Your first big game kill.

[Vaquero]

Yesterday a couple of us were texting (group text). One's SIL killed his first deer, a pretty nice 8 point. So the conversation went to our first deer kill. So I thought it would make for a good thread.

Myself I didn't hunt much as a kid, dad wasn't a hunter. He did have a nice Winchester 30-30 and I did take it a few times, but never killed anything with it.
Fast forward to my mid twenty's, one summer I helped the guy I worked for one weekend and my pay was a mid 70's Marlin 30-30. I was 24 or 25 and I finally scored one.
The rifle is a '75 make and I still have it, killed several deer with it, as it was my only center fire rifle for a good many years.
Saying all that here's a pic. of both.
Decent little 7, with an 8.5" spread.
I was tickled pink.

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So what was your first big game to take and what was your tool?

RP

[r80rt]

Haha, For my first deer I took out a 150 lb white tail with a 350 lb motorcycle. I didn't have it mounted though.

[North Country Gal]

My shooting began back in the 60s when hunting with a handgun was the big new thing. After using my OM Single Six for small game hunting for several years, I decided it was time to start deer hunting, so, of course, I chose a Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 mag single action revolver. Learning how to shoot a 44 mag handgun on my own was an adventure in itself, believe me, because everyone told me girls don't shoot 44 magnums, but after a summer of practicing every week, I finally got good enough to use it for hunting. That fall, I still hunted, slowly, through thick river bottom brush and timber and took a doe at 40 yards, offhand. (This was before everyone decided to sit in a tree like a squirrel in tree blinds to hunt deer.) Had a party and invited my college friends over for some venison. That was some good eating and good times. Lots of memories.

[CT_Shooter]

My shooting began back in the 60s when hunting with a handgun was the big new thing.

This story says so much in so few words about so many things including hunting a deer with a handgun. Excellent essay. Thanks.

[daytime dave]

Great topic.
I had hunted in my thirties. I lived in a shotgun only county, so I brought a 12 ga used Ithaca Deer slayer police gun. I had bought it at a gun show cheap but in great condition because it was a police trade in with a left handed safety. It hardly had a scratch on it. When I was married, my father in law owned a large farm that he rented to someone. My then brother in law and I hunted there for 3 or 4 years without luck. He went to law school and that year I took a friend with me. Almost immediately after we sat down, I heard a shot. He had gotten a beautiful 10 pt buck. My brother in law was pretty steamed. The next week I took a doe with my 12 ga deer slayer. I finished it off with a .45 from my S&W 645. I got about 40 lbs of meat after the processor was done. I gave my parents some and then more as my then wife wouldn't let me feed her or the kids with it. (That's not why we divorced ) I have shot at a few deer since then, but had a 20 year hunting gap.

This year I am planning to take my .44 magnum Big Boy and S&W 629 out.

[JEBar]

back in early 1964 we moved from Charlotte, NC to the small town of Sylva located about 50 miles west of Asheville in the Great Smoky Mountains .... my father didn't hunt .... my mother's father did and was a member of the Big Tom Wilson Bear Hunting Club .... most folks haven't heard of Big Tom so here is a link to a bio https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/wilso ... -d-big-tom .... the club hunted a Wilson family owned track of land that formed a canyon from the peak of Mt Mitchel down to head waters of the Cane River .... it was a dog hunting club that owned fine pack of Black and Tan, Bluetick and Plot hounds .... their method of hunting involved stationing hunters in Jeeps, International Scout, Bronco and 4wheel drive pickups in a group at a central location on the road that ran around the canyon's rim and turning the pack loose somewhere below .... based on many years of hunting they knew that the lay of the land would funnel the bear to cross the road .... one veteran hunter would sit our on a point overlooking the canyon and using a crystal CB radio and tell the hunters where to move and form a line to intercept the bear that the dogs were pushing .... no Camouflage clothing back then, our hunters wore heavy tan Duckback, bib overalls or jeans with flannel shirts .... I had a pump Ithaca Deerslayer 12 ga and a single action, 9" Ruger Blackhawk 44 mag .... one cold, rainy morning a call came to move the line and we took off .... when we got the area to form the stand, one fellow realized he'd gotten in one vehicle and his hunting rifle was in another one ... with no time to play around, I handed him my Deerslayer .... when I say rain, I should have said RAIN .... I vividly remember standing the the waist high straw grass, with my Ruger in hand, looking down into the woods below .... hearing only an occasional bark I knew the pack was pushing the bear hard up the grade to the road .... suddenly I heard the rain storm somewhat muffled report from a 300 Savage caused me to look to my left ... I saw nothing .... then the sound of rustling leaves caused me to look to my right .... the bear was 3 feet or so from me with his front paws on the edge of the road ... no, I didn't think anything .... I simply put 2 rounds (remember single action revolver) a couple of inches behind his front right shoulder .... he rolled back down the hill and what I do remember is getting him back out to the road proved to be a lot of work .... to this day, what I don't remember is the how rapidly I apparently fired two shots, with no memory of their recoil or muzzle blast from my 44 .... the guys sure enjoyed ragging me about powder burns in the hair around the bullet holes; as well as, wasting ammo with a second shot and assorted other things ....

hadn't thought about this in a long time .... thanks for starting this thread

[Vaquero]

Great story Jim, thanks for sharing. How old were you?
And you are welcome.
Interesting article there also thanks for that.

RP

[North Country Gal]

Thanks, Dave. Enjoyed your story, too. Good luck with the 44 mags.

Amazing stories, folks. Thank you so much. I'm really enjoying them.

[JEBar]

Great story Jim, thanks for sharing. How old were you?
RP

I was 18, getting ready to turn 19

[JEBar]

I brought a 12 ga used Ithaca Deer slayer police gun.

my model 37 Deer Slayer had a slug barrel ..... on the positive side, it was the most accurate shotgun that I've ever owned with rifled slugs .... on the negative side, it weighed about 6.5 pounds and with slugs and/or buckshot it was the hardest kicking long gun I've ever fired

[BigAl52]

I worked with a guy who's wife's father was a local banker. He had some bank customers who had land on the South Platte river east of where I live about 30 miles. They were big corn farmers. I did some reloading for this guy and he asked me if I would like to go out to hunt their land for deer. You had to put in with the local DOW to get a license to hunt that area as it was draw only. Turns out that the land owner at that time could sign his right to hunt his land over to whoever he chose. So we both ended up with permits. Their land contained both whitetail and mule deer. The tags we drew were for does. We found 2 opening morning and I was able to kill one at about 75 yards with the 243 that I took hunting. We then took both animals to the tractor shed lifted them up with a loader and dressed them out. I hunted that same area for several years in a row and killed 2 more deer with TC Contenders. One of them was a nice buck mule deer.

[daytime dave]

I brought a 12 ga used Ithaca Deer slayer police gun.

my model 37 Deer Slayer had a slug barrel ..... on the positive side, it was the most accurate shotgun that I've ever owned with rifled slugs .... on the negative side, it weighed about 6.5 pounds and with slugs and/or buckshot it was the hardest kicking long gun I've ever fired

Mine was an 18" barrel, smooth. I prefer the non-rifled barrels still today. I use a smooth 20 ga 18" barrel for grouse in the thick woods. I traded off that Ithaca to someone. I don't regret it, but .........

[Hatchdog]

Great stories everybody, sure takes us back.

My first big game kill was a spike Mule deer. Like others my dad didn’t hunt so I had no exposure to hunting but did do a little bit of shooting with his M/94 30-30. At the age of 18 I went to work at a sporting goods distributor and some fellow employees took me under their wing and took me hunting. After a couple of years of no luck I shot this little muley. He was facing me and I took a shot behind the front shoulder the best I could. Note the exit wound on the far side. I was by myself and had to figure out how to gut him but I got it done. Shot him with my Ruger M/77 30-06 which I had for many years afterwards and took many deer with it.

This pic is from around 1980. Who is that young buck (x’2 )?

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[JEBar]

my model 37 Deer Slayer had a slug barrel

Mine was an 18" barrel, smooth. I prefer the non-rifled barrels still today.

now that you mention it, the slug barrel on my Deer Slayer was 18" with a smooth bore .... I've never owned a shotgun with a rifled barrel and really have no clue if I'd want one or not

[brm4450]

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This wasn’t my sons first deer but it was his first Muley buck!

[Centaur]

I shot a little whitetail doe in either 1963 or 1964 with my new Savage 99 in .308. The first of many more to come.