what is your favorite rifle/cartridge combo?

tdoyka

New member
what is your favorite? i've been sitting here for a couple of days and i decided i would try it, with some exceptions......

1. YOU hunt with it
2. NO rifle/cartridge that you would like to have


......and here i go. some people would say fer me, the winchester m94 in 30-30 with 150-170gr factory fn. i have killed alot deer with it. i also have killed snakes, grouse, pheasants, foxes, a 'yote or two, squirrels, feral cats and dogs, dove(i did it one time, i killed 3 or 4 of them, i was young and i couldn't refuse the triple dog dare...

then there is a rem m760 in 308 with 150gr hornady rn and imr, i think, 4064. i have killed a deer or three and my only black bear(396lbs). i luved that gun until the luck ran out of her. it was right after my black bear, it was like that she'd warned deer that i was coming. i remember the days that i could NOT see anything, even birds. then i'd show up the next day with a different rifle and it was like kicking deer out of their spot to get to my stand.i'd do this for several years and i'm glad that i sold her!!!! the 1898 springfield armory in 30-40 krag with 165gr ranch dog and some h4198. me and my son have killed deer and my teeth are cut on cast boolits but no, thank you. the tc encore in a 23" MGM barrel in 444 marlin with 300gr fn gc and 2400/tuft of dacron? mmmmm....i should say yes, even tho she is the main rifle that i use, but no. i have killed many deer with the 444 and 255gr keith, 265gr hornady fn, 275gr ranch dog, 280gr lfn and wfn gc going about 1800-2000fps(powders were many). the rem m7 in 7-08 with 139gr hornady fn(discontinued) with imr4320 is a killer for deer. the 18.5" barrel is a fast bolt action rifle. unfortunately, i gave it to my youngest boy. i have had 30-06 in multiple manufactures and the bullets/powders also. i can't say anything bad about '06 but its plain vanilla. ruger #1 in 270 and 140gr hornady sst and imr4350 is one of my most accurate rifles, the avatar shows the results. the 243 in multiple manufactures and bullets/powders too. tho i have killed deer with it, i will give it a solid NO!!! after the shot(be it behind the shoulder or shoulder of the deer) the deer would go 75 - 150 yards(1 would go 300+ yards from a failed 85gr x-bullet). its just me, but i find the .243" is to light of a caliber to use for 150lbs+ deer. 25-06, 6.5 creedmoor, 500 linebaugh and many others to boot used to be my main rifle, but............

i hafta go with oldie.....the semi custom 1898 mauser in 7x57 with a 139gr hornady fn and imr3031. i got an FN 98 action only, i can't remember the date, 1950's? then the rifle was a 20" douglas barrel(which i wanted a 18.5" barrel and my gunsmith{who was a good friend of mine, RIP} wanted a 22" barrel), timney trigger set a 2.5lbs, 'glass bedded, fajen stock and scoped with 3-9x swift(this was one of old ones, had a over-the-counter warranty not like they do nowadays!!!). the first time i took her out, i got my 20ish+pt buck with it. the antlers were about 11-12" wide and about 6 or 7" long. "but 20ish point buck!!! come on!!!!" you'd say. i'd say "count the points, if you would put wedding band on it, then its counted." i'd say that the buck was a 6pt, but my friends say 20-26pt. i gotta find that rack, i put it in a box years ago.....anyways i could it at 1/4 - 1/2" groups at 100 yards(5 shots/benched), for all the good that did, 70ish yards was my long shot, 30ish yards was normal. 300+ yards away, it had its own sound...it was like bam instead of bang, my dad could explain it better. i gave the mauser to my oldest boy and now that i have a 93 spanish and 98 mauser that needs rebarreled (93 spanish is going, i expect?, to 257 bob and the 98{i have aperture sights on it already} is going to be 375-06 imp), its hard to find a reason not to make the 7 mauser. however that rifle fitted me perfectly. well, maybe not now, being that i have only one arm now.

what is favorite rifle/cartridge combo?
 
Winchester 308 EW, McMillan Edge Stock, Zeiss Conquest scope, 165 gr Nosler AB's, 46 gr Varget. Rifle weighs 7 1/4 lbs with optics. Big or small, near or far, it'll do the job.
 
I have always used either a .308 or 30-06 with 150 grain soft point ammo, usually federal fusion for whitetail hunting. The arsenal features 8 bolt rifles. Manufacturers credited with the most kills are weatherby vanguard, howa 1500, tikka, TC Icon. I have no favorite, think they're all excellent.
 
All my favorite rifles are Mauser 98s, and 7X57 is my go-to cartridge for hunting anything that moves. I have hunted with a custom Mark X in 7X57 in a myrtlewood stock for almost 40 years now. I have tried other rifles, other cartridges, but I keep coming back to the 7X57. I own five 7X57 rifles now, so I must be fond of it.
 
favorites

I have a 1956 Winchester M88 in .308 that belonged to my Grandad, my Dad hunted with it as well, and I hunted it regularly for about 15 yrs after that, killed my first dozen or so deer with it. Now it lives a life of leisure, getting out only on soft or special hunts. There are a lot of memories in that old rifle.

Thinking about it, .308 is likely my favorite caliber, I have 3 other bolt rifles so chambered, interestingly, all Savages.

Another combo that I have hunted a lot is a semi auto Ruger .44 carbine ,the old tube feed model. It has a trajectory like a mortar, will only group into a tea saucer at 100 yds, but is so short, light and handy that I have not found a better climbing treestand, thick cover rifle. In fact, I have two of them, one scoped, the other set up with XS peep and blade front.

Another cartridge I have found myself using a lot these days is .243. After watching bamaboy kill a number of deer with the .243, I changed my attitude entirely and hunt the cartridge myself. Although I am currently experimenting with a lighter bullet, all our .243 deer have been taken with 100 gr Nosler Partitions. Two rifles in the safe so chambered, one another heirloom, my Dad's Savage 110. That rifle has a particularly pretty piece of walnut for a price point rifle from 30 yrs ago. The second .243 is an odd duck, a Mossberg 800M (full Mannlicher style stock). It is not a sleek, svelte, full stocked rifle like a good euro number, but rather a bit clunky and thick feeling in hand. But it stacks lighter bullets in tidy cloverleaf like groups and never fails to draw a comment in the field. I suspect it dates back to the 1970's, I bought it used from a pal about 15 years ago.
 
Its a toss between my Model 7 in 7-08 or my Browning Xbolt eclipse in 7-08 The Model 7 is the perfect carry rifle for still hunting or stalking but the Browning excels in accuracy! Both are great Min of deer.
 
Since you limited the choices to hunting, right now it would be a toss-up between Savage Weather Warrior in .308 and a Savage 110C in .243.

As I get a chance to get out with a lever, that may change.
 
Just hunting

After lots of thought, I must admit my T/C Contender (G2) in 7x30 Waters and a 20-inch barrel is my favorite combo.

Lightweight, modest recoil and consistently accurate; deadly on running game as well.
 
Toss up for me. Either my 6.5x55 Win Feathereight or maybe a 7x57 in a Rem mod 700 or a 280 Rem in a Rem 700. Have had several 6.5x55's and 7x57's and only one 280 Rem. I think I could easily go to a 260 Rem/6.5 Creedmoor ot a 7mm-08.
 
My MSR AR-15 chambered in a wildcat called the 7mm Valkyrie. 20" barrel A2 stock and a midway exclusive Weaver Tactical 3-10x40 mil-dot scope. I've killed 3 deer with it (I've only ever killed 7) and those 3 deer have went a combined 10 steps. A 120 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip at 2880fps is like lightning.

Hands Down if I could ever only have one rifle to deer hunt with it would be this rifle.
 
My go to deer rifle is my 72 Model 70 30-06 with a 3X9 Bushnell on it. Nothing fancy, got it from a friend years ago for a song. Shoots great has yet to fail me. Mainly shoot 150 grain Rem Corelokts shot many deer with it.
 
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