I hunt primarily on my property, which is heavily wooded. A long shot would be 40 yards. A typical shot is 25. My 2 rifles of choice are both lever action. 1 is a Winchester '94 in .30-30 and the other is a Henry in .45-70 which is a great brush gun. You get virtually no deflection if there is a small branch between you and the deer.
Favorite Deer Rifle
- Thread starter Creature Meadow
- Start date
For years here in western NY I hunted with my trusted Ithaca model 37 1 and 1/8 brennekie slugs. Killed a lot of deer with it.switched over to 54 caliber muzzloade for 10 years then a ruger m77 in 308. First true left handed gun. Darn thing smokes um .I messed around with 270 encore rifle,but it was too hot for deer in close quarters. Ruined a lot of shoulders. Most shots are under 50 yds.5 or so years ago I put the rifle down and started hunting with revolvers. My favorite is a ruger super Redhawks in 480. Roll my own 390 grain hollow point cast bullets.I have killed 3 russian boars couple does 2 bucks.44mag sbh hunter has killed a few deer. I have a few other revolvers I have yet to bloody and I'm currently playing with a contender in 357 Remington maximum.
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David Page
Active member
Equipment
1974 L260, 6" bush hog, subsoiler, spring tooth harrow, boom pole, 2 bottom plow
Already listed my favorites, but my wife has Savage 06 and Winchester 94 30-30. Now you instead had asked what was our most effective I would have said whatever my wife had in her hands. 8 pt. last fall and a moose the fall before.
Beaudeane
New member
Equipment
MX5800, LA1065, BH92, BB72X, RT72.40, EA 60 in grapple, county line auger
Stainless 700 BDL in 7mm rem mag with a VX3 6.5-20x50 since early 90s. Kicks like a mule but they drop right there. First 20 years used rem green/yellow box off the shelf & worked fine. Started rolling my own & prefer nosler last several years. Took 2nd year to connect with hand loads. Just didn’t see any legal shooters first year with them. Last couple years my brother wanted to try AR platform for deer so we both ended up gettin PSA lowers & uppers in 223 Wilde & snapped em together. He got an 8 & a 10... I got 3 does in those 2 years using nosler bonded & tsx reloads on all. Less kick but no lighter to carry and I think I’m going back to the 7mm this year or pulling another one outta the safe to try instead. Wanna get one with the sako 243 I inherited from my uncle next few years. First ever deer was with a 50 cal hawken my dad built & ive taken several with it. Only took 1 with the 30/30 that was the first gun I ever bought as a teenage school boy. It still has the cheap scope & see thru rings on it I put on in 10th grade. Never had the opportunity to take one with a pistol as yet but I do still pack in my super Blackhawk at least once a year. I’m still using the same api predator climber I had since the 90s as well. I’ve had to replace the seat a time or two & check the bolts & replaced a few of those over the years. Thought about a new stand but not sure if I’d be able to put one up in the dark by feel like I can the one I have
This ones hard to call. I've hunted deer with .270, .30/30, 35Rem, and .30-06.
But now days I seem to grab the Remington 700 .30-06 more so then the others. It's topped with a Leupold 3X9 Vari-X II
When I go big for moose & elk, I'll grab the Winchester Mod 70 in .338 Win Mag also topped with Leupold.
I'm big on Leupold. Binoculars, rangefinder, scopes, and spotting scope. They've never let me down and over the years I've hunted in horrible weather that caused some of my hunting partners equipment to fail.
But now days I seem to grab the Remington 700 .30-06 more so then the others. It's topped with a Leupold 3X9 Vari-X II
When I go big for moose & elk, I'll grab the Winchester Mod 70 in .338 Win Mag also topped with Leupold.
I'm big on Leupold. Binoculars, rangefinder, scopes, and spotting scope. They've never let me down and over the years I've hunted in horrible weather that caused some of my hunting partners equipment to fail.
GSPKurt
New member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
Kubota L3301 HST, LP 2072 Cutter, 55" Root Rake/Grapple, Stump Bucket
Browning BAR Carbine in the tried-and-true .308 Win. I load my own ammo, and I use 150 gr. Sierra Game Kings over 47.0 gr. of Varget powder.
CaveCreekRay
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
L3800 HST, KingKutter box scraper, KingKutter 66" rake, County Pride Subsoiler
Haven't gone deer hunting but, in case I need to, I have my father's 1956 Mannlicher-Shoenauer .270 with a hair trigger and a factory claw mount scope and a cache of Winchester 150 and 170 gr. I have shot it a few times and it kicks like a mule but it shoots flat and true.
Ya just never know.
Ya just never know.
Still use my Marlin 444 sporter with the "gold plated trigger". Bought it when I was 13 years old. I told my dad that I wanted to be able to drop anything in North America.
I’m not much a deer hunter. I basically just like to go for a walk in the woods with a rifle. I carry a Remington 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD in .308 when I’m gonna go sit. If I’m gonna be walking a lot I carry a Ruger Gunsight Scout rifle in .308. I’ve carried my M1 garand, and marlin 336. I’ve taken more deer with a savage model 10 in .243 than any other rifle I own. I took an 11pt that scored 148 with a savage model 10 in 30-06 10 years ago or so.
I've accumulated a pretty fair number of rifles and handguns. But it seems my "go-to" deer gun is typically my Remington Mountain Rifle with a .280 Remington chamber.
Other times I will shoot an old Savage 99 lever action with a 308 Winchester cartridge. It's a nice piece to carry and I am kinda smitten by lever action guns.
Both have decent scopes and are pretty accurate to any reasonable range. The trigger is a bit gritty on the Model 99....and it makes a bit more noise to chamber a round once you get in the stand......so sometimes the Remmy gets the nod over the lever action.
I've been eyeing one of those new Henry Single Shot rifles for a while.....and thought about adding one.....but dont seem to get it done.
Other times I will shoot an old Savage 99 lever action with a 308 Winchester cartridge. It's a nice piece to carry and I am kinda smitten by lever action guns.
Both have decent scopes and are pretty accurate to any reasonable range. The trigger is a bit gritty on the Model 99....and it makes a bit more noise to chamber a round once you get in the stand......so sometimes the Remmy gets the nod over the lever action.
I've been eyeing one of those new Henry Single Shot rifles for a while.....and thought about adding one.....but dont seem to get it done.
Being from Texas where everything is BIG, I use a Barrett .50 caliber for whitetail deer and a 45-70 for squirrels. The only caveat of living in Texas where everything is big....... we also have the biggest liars. [emoji23]***129315;[emoji28][emoji16][emoji6]
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Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Sorry Bulldog. Texas isn't that big. Come on up to Alaska and see what big is all about. We have the biggest of the deer family up here. Some call them moose. My go to is a Marlin 45-70. I can load it light or Heavy. It doesn't mind. Once we have a moose or caribou down some ugly bugger tries to take it away. Two legged variety not so much but the big brown furry ones are more of a challenge. My all around choice is a 45-70.
Here in Sask. I like my sako stainless .308. My wife and I usually get one or two deer each fall all within a couple of miles from home. I don’t usually have to go to far to get supper. One in a while we get a moose if we get drawn around home too.. It’s always fun.
David Page
Active member
Equipment
1974 L260, 6" bush hog, subsoiler, spring tooth harrow, boom pole, 2 bottom plow
Frozen, thanks again for the info even though I didn't see your PM till 3 months later. I also sent you a message near a month ago. We waved to you as we went through North Pole alttle over a week ago. Just got back today. While there we put on almost 2,400 miles.
Doesn't matter what size caliber or what kind of bow you use, I haven't seen anything yet my inlaws can't make disappear.
Savage 220F, 2-3/4 accutips, Bushnell elite 4200 1.25-4x28 with red dot, and “the claw” sling. This rig covers any 200 yard shot i may get on my farm, and this Rifle just tips them over most of the time. My second favorite is a Howa .308 with cdi stock, bottom metal and AICS magazines.
Bulldog I was having fun too
I've noticed there are so many good guns and calibers these days. My favorite was an older Remington in 257 Roberts. My son has it now. My wife has a Browning BLR in 257 Roberts. That is a sweet caliber. My other son and granddaughter use 7mm-08's. They all use guns in that caliber ranger. Kill caribou and occasional moose with no problems.
It is so cool we live in a country where we have so many choices. We're not mandated to use this or that gun/caliber.
I've noticed there are so many good guns and calibers these days. My favorite was an older Remington in 257 Roberts. My son has it now. My wife has a Browning BLR in 257 Roberts. That is a sweet caliber. My other son and granddaughter use 7mm-08's. They all use guns in that caliber ranger. Kill caribou and occasional moose with no problems.
It is so cool we live in a country where we have so many choices. We're not mandated to use this or that gun/caliber.