thought this was worth readin,
Deer Rifle
I set out this week to identify the best deer hunting rifle available in the market. The rifle in the best caliber, that you could pick up and head to the woods, with absolute confidence that the deer you selected would be in the bag.
I opened my first reference book and discovered that Remington alone lists 51 different center fire rifle calibers. I then pored over numerous ballistics tables studying velocity, energy (foot-pounds), Short Range Trajectories and Long Range Trajectories. I studied different manufacturers bullet characteristics and suggested uses. I created tables and charts that would have impressed the most exacting physicists and became so confused I began to wonder if my Husqvarna, .308 Winchester, that I have hunted with for 33 years and has taken many deer with at ranges from 40 yards up to 300 plus yards, was adequate for deer hunting.
Then the realization hit me that the Indians took buffalo with bows and arrows and spears, and the American buffalo is far more difficult to kill than our Texas White Tail Deer. Fact is, deer are not at all difficult to stop. They are thin skinned, slight of build and if you can hit them right you can bring them down with a .22 long rifle, which I must add is now illegal. My father always contended that if a man had but one weapon, his choice was a 12 gauge shotgun. A 12 gauge will take deer down quite well with slugs, the current legal projectile for deer hunting with a shotgun. Another item came to mind to further clarify the situation, and that was an article I once read on weapons for self defense. It proclaimed that one hit with a .22 long rifle is better than six misses with a .45.
Now for a practical look at the right deer rifle for you. First you need a rifle you are comfortable shooting. They all make noise and kick. Some worse than others. Let me add here that on the shooting range, always wear suitable hearing protectors when shooting firearms of any kind. If every time you pull the trigger it hurts your ears or startles you, you will flinch, jerk the trigger, not hit what you are shooting at and eventually damage your hearing. In the field deer hunting, I never bother with hearing protectors because I seldom ever get more than one shot at a time at a deer anyway, and I can assure you when you see that deer in your sights and squeeze the trigger you will never hear the shot. Next we have what can be a biggy and that is recoil. You can bet if you wake up the morning after a session at the shooting range and your shoulder shows light red and blue marks where your rifle pounded you and is sore to the touch, you are not going to shoot that rifle enough to keep in practice. No practice, no deer.
Affordability of ammunition. If you cannot afford to purchase ammunition, you aren’t going to shoot enough to keep your hand in. No practice, no deer.
So now let’s make a composite of what we know and see what comes out. We want a rifle with a manageable noise level with light to moderate recoil in a caliber that is economical enough to facilitate regular practice and will still do the job.
We can probably eliminate any rifle chambered for any caliber that has “Magnum” in its description. Unless you have a specific need for a lot of punch for dangerous game, like the big bears, or extremely flat shooting, long range requirements, let’s pass on these. These will normally have a rather notable report when fired and also a recoil that could parallel trying to stop a small running bull with your shoulder. On top of that if you hit one of our White Tailed Deer in a good shoulder shot, you can bet your ringing ear drums that you have completely lost the meat in both shoulders due to damage by the high impact, high velocity bullet. Never doubt also, even at 300 yards, a 7mm Remington Magnum, for example, will go completely through a deer, break both shoulders and destroy the meat in both shoulders.
The difference in actions such as bolt action, single shot, lever action, semi-automatic, pump or slide action are all personal preference. I truly believe you will find that almost any American or European made rifle will shoot straighter and more consistant than the average hunter can hold and will do the job for you. You can pay a lot for checkering, jeweled bolts, engraving, special metal finishes, fancy wood and on and on, but in today’s market you can get into a brand new, very adequate deer rifle for $300 or less, and in $500 range I doubt if you could see them all in a day.
So the bottom line is this. In Texas you don’t have to be concerned about dangerous game like the big bears. You need a rifle you can carry or hold all day, that you enjoy shooting and you can afford to shoot on a regular basis. If you only go out once a year to sight in your rifle and then hunt from November to January to get your deer, you are missing 10 months of fun shooting, relaxation and fellowship at the range. You will never be as consistent a shot or as experienced with your rifle as the man who shoots all year long. The best rifle for hunting the Texas White Tail Deer is the one you practice with often and can consistently keep your bullets in the bullseye of the target on a one hundred yard range.
Larry J. LeBlanc/ CLM
