What is your go to deer rifle?
- Thread starter Deja vu
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michaeldarnold
New member
Rem 700 in 7mm Rem Mag using a handload with a 150 gr Nosler BT in front of 63 gr of IMR4831. Amazing results.
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deerslayer303
New member
All this 257 Roberts talk brings back great memories of my Late Uncle. In his eyes there was NOTHING better than his DO ALL 257!!
Sure Shot Mc Gee
New member
Because you asked:
Have three favorites rifles that are brought along for the trip to my cabin.
1._270cal. Rem Mtn rifle w/ Leupold Vari-X 3 for sitting up off the ground waiting to bushwhack deer out my stands windows. Great cartridge for those distance shots across a 15 acre overgrown hay field my stand overlooks.
2._Mr.lucky >Ol' Red. A 300 Savage L/B Rifle (not the carbine model)_w/ factory open barrel sights for my quiet walk down damp skidder trails on the scout in the late morning until my lunchtime which is later in the afternoon around 2-PM. (I'm hunting when all my neighbors on three sides of me are eating their lunch.)
3._Pre 64 Model 94 >30-30 carbine w/Paper Patched NOE {Ranch Dog} cast & open barrel sights. When I get the urge to carry something with a hammer.
Have three favorites rifles that are brought along for the trip to my cabin.
1._270cal. Rem Mtn rifle w/ Leupold Vari-X 3 for sitting up off the ground waiting to bushwhack deer out my stands windows. Great cartridge for those distance shots across a 15 acre overgrown hay field my stand overlooks.
2._Mr.lucky >Ol' Red. A 300 Savage L/B Rifle (not the carbine model)_w/ factory open barrel sights for my quiet walk down damp skidder trails on the scout in the late morning until my lunchtime which is later in the afternoon around 2-PM. (I'm hunting when all my neighbors on three sides of me are eating their lunch.)
3._Pre 64 Model 94 >30-30 carbine w/Paper Patched NOE {Ranch Dog} cast & open barrel sights. When I get the urge to carry something with a hammer.
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I bought a new Rem 700 ADL 30-06 back in 1975 and have taken more game with it than all others combined. On occasion over the years it proved to fire with no trigger pull a couple of times. For that reason and a few others it hasn't been hunting in about 15 years.
I've since moved on to other rifles and have grown to simply prefer Winchester. I have no plans to really use it anymore, but did replace the trigger so it will be safe enough to pass on to one of the grand kids one day.
It has been a gradual process pulling it together, but I now have what I consider the ultimate all around big game rifle. It is a Winchester 70 EW in 308 set in a McMillan Edge stock. It is wearing a Leupold 2.5-8X36 in this photo. But I've since changed to a Zeiss Conquest.
I've since moved on to other rifles and have grown to simply prefer Winchester. I have no plans to really use it anymore, but did replace the trigger so it will be safe enough to pass on to one of the grand kids one day.
It has been a gradual process pulling it together, but I now have what I consider the ultimate all around big game rifle. It is a Winchester 70 EW in 308 set in a McMillan Edge stock. It is wearing a Leupold 2.5-8X36 in this photo. But I've since changed to a Zeiss Conquest.
Crankylove
New member
My most hunted with rifle is my Model 70 Supergrade, in .270 Win. Got it when I was 12-13, and have enjoyed it for 25ish years now.
I've expanded my collection of hunting rifles over the years, but that's the one I'll never get rid of. It's been carried on a lot of hunts (deer, elk, antelope), filled a lot of tags, and will go to one of my kids eventually, hopefully to carry on with them.
I've expanded my collection of hunting rifles over the years, but that's the one I'll never get rid of. It's been carried on a lot of hunts (deer, elk, antelope), filled a lot of tags, and will go to one of my kids eventually, hopefully to carry on with them.
Goatwhiskers
New member
Well, I'll be the oddball in the bunch. A Martini/Henry, Ackley barrel chambered in 30/40AI. Shooting 49 gr 4831 pushing a 180gr Hornady RN, always gives 3/8" groups, almost boring. Might try my H&R in .445SM with cast 250grPP this year. GW
Due partially to finances and listening to all the "old timers" I only owned one centerfire rifle for for my first 20 years of hunting and it was a Rem 700 in 30/06.
Took me that long to figure out that for my type of hunting/range I could do the same with less recoil and after borrowing a buddies 7mm08 for a hunt I picked up my first 7mm08.
Now I have about a dozen centerfires in various calibers but my go to deer gun is usually my mid 80's model 700 in 7mm08 with my model 7 in 7mm08 being a close 2nd.
Took me that long to figure out that for my type of hunting/range I could do the same with less recoil and after borrowing a buddies 7mm08 for a hunt I picked up my first 7mm08.
Now I have about a dozen centerfires in various calibers but my go to deer gun is usually my mid 80's model 700 in 7mm08 with my model 7 in 7mm08 being a close 2nd.
Used to be my savage 11 in 7mm-08 that I worked for my dad to buy when I was 8... Took many of deer, coyotes, rabbits, and every other pest I could shoot from field rats to badgers to porcupines.
That was my rifle for anything and everything. I pulled it out to check zero for last deer season, and after 10 years of hot hand loaded rounds, the barrel was shot out.
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That was my rifle for anything and everything. I pulled it out to check zero for last deer season, and after 10 years of hot hand loaded rounds, the barrel was shot out.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Rem Model 700 BDL LH .270 Win glass bedded in a Brown Precision stock with a Leupold Vari-X III 2.5x7. Very light and very accurate (handloads only, of course.) Best ever Mule Deer shot: the guide told me to hold at the top of the back line at about 400 yards on my 5 X 5 Mule Deer; he thought I was shooting a 7mm Mag; I aimed 3 -5 inches above the shoulder and the bullet went through the heart. The deer walked about 15 feet and died. Beautiful shoulder mount on the wall. 
Mine is my self-sporterized Swedish mauser. I modified the military stock, altered the bolt handle and mounted the scope.
Shooting 140gr Hornady interlocks, it's a 1" shooter at 100yds as long as I pull the trigger correctly. Too much coffee makes it a 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" 'er...
Still plenty good enough to have taken everything I've aimed it at with one shot..... except the trotting coyote that I overestimated the drop on at about 200yds and shot right over its back... it went into high gear and disappeared. Only one deer went farther than a step or two... it staggered sideways about 10 yards and piled up into a barbed wire fence.
Although it's not a beautiful gun, appearance-wise, performance wise, it's a masterpiece to me.
Shooting 140gr Hornady interlocks, it's a 1" shooter at 100yds as long as I pull the trigger correctly. Too much coffee makes it a 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" 'er...
Still plenty good enough to have taken everything I've aimed it at with one shot..... except the trotting coyote that I overestimated the drop on at about 200yds and shot right over its back... it went into high gear and disappeared. Only one deer went farther than a step or two... it staggered sideways about 10 yards and piled up into a barbed wire fence.
Although it's not a beautiful gun, appearance-wise, performance wise, it's a masterpiece to me.
Coloradohtr
New member
My go to all purpose hunting rifle is my Browning X Bolt Stainless Stalker in .375 H&H Mag with a Leupold
3-9×40mm VX-1 scope. For deer and smaller game I like to use 220gr or 225gr hand loads. For elk I like the 250gr to 270gr loads and for bear, moose or anything else the 300gr Swift A-Frames.
Alot of people think the recoil is way too much but in all honesty it's better than the punch from a .300 Win Mag as its more of a shove than the punch. Hunters all over the world love the .375 H&H because of the wide range of bullet weights you can get for it. Unlike some cartridges your limited to only a few. The ballistics of the lighter loads almost rival the .30-06 so it is accurate as well.
Some believe the .375 H&H is way too big. However, Hodgon's reloading manual says "some say the .375 Holland and Holland Magnum is our all-time greatest big game cartridge. Others say it's neither fish nor fowl, too big for deer and too little for the really big stuff. But one indisputable fact remains: The .375 H&H will drop a deer with less meat damage than a .270 and has probably accounted for more dangerous game up to the size of Cape Buffalo and Elephant than any other large caliber cartridge.
As fine as the .375 H&H is, it really isn't needed in North America except when hunting the big brown beats at close range. But that certainly doesn't keep quite a large number of moose and elk hunters singing it's praises with each coming season. It's easy to see why. When loaded with a bullet of spitzer form, the .375 H&H shoots suprisingly flat out to 300 yards and delivers a punch matched by few other cartridges.
Until recently, the .375 H&H suffered from lack of bullet variety for handloading, but the reintroduction of the Nosler Partition, the introduction of the Speer African Grand Slam and Barnes X-bullets, and the availability of various custom bullets of controlled expansion has put new life into this old cartridge. When maximum penetration on heavy game such as elephant and cape buffalo is desired, the speer, hornady, Barnes and A-square 300 grain solids are good choices. When shooting elk, moose and the larger African antalope at relatively long range, the Sierra 300 grain Spitzer boattail and the speer 250 grain grand slam are tough to beat. For bone crushing shots on potentially dangerous, thin skinned game like brown bear and African lion, bullets of controlled expansion design are the only choices. They would include the Nosler Partition, the swift A-frame, and the Barnes X-bullet. Two excellent powders for Holland's old cartridge are H4895 and IMR4064."
I've wanted a .375 H&H for 15+ years and was finally able to get one. I will never need to buy another big game hunting rifle as long as I live. Although I probably will end up buying more because I can haha.
3-9×40mm VX-1 scope. For deer and smaller game I like to use 220gr or 225gr hand loads. For elk I like the 250gr to 270gr loads and for bear, moose or anything else the 300gr Swift A-Frames.
Alot of people think the recoil is way too much but in all honesty it's better than the punch from a .300 Win Mag as its more of a shove than the punch. Hunters all over the world love the .375 H&H because of the wide range of bullet weights you can get for it. Unlike some cartridges your limited to only a few. The ballistics of the lighter loads almost rival the .30-06 so it is accurate as well.
Some believe the .375 H&H is way too big. However, Hodgon's reloading manual says "some say the .375 Holland and Holland Magnum is our all-time greatest big game cartridge. Others say it's neither fish nor fowl, too big for deer and too little for the really big stuff. But one indisputable fact remains: The .375 H&H will drop a deer with less meat damage than a .270 and has probably accounted for more dangerous game up to the size of Cape Buffalo and Elephant than any other large caliber cartridge.
As fine as the .375 H&H is, it really isn't needed in North America except when hunting the big brown beats at close range. But that certainly doesn't keep quite a large number of moose and elk hunters singing it's praises with each coming season. It's easy to see why. When loaded with a bullet of spitzer form, the .375 H&H shoots suprisingly flat out to 300 yards and delivers a punch matched by few other cartridges.
Until recently, the .375 H&H suffered from lack of bullet variety for handloading, but the reintroduction of the Nosler Partition, the introduction of the Speer African Grand Slam and Barnes X-bullets, and the availability of various custom bullets of controlled expansion has put new life into this old cartridge. When maximum penetration on heavy game such as elephant and cape buffalo is desired, the speer, hornady, Barnes and A-square 300 grain solids are good choices. When shooting elk, moose and the larger African antalope at relatively long range, the Sierra 300 grain Spitzer boattail and the speer 250 grain grand slam are tough to beat. For bone crushing shots on potentially dangerous, thin skinned game like brown bear and African lion, bullets of controlled expansion design are the only choices. They would include the Nosler Partition, the swift A-frame, and the Barnes X-bullet. Two excellent powders for Holland's old cartridge are H4895 and IMR4064."
I've wanted a .375 H&H for 15+ years and was finally able to get one. I will never need to buy another big game hunting rifle as long as I live. Although I probably will end up buying more because I can haha.