[Hog Buster]

Over the years most of the deer I’ve killed fell to a shot from a .243, .270. or 30-06 and most were bolt action rifles. However I’ve killed them with just about every rifle I’ve ever owned. As a kid I killed a few with a pump action Remington 22 LR. I’ve also killed a few with an M1 Garand.

The best deer killers I have, in order of accuracy, a Ruger Mark 77 in .243, a Winchester Model 70 in 30-06, and an old Remington Sportsman 78 in .270. (FYI the Sportsman 78 is a knock off version of the 700).

The worst deer rifle I ever owned was a Remington 742 in 30-06. If you kept it clean it functioned OK, but you couldn’t hit a dinner plate at 150 yards with it. On the other hand I had a Remington 760 in 30-06 that was a tack driver, but just never really got adjusted to the pump action in a big bore rifle.

All of my deer hunting is now done with one of the above bolt guns. The lone exception is during the primitive part of the season when I use an H&R Buffalo Classic in 45-70. It’s way too much gun for White Tail, but you gotta do what you gotta do per Wildlife and Fisheries rules.