back in the 40s and 50s

[doninco]

When I first started chasing white tails up in Maine the guns were about 85 % 94,99 and Krags with about another 14% shotguns, The rest always got a what the heck is that look. All iron sights no handguns, maybe some 22. Wonder what kind mix is floating around now. Have a nice day Don K

[x101airborne]

With todays choices, there isn't much way to tell. When I started hunting the Remington 700 was getting popular with the people who previously couldn't afford one. Converted Mausers and 1903-A3's were the "ooh and aah", then you had the old timers that still carried lever action Marlins and Winchesters in 30-30. We were only about 50 years behind the rest of the country.

[contender]

In my area,, (WNC) where we have mountains,, lots of brush & shorter distances in general,, growing up,, the lever action in 30-30 was the gun everybody used. Mostly with iron sights. Scopes were beginning to really become the normal thing,, so the Marlin's got the nod there. But I also saw changes happening,, with bolt guns,, and scopes making their way into the mix. 30-06 was the most common caliber too.

Now,, all over the map with all kinds of differing ideas.

Oh,, and a handgun hunter? Nada in the early years. And when I started in the early-mid 1980's,, I caught a LOT of flack, got ribbed, and in general dismissed as crazy.

[bigmuddy]

When I was a kid in the ‘60’s, if someone had a deer rifle, the only question asked would be “Marlin or Winchester?” All that I ever saw were 30-30’s. My Dad had a Marlin and his brother a Winchester. I would listen to their good natured arguments over which was best. My Dad would always throw in the fact his was easier to add a scope, even though he nor anyone else around here ever used one. I took my first deer with his Marlin, and still have it today.

Only knew one man in their “circle” that owned a handgun, a Ruger Single Six .22. That was the first handgun I ever fired, and it started a never ending love affair.

Dan

[doninco]

Well, I got to use a bolt action in 257 Roberts with 4 power Weaver, in 48 & 49, It was out of the Family Docs collection of about 100 firearms. He noted my 94 in the rack and ask if I would like to try a scoped one. He relocated to one of the Carolinas a year or later and the entire collection disappeared in the move. I lost all my guns except that 94 in a house fire in 1950. That collection would make you want to cry over that loss, a mix of antiques and modern. Have a nice day Don K

[sharps4590]

When I was a kid, late 50's-early 60's, there was TONS of milsurps. As with many very rural areas money was pretty scarce and needed for necessities. The local VFW would loan out their 03's but they only had about 6. SMLE's, Mausers, Mosins, Arisaka's and Carcano's could be had for less than $15.00 from any of a half dozen mail order catalogs such as Sears, Aldens, Montgomery Ward, Spiegel and probably some others I've forgotten. 03's and 03-A3's were available for little more. You even saw some Garands and Carbines. Lever rifles of either make were pretty scarce, and looked upon with longing eyes by men and boys but, they were out there. If you had a scoped bolt rifle you were rich and as rare as the deer. Shotguns with slugs were pretty common as well and I had one neighbor who built muzzleloaders. Warren was the only guy I knew who had one until I was in my early 20's, he made his own. Deer were about as scarce as unicorns back then and seasons were 3 days long, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, bucks only. School closed on Friday.....because no on was going to be there.

Lots of folks had handguns but you never saw one in the field. Most were 22's, 32's or 38 Spl. Dad had a High Standard Sport King that now resides in my safe as did his SMLE until I gave it to my oldest son. When I killed my first deer with my SBH in the early 80's the game warden all but called me a liar and was insulting. I replied in kind. We were hunting on the farm of my brother-in-law's dad and my BIL was present. He just laughed at the game warden and said something to the effect he didn't know what he was talking about.

It's changed a LOT in 60-65 years!!!!! My old friends and neighbors who were my mentors would marvel that the last 20 years I hunted, I hunted with engraved German double rifles, combination guns, pre-war custom Mausers....dreams of a little boy a long time ago.

[woody]

When I was growing up in the 80’s it was slug gun only. So you saw a lot of Ithaca Deerslayers and Remington 1100’s They were definitely the most
popular. All the older Italian guys in the town I lived in loved their A-5’s especially sweet sixteens!!! Handguns were real popular in those days. Contenders and .44’s mostly but the .357 had a big following. The late 80’s into the 90’s things changed with the advent of the rifles slug barrels. Most guys bought a Hastings barrel
for their current gun or a factory rifles slug barrel.

About 10 years ago we switched to rifles being legal. Now lots of bolt action scoped guns. 6.5 creedmoor, .308 Win. , and 30-06 being popular. .243 is really popular in my area. Lots of guys using lever guns. 30/30’s are very popular. That’s what I use most of the time. A iron sighted 94 30/30. I’ve shot deer with .243, .257 roberts, 7-08 30-06, 45/70 to name a few but my woods is pretty close shooting so the 30/30 gets used the most and since we went to rifles it’s the caliber I’ve shot the most deer with.

A lot of guys just kept using their rifled slug guns. No reason to switch when shots are under 150 yards. I laugh at most the guys locally using scoped rifles with high magnification to only shoot deer at 50 yards. Lol.

[45MAN]

ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS MY FATHER AND MY UNCLE JAMES "Tio Rul" CHAMPION DID WHEN THEY MUSTERED OUT OF THE ARMY AIR CORP AT THE END OF WWII WAS BUY A WINCHESTER 30-30. MOST EVERYONE USED A WINCHESTER 30-30 EARLY POST WWII BUT SOME OF THE GUYS FROM RANCH FAMILIES HAD REMINGTON MODEL 8/81's AND 14/141's. IN THE LATE 50's I SHOT MY FIRST DEER WITH MY DAD's 30-30. I DO NOT RECALL MANY IF ANY MARLIN LEVER GUNS DOWN HERE IN DEEPEST SOUTH TEXAS.

BACK WHEN I WAS ACCUMULATING A FEW 99's I TALKED WITH A SELLER AND HE SAID THAT HE WAS A TRUCK DRIVER AND WHEN MASSACHUSETTS WENT TO SHOTGUN ONLY DEER HUNTING THE GUN RACKS FILLED UP WITH USED MODELL 99's YOU COULD BUY CHEAP.

NOW THAT I AM RETIRED I AM GOING TO MOVE MOST OF MY 99 COLLECTION.

[sixshot]

As far back as I can remember my dad had a model 8A 30 Remington & my mother had a 30/30 winchester & they always got their deer. Dad had been a Marine during WWII & he was always a deadly shot with iron sights, but my mom probably could have been a Marine because she was also a crack shot.
One early morning in the fall, about 1952 or 53 my oldest brother came running into the bedroom & told us the field across the road was filling up with geese. My mother grabbed her 30/30 Winchester out of the closet & us boys in our underwear followed her to the front porch. We lived on a farm out on the Milford flats (Utah) & we stepped out onto the front porch in the cold fall air in our bare feet as mother levered a round into her gun & pulled down on the geese somewhere around 100 yds out into the frost covered field.
At the crack of the gun the geese were in the air........all except one, mother had got one against all odds with that iron sighted 30/30, yippee! My oldest brother was the only one that was dressed & he took off & retrieved the goose & brought it back to mother & all of us were jumping up & down at the shot we had just witnessed. I have no idea how far it was but geese don't land close to a house anywhere so my guess of 100 yds all these years later has to be pretty accurate, just like my mothers shot!

Dick

[ryan]

Growing up in Maine, and being fortunate enough to grow up in a family owned gun shop, I've seen a lot of changes in whitetail gear. Early on - mid to late 80s and into the 90s - there were still a lot of 99s and hacked up surplus rifles (and as Don mentioned, lots of those were head scratchers!), but at the time most were split between levers (Winchester and Marlin) and bolt guns. 700s and 70s were popular, with a few carrying 77s, and for a while there was a large fan base for the shiny Browning rifles A-Bolts, BARs, and BLRs. Lever guns were often used with open sights, bolts with scopes. Later, once the Benoits became famous, and Hal Blood became better known, a lot of hunters on both sides of the aisle transitioned to 7600s. Today the 7600s (and it's earlier variants) are still going strong for the "big woods" guys (with peep sights or lower power scopes, even some red dots) while the tree stand/ground blind hunters tend to stay with the new cheaper bolt guns and various ARs, both usually scoped. I think it's rare now to see a shotgun of any type in the deer woods, and the number of guys I know of who actually hunt with handgun I could probably count on one hand.

[bigbore5]

Still using the same 357 Security Six and 1894CL 357 I have for 40+ years now. They still go bang. Deer still die. I still eat venison.

[ericp]

We need to take our deer to a game inspection station here for recording and ,at least at the station I go to, the size of the deer is recorded along with the cartridge used on big wall posters. This year I'd say 30-06, 30wcf, and 308 accounted for 75% of the total. Quite a lot of 35 remingtons and 44 mags represented as well. I'd guess most of the 44 mags are leverguns. Everything else is a smattering with perhaps the 243 standing out among youth hunters.

Eric

[gnappi]

My dad only owned two rifles back then, a Ruger .44 carbine and a Remington 742 in 30-06. Today I think he'd STILL carry the Ruger because it killed many a dozen deer. I still have it. I only went afield once with a rifle which was a Marlin 30-30 and got my first buck, after that I only carried a revolver because I left New York for a state which is not so restrictive on personal ownership of handguns.