How many have you had?

On this first page alone I counted an easy 132. No doubt I have to mention that one Minnesota made Argo and one Lyman 54 cal G-Plains rifle also.

My Goodness y'all sure went thru allot of guns to find that favorite. I'm sure that count will go even higher in the days to come. Been fun keeping up with all the writes. Thanks for participating guys.
 
Started with a Winnie model 94 in 25-35 that belonged to a brother.

Borrowed a Savage model 99 in 30-30 from another brother and took several deer with that.

Bought a Rem model 750 chambered in .270 Win. It was not good---leave it at that.

Next was a Winchester model 70 push feed in 270 Win and it is a good rifle.

Then came a Ruger 77 Markii Standard in 25-06 that I bought for my son. Bingo! I love that gun, and since he isn't a dedicated hunter it lives in my safe so it gets used (by me) for deer and antelope.
 
My 2 cents

Basically I've own only three deer rifles:
A Marlin 336 in 30-30 (w/a 4 X Scope) - Killed my 1st deer with it!
A Remington 742 (pump) in 30-06 (w/3X9 flip-down scope) FYI - Never get a gun with a flip-down scope; bad idea!
And finally this:

270overview.jpg

A model 70 .270 w/3X9 Burris Scope
I made my best shot with this gun; a 351 yard shot at a buck

The best damn gun I've ever own (and still do)!
 
My first was a Marlin .30-30. Then I decided I dislike pistol grip stocks on lever guns. I've had a couple Winchester 70's, a .30-06 and a .300 WSM. A couple Remington 700's in .270 and .308 respectively. Sold all of them too. A couple more Marlins, one more .30-30 and a .450. Ditched them both. Also had a Savage Model 10 that I converted from .243 to .358 Win. Sold that one too.

I currently have 3 hunting rifles: a commercial Oberndorf Mauser in .30-06, a Winchester '94 Big Bore in .375 Win and a No 4 Mk I sporter I built as an African light rifle. These 3 guns fit my needs perfectly. The Oberndorf shoots like it's laser guided, but it's a little heavy for a walking around rifle so I carry it when I don't plan on going too far. The '94 is a great rifle that shoots as good as it looks. Lighter and holds more rounds than the Mauser so it's my rifle when I know I'm going to cover some ground. The SMLE was just because I wanted it and could. Kind of still a work in progress. Some day I might add a scoped bolt gun. Maybe a Tikka in 6.5x55. That would be nice.
 
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Let's see....

Started with some sort of articulating 12ga mule-kicking something, went to a Rem 870 mule-kicking thing, to an 11-87 slightly less mule-kicking thing to an Encore Pro Hunter handgun which I still use and now a customized Savage 11 in .243AI.
 
I have probably 20 rifles suitable for deer hunting and I still haven't chosen a favorite. I have 3 riles that I like to shoot more than others, but not all the much more. These are my '09 Argentine in .308 Win with a Boyds thumb-hole stock, H&R Handi rifle in .45-70 with target peep sight and last but not least, a H&R Handi in .25-06 that really needs a better scope.

I still love my other bolt action rifles and my 94 Winchester but lately I lean towards shooting those 3 the most. As center fire rifles goes anyway... Tomorrow might be different. I seem to be getting fickle in my old age. :D

Tony
 
Bought and sold BARs in 7mmRM and 308, 7mm Weatherby Mark V, and 7mm RM Remington 700.

Currently Savage 111LH in 260, Mark X in 6.5-06, Ruger Hawkeye in .280, Winchester 70 SS Classic in 7mmRM, Rem 788LH in 308, Rem 700LH in 30-06,Rem 700LH in 338-06, Win94AE in 45LC, Marlin 1894 in 44Mag, and Marlin 1895 in 45-70.

Favorite is Savage. Shoots everything into less than an inch. Best is .6"
 
The OP really got me thinking. Killed my first deer with a Marlin 336 30-30 and had to give up hunting for several years after that. When I started back I was living in TX and knew I needed something with a longer range and bought a Browning A Bolt in 30-06. Killed several with it while living there. Soon afterward I started hunting in So. IL with friends and used a Mossberg 500 12ga with a fully rifled BBL. Killed quite a few with it then upgraded to a Remington 870 with a fully rifled Hastings BBL and a Nikon 2X7 scope. Using Hornady slugs it is a tack driver. This was my 23 year hunting in IL and have used and taken more deer with the 870 than anything else. When I do get the opportunity to hunt closer to home I use a Browning BLR in 308 however, the last deer killed in my home state was killed with a Ten Point Crossbow:)

Now that I've been long winded about it I could easily say I am quite fond of my 870 slug gun. She has taken everything from 120lb does to multiple 8 & 10pt bucks, all one shot stops (when I do my part).

As for how many hunting rifles, I still own 1-243, 2-270's, 1-7MMRM, 2-308, 2-30-30, 1-32spl, 2-30-06, 1-300WM, 1-375Win, & 1-357MAG and 1-44MAG. Very rarely do I let one go most I've had for years.
 
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13-15, I used a Winchester 670 in .243 for everything. From 16-21, I used a Remington 700 in .30-06 for deer and elk and the .243 for Prognhorn. The last several years, a Weatherby in .338-06 for Deer and Elk and a .260 Remington for Deer and Pronghorn. I also had some years of an 870 with slugs, archery, 10mm and .40 Super in 1911s, .414 SuperMag in an Encore, .41 Mag S&W Revolvers in my 20s.
 
My favorite rifle, a used Rem. 700 LH .270 Win, was my third rifle purchase. I have used that .270, a Ruger M77 .243 and a Browning A-Bolt SS LH .300 Win Mag to hunt (successfully) black bear, pronghorn, whitetail, mule deer and elk. And I have purchased several additional new or used rifles ranging from .223 to 7mm Rem Mag. However, I have taken most of my deer with a bow or Rem 870 (rifled barrel with sabot slugs in recent years.) This experience covers nearly 40 years.
 
One of my first rifles was a sporterized springfield model 1903, a remington 742 in .280 followed that. Can't remember the exact order but owned;
Winchester model 70 .30-06
Winchester model 100 .308
Browning bar .308(stolen in 2007, but got a call last month that it has been recovered!)
Weatherby .300 weatherby mag
Marlin 336
Remington 700 adl 7mm rem mag

That's it! I still own the marlin, remington 7mm mag, and will be getting the browning bar back soon.
 
Let's see:

  1. A borrowed Remmy pump in 270
  2. A Winchester 70 in 270 known as Chester the Deer Molester
  3. A LH Savage something in 30.06
  4. A LH Remmy 700BDL in 7mm Mag. I truly hated to shoot that da@% gun.
  5. Browning BLR in 270 - my all-time favorite gun!
  6. Browning BLR in 243 customized for my son who won't be old enough for a few more years.

There's also the Marlin 1895 Guide Gun in 45-70. Just in case I make it to Kodiak someday.
 
I'm glad I've always recorded serial numbers. This will be the third gun returned since 2007. Sorry for the derail.
 
In 45 years of hunting I have found several favorites depending on the demand.I started out with an old 94 win then 336 marlin I borrowed from my parents. I didn't care for the side scope mount on the win. And absolutely loved the marlin. Today I still find it hard to beat a lever 30-30 for 100 yds.and being handy for the user. Takes down deer very effectively. Due; to a kid on a poor paycheck I purchased a used military 303 which wasnt anything to look at but was just as good on deer. Being a kid I soon found a military 8 m m Mauser thinking bigger was better I put a lot of work in the gun. It looked pretty good with the bluing dressed up and a new stock I adapted to it but I wasn't impress with performance on deer. Thinking back it probably had as much to do with limited bullet selection in the early 70 s was the gun and the ballistics weren't great for distance.I saved then traded my 8 m m for a remingtonauto 270 I believe a model either 6400 or 6800. I never was pleased with the groups on factory ammo so I got a savage 110 30-06 which grouped great though the vanilla stock wasn't pretty. I wish I had kept it. Then I got a ruger bolt 7 mag & 280.I was pleased for the most part. They done a good job on mulies and whitetail and was used on some elk hunts. Then the boss was introduced by browning and several I hunt with were having great things to say about the boss. So I traded my Rugers in for win. Mod 70 stainless bosses in 7 mag & 300 mag for long shot grouping . I still have these just for that job. Magnums being overkill for whitetail I now have a Thompson pro hunter stainless fluted bull bbl.25-06 w/ thunbhole camp stock . Fits like a glove and don't see ever lettin it go. I just got a rossi stainless 30-30 that I believe will be my all weather close range handy rifle from now on.
 
I started with a Marlin in 35 Remington. Then I wanted more range. Got a BAR in 270. Great rifle, but heavy, and I was getting a lot of dust and dirt in it in South Texas, and I wanted to start reloading. Went to a Remington 700 in 270, but it just didn't satisfy me. Was making a few bucks by then, so I sold it and got a Sako AV in 270. OOOO Baby, what a great rifle. Then I just had to have a Tikka in 260 and in Stainless. That's what I mostly hunt with now in Texas.
 
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