Best Deer Rifle (caliber + make/model)?
by admin on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 | 18 Comments
In your opinion what is the best Deer Rifle, judged by caliber and the make and model? And why you think it is the best. (I live in maine so its mostly 50-100 yard shots but we hunt field sometime too, some shots are 200 yards)
The answers are going to be so biased are heads are going to explode……. again.
My go-to hunting gun has always been my ar15 so obviously that’s what I’m going to say. Never failed me once. I also use my remy 700 every once in a while.
First place
Caliber: 6.5 Grendel
Make: Myself (built myself)
Model: ar-15
Second
Caliber: 308- amazing caliber
Make: Remington
Model: 700
that is a can of worms that you do not want to open be ready for every person to have there own ideas and read about several different cal. and why they are the best good luck with this one. and i like to shoot the .308 and the reason is that it is what my father used and it has never let me down.
For short distances, a .30-30 lever action is great. Marlin makes several nice ones, and mossberg makes a nice one too. A used winchester 1894 for under $400 is a good deal too. With a scope and the appropriate load, the .30-30 can harvest deer at 200 yards.
FOr longer shots, I love the .270. Winchester XLR is nice, as is a remington 700 or a mossberg atr-100 on the less expensive side.
A .30-06 is sorta universal, but i like the ballistics of the .270 better, and less damage the edible meat.
My favorite deer rifle is my old, tried-n-true Remington 700 ADL in .25-06. I purchased this rifle new in 1974 and paid less than $120 bucks for it. Later I installed a Tasco 3x9x32 scope on it and it has always brought home the vension. The furtherest shot I’ve made on deer with this one is 300 yards. The deer just disappeared from the scope so rapidly I thought I had missed. Good thing I checked. It was a perfect neck-shot right where I had the crosshairs. I like this one so well I am afraid to even change out the scope much less add a recoil pad and set trigger like I’ve dreamed about for years! The scope is kind of dull now and so I suppose I’ll have to change it out. Maybe I’ll have the hard plastic butt plate replaced with a quieter rubber one too and maybe I’ll have a push-to-pull set trigger installed. Or maybe not!
H
In my experience a 308. is 1 of the best deer hunting guns it has knock down power with close up shots or a really long ones. I just shot a deer at about 250 yards and it stoped it in its tracks and another one at about 80 and it did the same. the 308. is a very good deer hunting gun i highly recommend it.
If there were such a thing, i wouldn’t have much excuse for that other dozen or so deer rifles I have. For the kind of hunting you do, though, if I only had one, it would be the old Winchester 71 carbine with either the factory peep on the reciever or a Lyman peep replacing the standard open rear sight. It’s unfortunate that they quit making them over a half century ago. When my father, in the last years of his life, got too old for the 71, i got him what I’d consider a good second pick: the Remington 700 Mountain variant, in 7mm08. Topped with a Leupold VariX II 2-7 scope, it’s a hard thing to beat. Quick handling, flat shooting, with plenty of power and a bullet selection that ensures good expansion and penetration on a wider variety of shot situations than with almost any other caliber. And even with that skinny barrel, handloads make a ten-shot cloverleaf at 100 yards.
A lot of people shoot with the 30-06. I’m not sure who makes it, possibly Remington (700?), but I’m thinking of getting one. Put a scope on it and you have one of the most versatile guns in the world, with enough stopping power to put down a polar bear. I like the 30-06 because of the long distances it can shoot and the size of the game it can take down. Also it doesn’t have too bad of a recoil in my experience. And recoil, stopping power and range are all important things to me.
30-06 is an amazing round, it is your classic sniper round. 308 is amazing too but it is a heavier bullet, so the 30-06 goes straighter, longer (doesn’t arc as soon as a 308)
I have a Remington 700 SPS, 30-06, bolt action.
My preference is the Remington 700 VTR in 308. After years of hunting in thick woods, rain, dew, humidity, frost, etc. I’d rather not damage another wood stock for my daily hunter. Bolt action is much more dependable and accurate. I wouldn’t recommend a lever action, limited selection of cartridges for +100 yards. I’ve experience several problems with semi-autos and pumps, DPMS AR-10, Remington 7400, 750 and 760. Particular to ammo and conditions. I’ve also had issues with Savage bolts actions and stocks. Haven’t had any issues with Ruger M77 but they are too pretty and expensive to be dragging through the woods.
243 is too small for Maine deer
30-30 is way pushing it to 200 yards
257 Roberts mild recoil, but not the easiest ammo to find, pushing size for Maine deer
25-06 is a good cartridge, mild recoil, about 1.50 a round, little better than 257
270 Winchester good selection, heavy recoil, ammo can be pricey
7mm Mauser – excellent choice, moderate recoil, good selection
7mm-08 – excellent choice, moderate recoil, limited selection
7mm Magnum – heavy recoil, need longer barrel to gain potential ~26″ not great in woods
*308 my choice for overall cartridge, moderate recoil, price and availability
30-06 good selection, heavy recoil
300 Win Magnum heavy recoil, ammo can be pricey
Remington Model 7600 .30-06, .270 Win, or .308 Win. Maybe even try one in .35 Whelen!
all the above are good—some are really good
Do the easy thing and go w/ Remington 30-06
I agree with Mike that every hunter is going to say something different.
I live in Washington where the average deer is two or three times larger than their southern cousins. Long shots at mulies and elk are common.
That being said, my favorite rifle is my Remington XHR in 7mm Remington Magnum. It is extremely accurate and not considered over kill where I live.
i have a few very nice deer rifles for my budget which is not to much. one of them is a .223 cal rifle made by rossi. it is a break action, so single shot, however when sighted in properly it can drop a deer at a few hundred yards, however i would recommend something a little bigger. i also have a bolt action savage model 111 .270 cal with a 3-9×40 scope. it is sighted in and i am currently using it. i am confident making a 250 yard shot with it. and as far as 30-06, i highly recommend the Winchester model 70. i have it with a composite stock which is a very nice composite compared to most, it is extremely accurate when sighted in, I’ve put a hole through a deers heart at 200 yards. now this is just a few guns of the many great ones out there. i would recommend any of them but for what your talking about i would strongly suggest a 270 cal, they are extremely strait shooting and very versatile, and savage makes very nice bolt action rifles. very good question, hope this helps.
I like the idea of staying a little closer to minimal caliber for the job at hand (cheaper, less recoil.)
I’ve only hunted deer with 7.62X39. This is definitely on the light end of the spectrum! Started seriously considering other calibers with a recent rifle purchase and a possible purchase of T/C Encore 15 in. handgun (with brake). The 25-06 looks good. Hits deer and hogs plenty hard, good ballistics, less recoil. (apparently not good out of a short barreled Encore though…) 7mm 08 looks interesting too. Never shot one, so no personal experience. 30-06 seems overlarge for deer to me. (great elk rifle) Doesn’t Maine have a lot of moose? You may want the larger caliber?
Sorry no easy answers on caliber, as you can see!
Right now I’m diggin my new Tikka T3 lite (Sako made.) Light for carry, very accurate. Need the limbsaver if you get the lite.
Savage in .270
i will say 303
Savage 270 111 Bushnell Elite 3200 scope 3-9 40 nice gun shoots straight and good to 250 yrds easy.
its a monster of a rifle but my weatherby accumark in 30-378 weatherby mag