Xringer07
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2012
- Messages
- 147
I grew up in an average lower-middle-class PA hunting family where any gun purchase was a “big deal” and all firearms were based on utility and filled a role vs wants. When I was born, my dad owned a .22, a .270 and a 12ga shotgun. Covered all his needs from a hunting perspective and there was no room for anything extra.
My dad grew up essentially without a dad, and taught himself most of what he learned about guns and hunting. He had some influence from some neighbors and his father-in-law (my mom’s dad) and uncles, but was largely self-taught. He made it his life’s mission to give me everything he never had as a child; not necessarily from a material perspective, but from his presence as (one hell of) a dad and his desire for us to learn about hunting together. He made guns and shooting fun for us and encouraged my love for it with hunting rags, Shooters Bibles, and ammo.
He bought me a $10 gun raffle ticket in 1996 and told me if we won anything on that ticket, it was mine. I was 8 years old at the time. We went to the raffle dinner and lo-and-behold we got drawn for a Remington 700 BDL in .243 Win. A $700 rifle at the time. Worth more than all the guns he owned combined.
I have hunted with that gun for 25 years now and have taken many whitetails, a mule deer, a coyote and countless groundhogs. It will always have a special place and I will continue using it until my boy starts hunting with it.
I have had the itch for a semi-custom rifle for a good while and am now in a place where that is realistic. I finally assembled all the parts this year into a lightweight mountain rifle in 7 SAUM. I wanted something lighter than the 700 and with enough hp to shoot a decently heavy copper bullet further than I needed to shoot. No kills with it yet, but hoping to change that this year in PA.
My dad grew up essentially without a dad, and taught himself most of what he learned about guns and hunting. He had some influence from some neighbors and his father-in-law (my mom’s dad) and uncles, but was largely self-taught. He made it his life’s mission to give me everything he never had as a child; not necessarily from a material perspective, but from his presence as (one hell of) a dad and his desire for us to learn about hunting together. He made guns and shooting fun for us and encouraged my love for it with hunting rags, Shooters Bibles, and ammo.
He bought me a $10 gun raffle ticket in 1996 and told me if we won anything on that ticket, it was mine. I was 8 years old at the time. We went to the raffle dinner and lo-and-behold we got drawn for a Remington 700 BDL in .243 Win. A $700 rifle at the time. Worth more than all the guns he owned combined.
I have hunted with that gun for 25 years now and have taken many whitetails, a mule deer, a coyote and countless groundhogs. It will always have a special place and I will continue using it until my boy starts hunting with it.
I have had the itch for a semi-custom rifle for a good while and am now in a place where that is realistic. I finally assembled all the parts this year into a lightweight mountain rifle in 7 SAUM. I wanted something lighter than the 700 and with enough hp to shoot a decently heavy copper bullet further than I needed to shoot. No kills with it yet, but hoping to change that this year in PA.
