Author Topic: Best deer rifle (Read 6503 times)

Swampman · « **Reply #30 on:** February 07, 2011, 11:54:26 AM »

I figured "best deer rifle" would have to work in every situation.

"On a cold November day in 1926, Carl Lenander Jr. dropped a monstrous Minnesota buck with a single shot. Field-dressed, the deer weighed 402 pounds. The state Conservation Department calculated its live weight to be 511 pounds. No heavier whitetail deer has ever been recorded."

I know of one that went 526lbs unoffically. Dick Idol showed me a pic of one he killed that weighed 390.

I hunt very thick cover with a 24" barreled .30-06 all the time. Most of my deer are walking at a fast pace or running when shot. No problems. The Remington 760 is an excellent brush gun Spanky and it's OAL is longer than my Model 700.

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #31 on:** February 07, 2011, 12:52:12 PM »

While I have several "brush" rifles from .30-30 though a 45-70, and at times I carry them, when I am serious or hunting bucks, I always think of what Bob Hagel had to say about"brush" rifles...He had a nice whitetail shot in the brush with a 6mm..The thing was it was sneaking though the brush on the other side of the mt..It was slipping away from one of his friends and crossed an opening..Bob put a 100 grain Nosler though both lungs at 300 yards...His point was for the most part, the idea of shooting though brush is a myth or luck..While his pal's .30-30 carbine would be fine for deer close up, a chance for a 300 yard shot with a carbine and open sights is something a sportsman should pass on...His 6mm would do both..take a buck at 35 yards or 300..The old 06 will do the same..Over the years we have shot dozens of deer in the brush, most with and 06 or something similar...as for the 180's, when I first started hunting 165's were not on the market or only has a handload...99 percent of the guys who hunted whitetails with the 06 used 180's..I always prefered 150's, then 165's handloads..I would think with std. bullets on deer in the brush, the 180 might not be a bad idea..Deer are not always real co-operative when moving though brush, and the added wt.. might come in handy if the angle was not quite perfect...

Spanky · « **Reply #32 on:** February 07, 2011, 02:32:13 PM »

Quote from: Swampman700 on February 07, 2011, 11:54:26 AM

The Remington 760 is an excellent brush gun Spanky and it's OAL is longer than my Model 700.

My dealer has a nice old 760 chambered in 300 Savage. I'd like to get my hands on it.
Alot of the older hunters around here swear by the Remington pump guns.

Spanky

Swampman · « **Reply #33 on:** February 07, 2011, 03:57:33 PM »

I'd like to have a 760/7600 in .308 with the 18" barrel.

squirrellluck · « **Reply #34 on:** February 07, 2011, 05:06:48 PM »

Spanky, you are right. My apologies to all. Only browning I own is an old auto 5, not really an all around deer rifle. My favorite deer rifle is an old cut down 93 mauser in 7mm mauser with a 2.5 weaver. Quick handling and accurate to 300 yards. Maybe not the fanciest but the best to me is the 1 I am the most confident and comfortable with.

Spanky · « **Reply #35 on:** February 08, 2011, 12:07:23 PM »

There ain't nothing wrong with an old Mauser.

Spanky

Country Boy · « **Reply #36 on:** August 12, 2011, 10:25:29 AM »

Are you guys speculating or have a lot of real world experience ? I use a Bar 30-06 with a .3x9 scope for all my deer hunting now but I've used a lot of others over the last 60 yrs especally the .308 blr and a .243

Swampman · « **Reply #37 on:** August 12, 2011, 11:22:28 AM »

If I could find one that wasn't made in Japan, I'd consider it.

parkergunshop · « **Reply #38 on:** August 12, 2011, 12:37:02 PM »

My favorite is a Iranian Mauser with the barrel cut to 18 inches in a mannlicher stock with a 3x9 Leupold with a 50 M/M objective. In the original 8x57 chambering with my handloads using the 196 grain Norma or RWS bullets.
No deer has ever left the scene and many fall in their tracks. This gun is used in thick woods in a mountain setting.

DANNY-L · « **Reply #39 on:** September 15, 2011, 09:31:57 AM »

I used to always hunt with and liked the 270 win. then I got a used browning 284win and I have been useing it with good success the past few years although I would like to find a reasonably priced second magazine for it. If anything was to happen to my 284 I would reach past my other guns for the 270.

Dixie Dude · « **Reply #40 on:** September 15, 2011, 09:43:33 AM »

I have two. One BLR in 308 for brush/stalking. One Ruger 77 in 308 for hunting in a stand or shoot house over a field. Covers all distances I hunt.

billyjack · « **Reply #41 on:** September 15, 2011, 03:54:49 PM »

Not the best i know but i like my model 70 featherweight in 270 with nikon monach 3x9x40,has been good to me.

Cheesehead · « **Reply #42 on:** September 15, 2011, 04:46:32 PM »

Quote from: parkergunshop link=topic=209944.msg 1099360049#msg 1099360049 date=1313188622

My favorite is a Iranian Mauser with the barrel cut to 18 inches in a mannlicher stock with a 3x9 Leupold with a 50 M/M objective. In the original 8x57 chambering with my handloads using the 196 grain Norma or RWS bullets.
No deer has ever left the scene and many fall in their tracks. This gun is used in thick woods in a mountain setting.

This is at the very least, the most interesting rifle. I have been a fan of the Mauser and the 8mm most of my life. My nephew hunts with one now and kills deer dead.

Cheese

1marty · « **Reply #43 on:** September 15, 2011, 04:50:30 PM »

Bought a Browning X bolt last year in 7-08. I was always Rem 700 man but the creepy triggers really suck. The browning out of the box shot less than 2" groups at 100 yards with Winchester ballistic silver tips. Trigger was crisp and smooth. Shot a deer through the spine at 125 yards. Went down where it stood.

tobster · « **Reply #44 on:** September 16, 2011, 09:51:17 AM »

An older Ruger tang safety 77 in .270 with a Lyman 3-9 has treated me right over the years. I have a big bore carbine with a low power scope that in theory would work better in the thick woods but until the deer figure that out I think I'll keep using the old Ruger.

jrchurch254a · « **Reply #45 on:** September 16, 2011, 10:04:52 AM »

Best deer rifle or "favorite" deer rifle? I consider all my rifles as the "best" deer rifle, that is why I have so many

. It is like a lottery every year...."oh which one to hunt with this year...decisions, decisions". In the past several years since being bitten by the Marlinitus bug I have used by Marlins, .35 Rem, .308 MX, .444 and .45-70. Bought a new .338 MX (New Haven made) before deploying and only shot it at the range, that will be the first one in the hopper once I get back to the "real world". I keep my bolt actions because they too are the "best" deer rifles. I know all my rifles will kill anything I intend to shoot if I do my part. I use to fret over the subject of which was the "best" deer rifle without ever coming to a final solution, so I just started buying rifles that I liked in calibers that have been proven through the ages. My wife isnt so convinced of my scientific methods of reasoning, so I might be done for a day or two.....well I am looking at a new Rem 7600 just to round out the family....hey I dont have a pump yet. $:-\$

Chief

kenscot · « **Reply #46 on:** September 18, 2011, 03:12:22 PM »

Really like my browning Abolt micro hunter in 7mm-08 great in the brush and more than enough for the occasional long shot

hillbill · « **Reply #47 on:** September 18, 2011, 04:15:32 PM »

best deer rifle? mine would prob be a model 7 rem in 243. my 15 yr old son has a browning bbr in 06.he will violently argue his is the best. id have a tuff time argueing with him. we both shot our biggest deer with that gun.

RevJim · « **Reply #48 on:** September 22, 2011, 03:16:41 PM »

This "new to me" Japan made BLR in 358W is sure a sweetheart, I plan on using it in a few weeks deer hunt woods walking, but will have either my Kimber 7mm08 or 30.06 handy when driving remote mountain roads ( coming/going) or if I find a good meadow/sage flat to watch up high (here in Utah) I do feel I could make a 250yd shot easier with this BLR than I actually can with either my 444P or 336/35 Rem. I know i can do it with either, but the 358 200gr at 2600 has a better trajectory. Besides, this little BLR is a pure joy to handle!

Dixie Dude · « **Reply #49 on:** September 23, 2011, 08:08:15 AM »

No matter what Swampy thinks about Japanese made Brownings. Two local doctors used Browning shotguns to dove hunt in Mexico and Argentina shooting thousands of rounds. They wore out a Belgium made once a year and bought new ones. The Brownings made in Japan lasted longer. Better steel, and closer tolerances. My BLR is Japanese and the tolerances are so tight that sometimes my .308 reloads will not load in the Browning, but will in my bolt gun. I might have been in a hurry sizing the old brass or my friend who was helping me didn't bring the lever on the loader all the way down when sizing. Haven't miked either though.

mannyrock · « **Reply #50 on:** September 25, 2011, 05:44:55 AM »

Dixie,

Tell your doctor friends to buy a Beretta 390 or 391. Skeet shooters routinely put 10,000 shells a year through them with no problems whatsoever. Many have been shot 50,000 times with no real problems.

BLRs? The old ones made in Belium are really nice. But as to the newer ones? I guess you know that they have plastic gears inside of them (just like my weedwacker from Home Depot) and you can't take them apart to clean them. No thanks.

Best deer rifle I ever had? A Remington 700 ADL, in .308, bought at K Mart for $165. Shot solid 1 inch groups right out of the box, with factory ammo, and never had any problems.

P.S. to Swampy: Come on now buddy. You don't need a rifle that shoots half inch groups to deer hunt. What a waste of time and energy and money to get one to shoot that accurately. A one inch MOA, or even a 1.5 MOA, is totally sufficient. The guys who kill the most deer every year are the guys who take their one inch MOA rifle, buy factory ammo, hunt every day they can, and keep their shots under 300 yards. In West Tennessee, where shots can be really close or really long, there were guys who routinely killed 20 whitetails a year this way. They didn't waste their time "fussin" over handloads and half inch groups at loading and shooting benches. :-)

greenrivers · « **Reply #51 on:** October 04, 2011, 04:47:57 AM »

As much as I hate the weight, my BAR in 30-06 with an old Burris, Pilkington mounts to remove it and a pop up peep, make it hard to leave behind. It has been around for a long time and shows some ware, but still gets the job done.

Brithunter · « **Reply #52 on:** October 12, 2011, 12:28:38 AM »

Let's face it there is no such thing as:-

The Best Deer Gun

It's nothing but bull dreamt up to sell shooting/hunting magazines and swallowed by the gullible.

For a start there are so many different deer species. You in the US may be limited slightly on that as naturally as I understand it you have Mule deer, Whitetail and Black tail deer and of course Wapiti which is really a sub species of Red Deer. All are medium to large deer. You do not get the wide size variation that other places have. I recall the comments received when I posted a photo of myself with a Muntjac Doe. Muntjac are tiny, about the size of a big Red Fox but really excellent eating

and although not native to Europe have been here for about 100 years now. Their range is spreading. Muntjac are a secretive deer and so brush is their home although they do venture out into fields to feed at times. They tend to make tunnels/runs through the undergrowth so stalking them in woodland is challenging to say the least so high seat, what you would call a shooting box/blind or stand is often the only way to catch them out as an elevated position make it's at least possible to see them moving sometimes.

So the Best deer gun is no more than a myth

.

Oh yes shooting a 400lb deer is a possibility in some places in the UK where they have large Reds.

ironglow · « **Reply #53 on:** October 12, 2011, 01:40:37 AM »

I hunt the hills, usually with heavy cover and occasional marshes. I have a Marlin 336 30/30 with a 2.5X...can't think of a better combination for these particular conditions. Of course. hunting mulies in Colorado or Montana would be a very different proposition.
I agree with Brithunter...there is no "best rifle" for all situations..

Drilling Man · « **Reply #54 on:** October 12, 2011, 03:50:32 AM »

I don't see it as a myth at all, anything that will kill the biggest deer cleanly, will surely kill the smallest deer cleanly!

Moose are the biggest, and a 30-06 will certainly kill a moose, (as will many others) so.... choose a handy 30-06 (bolt, break open, semi auto, pump. lever or ? ) and have at it...

In the older days, thousands and thousands of hunters did just that, and it still works just as good today as it did back then... AND if you like your choise, it will be BEST for YOU!

DM

ironglow · « **Reply #55 on:** October 12, 2011, 08:38:54 AM »

I believe there are two different ideas of what is meant by "brush gun".. Some seem to think in terms of a heavy, slow moving bullet bucking through twigs etc to get to the target. I don't put a lot of stock in that idea, since I have been robbed of a trophy buck by a couple crabapple twigs..while shooting a 12 ga slug.
Brush gun means for me, a relatively short rifle that swings and points easily, with less chance of tangling with brush.
I don't have a 6mm (Rem) but I do have a .243 H&R, and while it is short, I would probably most often carry my 30/30, since in my hunting area deer and black bear seasons coincide.

MZ5 · « **Reply #56 on:** October 12, 2011, 05:21:13 PM »

Quote from: mannyrock on September 25, 2011, 05:44:55 AM

BLRs? The old ones made in Belium are really nice. But as to the newer ones? I guess you know that they have plastic gears inside of them

Could you defend this assertion, please? I've just bought my very first BLR, and it came with the manual. It's a made in Japan model from 1999. The exploded parts drawing shows precisely 1 gear in the entire rifle (unless you count the teeth on the under-side of the all-steel bolt carrier, I guess). So, I took out the magazine and looked at that gear, and sure enough, it's steel.

Now, if this is about trash-talk, well, just say so 'cause that's another matter. If this is about repeating bogus info you heard or read somewhere, say that, too. I just can't figure out what makes you think either that there are gears (plural) OR that they're plastic. Neither is the case in my as-manufactured BLR.

mannyrock · « **Reply #57 on:** October 13, 2011, 05:37:20 AM »

MZ5,

Your rifle was made in 1999, twelve years ago. I'm talking about the more recent ones. Take a look at the ones made in the last 5 years.

Sorry, I should have said gear and not gears.

Mannyrock

MZ5 · « **Reply #58 on:** October 14, 2011, 09:27:12 AM »

I'm intrigued, so i'll try oget myself to the one place that I know has brand-new BLRs so I can check them out. either way, though, it is clear that IF the plastic story is true, it has nothing to do with where the rifle is made.

ironglow · « **Reply #59 on:** October 14, 2011, 11:17:08 AM »

Quote from: MZ5 on October 14, 2011, 09:27:12 AM

I'm intrigued, so i'll try oget myself to the one place that I know has brand-new BLRs so I can check them out. either way, though, it is clear that IF the plastic story is true, it has nothing to do with where the rifle is made.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
MZ5..... I think you have a point there. If Winchester, Browning or any other mfgr imports and puts their name on a gun, it has been made to their specs or at the least, has been approved by their engineers.. The people who actually made the gun were only "following orders"..