head as this was going on and made a great shot right through the boiler room.

Remington 700 BDL, 308 Win, 1-4x Leopold

I never saw my dad so proud. The old guys came over after they heard the shot and I had already dragged him down through the snow onto the cutline by the time they were walking up.

Great Memory.