Favorite Deer Rifle

[NoJacketRequired]

For my daughter's first deer hunt she had her pick. In the end she chose the Rugger M77 Ultralight in .250 Savage, topped with a Leupold Compact 3X-9X scope. It proved very effective medicine on a spike buck that happened to wander alongside the fence line right in front of us. It was opening morning of the hunt and only about 10 minutes past sunrise so neither one of us had even had a chance to get cool, let alone cold.

My personal choice for deer is my Sako bolt-action in 7mm-08. Shot off the bench it does nothing to impress, however the design of the stock is such that I can shoot it off-hand far better than any other rifle I own. Recoil is very low. The quality and workmanship of the Sako is impressive and its trigger is the proverbial glass rod.

 

[Creature Meadow]

Got a friend who had to young boys both small in frame size. he bought them 243's to start deer hunting with when they were 11.

He went with 85 grain bullets he started with 100 but that proved to me little more kick than desired.

So, the 243 paired with a 85 grain bullet worked well. One is now 16 and the other 18 but still not much meat on there bones both still shoot the 243's but now with 100 grain bullets.

I would offer this for thought. She may use it forever and one day want to step up so I would invest in a nice scope for it. If you get a nice one it can be removed later to the new rifle or if she stays with the 243 it can sit on it forever.

I have one scope that is 28 years old and is just as good today as it was when I bought it.

My thoughts on scopes they all look good in bright day light but at dusk and dawn is the difference. Secondly, if you can't see it you can't shoot it.

Plan to get my daughter in the next few years a 243 and sit a nice VX3 Leupold with nice bases and rings on it. Love to talk scopes, good exit pupil is key to seeing in low light. Divide the magnification into the objective lens size to see what you have. Your eyes are capable of 4 max so you want your scope to be 4+. A 3x9x40, at 3 you have 13.3 but at 9 you have 4.4 so not much more light drawing ability and the only real advantage is magnification.

Just my thoughts.

Jay

 

[bucktail]

.243 and light bullets is a great combination if a bullet of stout construction is used. Barnes or a some other all copper bullet would be preferable, maybe a partition. I'd stay away from cup and core construction unless you're loading them down.

 

[skeets]

The girls used either 95 or 100 gr for deer and dont think any of them took more than 3 steps, however bullet placement is the main factor. One through the boiler room with anything and it's game over.

 

[Bulldog]

I like hand loads and my go to for a 243 is 70gr. Low recoil and plenty of distance.

 

[bearbait]

I just got back from a deer-bear hunt with the crossbow for bear and the compound for deer. Lot's of deer, could have shot a big doe around the same size as the one I got last year (146 field dressed) but decided to let her go and the rest were out of range. Lots of bears around but didn't put out a bait but one did put a chit kickin on my store bought blind. One of my hunting buddies took a coyote with the crossbow. The deer were real skiddich this year probably because of all the yotes and bears in the area. A great trip with good friends, meat in the freezer just would have been icing on the cake. A long season ahead with the rifle season opening the 28th, I can almost taste the gravy.

 

[Creature Meadow]

Still cleaning up from the storm that hit us last weekend but rest assured tomorrow afternoon I'll be perched about 25' up in a white oak with stick and string in hand looking for a 130"+ buck or an ole fat doe.

We need to shot 12 to 15 does for our quota this year, we have way too many does. End of last season not uncommon to see 15 to 20 in one group out in the fields grazing on the wheat.

Only took 10 does last year and looking at trail cams the herd is still way out of whack.

 

[jryser]

I’m going to use my 20 ga Browning Auto 5 with a deer barrel this year! It’s my 1967 magnum 20 so it’ll have plenty of oomph.

Creature Meadow I’ll be more than happy to pass every buck to whack a few does for ya!!


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[David Page]

Yep, in Maine were happy if we see 3 or 4 deer in a season.

Still cleaning up from the storm that hit us last weekend but rest assured tomorrow afternoon I'll be perched about 25' up in a white oak with stick and string in hand looking for a 130"+ buck or an ole fat doe.

We need to shot 12 to 15 does for our quota this year, we have way too many does. End of last season not uncommon to see 15 to 20 in one group out in the fields grazing on the wheat.

Only took 10 does last year and looking at trail cams the herd is still way out of whack.

 

[Creature Meadow]

I’m going to use my 20 ga Browning Auto 5 with a deer barrel this year! It’s my 1967 magnum 20 so it’ll have plenty of oomph.

Creature Meadow I’ll be more than happy to pass every buck to whack a few does for ya!!


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Hey Jryser is that Plainfield Illinois?

If so that would be a long ride to shoot some slick heads.

Only 2 of us in the lease really like to shoot does the other 3 may take one or two and they stop hunting on December so we have it too ourselves for the last month.

Keeping the ratio in check in our neck of the woods is critical for herd health and being able to see the rut.

Looking at the fawns in the spring is a great indicator of ratio when you see fawns this time of year with lots of spots you know mommy was bred during second rut in December. Mommy deer bred in November has her fawns a month earlier thus by now most spots are gone.

I hunted a place back in the early 90's where the ratio was close to 1:1 and the rut was awesome. Lots of days only see a few deer but for every doe you would see a buck.

 

[jryser]

Plainfield IN. And I had my farm pretty good for ratio last three years - even after I got sick I was whackin slicks!

I’m sure we will be discussing deer and tractors all season! I love prepping with my Ruby Red Orange (as my grandson calls it) and REALLY love riding her to drag a deer.


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[Holleyman]

The quad rifle, the classic Win 94 in 30-30

 

[edritchey]

Another of my favorite rifles. Bolt action chambered in .375 Ruger