Author Topic: Best all Around deer rifle? (Read 9325 times)

tripper · « **Reply #30 on:** November 14, 2003, 04:07:01 PM »

Which ever one I am carrying. Meny here have used several differnt rifles and calibers over the years and for one reason or another have fallen in love with one. If you try to claim yours is better, you best be runen when you do it. Out side of a couple years I havecarried a 1917 enfield 06 that iI sporterized.

JOE MACK · « **Reply #31 on:** November 14, 2003, 04:15:57 PM »

Since the question says rifle and not caliber, I'd have to go with a short action bolt in stainless steel with a good synthetic stock. RKBA! :-D

wild willie · « **Reply #32 on:** November 30, 2003, 04:32:42 AM »

Bought Steyr Mountain Rifle in 308 ,handles great, very accurate , my favorite, light recoil plenty of punch for deer size game.
willie :-)

billy · « **Reply #33 on:** December 06, 2003, 11:27:34 AM »

My m77 in 280 rem. has been very good to me ,but now i,m trying to make my utrla light m77 be my gun of use in 270.

Eagle Eye · « **Reply #34 on:** December 15, 2003, 11:15:05 AM »

Remington Mountain Rifle, either LSS or regular version in any caliber it is made in, except the 30-06 (which is too much cartridge for such a light weight rifle).

Gregory · « **Reply #35 on:** December 19, 2003, 01:09:49 PM »

My best all around deer gun (not rifle) is a TC Contender pistol. It's legal in many shotgun only areas as well as rifle areas. I do most of my deer hunting with one. Caliber used depends on local restrictions but the 44 Mag, 300 Whisper, 7-30 Waters, and 357 Maximum are favorites.

woodseye · « **Reply #36 on:** December 23, 2003, 05:26:51 AM »

Quote

Since the question says rifle and not caliber, I'd have to go with a short action bolt in stainless steel with a good synthetic stock.

I agree 100%.........make mine a Stainless Savage short action Weather Warrior in 7mm-08 caliber, and throw in a couple loads of 45gr of IMR 4350 behind some Hornady 139gr Inter-Bonds. Best deer medicine I've found, now if they will just step up and take their medicine!

woods

coyotero · « **Reply #37 on:** December 26, 2003, 05:20:34 AM »

I have shot deer with .223,.243.2506,3006,7mmRM,300WM and .338 WM.All were the best or worst.It depends on. 1. What can you shoot accurately and comfortably(so you'll practice,practice) 2 What kind of conditions,terrain your hunt in.In Montana I can be in wooded river bottoms,brush choked coulees or wide open sage flats or stubble fields in the same morning.My fast,flat open country deer iron might not be best at close range in the brush.As I get older I am leaning away from the magnums.My next rifle will be a .308.Always wanted one.I get tired of the old argument of "I need something that will penetrate at 400 yards, facing away,last day of the hunt,trophy of a life time".If you can't guarantee that you'll be able to kill the deer cleanly,don't shoot.It's that simple,it's hunting not killing.I have hunted with lots of people in the last 25 years and I would say most of them are way overgunned.By this I mean they can't handle the recoil so they don't shoot enough.I shoot 5000 to 6000 rounds of centerfire rifle ammo a year.It makes one familar with the rifle and the more I shoot the better I get.Sorry I'm so preachy this morning.

savageT · « **Reply #38 on:** December 26, 2003, 06:12:33 AM »

coyotero,
Oh you are sooooooo correct. In the effort to boost sales every year, the Big Three (er.....four?) seem to find it necessary to keep grinding out new and more powerfl magnum cartridges. If they can't come with a brand new magnum then they bring back a big-bore reissued black-powder cartridge. I have no quarrel with them trying to make a buck or two but I'm just not after that kind of shoulder bustin' power.
Perhaps that's the attraction to muzzle-loaders..............but there again, they have their new magnums as well.
Let's just step back for a moment and remember what was used successfully at the turn of the 20th century when the word magnum referred to the new smokeless powder cartridges.
Does anyone recall Savages' 1912 Ad Campaign about successfully hunting wild Tiger with a Savage m99 in 22 Hi-Power?

Jim

Old Griz · « **Reply #39 on:** December 26, 2003, 11:14:20 AM »

:cb2: The .30-30 has taken everything in North America, and it will continue to do so. When buying my first deer rifle I snubbed it. I wanted a real gun. I later bought one as a fun gun because ammo is so cheap. Now, knowing what I do, if I were reduced to only one gun, that would be it. You can have your mighty magnums, and your 1000 yard flat shooters, but as far as I can see a deer, that old .30-30 will drop 'em just fine.

Darn it, now my .45-70 is gonna be mad at me. (Not worried about my Swedish Mauser--it can't read English!)

hillbilly · « **Reply #40 on:** December 29, 2003, 01:48:51 PM »

some may laugh, some may swear, but honestly i like the .338 win mag, this isn't some ego thing. 180 gr nosler ballistic tip at 3100 fps. this load accounted for a mule buck this fall at a laser ranged 657 yds on a run. the buck had been wounded about three days earlier by some local yahoo banging away with a 243, while i was guiding and my client didn't have a mule tag but i did. but in Alberta Guides can't hunt the same day they guide or even carry a gun so once my hunter filled his tags and went home i went after the wounded buck. I found him in a large draw with a bunch of does. When the girls left he tried to follow but it was easy to see he was hurt so with my cousin calling the shots and only 45 min of legal shooting time left i let fly. the first shot was low and behind, the next just behind, the third directly behind the shoulder. he stumbled, slowed and layed down dead.

ihuntbucks · « **Reply #41 on:** December 30, 2003, 04:57:26 PM »

Well another survey type question and I'm different in my choice.I guess that's what makes-the-world-go-round :lol: I choose .300 Mag in a fairly light package.I'd rather take the punishment of the recoil than tote a heavy rifle all day.Pull the trigger and hold on. Rick Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

encoreshooter · « **Reply #42 on:** January 17, 2004, 06:36:55 AM »

I have hunted deer with the venerable .270 Winchester since I started hunting. I have shot deer anywhere from under my stand to 300 yards across canyons, and always if I did my part, venison went into the freezer. Used 130 grain Sierra Gameking bullets. However, I caught the Encore bug last year. Sold my Ruger all weather to buy a .300 Winchester Mag barrel for my Encore. Got the 26" heavy barrel. So far, I have shot three deer with the new rig. None over 50 yards yet. Felt recoil seems less than the .270 Ruger (stock design?). I don't know if this could be considered an ideal setup for deer, but now I have a pretty good rifle for anything up to and including elk. Sometimes, budget concerns force a compromise. :cry:

encoreshooter

hkg3k · « **Reply #43 on:** January 17, 2004, 11:56:41 AM »

I would have to flip a coin between my Model 70 in .270 and Sako .308. I will say before I re-stocked the .308 Sako, it kicked harder than my 7mm Rem mag Sako. Go figure.

I am looking forward to re-barreling another Model 70 this year from .257 Roberts to 25-06 Ackley. I'm thinking this will become my new favorite. Now just have to decide who to send the gun to do work.

onesonek · « **Reply #44 on:** January 18, 2004, 03:02:45 AM »

Quote from: THE#1hunter

What would you say the best all-around deer rifle is?

Naturally chambered in a round adequate for taking deer, at ranges you expect to shoot. As for the rifle, any that you can accurately, and consistantly place the first shot with confidence. That said, make, model, or design, is of pure personal preference.
Personally, I like single's. And never really felt disadvantaged. But that's me. I don't care for the added length of a bolt gun, and don't require the speed of a pump, or auto. Although, I would like a lever some day, just because.

coboconk · « **Reply #45 on:** February 23, 2004, 02:14:08 PM »

I will keep my Browning A bolt in 30-06. My second choice would be a Rem. 700 in 30-06

WD45 · « **Reply #46 on:** February 25, 2004, 01:57:04 AM »

Best all around deer rifle.... Probably the one that does not collect dust in the closet for 350 days out of the year :lol:

James B · « **Reply #47 on:** March 13, 2004, 04:23:29 AM »

I have hunted deer now for 48 years. There was no season when I first started and I shot whatever needed shot for food including deer with my Grandpas old pump Winchester 22 rifle. Since then I have shot deer with about twenty different calibers. I would hate to be without my 700 Rem in 257 Roberts. I love my A-bolt 308. I have shot more with the 6.5X55 swede than any other. All that said, if there is a better all around deer rifle than the 280 Remington, I havn"t found it yet. For all around action I like the Remington PUMP. Its as accurate as most bolt guns and with my bad shoulder, its far easier than anything else for me to shoot. My two current favorites are the NEF 280 and the 7600 30-06 Pump

Kragman71 · « **Reply #48 on:** March 14, 2004, 09:05:09 AM »

The best deer rifle is the one that YOU personally like,and which performs to your expectations.
You may like the way that it'carries',or 'handles'.You probably like the way that it shoots,and the way that it 'points.
I shot a couple of Deer with a 30'06,and with a 270Win. Both of these were tackdrivers and a joy to take to the range. They are both gone,now,and I keep coming back to my 20 dollar Springfield Krag;30/40. I sporterized it myself,to my satisfaction,between 1954and 1960. I hunt the Eastern Woodlands,and it's the best for me.
That does'nt mean that YOU would be wrong to want that 270Win with Leupold scope,for hunting this same area.
Frank

Gregory · « **Reply #49 on:** March 24, 2004, 04:14:46 AM »

Quote from: WD45

Best all around deer rifle.... Probably the one that does not collect dust in the closet for 350 days out of the year :lol:

Best answer I read in this whole thread WD45.

jrcanoe · « **Reply #50 on:** March 24, 2004, 12:56:39 PM »

I hope it doesn't exist, if it does, I hope I never find it. If I do find it I will leave it to you in my will for I will die soon of sadness. The Quest is where the fun is, never to have a new gun to work toward perfection would be hell. Dead is dead and I could have stopped with my first deer rifle, a marlin 336c in 30-30 shooting factory ammo but would be bored to tears in the off season.

New Hampshire · « **Reply #51 on:** March 26, 2004, 09:44:42 AM »

Well here is what Ive got as far as long guns go:

Remington 870 with Hastings full rifled bbl w/Cantilever mount. Great set-up for the shotgun only territories.

When it came time to buy my first "hunting Rifle," I wound up with a T/C Encore in .30-06. I put a 1.5-4.5 Variable on it. Nice and lite, and has the full punch of a 24" bbl in a package roughly the size of a Ruger 10/22!

Then there is the Muzzelloader, which allows me an extra week and a half brfore regular season starts.

Brian M.

5th Group · « **Reply #52 on:** March 30, 2004, 11:27:28 AM »

Marlin 35 Rem with Williams Peep Sight..

lol...some of you guys must be 300 yard deer hunters...I've never shot one over 168 yards...and that was a long shot for me...

the best all round deer gun is hard too say...but my best is a 35 Rem Marlin...my shots average 35 to 125 yards...and it knocks them flat...30 years of hunting with a 35 Rem and I have never been disappointed...it's fun stalking a deer working in close enough for that shot...that's hunting too me...not looking through a scope at 250 plus yards and squeezing the trigger...but each to his own...

De Oppresso Liber

5th Group

The deerslayer · « **Reply #53 on:** April 16, 2004, 04:23:55 PM »

I would say a 280 remington.

NYH1 · « **Reply #54 on:** April 16, 2004, 07:29:37 PM »

I have four "deer" rifles. One bolt action and three lever actions. My best "all around" rifle is my Winchester model 88, 308 Win. It has a 20 inch barrel, one piece stock and is drilled and tapped for a scope. It shoots one inch groups, handles quickly, great deer rifle. :grin:

willysjeep134 · « **Reply #55 on:** May 31, 2004, 04:11:42 PM »

Quote from: Old Griz

:cb2: The .30-30 has taken everything in North America, and it will continue to do so. When buying my first deer rifle I snubbed it. I wanted a real gun. I later bought one as a fun gun because ammo is so cheap. Now, knowing what I do, if I were reduced to only one gun, that would be it. You can have your mighty magnums, and your 1000 yard flat shooters, but as far as I can see a deer, that old .30-30 will drop 'em just fine.

Darn it, now my .45-70 is gonna be mad at me. (Not worried about my Swedish Mauser--it can't read English!)

I agree whole heartedly. Hitting your mark is more important than "stopping power". Very few muzzle loaders in the .50 class can beat a good 30-30 load energy wise, yet because a .50 muzzle loader SEEMS so powerful everybody thinks it's fine for elk and moose. BUT the old 30-30 is just so small it "must" be weaker than the big bore noisy smokey POWERFUL .50 black powder.

Now that being said, anybody can cook up a scenario where their favorite rifle would be better than the lever action 30-30, but I would say that on most animals under most conditions in N. america a 30-30 lever action would be capable. How many of you shoot beyond 200 yards out of necessity that often?

If I were taking on kodiak bear or long range shooting at antelope or something mabey a 30-06 with a scope might be more preferable, but it would not be exactly necisairy.

varmit_master · « **Reply #56 on:** June 02, 2004, 10:01:06 PM »

Hi i like using my 22 250 on my doe tag and my deer rifle is a 300 wby loaded with with a 125gr Nosler BT with IMR 4350 powder i shoot them in the shoulder down they go for the count lol but i like using my 22 250 more soon to have another rifle for deer hunting a 257 wby VM

supermag 445 · « **Reply #57 on:** June 04, 2004, 07:32:40 AM »

For me I will have to say its the 270 weatherby mag. It can do it all.

I have it in a weatherby varguard VGX with a 24 inch barrel and I just love it. Works for me :-D

Brian

Topper · « **Reply #58 on:** June 23, 2004, 09:47:11 AM »

My personal favorite...semi-custom, composite stock, bolt action Enfield in .303 brit.

tosainu1 · « **Reply #59 on:** June 30, 2004, 12:53:50 PM »

Mine would be a remington model 700 Titanium in .260 remington with a compact 4x model leupold. I am looking for a Savage 99 in 30-30 with the 26" barrel....Got one of those SavageT?

Anybody???