CaptainMal
Silver $$ Contributor
Before age 4, a Daisy BB rifle. Then got it and still have one today. After that it was a lever 30-30. Have three today at age 79.
As a kid, what gun did you dream of owning?
- Thread starter Infrequent Shooter
- Start date
DRK
Silver $$ Contributor
Cecil S.
Gold $$ Contributor
Shot Woodchucks in the Catskills NY with a bolt action Mossburg 22. It was tube fed thick wood stock thick barrel Redfield scope Federal hollow points. Stacked 3 hay bales as a blind and a cooler of drinks pulled off some long shots using Kentucky Windage. Wish I had that gun today.
Jeff Porter
Gold $$ Contributor
Model 70 Featherweight in .308 Love that stock but now all my rifles are matte and synthetic because I use them hard.
outasite`08
Gold $$ Contributor
Rick, did your bug gain some weight? He seems to be moving slower I hit him twice this morning.
Win 101 shotgun. I remember thinking $325 is a lot for a shotgun!
Liven The Dream
Gold $$ Contributor
Winchester Model 12 Mod. Barrel
$109.00 Blue Island Gun Shop, Paid for with my News Paper Route Money.
Dad has to pick it up.
$109.00 Blue Island Gun Shop, Paid for with my News Paper Route Money.
Dad has to pick it up.
BAR 1918 A2. Wish I never sold it. Bought a Group Ind. Version and regret selling it. 99999.9999 percent relilable. Purchased in 1997 for $2200 and sold in2022 $22000.
Health went bad and lugging a 23 pound gun and a full can of ammo just got old. Knob Creek went away so I lost my main shooting spot at knob creek.
Main reason for buying it was the old "Combat". Just loved the sound when set on slow fire.
And yes surplus ammo was 10 cents a round at that time
Health went bad and lugging a 23 pound gun and a full can of ammo just got old. Knob Creek went away so I lost my main shooting spot at knob creek.
Main reason for buying it was the old "Combat". Just loved the sound when set on slow fire.
And yes surplus ammo was 10 cents a round at that time
"Combat!" -Watched the first run episodes. Exactly the reason I'd wanted a Thompson since age 12.
Had I been able to purchase back then, $300 could have owned one, including the tax.
Finally was able to do it, but a couple more zeros had to be added.
JBT47
Silver $$ Contributor
Warning!! The following is long but it’s my story of how a dream rifle and its subsequent sale directly gave birth to this wonderful obsession with precision shooting. So don’t read if uninterested. But my story may help some new guys with the most important part of all this stuff and that is: practice and rounds down range are the most important variables as it takes an accurate shooter with great fundamentals to enjoy precision shooting. It truly is he Indian more so than the arrow. So whatever your dee re e rifle is, if you buy it or build it, shoot the thing enough to get consistent with it so you can enjoy owning it.
Anyway for those interested -
lAlways dreamt of Weatherby Mark 5 Deluxe in .257 Weatherby. Dad would only buy used Winchester Model 70’s…very used. One of my first paychecks was spent on a Mk 5 in .257. I shot a few deer with it but it honestly did not extend my Max Point Blank range much so go try grid try rated and decided the only way to get competent at distance is to buy an expensive scope with adjustable turrets and an accurate and heavy barreled .308 or .223 and then shoot/practice enough to shoot the barrels out. So that’s what I did.
Sold the Mark 5 and bought REM 5R in .223 and a STEYR SSG 69 PIIK. A friend was already into precision shooting. I wasted money trying to find a FFP that lived up to the hype. Schmidt & Bender PMII’s were really the only high end FFP optics back then.so I ponied up for the 5-25x56 S&B PMII and damn I was happy.
At the time my Dad and I had a lot of deer hunting land with very long range shot opportunities. Set up steel out to 1300+ yards and we shot 3-4 x’s on er week. I was fortunate that the little 1-9” twist .223 loved Fed Gold Medal 77gr ammo and it was very cheap back then. Also, that STEYR SSG would shook extremely tiny groups with both .308 FGMM 176gr as well as 7.62x51 FGMM. In fact the short STEYR would not shoot a bad group with any ammo used.. to this day, I’ve never owned another .308 custom or factory that was as consistently accurate as that Steyr. Before I knew better, I bought a cass are of FGMM 168fr SMK ammo. My friend looked at it and told me that the 168 would tumble past 700 yds. Well, he then watched thru my spotter as I proceeded to go 5 for 5 on a 15” plate at 1150 yds. So even that 168 SMK known to tumble, tumbled accurately to my target. This rifle would shoot!
I practiced shooting with my friend at my camp a few times /week at l ong range when he could come. When I shot alone I would do so after work at dark and set up a lighted paper target at 100 yds. This helped with my trigger control and I eventually trained out the slight flinch I had prior to all this shooting.
Shot barrel out of that .223 in a little over a year shooting it for more than 5,000 rounds. Instead of rebarreling I sold it as is and bought another just like it. It shot poprly with factory match ammo so ibegan to learn to handload. This new .223 I learned is just how it goes with factory REM rifles ((wish Tikka T3x CTR existed back then)!)…you may get an exceptionally accurate rifle from factory but it’s the exception not the rule. However I do believe that with good hand loading practices almost any rifle can be tuned with the combination of powder, primer, and bullet seared in sweet spot that the particular rifle wants. This .223 would not shoot a 77gr Sierra MK as the heaviest it would shoot with handload was 69.
So, it was time for a custom so I used chat aggravating .223’s action for my 1st custom/semi-custom build. This was way before most of the custom actions of today not even being in business yet so building off a trued REM made more sense back then. chambering it using a match .223 reamer and used an 8” twist barrel and this rifle drove tacks! My friend who had been shooting longer than me told me to build a 6.5 or any cartridge with high BC bullets. However, I intentionally kept shooting .223 and .308 and even he could not deny that I had surpassed him in re: to my ability to read wind and mirage. I fell in love with the semi-custom .223. I tuned a great handload using the reasonably inexpensive 80gr Amax in highly processed Lake City brass. This rifle shot so good I found myself not wanting to shoot it much for fear of torching another .223 in a year. So I kept shooting the STEYR .308.
I began shooting matches and shot FTR 600 using my .223 but I learned quick that if my choice in FTR was gong to be a .223 then the 90 gr bullets were a necessity even a 600 yds. Well, I had an 8” twist. So I began collecting parts for a new build with a 7” twist in .223. Used a Surgeon 591 action and 1-7” twist Krieger 4 groove barrel. This 90gr bullet has taught me that I need to work being consistent in handloadimg as even the minutiae is important with the 90 VLD in .223. This .218” bore 4 groove was accurate to e with a tuned load but at least one bullet would poof out of a 20 round string so I put that rifle on the shelf for a few years.
All thie practice using ballistically challenged cartridge choices such as .308 & .223 shooting old tech tangent bullets helped me learn to read wind…I got pretty good at iboth using flags and using natural vegetation. Learned to read mirage although that is still a work in progress.
I wanted a 6.5x47 Lapua and a .300 WSM and a 6 BR but at my stage of development, I chose the harder to shoot at distance calibers. Once I finally built a 6.5x47 Lapua it was noticeably easier/forgiving at distance…no question. But the ballistically superior rounds do not teach a person how to read wind as well as ..308 and especially .223.
All the above to say this: my childhood dream Weatherby rifle was disappointing in actual use. However, the sale of my dream rifle and fancy Zeiss 3-12x56 funded my chosen new rifles/new tools that lead to the greatest hobby/favorite pastime that I’ve ever enjoyed.
What started out as a quest to just learn to shoot animals at 4&500 yards turned into me preferring to shoot a match or just practice than to hunt anymore. To think, I used to not understand target shooters as I was raised to believe that out of a box of 20 cartridges, at least 18 of them needed to be used shooting at animals…not targets.
Anyway for those interested -
lAlways dreamt of Weatherby Mark 5 Deluxe in .257 Weatherby. Dad would only buy used Winchester Model 70’s…very used. One of my first paychecks was spent on a Mk 5 in .257. I shot a few deer with it but it honestly did not extend my Max Point Blank range much so go try grid try rated and decided the only way to get competent at distance is to buy an expensive scope with adjustable turrets and an accurate and heavy barreled .308 or .223 and then shoot/practice enough to shoot the barrels out. So that’s what I did.
Sold the Mark 5 and bought REM 5R in .223 and a STEYR SSG 69 PIIK. A friend was already into precision shooting. I wasted money trying to find a FFP that lived up to the hype. Schmidt & Bender PMII’s were really the only high end FFP optics back then.so I ponied up for the 5-25x56 S&B PMII and damn I was happy.
At the time my Dad and I had a lot of deer hunting land with very long range shot opportunities. Set up steel out to 1300+ yards and we shot 3-4 x’s on er week. I was fortunate that the little 1-9” twist .223 loved Fed Gold Medal 77gr ammo and it was very cheap back then. Also, that STEYR SSG would shook extremely tiny groups with both .308 FGMM 176gr as well as 7.62x51 FGMM. In fact the short STEYR would not shoot a bad group with any ammo used.. to this day, I’ve never owned another .308 custom or factory that was as consistently accurate as that Steyr. Before I knew better, I bought a cass are of FGMM 168fr SMK ammo. My friend looked at it and told me that the 168 would tumble past 700 yds. Well, he then watched thru my spotter as I proceeded to go 5 for 5 on a 15” plate at 1150 yds. So even that 168 SMK known to tumble, tumbled accurately to my target. This rifle would shoot!
I practiced shooting with my friend at my camp a few times /week at l ong range when he could come. When I shot alone I would do so after work at dark and set up a lighted paper target at 100 yds. This helped with my trigger control and I eventually trained out the slight flinch I had prior to all this shooting.
Shot barrel out of that .223 in a little over a year shooting it for more than 5,000 rounds. Instead of rebarreling I sold it as is and bought another just like it. It shot poprly with factory match ammo so ibegan to learn to handload. This new .223 I learned is just how it goes with factory REM rifles ((wish Tikka T3x CTR existed back then)!)…you may get an exceptionally accurate rifle from factory but it’s the exception not the rule. However I do believe that with good hand loading practices almost any rifle can be tuned with the combination of powder, primer, and bullet seared in sweet spot that the particular rifle wants. This .223 would not shoot a 77gr Sierra MK as the heaviest it would shoot with handload was 69.
So, it was time for a custom so I used chat aggravating .223’s action for my 1st custom/semi-custom build. This was way before most of the custom actions of today not even being in business yet so building off a trued REM made more sense back then. chambering it using a match .223 reamer and used an 8” twist barrel and this rifle drove tacks! My friend who had been shooting longer than me told me to build a 6.5 or any cartridge with high BC bullets. However, I intentionally kept shooting .223 and .308 and even he could not deny that I had surpassed him in re: to my ability to read wind and mirage. I fell in love with the semi-custom .223. I tuned a great handload using the reasonably inexpensive 80gr Amax in highly processed Lake City brass. This rifle shot so good I found myself not wanting to shoot it much for fear of torching another .223 in a year. So I kept shooting the STEYR .308.
I began shooting matches and shot FTR 600 using my .223 but I learned quick that if my choice in FTR was gong to be a .223 then the 90 gr bullets were a necessity even a 600 yds. Well, I had an 8” twist. So I began collecting parts for a new build with a 7” twist in .223. Used a Surgeon 591 action and 1-7” twist Krieger 4 groove barrel. This 90gr bullet has taught me that I need to work being consistent in handloadimg as even the minutiae is important with the 90 VLD in .223. This .218” bore 4 groove was accurate to e with a tuned load but at least one bullet would poof out of a 20 round string so I put that rifle on the shelf for a few years.
All thie practice using ballistically challenged cartridge choices such as .308 & .223 shooting old tech tangent bullets helped me learn to read wind…I got pretty good at iboth using flags and using natural vegetation. Learned to read mirage although that is still a work in progress.
I wanted a 6.5x47 Lapua and a .300 WSM and a 6 BR but at my stage of development, I chose the harder to shoot at distance calibers. Once I finally built a 6.5x47 Lapua it was noticeably easier/forgiving at distance…no question. But the ballistically superior rounds do not teach a person how to read wind as well as ..308 and especially .223.
All the above to say this: my childhood dream Weatherby rifle was disappointing in actual use. However, the sale of my dream rifle and fancy Zeiss 3-12x56 funded my chosen new rifles/new tools that lead to the greatest hobby/favorite pastime that I’ve ever enjoyed.
What started out as a quest to just learn to shoot animals at 4&500 yards turned into me preferring to shoot a match or just practice than to hunt anymore. To think, I used to not understand target shooters as I was raised to believe that out of a box of 20 cartridges, at least 18 of them needed to be used shooting at animals…not targets.
Greg@wfcustom
Gold $$ Contributor
He did have the knack of bringing you right into the bush with him!
I think I still own them all.
G
7br
Silver $$ Contributor
A Marlin 336 30-30 saddle gun that I bought at 2 Guys Discount Store with money my brother and I earned by trapping muskrats. If I remember correctly the price was around $70. Back in 1964 a 13 year old could plunk down the cash and walk out with a rifle. I used it for deer hunting but I also walked around shooting groundhogs in the summer. I had to keep trapping in the winter and mowing lawns in the summer cause ammo cost a whopping $3 a box!!
HandgunHTR
Gold $$ Contributor
I wanted one of those as well!
For a rifle I wanted a Marlin 336.
I still own an Ithaca, but it is a safe queen. I hunt with my Brownings. I have had multiple 336s now, but I just can't get into them. The only lever gun I still own is a Browning BLR in 7RM, but I am trying to sell it now too.
mike mccormick
Silver $$ Contributor
I have quite a few. Still read them occasionally
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