The Deer Rifle

[Doc]

Wife thinks a new deer rifle would make a heck of a good Christmas present for me. With the law change looming to allow rifles in Ontario County deer season as being a very strong possibility for next year, I agree.

So now I have to start the selection process. First of all, after years of having my shoulder slammed to death with my old 12 guage Ithaca, low recoil is very high on my list. The first one that comes to mind is a .243, but I also realize that that caliber is right on the hairy edge of being too light. Yes I read the thread on the .243 and understand that a whole lot of deer have been killed with the .243, but I want to add in a little factor of safety into my selection. Tomorrow, I will test shoot my son's .270. I suspect that will be right into a good comfortable recoil that will be acceptable with plenty of horsepower to knock down deer.

Of course, I realize that opinions will be all over the place on caliber selection, make and model and all that, but I will ask anyway. What do you all consider to be a good, lightweight, deer rifle, that won't put black and blue marks on my shoulder if I decide to spend a couple of hours of bench shooting, but also won't put any serious black and blue marks on my wallet. I'm thinking bolt action, magazine-clip, and nothing terribly fancy or exotic. Also single shot rifles are not out of the question.

I'll also be looking to top it off with a good scope (probably a 3x-9x variable). But then, that's probably better left to another thread.

[Guns&ReligionCop]

I use a 270 and love it but its definitely a lot more gun then you need for whitetail. My father uses a 222 and a 223 both more than adequate with no recoil especially since they are both supressed (Legal in PA). I think a 243 is great gun and deffinately plenty of ummphh A few guys I work with didn't take my advice and 1 got a 30 06 and 2 got 300 mags after a couple of range cycles all 3 are for sale!!! Now 1 is using a 270, 1 a 223 and the other a 308. My question to you are you planning to use it for varmits, coyotes, possibly large game like bears, moose, elk or just deer?

[mac]

270, 308, 30-06 all work. What is the budget for rifle and or scope ?

[DTG3k]

270, 308, 30-06 all work. What is the budget for rifle and or scope ?

He said it was gonna be a gift from his wife. So anything above 1000 should be PERFECT.

[Danny]

7mm-08 same recoil as a 30/30 or 35 rem, shoots flat... drops deer

[Single_shot]

A Mod 7 in 7mm/08. Topped with a nice Nikon or $99 Bushnell high contrast.

[mac]

haa didnt want to make the assumption you we can aim high $$ -it cant hurt. Worse case scenario, you gotta come down a bit in the price point. Better to overshoot on this one!

[Dan92]

my buddy has 2 .308s ive never shot a deer with one but he has.. said deer jumped about 4 feet in the air and came down in a 175lb pile of meat and didnt move an inch after... i have shot one of the guns however and in at least my opinion the recoil wasnt bad at all.. i feel i can shoot it all day with no problem.. although ive only shot ar15s a mosin nagunt and a few shotguns to compare to it

[Doc]

My question to you are you planning to use it for varmits, coyotes, possibly large game like bears, moose, elk or just deer?

No, I have a new Remington .223 for varmints. My moose and elk hunting years are about over. As far as bears, they are legal game here in Ontario County, and if I were to encounter one while deer hunting, it would be nice to have enough gun to take care of them too. But primarily, this gun would be my deer rifle.

[WNYBuckHunter]

260 Rem, especially if you load your own. Plenty of power for deer, most likely plenty for a bear as well. Flat shooting, not a lot of a kick and wicked accurate.

I hear alot of good talk on the 7mm-08s as well, but no experience with them myself.

[Guns&ReligionCop]

Nothing wrong with a 308 but you can get much flatter shooting bullets with the same punch in other calibers

[steve863]

Good decision to step up above the .243. I'd stick with a .270, .30-06 or .308 for the many different cartridges available. As far as a rifle make and model, there are a ton of them out there right now that will shoot as well as you need and won't break your wife's bank account. Bolt-actions from Remington, Savage, Ruger, Browning, and several others will fit your bill. Just see what fits you the best, they will all work.

[Danny]

for under $900 total heres what i use and i wouldn't trade it

Browning A-Bolt II hunter with wood stock

7mm-08

Luepold VX1 in 3X9X40mm

[Doc]

270, 308, 30-06 all work. What is the budget for rifle and or scope ?

Budget is a bit tight. Off the top of my head, I would be looking in the neighborhood of no more than $700 - $800 total ..... Gun, scope, strap, and a couple boxes of ammo and reloading dies, bullets, and some brass.

[oneidacountyhunter]

I have a savage model 110 in both .270 and 30-06. Both are great guns, fair priced and deadly accurate. The .270 has less kick but not really by much. A joy to shoot em both.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

[steve863]

My father uses a 222 and a 223 both more than adequate with no recoil especially since they are both supressed (Legal in PA).

Don't want to hijack Doc's thread, but this has got to be the laugh of the month. A mallet over it's head will kill a deer, too, but it would be FAR from my first choice to kill a deer as would either the .222 or.223.

[Fletch]

Always wanted to try a 280 seemed like a great mid caliber flat and fast with punch. Lots of decent rifles a couple I have wanted to try is the new Savages and TC Icon.

[Doc]

One of the reasons why I make a big deal out of the recoil is the years of punishment from my 12 guage .... lol. But the main reason is that I have a shooting range up on the hill that I spend a fair amount of time at. When my Brother-in-law visits, it is not unusual for us to spend a couple of hours on the range, shooting off the bench. Too much recoil can shorten up those target sessions significantly.

[mac]

ok plenty of decent scopes $150-200 mentioned on other threads as well as $500 bolt action rifles. Thats a common price point for all the manufacturers and this time of year I've seen a bunch of sale/promotions/rebates in my local Dick's stores

[steve863]

Budget is a bit tight. Off the top of my head, I would be looking in the neighborhood of no more than $700 - $800 total ..... Gun, scope, strap, and a couple boxes of ammo and reloading dies, bullets, and some brass.

Look at some Remington's and Savage's, Ruger American, Weatherby Vanguards, and you will most definitely come in under that total.

[Guns&ReligionCop]

I would also look into a Howa as I am not a big fan of the remington model 700 and the Winchester Model 64 is a bit pricey

[DTG3k]

I have a Marlin XL7 that i think is amazing. I also tried out the comparable Savage model. And i though it was just awful.

[Guns&ReligionCop]

Don't want to hijack Doc's thread, but this has got to be the laugh of the month. A mallet over it's head will kill a deer, too, but it would be FAR from my first choice to kill a deer as would either the .222 or.223.

Steve might not be your choice but my dads been using them without problems for the 3 decades I've been alive without a problem and myself I have never had a problem with a 223. People always think biggers better but probably never have used these rifles on deer assuming the worst. The only gun I have ever had problem with not having enough ummphhh was my 30/30

[steve863]

Steve might not be your choice but my dads been using them without problems for the 3 decades I've been alive without a problem and myself I have never had a problem with a 223. People always think biggers better but probably never have used these rifles on deer assuming the worst. The only gun I have ever had problem with not having enough ummphhh was my 30/30

Oh man, now you're even telling us a .223 has more killing power than a 30/30? Honestly, I have better things to do than argue with you about this. You can think what you want.

[Guns&ReligionCop]

I would say 60 grain nosler ballistic tip 223 will drop a whitetail a lot better than any 30/30 load. I have a lot of experience with the 223 and it works great and you also don't have to worry about the kick of a much larger rifle for what hes saying about range time. Why don't you try one out on a deer sometime it might change your mind before you are so quick to cast judgement