LAST EDITED ON Oct-04-14 AT 01:41PM (MST)[p]Thank You, very nice words from you guys, i appreciate it very much!
Some might be interested in the story of the rifle that i took this buck with. Back in 1969, in my mid teens, My Rancher-Farmer, Dad's older Brother, Uncle offered me a little hay hauling contract. If i agreed, i was to get $.10 for each and every bale that me and whoever i chose, picked off the field and stacked in the Barns we had. Not good at business, i offered my buddy the job as my helper and being more than fair, offered him half the pay, we each got a nickle a bale.
100 bales in the barn was $5. each. A good day we did 10, 100 bale loads but that was dawn to dusk. The job lasted a couple weeks or so and by the end, i had enough money to go down and order up my first Deer rifle, a Rem 700 ADL in 25-06 and a straight 6 power Redfield widefield scope. Total cost at the time for rifle, mounts and rings, and scope was about $250.
Once i got that rifle dialed in, i became much more proficient at getting the bucks i was after. It seems to me now that very few deer got away if i pulled down on them with that rifle. Back then on that Ranch that i grew up on, there was no such thing as waiting for only broadside shots. We took them as we got them, that rifle just seemed to not have a miss in it whether i was shooting at a blackbird swinging back and forth on top of a mustard plant, shooting a quarter at 100 yards on a bet, or the nitty gritty hard earned better buck. It was a shooter!
Fast forward to when i'm home from college and working a job that paid well. I saw a fancy wood stocked Mark V 257 Weatherby Mag on a store shelf that was (1) absolutely gorgeous, and (2) seemed to me to be mis priced at under $400. The Weatherby went home with me.
Not much after that, Another Uncle that i really liked and hunted deer with a lot, had seen with his own eyes just how good a natural shooter my 25-06 was, offered to buy my rifle, and me thinking that i'm now a Weatherby Man, ignorant as i can be, i sold it to him for what i had paid for it.
Within months, i offered to buy it back. My uncle received my offer as if it were some kind of a joke. The rifle was his now, he loved it too, it was actually one of his prides and joy.
As life is much too short, we were all very saddened to hear that my Uncle had Passed away last year. He was just one of those Guys that everybody liked and going to his service and get-together afterward, i couldn't believe all the people that came or stopped by to pay their respects. Hundreds!
A few months later, My Auntie, My Dads Sister, called to ask if there was anything of Uncle Mikes that i might like to have? You can guess what i mentioned and that ol 25-06, now back again in my hands, is what i took this Buck with this year.
There is a bit more of this rifle's story about getting it ready to hunt with this year, in the Guns, Bows, Firearms Forum. That thread, "25-06 load recommendations?"
http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID22/3646.html#.VDBMjRayksw
Joey
"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"
