Your pick for BEST all around DEER rifle?

For me, there are two 'BEST deer rifles'.

Most of my deer hunting is in heavy cover, in swamps or in thick palmetto between planted pines. For this terraine, I prefer my Marlin 1894S .44 Mag. I use 270 grain Speer GDSP exclusivly, and the rifle has an old Weaver K2.5 20mm scope. For my purposes, it is perfect, and has taken 5 deer.

For those times I expect longer shots, the Mannlicher-Schoenauer Model 1908 in 8mm Mauser goes along. 150 grain Sierra Pro Hunter seems awfully good. This little full stocked carbine is quick to shoulder, accurate, hits hard, and the light weight and slender design make it easy to carry all day. Scope is a Redfield 5 Star 2 X 7 20mm.
 
A family tradition -- We all seem to move up to a good old Remington 740/742/7400 30-06 with a 4x scope (3x-9x if you bought recently). A little too much gun for whitetail perhaps, but why not if you only get to carry a rifle on your shoulder a few weeks a year.

Oh -- and a backup 30-30 Marlin back at camp for the real or imagined 740 feeding problems -- although I've never had any problems with my used 740.
 
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Just got my lucky(not really huntin, but leagally licensed) 6 point with my .35 Rem 141 pump with 2 1/2 weaver with post. 80 yds shot thru both shoulders went 30 feet and down. 1" hole clean thru no blood shot meat. For years I carried 5 1/2 pound Brown Precision High country .308 Win with 2-7 Leopold, but was thinking 200yds average shot in Big mountains. Allround in Alaska I carry 700 remington Stainless .375 H&H with 1.75-6 leopold. I used to use .308 99 Savage and then 88 Win in .308 for deer before they got too heavy, and I started really packing in.
 
Best deer gun

Couldn't pass up commenting. Best answer is, "it depends." For rain, fog, wet snow, serious mud, hideous brush, swamp hunting, and similar conditions, where the shooting will be short-range, I use an SKS with a new, lengthened stock, and a 4x 'scope. For more normal conditions, well, as Col. Townsend Whelen put it, "The .30-'06 is never a mistake." Mine is a sporterized Springfield.

But THE BEST deer rifle, for anyone, is the one you're comfortable with, and you have practiced with, and can hit the darn things reliably at the expectable ranges in your neck of the woods. A friend uses a .243. Another friend uses a .300 Wby mag. I wouldn't use either by choice, but please see the previous sentence. :)
 
Prior to buying a new deer rifle ealier this year, I did the same thing and searched TFL posts. I have found a wealth of information on the board and you have all probably saved me from some bad choices and save me money.

I finally went with a 30-06 Remington 700 BDL, 22" barrel, Leupold VXII 3-9X40 scope, and sling. This will make a nice rifle for walking around the woods and fields looking for eastern whitetails.

November 18 is the first day to use rifles for deer in Virginia. Hopefully I'll be lucky again harvest 2 more deer and give any extra to the Hunters for the Hungry program.
 
Agree on 30-06

As the quote goes, "the 30-06 is never a mistake". The 150 grain Remington Core-Lokt seems to work well with consistency.
 
I kinda like my NEF Superlite handi rifle in .243 with noname 3x9 scope cost all of $139, cuz scope was a take off from my bought used win 70. It will put many shots in the boiler room and I am not worried about the stock or bluing. it shoots 1.25moa off the bench w/ factory ammo and better with reloads and under 4" offhand with sling.
my second choice, first choice nice weather is a Win Mod 70 Classic Compact in 7mm-08 w/ leupold 3x9-33 compact scope. This gun I got used and is a sweet little rifle with lots of capability.

I would like to get Marlin to make a 1894C in 45 colt, an 18" barrel in 45 would be a great compliment to my Taurus Tracker in 45 colt.
 
Looks like Perfesser already has mine!
I fancy a M70 compact in 7mm-08, or as I like to call it ".280 short." A 6# rifle with a soft 7mm sounds perfect for my "plenty" deer rifle. 162g going 2550 fps should do about all I would need.
As for finish, blue and walnut. Why on earth would you go deer hunting on a rainy day? Elk, maybe; you hunt when it's time to hunt, but it ain't like anyone's going hungry for want of venison!

Of course, I have the M70 in '06, so "it'll have to do!"

:D
 
Hunting in the rain

Youngun: We only are issued just so many days to go hunting in this life. We never know when is the last one. (Well, almost never. One of my mentors knew he was on his last hunt, and said so, and was dead within the year.) I intend to use every single one of my allotment, HUNTING. So if it's raining, I go. Or heavy wet snow. Or name any other nasty condition. The only thing worse than hunting in truly nasty conditions, is staying in camp and not hunting. The SKS, being designed to work perfectly under primitive conditions with no maintenance, does it for me then. I don't really like the round (7.62x39) or the gun, but they too are better than not hunting. Conditions get even halfway reasonable, and out comes my Springfield '03-A3, and out go I.

Walnut and blue are pleasing, not to mention pretty engraving. But I won't have a gun in the house I can't use and use hard, so some of mine have synthetic stocks, and the next one will have a laminated. Paste wax goes a long way toward preventing rust, and good maintenance takes care of the rest.
 
Mercy, I HATE these "Best" or "Only One" topics.

:p
- - -But there must be SOME reason I keep participating in 'em.

I could easily make do with one of several. When I decided to set up a Savage Scout .308, that was gonna be my all around hunting rifle. Maybe it'll eventually work out that way. It has the requisites for an aging hunter with a normally sedentary life style. Mainly, it's light weight and handy and easy to shoot well. Power is very nearly equal to my long-beloved .30'06. The little Leupold 2.5 IER scope is okay for my fading eyesight.

I keep thinking of my old .257 Ruger M77 as a heavy varmint rifle and loaner. Hardly a season passes without SOMEONE in my family or circle of friends taking game with it. 3-9 scope and a bit too heavy, yeah, but hard to argue with a long time, successful, track record.

A left-handed friend finally decided to build up a good southpay rifle, but had to sluff his Ruger M77 lightweight '06 to finance the project. It has been a great all around rifle for many years, and Elder Son and I have both taken deer with it. When the pal offered it for a very reasonable price, complete with Leupold 3-9 scope, I was forced--FORCED, you hear?-- to rescue it. It could easily become my all around. Perhaps even better than my stndard M77R '06. (That one has less recoil.)

I guess any of these could qualify, and I wouldn't argue anyone else's choice. I could surely make do with almost any good rifle of 6mm to, say, .35, with a low-to-medium power scope. Nice to have a choice, though.:)

Best,
Johnny
 
My new Winchester 94 Ranger. We had one 15 years ago and I was not impressed with it at all. Since Fabrique National took over ownership, things have changed. The trigger still takes some getting used to but it handles and carries like a dream and there are no stamped parts in the action.

I have sworn by Marlin for years but I believe the new Winchester 94 is at least equal to the Marlin. We still use Marlins and I like them as the action is smoother. That said, this Model 94 deserves due credit. It is really put together well.
 

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There are a lot of great calibers that will work. I sure like shooting my .243 Handi-Rifle or Custom Mauser in 250-3000 or 6.5 Swede. It would be hard for me to make a decision between these 3. I love em all!
Jim
 
The only deer rifle I wish I hadn't gotten rid of was my Remington Mod. 700 Mountain Rifle in .280 with a 2x7 Redfield Tracker scope.
 
As an all-round rifle, particularly for hunting at longer ranges (over 150 yards): first choice - Steyr Scout, second choice - Savage Scout. Both in caliber .308 Win., and set up with Leupold 2.5x Scout scopes. Light, handy, fast-handling and very accurate.

For woods work and closer range shooting, particularly at dawn or dusk when the light can be a problem: Marlin .30-30 with a 4x44 fixed-power wide-bell scope - it gathers in the dim light like nobody's business! Since I won't be shooting at long ranges in dim light, or in heavy undergrowth, the .30-30 is perfectly adequate for deer. I've got two of the Marlins: my favorite is the 24" octagonal-barrel Cowboy model, which will group in less than 1 MOA at 100 yards. Second choice is a standard 20" Model 336, which will group into just under 2 MOA at 100 yards. I've put the good scope on the Cowboy model, and shoot the 336 with ghost-ring sights, using it mainly in heavy brush situations (ranges typically 50-75 yards maximum) where its shorter barrel is more manoevrable. For a change, under the same conditions, I like to use the Marlin 1894 in .44 Magnum, also with iron sights.
 
I put this on top of that 94 ranger and it is wonderful. Small enough to stay out of the way but with plenty of light gathering capability. Mounted at the bore line sans the see thru rings, I keep it at 2X. This 2X-7X by 33m is part of the new low cost VX1 line put out by Leupold.
 

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How's about a Remington 7600 in .308 with a low powered scope on top? I've never had one, or shot one, but it always seemed like that would be the ticket. That being said, I have a Yugo M48A that I just slapped a 4X to with a scout mount that would sure be hard to beat.
 
Well, My son(11) and I went for our first deer hunt this morning, and we did'nt even get to the area I had planned for us to sit in on the side of a large field. It was about 10 minutes till first light, and Mr. Buck came up behind us about 50 yds. away and crossed our newly made path in the snow. He then crossed the field and walked calmly up the edge. at 1 minute after legal first light, he digested a Hornady165 gr. SST handload at 225 yds. He went 30 yds into the bush and piled up. Not even a drop of blood seen!
The gun?
A Springfield M1A
Tasco Tactical/Varminter 2.5x10 Scope
Cabelas 3/4" leather cheekpiece
Browning 1 1/4" Latigo sling.

The beauty of the M1A, is you have a very reliable semi- auto, and it has 1moa accuracy. Up to 4 follow up shots are immediately on tap if needed.
The only downside is the weight. It can be a bear!
 
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