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Gun SeasonI can remember the first time that I shot a gun. It was a .22LR that belonged to my uncle and he let me shoot a pop can. From the distance of at least 15 feet I blew a tremendous hole in that can. I knew that I must be a good shot. A Daisy Red Rider was my first and the second was a .22LR. I can remember hunting with that Red Rider and the BB’s rolling back and forth. Do you suppose I spooked any game? My first squirrel was killed with the .22 and many groundhogs were dispatched with it as well. My son now uses it on groundhogs behind the house. A Real Deer Rifle The first gun that I used to hunt whitetail deer with was a bolt action 20 gauge loaded with slugs. Within a couple more years I had a Marlin 336C 30/30, now I had a true deer rifle. The first deer that I shot was a spike in 1981. This was the first year hunting with an Armsport 4X scope on this rifle. I then harvested several more bucks with this it through 1987. This rifle performed well in these years except for the lever sticking open on two occasions. On the second occasion something broke when we forced the lever down and we had to have the rifle repaired. It now sets waiting for my son to grow a little more. Remington 7400 After the passing of my wife’s grandfather in 1987 her grandmother gave me his gun. It was a Remington 7400 chambered in .30-06. I put a new Redfield Widefield scope on it and later changed to a Simmons Aetec and have harvested several bucks and does with this rifle without any problems with either the rifle or scope. I can’t recall why I changed the scope. I still own the Redfield and will likely put it on another gun at some point, possibly my in-line muzzleloader. I had heard several arguments against autoloading rifles in the past but the performance of the 7400 has been stellar to date. I am not shooting in competitions or at extremely long distances so the capability for me to put three shots inside of a dime would be nice but is not necessary to hunt whitetail deer. The 7400 autoloader is similar to the .22 LR’s and shotgun that I have used for years and provides a sense of familiarity with the safety and operation of the gun. When I used the lever action Marlin the operation of the gun was not as much second nature to me thus after a shot I had to pay particular attention to lower the hammer. The hammer will be familiar to my son since the gun that he uses now has a hammer. Youth Hunting As you all know, kids are the future of hunting. Along with teaching them how to hunt we need to teach them about gun safety. I think that the best way to keep kids from doing stupid things with guns is to let them handle them and learn to shoot them. They will then have greater respect for what a gun can do. My son has gotten rather proficient with a .22LR and .410. He has killed three groundhogs with the .22 and one squirrel and three deer with his .410. The .410 is a combination Rossi .410/.22LR that has interchangeable barrels. Within the next year or two this gun will be passed down to my daughter. I try to continually impress upon them the capabilities of a firearm and that there is no second chances. Monster Bucks For my first ten or so years of deer hunting the opening day of buck season was the ultimate. I would always have a hard time going to sleep on the night before, images of a large antlered whitetail buck raced through my mind. I knew he was out there if only I could just be in the right place at the right time. As the years advanced and I learned more and spent more and more time in the woods I came to realize that there weren’t trophy bucks everywhere and of course you couldn’t shoot one if it wasn’t there. None the less, the opening day of buck season still holds a special magic if only for different reasons.
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