What is your favorite deer rifle?

[Long Path]

There are often two answers to this question.

Best case scenario: "The rifle I have with me."

The worst case scenario: "The rifle I left behind."

One of the nicest places I've ever hunted is a ranch that the inlaws own in N. Uvalde County, TX. Lots of scrub oak, juniper, and prickly pear. Plenty of deer in the Nueces River valley there, and it's a 5-deer county. First time I went out there, I stalked a fair amount with my iron-sighted Springfield, as I thought all the shots were under a hundred yards. The last morning there, I climbed up a steep hill/small mountain that overlooked the ranch, and saw that I could see the whole of the ranch, into just about every clearing. From my sit, I watched a very nice 8 point buck step out at 250-300 yards and stand in the middle of a clearing, browsing. I grabbed my binoculars and glassed him. As I started to pass them to my fiancee, I noticed something in a clearing beyond that buck. At 400+ yards it's hard to count tines, but that rack on the 2nd buck had to be in excess of 10 points, and it was 'wayy beyond the tips of his ears.

I kind of laughed/hiccupped, and handed the binocs to my future wife. She asked what was wrong. I explained that, with the rough country I'd have to cross and the density of the cover around the deer, I'd never find them on a stalk to them. Worse, that morning I'd made a decision of which rifle to bring with me, and I'd brought the iron-sighted (and rough-bored) Springfield '06 with me again... and left my .300 Win Mag Sendero behind. With the 180 g loads I had put together for the Sendero, I could honestly claim 4 inches at 400 yards. Perhaps less with no wind (it's a 3/4 MOA rig at 100), and this was a windless morning. With the Springfield, I was proud and pleased to EVER break 3" at 100 yards. At 400 yards, that would be a 12" group... IF my brass bead-on-post front sight didn't subtend the buck's chest (and it did).

Nice compromise rifles are a joy, though: I've done some good hunting, near and far, with a too-heavy Ruger M77 semi-varminter-barrelled .257 Roberts (that I would have taken that shot with), and plan to do some similar hunting with a .243 M70 Featherweight (Pre-64, first year production for the caliber, and as classic as they come. You are invited to eat your hearts out.) that I MIGHT have taken that shot with. The latter is also handy enough to stalk with, too.

[Fat White Boy]

I haven't hunted deer for a while, but have taken some wild pigs up to 200 pounds. I have two that I love. First is a Model 70 Black Shadow in .270 with a 3X9X40 Nikon scope. Using Factory Core-lokt 130 gr ammo I get sub 1" groups at 100yds. I also have a Remington 700 VLS in .308 with a Leupold 3X9X40 that is also a straight shooter. It is heavier than the .270 but I can live with it...

[Fat White Boy]

Dis Regard

[willsjeep]

Winchester Model 94 in 30-30. Got my first deer with it when I was 12 and except when I was in service at least 2 a year since then. Nothing like it for the areas I hunt. No need for a scope since all my hunting is mostly less than a 50 yard shot.
(My Dad still says he only loaned it to me, I still havent "paid him back" yet. )

[unclestu]

Here's another vote for the Winchester Model 70 Featherweight. Mine is a pre-64 in .270, I bought it back in 1969. In my infinite 16-yr old wisdom, I almost didn't buy it because it wasn't a .30/06- but then I figured that if Jack O'Connor thought so well of the .270, it should be OK for a high school boy in East Texas. (I used to read all the back issues of Outdoor Life in study hall way back then )

I still think it was one heckuva good choice, & remains one heckuva good hunting rifle today.

[FirstFreedom]

Hey Jeff Loveless, why are you so down on the .243 win? ...just curious. Because I don't have a .243, but I was just about to get another barrel for my NEF handi-rifle in .243, for the ultimate long-hike-ultra-light deer rifle. I don't have a favorite yet, cuz I'm a fairly new hunter, but I used a .25-'06 and a .45-70 last season. I'm also thinking of changing the .25-'06 out for a Winchester 70 featherweight, Howa 1500, or Tikka T3 in 6.5x55 swede instead.

[bill k]

Stick with the 25-06 first freedom and get the 243 barrel for the handi rifle. The 25-06 is an awesome caliber for deer sized game on down to varmits.

[Luthier]

Either MY winchester 270WSM, or my encore with the 300 win Mag. with leupold VXII..... A heavier bullet in the 300 actually does less damage than the 270 I find....

[Sharp Shooter]

mossberg 30-06 with 150gr winchester PP's does the job quite nicely

[FirstFreedom]

Thanks for the advice, Bill K! I really like the versatility of the .25-06 for sure! I suppose it can do anything that a hot-loaded 6.5x55 can do, and then some, for large deer on down, so it'll be tough to justify a change, in truth. But I was just thinking that in the long run, it will be a barrel-burner more than the 6.5x55, plus I can use heavier bullets in the latter. Plus I already have reloading dies for 6.5x55. IOW, I was thinking of replacing the do-it-all .25-06 with two cartridges in 3 rifles - 2x .243s - a dedicated long-range heavy varminter and an ultra-light, deep-hiking deer rifle (NEF barrel), and then 6.5x55 in a standard sporter config for all large game up to large deer. The main goal is caliber simplification, since I already have a 6.5x55 (milsurp). Then I plan to use .308 win (or .45-70 possibly) for elk and other large critters like yak, bears, moose, etc. Then I'd only be reloading 4 calibers: .243, 6.5x55, .308, and .45-70. As it stands, if I keep the current plan to get the NEF bbl without switching from .25-06, then I'll end up reloading for (or buying factory ammo for) 5 calibers instead of 4: .243, .25-06, 6.5x55, .308, and .45-70. Or, I suppose I *could* look into getting a handi-rifle in .25-06 for that long-hike light rifle if it's offered in that caliber, but I'd still be reloading 4 since I reload for the swede mauser. See my dilemma - I want to simplify calibers and eliminate the .25 cal if possible. Anyway, tough call for sure. Ya know, talking this out has helped me reach a conclusion, so thanks for bringing it up - since I've customized my .25-06 (glass bedding, boyd's laminate stock), I'm loathe to part with it. So now I'm liking the idea more and more of getting the NEF barrel in .25-06 instead of .243, and then my deer reloads are my deer reloads, period, regardless of rifle choice (once I find a load that BOTH rifles like). Then I can just shoot surplus in the swede or reload for it separately when/if I feel like it, but focus my reloading efforts on .25-06.

[Legionnaire]

Remington Model Seven in .308, mounted in an H.S. Precision stock (olive drab with black web), sporting a Leupold 2-7X compact scope.

[David Todd]

I guess my all time favorite is my Robinson replica .58 cal. Hawken.
I've owned it since 1981.
But my current is a Ruger No.1 RSI in 7X57.

David

[VirgilCaine]

My 1950's Winchester Model 70, 30.06. 150gr handloads. If i can see it, i can kill it.

[Andrew LB]

I love my Winchester Model 70 featherweight in .270

http://www.kalionzes.com/guns/WIN270.jpg

[TrumpetShooter]

My first time out for deer was November, 2004. Rifles are not allowed in Indiana, so I used my brand new.50 caliber NEF Huntsman Muzzleloader (centerfire), with a 24" barrel. On opening day I got off a shot just 30 minutes after legal starting time. I hit a doe right in the lungs at 65 yards. If I remeber correctly, I got about 80 lbs of meat from her. I don't know how much she weighed before gutting her, but my brother and I were huffing and puffing by the time we got her tied down. All that practice at the range paid off.

The Huntsman is my favorite deer rifle for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's the only one I've ever used (duh). I also like the fact that I can use the same gun for regular firearms season and muzzleloader season. Thirdly, it is very simple, based on the NEF Pardner, which I like a lot. Fourthly, The Huntsman is light, compared to my brother's more 'authentic' equipment. Last, but not least, I like the challenge of a one-shot hunt (even if I did get really lucky my first time out).

For additional information, I'll mention some things I learned about muzzleloading that may be of help to someone else, especially newbies like myself. The load recipe I used, for example, was not a standard configuration. I used a reduced load of ffg black powder (60 grains), and a 350-grain "conical buffalo bullet." The loading sheet for the bullets I bought, and the one in my Huntsman owner's manual, specified 90 - 100 grains of powder, but a friend told me I might get better accuracy with less powder. I tried heavy loads, then backed off until I got good results. Even with the reduced powder load, my 24" barrel still belches fire and produces a fair amount of gorgeous smoke!

At the range I got the best groups with 50 grains of powder (the same results with ffg or Pyrodex), but I went with 60 grains in the field because I was afraid 50 wouldn't have enough energy to do the job. The day I got my deer, the bullet went all the way through both lungs and out the other side. It was an easy blood trail too, about 20 - 30 yards, mostly downhill though. The blood trail led to a small boulder. She lay dead beside it.

Also, if you get into muzzleloading, you'll do youself a favor if you realize up front that accuracy suffers if you shoot too many rounds without cleaning, or at least swabbing out, the bore. Now I practice with 50 grains of Pyrodex, which burns cleaner than ffg. I plan to stay with ffg in the field though. I can get 19 good shots off using Pyrodex before accuracy suffers. With real ffg powder, I just get 4 or 5 shots, at best, before the Huntsman starts to sling lead every-which-way.

Whatever your favorite deer rifle, I hope you have as much fun this year as I did last year. I plan to do the same.

[Trxxx]

Sako 75 stainless synthetic in 6.5x55, Schmidt & Bender 6x42 scope. Perfect outfit for deer, over 800 so far and still looks and shoots like new.

[sixguns]

Browning .30-06

[Dre_sa]

parkerhale double rifle in .470
good on anything from small antelope upward.
iron sights (wide v rear and ball on post up front) makes me stalk up to 50 yards (about) and aim well. recoil is a bit much bit its fun...

[locked'n'cocked]

gotta be my 300 win mag. i can shoot long and still be accurate.

[HOKIEHUNTER]

gotta love the marlin 30-30. dropped every deer i've shot at (furthest one ran 20 yards and dropped). it's accurate for me out to 200 (pretty much) but i've never taken a shot on a deer with it past 50 yards. Strongly considering a 25WSM, but for now the 30-30 and the encore .50 do the job efficiently.

I love my rifle hunting, but for me bow hunting's where it's really at...

[FirstFreedom]

Trxxx, are we to understand that you've killed over 800 deer with that rifle? (which sounds like an excellent one, BTW). Just asking - seeing if I understood you correctly.

[Trxxx]

Yes, that's correct - I live in the UK and do a lot of deer control work, typically shoot between 200 - 300 each year.

[guntotin_fool]

Model 99 savage in 300 savage.

165 grain noslers Partitions at 2650 will kill neatly and efficiently to 300 yards. the Gun will hold +/- a four inch group at 300 yards. a sweet action that is easy to carry and soothing to look at. It looks like what a deer hunter should carry. I have several. two go on every hunting trip I make, one has a 1x4 leupold on it, the other a lyman 66 reciever sight. one for good weather, the other for bad. rain fog and snow cannot block or clog a lyman sight.

[VirgilCaine]

I love and use two primary rifles. A pre '64 Winchster Model 70 in 30.06 for hunting on the family farm where shots are in the 150-200yd range most of the time. For stalking or walking cedar swamps/ corn rows, I use a late 1940's Winchester Model 94 in 30.30 (thuddy-thuddy).

For my 30.06 I use 150gr handloads with ballistic silvertips. They just seem to work on the whitetails here, and for my 30.30 I use standard Winchester Silverbox(CXP"s) 150gr. That lil' rifle loves them!

[FirstFreedom]

Yes, that's correct - I live in the UK and do a lot of deer control work, typically shoot between 200 - 300 each year.

Wow - any man that has shot 800 deer with one rifle - I'd listen to him!