One of the most successful big Mule Deer HUNTERS I have known used a Remington Model 141 pump action rifle in .32 Remington. He specialized in rooting out the bucks around volcanic cones cover with Mountain Mahogany and Manzenita brush. I gained a lot of respect for the man, his horn collection, and his rifle.
I helped him skin out a couple big bucks and we always recovered a couple well-placed bullets that had penetrated across the chest cavity into the far shoulder.
And here is the point, what ever rifle you are using the bullet needs to be well placed, be it .32 Remington or 45-70.
While I hunt brush fields I always have the opportunity to look across a hollow and take a buck out beyond 200-yards. So I must prepare and practice for the 10-yard event along with the 200-yards event.
I was at a law enforcement combat shotgun shoot and the instructor told us to shoot a bunch of swinging one gallon water jugs from the hip on command, and there was a short time limit. I missed, and so did every body else.
Admittedly I did not follow the directions the next time around but I was the only shooter to bust his three jugs. Mentally I made the step from the LEO to the buck hunter equipped with a Remington 760. At that point in my life I had taken a number of deer at close range in heavy brush with my Remington 760 in .270 Winchester. On the next command I busted all three jugs quickly before the other shooters, fired their last round. I was the only shooter to take out more then one jug.
The key was many hours of practice over twenty years with the M760. The range master gave me a little guff, which I did not resent, because I was successful.
My friend Ron hunts with a M760 loaded with store bought 180-grain bullets. He hunts bucks after a fall snowstorm and normally takes them at close range. While I try and avoid a Texas Heart shot, Ron says bring them on.
I made the transition from factory open sight to a Williams Peep sight in a year or two. The Peep sight was okay and in my LEO days I got the agency to install a peep sight on my Model 870.
I prefer a scope for up close work, even when tracking down criminals. My AR had a scope on it. The key is practice, practice, and more practice. All practice does not need to be live fire.
I have never hunted deer out of a tree stand, but I have bucked a lot of brush.
Every once and a while I hunt with a Marlin lever action in 30-30 Winchester. It has a scope on it. It is accurate and fast to get into action. For 99 percent of my hunting it is okay. It is the one percent days that cause me some concern.
The lever action I wish I had was a Savage Model 99 in .300 Savage with a 20-inch barrel that brother had. There was a couple of times I seen him quickly get off multiple shots and collect nice bucks.
The last few years I have taken bucks using bolt action rifles. This year’s shot behind the shoulder buck took off and I did not get a chance to rechamber a round with the bolt action. The story would have been different with the M760.
Typical of success with the M760 was I buck I shot in mixed brush and scrub oak. I was standing on a bush rock point. The only way I could see the hillside across the draw was from a standing position. The buck was moving at a quick walk and I missed the first shot, and he was running. My quick follow-up shot with the M760 took the large buck behind the shoulder. The buck went out of sight, but I heard his rack hit the rocks when he fell.
I believe in using enough bullet for the occasion. The 150-grain bullet from the .270 Winchester round created a 2-inch exit hole, left a 2x6 inch patch of hide on the hillside, and a good blood trail. I do not think I would have made the second shot with my favorite bolt action rifle.
For many years I would return home for deer season. I would return with two rifles, the M760 for hunting heavy cover and a bolt action for open country. I have taken deer at long range with the Model 760 in .270 Winchester, but it is always good to have a backup rifle.
I prefer scopes in the 3x9 or 2X10 range. But I normally carry them at the lowest setting. Once in a Blue Moon does it get cranked up to full power?
Back in the late 1960’s an outfit called the United States Army used modified Model 760 rifles in International Wild Boar competitions.
The Model 760/7600 followed the lines of the Model 870 shotgun what was designed to hit moving targets. Proficiency comes with practice.
I have hunted with this M760 since it was new in 1957. You can see the base mount for the Williams peep sight I had installed on the rifle in 1958. In a season or so I had the rifle tapped and a base mount for a scope installed. First with the peep sight and later with the scope I spent a lot of time mounting and sighting the rifle at a light switch.
In the off-season I hunted woodchuck, digger squirrels and jackrabbits with it. You can see that much of the bluing is gone, but the rifle still does the job.
I have no need for another rifle but the 7600 QWAC IN 308 Winchester is a temptation. I have no need for the 10-round magazine. Notice the missing blue around the magazine well on my old M760. That is the balance point and where I have carried the rifle for the last 51-years. I would mount a scope on the rifle. My old rifle has a Burris FFII 3x9 on it. I was impressed with the scope when hunting in brush fields, old growth timber, and plantations. Under those conditions the scopes red tinted lens provide excellent brown on brown contrast. Without a doubt the other scopes mentioned will do the job.
The 7600 QWAC is slightly shorter then my Marlin 336 carbine, and chamber for a more powerful cartridge.
http://www.gricegunshop.com/specials/PDFs/08.12.08/rem-specials_12.08.pdfI like my Marlin, but it spends a lot of time at home because the M760 pump is a better option for putting a round on a deer at a couple hundred yards.
The 30-30 was idea for hunting this thick brush until I stepped out into a 200 yard long browse way. I then felt I was pushing the limits of the rifle.
I took this year’s buck with a Remington 700 in .270 Winchester, loaded with a 150-grain bullet. The whole side of the deer rippled when the bullet hit behind the shoulder. On impact the deer took off running and by the time I had chambered a second round it was out of sight. I believe I could have made that second shot with my M760. The deer was found dead, with the bullet have exited.
